Keokuk County Iowa IAGenWeb - 1903 Biography

CHARLES BAKEHOUSE

Among the leading citizens and prominent farmers of Keokuk county, we take pleasure in giving a sketch of this worthy gentleman, who was born in a log house in German township on section 17, and he has spent his entire Hfe in agricultural pursuits in the county. The date of his birth was March 2, 1853, and he was the son of Charles and Sophia (Voltmer) Bakehouse, and is one of a family of five children. He was reared on the farm where he was born and received the rather limited education that was current in that early day, conning his lessons in the rude log schoolhouse of that pioneer time. He very early became familiar with farm work, and in his home was taught lessons of thrift and industry, lessons which were well learned and have had their fruit in the later successful life of our subject.

He remained at home until his marriage, which occurred on the 1st of January, 1881. The lady whom he married was Miss Anna Schulte, a native of Amsterdam, Holland, where she was born on the 5th of November, 1862. The name of her father was Garet Schulte, he having been a native of Hanover, Germany; he had removed to America in 1874, and located in Sigourney. He later removed to German township, where he died in 1899, in the eighty-fifth year of his age. His wife was Mary (Volen) Brook, and she was born in Almelo, Holland. She still survives, living in Dubuque, Iowa. They reared but two children, a son and a daughter, the son's name being Anton G., a prominent practicing attorney, who died at Sigourney in 1900. The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Bakehouse was blessed with a family of eight children: Clara, born October. 18, 1881; Mary, born December 20, 1883; Francis, October 11, 1885; Jennie, January 28, 1888; Tillie, October 6, 1889; Bertha, January 8, 1893; George, November 22, 1896; Gertie, January 8, 1898.

Mr. Bakehouse upon his marriage immediately settled upon the farm upon which he now resides, and which he has cultivated with a high degree of success since that time. He has two or three bodies of land, in all one thousand and twenty acres. Six hundred and twenty of this is in the home farm, one hundred and sixty near by, and two hundred and forty acres in Sigourney township, on section i6. He also has property in the city of Sigourney and Harper. He is one of the largest stock raisers in the county, and is looked upon as a gentleman of the very highest repute and character. While he is Republican in politics, he holds his vote for the very best man at all times. He has taken an active interest in everything that pertains to the welfare of his township and county, and by a very large circle of acquaintances is regarded as a man of unimpeachable integrity, whose word is as good as bond. He and his family deserve and receive the kind offices of a large circle of friends, which they delight to return in kind.

DeWITT C. BAKER

A retired farmer and representative citizen of the village of Ollie, Mr. Baker has been intimately identified with the industrial activities and material progress of this favored section of the Hawkeye state, and he is most appropriately given a place in this compilation, which has to do with those who have been the founders and builders of Keokuk county.

Like many another of the sterling citizens of this state, Mr. Baker is a native of Tennessee, having been born in Jefferson county on the 22d of July, 1833. His father, John Baker, was a native of the Old Dominion, having been born in the state of Virginia, the family having been there established in the colonial epoch of our national history. He removed from his native state to Tennessee and became one of the honored citizens of that state, having been a powder manufacturer by vocation and having been a colonel in the state militia. He was loyal to the section in which he had been reared, and when the Civil war was inaugurated he enlisted for services in the Confederate army and did valiant duty in behalf of the cause, while previously he had attained no little distinction as an Indian fighter. He was prominent in the ranks of the Democratic party In Tennessee, and there he died in the year 1872, at the age of seventy-six years, having been born in 1796. He was a man of ability and sterling integrity, ever commanding the esteem of those with whom he came in contact. In Tennessee he was united in marriage to Miss Martha Frazier who was born in Pennsylvania, whence, in her childhood, she accompanied her parents on their removal to Tennessee, where she passed the remainder of her life, her death occurring on January 9, 1866, at the age of seventy-five; she was born in 1791. John and Martha Baker became the parents of five children, of whom the subject of this sketch is the youngest, the others being Mary (deceased), Elsie, and Charles and John, both of whom are deceased. The father of our subject became a prominent drover in Tennessee, purchasing large numbers of horses and mules annually and driving them through to Florida, and his efforts in this line of enterprise were attended with marked success.

DeWitt Clinton Baker, to whom this review is dedicated, was reared and educated in his native state, where he completed his education at the age of twenty years. He forthwith gave inception to his independent career, since he then came to Iowa in 1853, and became one of the pioneer settlers of Keokuk county. He located on a tract of government land in Richland township, where he developed a fine farm and where he continued to maintain his home until the year 1876, having been successful in his enterprise, which included diversified farming and stockraising. In tfie Centennial year he removed to Jackson township, where he became the owner of a landed estate of about four hundred acres, the major portion of which he reclaimed and placed under effective cultivation, while his business ability and progressive spirit was shown in the work which he accomplished in connection with the development of the agricultural resources of this section, since for a period of about eight years he devoted his attention largely to the buying of raw land, clearing and improving the same and then disposing of the property, whose value had been, of course, greatly enhanced Thus he contributed in no small measure to the substantial progress of this section, and his course was ever such in connection with his various transactions as to retain to him unqualified confidence and respect on the part of all with whom he had dealings.

On the 28th of December, 1854, Mr. Baker was united m marriage to Miss Virtue A. Edwards, who was born in Brighton, Washington county, Iowa, the daughter of Joseph and Margaret Edwards, who were pioneers of that county, as were they later of Keokuk county. Of the ten children born to our subject and his estimable wife, three are deceased, Margaretta, Melissa and Lela. Those surviving are as follows: Martha, Joseph E., Ella, John C, Nora A., Charles D. and William F., all of whom were born and reared in this county. Mrs. Baker died November 7, 1890, at Ollie, Iowa. In March, 1892, Mr. Baker married Martha A. (Brown) Eye, widow of W. G. Eye, who was born in Keokuk county, May 19, 1855. She was the daughter of James and Rebecca Brown, who came from Ohio and settled in Iowa in the early days; they spent their declining days and died in Iowa. Mrs. Baker has two daughters by first marriage, Lillian and Bessie Eye.

At the time of the Civil war Mr. Baker enlisted in the Third Missouri Volunteer Infantry, a mounted regiment, with which he served six months. In 1862 he enlisted a second time, for three years, becoming a private in Company I, of the Fortieth Iowa Volunteer Infantry, with which he was in active service until January, 1865, when he received his honorable discharge, having done valiant service in support of the Union during the great fratricidal conflict in which a man's foes were veritably of his own household, as was exemplified in the case of our subject, for his father was a soldier in the Confederate service, as has already been noted. During his long term of service the subject of this review was in many notable conflicts, having participated in the siege of Vicksburg and been present at the time of the taking of the city of Little Rock, Arkansas, while his regiment also took part in Banks' celebrated Red river expedition and participated in the battle of Jenkins' Ferry and several minor engagements. Mr. Baker was mustered out of the service at Little Rock, Arkansas, in January, 1865, and after receiving his honorable discharge returned to his home in Keokuk county and turned his attention to farming in Richland township, of which fact mention has already been made. In 1889 he took up his residence in the thriving town of Ollie, where he is the owner of considerable property, while he still retains in his posession a good farm of eighty-eight acres.

Mr. Baker has ever maintained a lively interest in public affairs of a local nature and has done all in his power to forward the advancement and material properity of his home county. His political support was given to the Democratic party until 1896, when he became a Republican, and he has been called upon to serve in various offices of trust and responsibility, among which it may be noted that he has been incumbent of the position of justice of the peace in Jackson township for fifteen years, while for three years he was a member of the county board of supervisors. Fraternally he is identified with the Masonic order and the Knights of Pythias, while he and his wife are devoted members of the Baptist church in their home town, taking an active part in its work. The family has long been prominent in the social life of the community, and its members all enjoy the unqualified esteem of those who know them, while a refined hospitality is ever in evidence in the attractive home of our subject and his wife.

GEORGE B. BAKER

The subject of this review, who holds marked prestige among the members of the bar of Keokuk county, is a lawyer who is using his profession for the benefit of his fellow-man, to advance the interests of good government, to promote the general welfare, entertaining a just conception of the purpose of law as the conservator of the rights of the people, as the protector of the weak against the strong, the just against tlie unjust. As few men do, he will live to realize some of the ideals of the profession to which he devotes himself, and his reputation as a young lawyer has been won through earnest, honest labor, and his high standing at the bar is a merited tribute to his ability.

Mr. Baker is at the present time a resident of the stirring community of Hedrick, in whose marvellous advancement he takes a keen interest. He was born in Placerville, California, October 13, 1870, and is a son of Adam M. and Mary (Engledeiger) Baker. Mr. Adam Baker was a native of Germany, emigrating to this country when a lad of sixteen. He located in Iowa in 1838, settling first in Washington county, but in 1858 he moved to California. He came to Keokuk county in 1873, and located in German township, where he died at the age of sixty-seven years, and where his wife still continues to reside.

Mr. Baker is one of seven children, and was but three years of age when he came Keokuk county. He was reared on a farm, where he passed his boyhood days quietly, and in the district schools of German township acquired his elementary education. He later became a matriculate of the Iowa City Academy, where he graduated in 1889. For a period following he taught school in the district schools of Keokuk county, and deciding upon law as a profession, began his reading. He was for a number of years engaged in the drug business. In 1897 he sold out this business and entered the law department of the Iowa State University, where he graduated, on the 7th of June, 1899, with the degree of LL. B. He located immediately at Hedrick, and has since been engaged in the practice of his profession. Here he has secured the confidence of the public to a marked extent and is gradually building up a lucrative practice.

Mr. Baker was married in 1893 to Ella Jester of Marshalltown, Iowa. This lady was the daughter of William and Martha Jester, and has borne her husband two children: Marie and Millard F. The social life of Mr. Baker takes in a number of the prominent fraternal organizations, he being a member of the Knights of Pythias, Modern Woodmen of America, and the M. B. A. In political affiliations he is an earnest supporter of the principles of the party of Lincoln and Garfield. Mr. Baker is an example of what any young man of hustling qualities can do in this western country without assistance from any source and depending entirely upon his own exertions. He is a representative of that class of citizens who deserve and receive recognition at the hands of an admiring public.

SAMUEL ELWOOD BAMFORD, M.D.

The flourishing town of Sigourney, Keokuk county, Iowa, has cause for congratulation when its list of capable and reliable professional men is recalled, and among these Dr. Samuel E. Bamford worthily represents medicine and surgery. Dr. Bamford is a son of the state, born in Muscatine county on April 1, 1859. His parents were Rev. Robert L. and Eliza (Davis) Bamford, the former of whom was born in Knox county, Indiana, a son of Robert Bamford, who was born in 1800, in New York. The early ancestors of the family were of English origin and settlers in Canada, from whence they came to New York. Robert Bamford married Matilda Ludington. In search of a new home, they went into what was then the wilderness of the state of Indiana, and Robert took part in the Black Hawk war. Still adventurous, in 1834 the family went as pioneers to Iowa and located permanently in Muscatine county.

Rev. Robert Bamford was born in Indiana, May 2, 1826, and was eight years of age when the Iowa home was secured. Both his life and that of his only brother, George Bamford, were devoted to the ministry of the gospel in the Methodist church, of which the former is now a superannuated minister, residing at Allerton, Iowa. The mother of our subject was born in Indiana, and was a daughter of William Davis, who was a native of Virginia, from whence he removed first to Indiana and then to Muscatine county, Iowa. A good Christian mother, she cared tenderly for her seven children and passed out of life on November 1, 1897. The children born to Rev. Robert and wife were: Morris, a minister of the Methodist church; Bentley, also a minister in the same denomination; Dr. Samuel, of this sketch; Alice M.; Elmer E., a physician of Centerville, Iowa; Isaiah D., a resident of Wayne county, Iowa; and Mattie.

As is not infrequently the case, our subject enjoyed great privileges as a son of a clergyman, but found the accompanying straightened circumstances would not permit him to follow a professional career in early manhood. His education finished in the public schools, he engaged in teaching in order to provide means for his education in medicine. He spent nine years in farming, during which time he stored his mind with the necessary facts and had the satisfaction of graduating creditably, in 1889, from the College of Physicians and Surgeons, at Keokuk, Iowa. Dr. Bamford located at Clio, Wayne county, Iowa, and continued there in successful practice for a period of seven years. In 1895 the growth of Sigourney offered a prospective field for excellent work and since locating here he has built up a large and lucrative practice.

Dr. Bamford is a member of the board of pension examiners and Is a valuable member of the state and county as well as the American Medical associations, and also of the Association of Iowa Physicians. In politics Dr. Bamford is identified with the Republican party, and fraternally he is connected with the order of Odd Fellows. An early marriage left him with two daughters, who are now teachers in Wayne county. His second marriage took place in 1901, to Miss Anna A. Cogley, of Sigourney. The Doctor is also interested in farming and handles considerable stock in the way of horses and cattle.

GEORGE L. BARTOW

A school man of unquestioned ability, both in the schoolroom as principal and in official life as superintendent of Keokuk county schools; an honored member of the newspaper fraternity, fearless and able as an advocate of Democratic principles; a lawyer of undoubted ability; and above all, a gentleman! George L. Bartow receives and merits the confidence and esteem of a very large circle of Keokuk county citizens. The family of which Mr. Bartow is an honored member dates back to the time of the French Huguenots, those fearless disseminators of civil and religious liberty, whose progeny inherit to a large extent their sterling qualities. Our subject takes the name of his grandfather Bartow (the French spelling of which was Barteau), who lived in Harrison county, Ohio, from an early day until 1851, when he settled his family in Jefferson county, Iowa.

George P. Bartow, the father of our present subject, was born in Ohio and educated in the New Market Academy. To this literary foundation he added a course in medicine at the John M. Scudder Eclectic Medical College of Cincinnati. He engaged in the practice of his profession in Jefferson county, Iowa, until 1880, whe he removed to Richland, Keokuk county, where he lived until the time of his decease, in 1885. He was a physician of fine attainments and a man who was very successful in his business ventures. At the time of his death he had accumulated a comfortable competence. He was not covetous of political preferment, but always stood for what was best in the Democratic party. He was a member of the Masonic fraternity, of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, of the Knights of Pythias, and both he and Mrs. Bartow, who still survives him, were faithful and consistent members of the Methodist church. Unto his marriage were born four children, as follows: Albert C., Sigourney; George L.; Alpheus M., dry goods merchant of Sigourney; Mary J., deceased.

The literary education of the subject of this review was obtained in the country schoolhouse and the Pleasant Plains Academy, where he was graduated in 1886. For a period of fourteen consecutive terms Mr. Bartow then gave his attention to disseminating knowledge in the schoolroom, a period in which he demonstrated conclusively that he not only had the knowledge, but the ability to impart it to others - not always coexistent. His success was such in the schoolroom that when his political party needed the attraction of an unusually strong name they found it in that of George L. Bartow, and for two successive terms he served acceptably the school interests of the county. While in the schoolroom he was principal successively at Thornburg, Richland and Martinsburg. His residence at Richland was also the date of a year's experience with Uncle Sam, he having served that period as postmaster. At the close of his service as superintendent of schools Mr. Bartow secured control of the Sigourney Review and for three years thereafter the Democratic party of the county and state had an organ upon which it could depend for the faithful exposition of its most cherished principles, while the people were given a paper which fearlessly printed the news, without equivocation. Previous to his election to the office of county superintendent of schools he served for two years in the United States railway mail service.

During his public life as superintendent and editor Mr. Bartow had become much interested in the law as a profession, and it was therefore a comparatively easy matter for him to enter upon its practice, which he did after passing a brilliant examination at the local bar. During the comparatively short period of activity in the profession he has demonstrated that the human mind, at least some human minds, are of so facile a nature as to do many diverse things equally well. His standing at the bar is without question, and he is rapidly building up a splendid practice. It is probably unnecessary to state that Mr. Bartow is a simon-pure*, uncompromising Democrat. He is affiliated with the order of Odd Fellows and he and his family are communicants of the Methodist church. Mr. Bartow was joined in wedlock to Miss Belle Pfaff, of Sigourney. Two children, Vora S. and Vera A-, have come to add delight to their pleasant home.

*completely genuine, authentic or honest

GEORGE R. BELL

George R. Bell is one of the prominent farmers and well known citizens of Van Buren township, Keokuk county, Iowa, and belongs to the hardy and vigorous race of Scots. His parents were Dr. John and Mary (Graham) Bell; the former came in young manhood from Scotland to Brooklyn, New York, where he practiced his profession for some years, and then returned with his family to his native land. Later in life he with his family again made the long voyage and this time located at Glens Falls, New York, where he and his wife both passed away. He was a man of scholarly attainments, a graduate of the University of Scotland and a physician of unusual skill. In his native land he married Mary Graham, who was also born and reared there, and they had a family of seven cliildren, as follows: Ellen, Agnes, John, Mary Ann, Jemima, Jesse and George R., all born in Scotland.

George is the youngest child of the above mentioned family and the only survivor. He was born in Scotland, October 31, 1833, and was but eleven years old when first brought to the United States. He accompanied his parents on their return to Scotland and was engaged in farming there until he came the second time to this country. He had been married in 1854 and in 1861 embarked with his family for America, they being on the sea when the news of the Civil war was made known. He located at French Mountain, New York, and was engaged in farming and buying supplies for the vessels. This he continued for three years and then came to Muscatine county, Iowa, where he took up farming. In 1874 he came to Keokuk coimty and located on his present farm, which then consisted of one hundred and ninety-six acres. Here he has made improvements and erected buildings and brought the land under a fine state of cultivation, adding from time to time to the place until he at one time had four hundred acres, but he now has two hundred and seven acres. He is a very capable man of business and has bought and sold land extensively since coming here.

In 1854 Mr. Bell was united in marriage with Miss Jessie Alston, who is a native of Scotland and was also reared and educated there. She is the daughter of William C. and Jane (Goss) Alston, both of whom died in the old country. Mr. and Mrs. Bell became the parents of eight children, as follows: William; Mary; James; Allen; Jessie, deceased; John; George, deceased; and Charles. In politics Mr. Bell is identified with the Democratic party, although he is no office-seeker. His large estate is weli managed and he has a reputation for raising the finest stock in this locality. The family is much respected, and as one of the solid, substantial and reliable men of Van Buren township, George R. Bell is held in high esteem.

JOHN BERMEL

Perhaps no one foreign nation has contributed more sturdy men to the building up of agriculture in America than has Germany. The farms of German settlers are always well tilled and prosperous looking and are an ornament and model to the community. Our subject, John Bermel, is a descendant of one of these pioneers from the fatherland.

Anton Bermel, born in Germany, came to America when he was about eighteen years of age and for a short time cast his lot in Ohio; he returned to the old country for a short time and his second coming ended in his taking up his residence on a farm in Muscatine county, Iowa, about 1850, being, therefore, one of the old settlers of the state, and one of the enterprises in which he assisted was the building of the first railroad from Davenport, Iowa, west. He was always interested in the success of the Democratic party and was a member of the Catholic church. His death took place in Muscatine county when he was seventy eight years old. His wife was Katherine Oller; she lived in Germany until she was grown, and then she ventured, the first one of her family, to come alone to America, her parents following her the next year. She came directly to Iowa and was married to Mr. Bermel in Muscatine county. Five children were the fruit of the marriage, as follows: John Bermel, the eldest, Katherine, Paulina, Peter and Frank.

John Bermel was born in Muscatine county, in April, 1855; in the district school of his neighborhood his young mind was trained and at his eighteenth year he began his practical life on his father's farm, where he worked for three years. At the age of twenty-one he married and went to farming in Lafayette township, Keokuk county; it was on that farm that the first white man was born in the township. Taking up two hundred acres of land owned by his father-in-law, J. P. Kramer, by his own efforts he brought it under a fine state of cultivation. Mr. Bermel still owns the farm that he started with and is one of the successful agriculturists of the county.

His first wife, whom he married in 1876, was Mary M.Kramer, born in 1857, ^iid one of the first children born in Lafayette township; she was the child of John Peter Kramer, whose history is recorded in another chapter. There were four children born of this marriage: John (deceased), Nicholas, Anton, and Christina. Mrs. Bermel passed away in 1890 and in 1892 Mr. Bermel took his second wife, Mary Mengold, a native of Scott county, Iowa, born July 19, i860, and her education was received for the most part in the schools of Davenport. She is the mother of four children: William, Anna, Margueritte, and Agnes. Mr. Bermel is interested in the Democratic party is school director, takes a prominent part in educational affairs, is a member of the Catholic church at Harper, and is well thought of wherever known.

NICHOLAS BESSER

One of the prominent old settlers of Keokuk county is Nicholas Besser, who is now living in Harper. He is a native of the fatherland, his birth having occurred in Germany on the 26th of June, 1833. His father, Peter Besser, was also born there and on severing the ties that bound him to his native country made his way to the new world, believing that he would have better business opportunities here. In 1844 he took up his abode in Quincy, Illinois, and thence came to Keokuk county, Iowa, arriving here on the 11h of October, 1844.

Nicholas Besser is the eldest of a family of five children and was but twelve years of age when his father died. He was reared in Lafayette township and as soon as old enough to work began to assist his mother and aided her in caring for the other children and providing for their support. Nobly he took up the burden which devolved upon him, although it was a heavy one for young shoulders. He did not marry until he was twenty-six years of age, at which time he was joined in wedlock to Margaret Horris, also a native of Germany, who was brought to Keokuk county when a little maiden of ten summers and was reared in Clear Creek township. Mr. and Mrs. Besser began their domestic life in Lafayette township, where he developed and improved a farm from the raw land. His first wife left two children, Charles and Mary, and he later married again, at which time Mary Ann Schlitz became his wife. Four children were born: Albert, of Polk county, Iowa; Frank, who is living on the home farm; Edward, a practicing physician at Newton, Iowa; and Amelia, the wife of George Volz, of Polk county. By her first marriage Mrs. Besser had several children, namely: Dr. Nicholas Schlitz, who was educated by our subject and is now a prominent physician of Des Moines; Mary, the wife of Dr. Hentzman, a skilled physician of Matamora, Illinois; Elizabeth, the wife of William Kern, a merchant; and Margaret, who married Ceno Blaize, of Des Moines. These children were all educated by Mr. Besser, who provided for them as he did his own.

Mr. Besser is one of the pioneer settlers of Keokuk county and has been identified with its growth and development through many years. As he has continued his farm work he has found that prosperity has rewarded his labors and to-day he is the owner of three hundred and seventy acres of well improved land in the old homestead. He also had three hundred and seventy acres in Polk county, Iowa, which he divided among his children. Now he is living a retired life, merely superintending his farming interests. He has made what he possesses through his own industry, for he started out in the world empty handed. In his political affiliations he is a Democrat and has served as a trustee of his township. He is also treasurer of the Mutual Insurance Company of Keokuk, Iowa, of which H. P. Newton is secretary. In every relation of life in which Mr. Besser has been found he has ever been true to the duties and obligations which have devolved upon him and the trust reposed in him. Unremitting industry has been the keynote of his success and his life record should serve to encourage others who are not fortunate enough to have any material assistance when they start out upon a business career.

MRS. MARY J. BOND

Among the early settlers of Keokuk county is numbered this lady, whose many friends will be glad to see the record of her life in this volume. She now resides on section it, Richland township, where for many years she has made her home and since her husband's death she has superintended her farming interests. She was born in Jefferson county, in eastern Tennessee, January 3, 1838. Her father, James French, was a native of South CaroHna, but was reared in eastern Tennessee and after arriving at years of maturity he married Miss Lucinda Sasseen, a native of Tennessee, whose parents were born in North Carolina and on their removal to the former state located in Jefferson county. The father of Mrs. Bond died when about sixty years of age, and his wife was about that age when called to her final rest. They were the parents of ten children, three sons and seven daughters, all of whom reached mature years.

Mrs. Bond, the eldest of the family, spent her girlhood days in her parents' home, assisting in the duties of the household, so that she was well qualified to take charge of a home of her own at the time of her marriage. She remained a resident of her native county until 1856, when she removed to Adams county, Illinois, and in 1860 she came to Keokuk county, Iowa, locating in Richland township, where she has since made her home. She was first married to John C. Alderson, a native of Jefferson county, Tennessee, who died in Illinois. Unto them were born four children: Sarah, now the wife of John Rudolph; James, a resident of Mills City, Montana; Emeline, who became the wife of Elisha Jones; and Lucy, the wife of Joseph Whittaker, a resident pf Albion, Iowa. After the death of her first husband, and following her removal to this county, Mrs. Alderson gave her hand in marriage to William Bond in 1869.

Mr. Bond was born in eastern Tennessee in 1823 and in 1841 came to Keokuk county, Iowa, casting in his lot among the first settlers who succeeded the Indians as owners of the land. He was a valiant soldier of the Civil war, enlisting in 1862 as a member of Company K, Eighteenth Iowa Infantry, with which he remained for about a year, when he was honorably discharged on account of physical disability. He then returned home and resumed farming, which he followed continuously until his death. He was practical in his methods of farm work, was progressive and enterprising, and through the careful conduct of his business affairs he won a comfortable competence and was ranked among the well-to-do and leading agriculturists of the community. He was also a prominent member of the Grand Army of the Republic and was a member of the Friends church, his life being in harmony with the teachings of that church. He died February 22, 1892, and throughout the community his death was deeply mourned, because he had endeared himself to many friends by his kindly, genial nature.

Two children were born unto Mr. and Mrs. Bond. Asbury married Miriam Sasseen and resides with Mrs. Bond. Viola became the wife of Elsworth Fitch and died at the age of twenty-two years. In early life Mrs. Bond was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, but is now a member of the Friends church. She is a most estimable lady, highly esteemed for her many excellent traits of heart and mind. For forty-two years she has been a resident of this county and her mind is stored with many interesting incidents and reminiscences of the early days, which she relates in an entertaining manner. She has become quite widely known in her part of the county and well does she deserve mention in the history of the county which has so long been her home.

FREDERICK LEVI BOWER

The life of any individual is an interesting drama, and until the closing act is over holds the attention of humanity. But as some products of the playwright's skill have more of interest than others, so in real life men's careers differ and are filled with a varying amount of the events which rivet the attention. The career of Mr. Bower, which must be all too briefly sketched here to place it in full rounded outline before the reader, has many points which will render it especially fitting to be placed in this history, where it will prove of benefit to the many who will read it.

His parents were natives of Germany, and their names were Samuel and Hannah Frederica Bauer; the name has since been given its American form of Bower. The former was a farmer by occupation and sought in the free land of America the opportunities for that pursuit which are denied in any other country on the globe. One of the curious freaks of nature was exemplified in the body of his wife. Eleven years after her death the family decided to move her remains to another burying ground and on exhuming the body it was found to be in a perfect state of petrifaction; very few instances of this strange phenomenon have ever been known.

Frederick Levi was born at his father's home in Marion county, Ohio, May 7, 1842. He remained at home until he was thirteen years old, and consequently the education which he obtained up to that time was rather meager, but his desire to learn never left him, and later when he was spending the hours of the day in toil he attended a night school at St. Louis and gave himself an education, more valuable in some respects than one obtained with less difficulty. At the age of thirteen his parents consented to his leaving home and he became an apprentice to the carpenter's trade, which he learned, and at the age of sixteen was in St. Louis acting as foreman of a shop. He remained there working at his trade until he was twenty years old, and also did some contracting. At the breaking out of the Civil war he went back to Iowa and for awhile taught school, which is a proof of how well he made use of his opportunities to gain an education. In 1862 he was attracted by the reports of the fortunes to be made in the gold fields of California and he made the trip overland, but after he had delved for the hidden treasure for a time, failing health caused him to return to Iowa in January, 1864. Mr. Bower had first come to Iowa in 1853, on June 28, at a time when there were few white folks but many red men there on Wolf creek, near his home. And he recalls the fact and quaintly expresses it by saying that wild deer and turkeys were thicker than rabbits and pigeons are now, and one day he saw a drove of about one hundred and seventy deer in one herd moving from the northwest to the southeast. Since returning to Iowa in 1864 he has made this state his home. He bought a farm two miles west of Harper and has followed farming, but of late years has given some attention to mercantile pursuits.

On November 10, 1864, Mr. Bower was drafted for service in the Union army, but was discharged at the first of the following month. It was during this year that his connection with the public life of Keokuk county began, and he has always shown himself to be a man of much public spirit. In that year he was elected clerk of the township and justice of the peace and continued to hold sometimes one and sometimes two township offices until 1874, when he was chosen one of the board of county supervisors. In this connection he was commissioned to build the present county jail. In 1877 he was elected to the office of county treasurer and two years later was re-elected. In 1882 he was the cashier of the Union Bank of Sigourney, which is now the First National Bank. This is a brief record of his life in public capacity, and it is to his credit that he left his positions with the high regard of those who had chosen him as their representative. His connection with fraternal organizations has also been extensive. He joined the Masonic lodge in 1876 and has been a member of DuPains commandery, No. 6, at Oskaloosa, since 1882. He was made a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows in 1877 and is still connected with the lodge at Sigourney. He has been a member of the Ancient Order of United Workmen since 1876, and has belonged to the Legion of Honor since 1878. He filled all the chairs of these organizations except in the Odd Fellows. He belongs to the Keokuk county grange and was an officer at the time this far-famed body went out of existence.

Mr. Bower was married at the old home which now belongs to him, on March 13, 1864, shortly after he returned from his tour in the gold fields. His wife's maiden name was Isabella M. Grove, and her father, B. T. S. Grove, was a blacksmith at an early day in the town of Lancaster, Iowa, but when the county seat was moved to Sigourney, he took up his residence in Talleyrand. The first child born was named Amelia, and the date of her birth was December 12, 1864; Albert was born November 7, 1866; Edward, who came into the world on September 15, 1868, is at present filling the office of county auditor; and the last child was born October 23, 1869, and is Dora-Bell Ludwig.

S. H. BOWMAN

The above named gentleman is one of the progressive men of Hedrick. He belongs to that class of representative citizens who, while promoting their individual success, also contribute to the general welfare, and he enjoys an enviable position in the business circles of his section of Keokuk county. Samuel Bowman, his father, was a native of West Virginia, removed after his marriage to Illinois and came from there to Jefferson county, Iowa, about 1836. As this was before the organization of Iowa as a territory and ten years before its admission as a state of the Union, Samuel Bowman is justly entitled to rank as one of the earliest of the pioneers. He located in Jackson township, where he preempted land, but some years later removed to Keokuk county, where he settled on a farm in Jackson township, but spent his last days at loka, where he died in the ninetieth year of his age. He was a life-long Democrat and had voted for Jackson and every Democratic candidate up to the time of his death. He was a son of Adam Bowman, also a native of the Old Dominion, who came to Jefferson county, Iowa, late in life and found his grave there.

Samuel and Elizabeth Bowman became the parents of ten children, and the mother died after the removal to Keokuk county, when she was sixty-five years old. She was a daughter of Peter Bowman, a native of Germany, who settled in West Virginia early in the nineteenth century. S. H. Bowman, youngest of the ten children of his parents, was born in Jefferson county, Iowa, March 9, 1845, and was about one year old when the removal was made to Keokuk county. He was reared on a farm and was taught lessons of economy and industry as he grew to manhood, laying the foundation of a very practical latter day education in the county schools of Jackson township. He remained under the parental roof until he was twenty-two years of age, and then went into business with his father at loka, where they ran a general store for several years. This business was sold out in 1869, and for two years after our subject was engaged in farming in Jackson township. In 1871 he entered a store at loka as a clerk, where he remained until about 1874, and after another period of farming, took up the business of a collector, which he continued for two years. Again returning to the store-room, he engaged with Mr. McCullough at loka, and in the meantime became interested in a drug business for himself. In 1881 and 1882 he clerked for F. M. Israel, at loka, and afterward until 1888 was engaged at the trade of wagon-making in the same place. He was in business at Pekin in 1891 and 1892 and later was connected with the firm of Bowman, Haynes & Sherdon at loka, where they did a general merchandise business. He sold out his interest in this firm in 1895, and during the following year was engaged in settling up his father's business in that locality. He then came to Hedrick, and began the business in which he is now engaged, that of loaning money. In 1900 he was married to Miss Ida Shook, a native of Keokuk county, and a daughter of W. J. and Catherine (Clarkson) Shook, one of the pioneer families of the county, who came here about 1857.

Until 1896 Mr. Bowman had been prominently identified with the Democratic party in Keokuk county, and was regarded as one of its valuable workers, but since then he has ceased to interest himself in political matters. He has held a number of local offices in the different localities where he has resided. Fraternally he has been affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows since 1869. He is well known throughout the county, is familiar with its resources and needs, and takes a deep interest in its welfare. His genial nature and pleasant address, united with his business ability and general information, make Mr. Bowman a welcome guest in every social circle and valued as an adviser in all matters of importance.

ALONZO C. BRADY

It is ever a pleasure to note the vicissitudes of one who has wrought his way under difficulties, and without the usual advantages for success in the branch of human endeavor which may have elicited his interest. Conspicuous among the self-made men of Keokuk county is the man whose name heads this review. He is at the present time the leading dry goods merchant of the town of Richland. The birth of Mr. Brady occurred in the Buckeye state, where he was born in Belmont county, February 8, 1858. T. F. Brady, his father, was a native of the same county; here he grew to manhood and engaged in agricultural pursuits until 1869, when he removed to Iowa and settled with his family in Pleasantplain; his father before him was a native Irishman. On the mother's side our subject is also of Buckeye stock, her maiden name having been Margaret Tracy. She was born and reared in Belmont county and is still living at an advanced age. She is the mother of four sons, all of whom are living. Albert C, lives in Jefferson county, where he is a prominent farmer; our subject is the second son; William A., of Richland; John M. is in the employ of the government at Washington, D. C.

Of this family Mr. Brady, our subject, is the second child, and was a lad of ten years of age when the family came to Iowa. He received his education in the common schools, it being supplemented by a course at the Pleasantplain Academy. His first business venture was as a dealer in eggs and produce throughout the country. In 1883 he located in Richland, and in connection with his brother, W. A., established the present dry goods business. This firm continued to do business until J 895, when W A. sold his interest to D. J. Jones, since which time the style of the firm has been Brady and Jones. In connection with this dry goods business, Mr. Brady is also interested in connections with his brother, W. A., in a wool business. They are the largest buyers in the county, and have been instrumental in encouraging the sheep business in this part of Iowa. Another business connection of our subject is as a director in the Union State Bank of Richland. He is also one of the proprietors of the Richland Telephone Company.

He married in 1884, in Keokuk county, Miss Emma Stockman, the daughter of J. C. and and Mary A. Stockman, of Richland. To this marriage were born four children: Mildred; Louise and Lucile, twins; Alonzo C., Jr.; all of whom are young people at home. In fraternal affiliations Mr. Brady is a Knight Templar Mason, belonging to the commandery at Washington, Iowa. He is a shriner of Kaaba Temple, Davenport. He is also a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and he and his family are esteemed members of the Methodist church. In matters of politics Mr. Brady supports the policies of the Republican party, and takes an active interest in the civil life of his community, having held some of the offices of trust connected with the city organization. Mr. and Mrs. Brady and their interesting family are honored and highly respected citizens of their community. Mr. Brady's business transactions have been attended with a high degree of success, which may be ascribed to his close application and to his untiring industry.

WILLIAM H. BRAGG

More than half a century has fallen into the abyss of time since was witnessed the arrival in Keokuk county of the family of which the subject of this review is an honored representative, and within all the intervening years the name has been consecutively and intimately associated with the industrial development and material and civic advaijgement of this favored section of the Hawkeye state. It is thus needless to enter into any series of statements as showing how clearly is Mr. Bragg entitled to specific mention in a compilation of this character, and he stands to-day as one of the successful and representative farmers of Jackson township, while his is the distinction of being a native son of the county where he has practically passed his entire life.

William H. Bragg was born in Jackson township on the 3d of August, 1847, being a son of Marshall E. Bragg, who was born in the state of Kentucky in 1812 and was there reared to the age of eighteen years when he removed to Illinois. He located on a farm near Springfield, in Sangamon county, and there devoted his attention to agricultural pursuits for a period of fifteen years, also finding no little demand for his services as a wagonmaker, a trade which he had acquired in his early youth. In 1845 he disposed of his mterests in Illinois and came to Keokuk county, Iowa, settling on a farm of forty acres in the immediate vicinity of the present thriving town of Ollie. The land had never been turned by the plowshare, but Mr. Bragg at once turned his attention to its development and cultivation, thus continuing until the spring of 1852, when he disposed of the property and secured another tract of raw land, two miles west of his former place, also clearing and improving this tract, which comprised fifty acres. In 1858 his health became so greatly impaired that he disposed of his farm, his intention being to return to Kentucky, but his strength was not sufficient to justify him in attempting the trip, and in the same year he purchased forty acres of the present home farm of our subject, which continued to be his home until his death, which occurred in' 1861, as the result of paralysis. He was a man of the highest integrity in all the relations of life and was honored by all who knew him, while through his efforts he did effective service in forwarding the development of this section of the county. In politics he was a staunch Democrat, and he held the office of township trustee and was shown divers other evidences of public confidence and esteem. His religious faith was that of the Baptist church, and he was one of the prominent members of the church organization in the county, having assisted in the erection of the first church edifice built by this denomination in Keokuk county, while both he and his devoted wife were zealous and faithful workers in the church.

In the state of Illinois Marshall E. Bragg was united in marriage to Miss Sarah Antle, who was born in Kentucky in the year 1811 and removed thence with her parents to Illinois in 1830. She died in Jackson township, this county, in 1889, and her memory is held dear by those who came within the sphere of her gracious and kindly influence. Her children were eleven in number, the subject of this sketch having been the ninth in order of birth, while five of the children died in infancy. Of the others: Mary Ann, Elizabeth, and John C, are deceased; Martha J. is the wife of L. W. Smithart; William H. is the subject of this sketch; and Susan is the wife of Melvin Widner.

William H. Bragg, to whom this sketch is dedicated, was reared under the invigorating disclipine of the farm, early beginning to assist in the work pertaining thereto and receiving his early educational training in the pioneer schools, which he was able to attend only in a desultory way. He was but thirteen years of age at the time of his father's death, and from that time forward he was compelled to depend largely on his own resources. That his self-reliant spirit, his industry and his keen business sagacity have proved adequate to meeting all contingencies and emergencies, his position to-day assures. He had on the start a farm of forty acres and to this he has added until he now has a well improved, highly productive and most attractive place of one hundred and ninety acres, while prosperity has crowned his effective and well-directed efforts. He is one of the progressive and public spirited citizens of the county and takes a lively interest in local affairs, being a stalwart supporter of the principles and policies of the Democratic party. He was incumbent of the ofifice of township trustee for the long period of sixteen years, while he also rendered effective service as justice of the peace, his fairness and good judgment gaining to him unequivocal confidence. The family take a prominent part in the social life of the community, and their pleasant home is a center of refined hospitality.

In 1870 Mr. Bragg was united in marriage to Miss Mary Curtis, who was born in Indiana and who was a mere child at the time her parents, Henry and Eliza Curtis, removed thence to Iowa, being numbered among the early settlers in Keokuk county, where they took up their residence in 1864. Mr. and Mrs. Bragg became the parents of six sons and six daughters, and six of the number are deceased. The names of the children are here entered in the order of birth: Nora, deceased; John C.; Andrew and Harry, both deceased; William R., Marshall E., Willard T., Eva and Sadie; and Louraine, who is deceased, as are also two other children who died in infancy.

ROBERT S. BRICE, M.D.

Dr. Robert Stockton Brice is one of the oldest resident physicians in Keokuk county and has easily maintained a position in the front rank of the medical fraternity in this part of the state throughout the years of his residence here. He now makes his home in Keota, where he has resided almost continuously from the establishment of the town. His practice extends over a wide territory, and in a calling where success and advancement depend upon individual merit, upon comprehensive learning and marked ability, he has won distinction, gaining a very enviable reputation, yet he is not less esteemed for his personal worth than for his professional ability.

The Doctor was born in Belmont county, Ohio, July 7, 1838, and comes of a family of Scotch lineage. His grandfather, the Rev. James Brice, was a native of Virginia and was a minister of the Presbyterian church. His son, John Brice, the father of our subject, was also born in the Old Dominion and was a farmer by occupation. He married Agness Byers, who was born and reared in Pennsylvania, a daughter of Andrew Byers, whose birth occurred in the Keystone state and who was of German descent. He, too, carried on agricultural pursuits to support his family.

The Doctor was the sixth child and fourth son in a family of eight children, five sons and three daughters, all of whom reached years of maturity. He was reared in his native place, pursued his early education in the public schools and continued his studies in the West Alexandria Academy, where he was graduated. Turning his attention to educational work, he successfully engaged in teaching for many years and for two years was the principal of the Powhattan school. Wherever he was employed his services were highly satisfactory, for he was a capable instructor, imparting with clearness to others the knowledge he had acquired. At length he determined to enter the medical profession and therefore began studying, with Dr. R. M. Bain, of Powhattan, Ohio, as his preceptor. He continued to read under his direction for two years, when he offered his services to his country and became an assistant surgeon, remaining with the army for two years. He was stationed at Brown Hospital, at Louisville, Kentucky, and at Floating Hospital, at New Albany, Indiana. In 1864 he resumed his studies in the medical department of the University of Michigan, at Ann Arbor, and the following years he came to Iowa.

Dr. Brice made his way direct to Keokuk county and located for practice in Talleyrand, where he remained until 1872, when on the establishment of the town of Keota, he came to this place, where he has remained continuously since with the exception of a period of three years, from 1890 until 1893, when he was in Denver, for his health. During that time he also engaged in practice. He was the first physician of Keota and from the time he located here he has enjoyed a good patronage. In 1882 he pursued a course in medicine at Louisville, Kentucky, and he has continually added to his knowledge concerning the healing art by reading, research and investigation so that his understanding of medical prnciples is broad and comprehensive, and he has always been quick to adopt any new methods of treatment that he believed would prove beneficial. He has been a member of the Keokuk county medical society, the Washington county medical society, the state medical association and the National medical association and he is special examining physician for many insurance companies.

In 1871 Dr. Brice was united in marriage to Mrs. Minerva Smith, nee Butler, and they now have one daughter, Nellie, who possesses excellent musical talent and is now acting as organist in the Presbyterian church. The Doctor is now the only charter member of Enterprise Lodge, No. 159, Independent Order of Odd Fellows; he was at one time very active in its work and has been honored with all of the offices within the gift of the fraters of the lodge. He is a prominent member of the Presbyterian church, is active in its work and has for a number of years served as one of its elders. He was also chairman of the building committee at the time of the reconstruction of the house of worship. Local advancement and national progress have ever been causes dear to his heart and Dr. Brice has co-operated in many movements for the welfare and advancement of Keota and Keokuk county. His sterling worth has gained for him friends in all walks of life and he is held in the highest esteem by young and old, rich and poor, while in his profession he has long maintained a leading position as a medical practitioner of Keokuk county.

ALFRED FARNCO BRIDGER

There are few men one will be privileged to meet in a life time who are favored with the indefatigable purpose and unremitting effort such as has been displayed and is possessed by the subject of this brief sketch, who in the face of seemingly insurmountable barriers has achieved a success that is creditable in every respect. Mr. Bridger is at the present time the popular and obliging cashier of the Union State Bank of Richland, in which community he has been for years a leader in business affairs. Of just what particular state Mr. Bridger is a native, it would be difHcult to decide, as he was born on the Mississippi river in a steamboat, his parents being enroute for Iowa. The date was November 16, 1853. His mother died about three weeks subsequent to his birth, and she was hurried at Keokuk, Iowa. The father and child proceeded to Keokuk county, and later the father settled in the town of Richland, where Alfred was reared by Mrs. Jeannette Garretson, who proved an excellent and loving foster-mother to him in his earlier youth. He was adopted into this family up to the age of thirteen, when he was allowed to choose his own guardian. When only twelve years of age he crossed the great plains, driving a team there and back in the same year.

As he came to manhood he began business as a clerk in different mercantile establishments and held positions in the towns of Fairfield, Ottumwa, and Mount Pleasant. During this period he accumulated a fund of experience which served him excellently in his later business ventures. The first line of business in which he was interested on his own account was that of harness and saddlery, which he established in 1882 at Richland, and which he continued with success up to the year 1890, at which date he sold out and became connected with the banking business in Richland, having been selected as cashier of what was then known as the John Stroup Bank. For four years he continued in this position, when in company with other gentlemen under the firm name of Bridger, Johnson and Company, our subject organized a private banking business, which was later, 1896, merged into the Union State Bank of Richland. At that time Mr. Bridger was made cashier of the mstitution, which position he continues to hold. The president of the bank is Mr. C. O. Keiser of Keota. The bank carries a capital stock of twenty-five thousand dollars, having a working surplus of seven thousand dollars. Mr. Bridger is also prominently identified with other business interests of the city, being president of the Richland Telephone Company, which operates the telephone system of Richland.

In 1880 Mr. Bridger was happily married to Miss Ida Stroup, a lady who was born in the county, the daughter of a prominent financier and capitalist, Mr. John Stroup, who was one of the pioneer settlers of the county. Mrs. Bridger is a lady of fine education and many accomplishments, having finished her literary training at the noted institution of learning at Battle Creek, Michigan. To the marriage were born four interesting children, two sons and two daughters: Harriett, who is now assistant cashier of the Union State Bank; Leo; Farnco [Franco ?] and Helen, who are young people at home.

In fraternal affiliation Mr. Bridger is a worthy member of the Masonic order, being a member of Richland Lodge, No. 38, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, and being a member of Bethlehem Commandery at Washington, Iowa, and a Shriner with membership in Kaaba Temple ai Davenport. He has been very active in Masonic work and has filled all the chairs of the blue lodge. He is also an active and efficient member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, No. 32, Cossuth Lodge. He has taken an active and intelligent interest in the political life of his community, being one of the staunch supporters of the Republican principles. He has been honored by the party in different local offices of his community, having served terms in the city council, as justice of the peace and as township clerk.

Mr. Bridger is one of the substantial citizens of the county, who merits the high esteem in which he is held by all of his fellow-citizens.

JOHN H. BRISTOW

This worthy and honored retired representative of the agricultural interests of Keokuk county is distinguished by being the oldest living native of the county. He was born in Richland township on the 14th of November, 1842. He was for long years connected with the development of the county and is well known by a large number of its citizens, having succeeded in making a sufficient competency to pass the remainder of his life in less rigorous labor. He is now living in the town of Richland, where he purchased a home and is enjoying a less strenuous life.

He is a son of William Bristow, who was born in Bourbon county, Kentucky, on the 8th of September, 1806. He died in Richland township, September 13, 1898, at the advanced age of ninety-two years. This gentleman removed with his parents in 1807 to Ohio, where he continued to reside until the year 1837, when a change was made to Franklin county, Indiana, and later removal was made to Warren county of the same state. It was in this county that he married his first wife, Mrs. Celia Frame, the date of the marriage being September 29, 1829. This lady died after three years, and in 1836, on the 10th of January, Mr. Brisow was married to Miss Phoebe Marchel, who became the mother of three sons and one daughter, the daughter dying in infancy and the sons being deceased except our subject, Mr. John H. Bristow. Samuel died February 1, 1857, aged eighteen years. Martin L. died at the age of fifty-four, February 19, 1898. This family settled in Richland township in the year 1839, and the father was for fifty-nine years a prominent figure in the development of this section of the county. His wife passed away on the 15th of November, 1886; she was born in Indiana June 24, 1806. They were worthy members of the Christian church, and were held in high esteem by a very large circle of friends and acquaintances.

Our honored subject was reared in Keokuk county, and drew inspiration in the matter of education from the rude log schoolhouse of those pioneer days. His education was quite limited on account of the fact that his help was needed on the farm. He was to be found in the furrow at an age when he could scarcely reach the plow handles. He worked dutifully on the farm imtil his marriage, when he built himself a residence on part of the old homestead and continued to live there till he moved to Richland in 1897. His marriage occurred on the 10th of May, 1866, his wife's maiden name having been Catherine J. Ward, she also being a native of Ohio, born Dec. 13, 1845, and a member of one of the old pioneer families of Keokuk county. From the date of his marriage until 1897 Mr. Bristow was very actively engaged in farming and stock raising, during which time he did a very large and successful business. His fann consisted of a beautiful tract of land containing three hundred and twenty acres, furnished with all improvements necessary for the conduct of a large stock ranch. In the year stated he concluded to retire from the active conduct of the ranch and build himself a residence in Richland, where he has since resided.

Mr. and Mrs. Bristow are the parents of two living children, Norrine, now the wife of Fred Bray, a farmer of Richland township, and Pearl, a single lady at home. Two children are deceased, Fred, who died aged twenty-two years, and Clara, who died aged six years. In a fraternal way Mr. Bristow is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and he and his family are worthy members of the Methodist church, of which organization he is a trustee. He has always supported the policies of the Repubhcan party, but his hfe has been of too busy a nature to admit of his accepting any of the local offices. Mr. Bristow has been a forceful character in the business life of Keokuk county, and his sterling worth and high moral character being universally recognized and honored, the authors of this volume gladly give him representation in company with the worthy families of the county.

LAFAYETTE BROLLIAR

Mr. Brolliar is a well known mill owner and grain shipper, of Richland. He has made his own way in life, and is especially deserving of credit. Coming here in the early days when business was brisk, he did not shun any work which chanced to fall to him. Especially as a mill-wright and a carpenter he found demand for his services and found profitable employment. He has also engaged in farming with fair results. Mr. Brolliar comes of a highly respected German family, and one distinguished by its industry and enterprise. His grandfather, Christian Brolliar, was of a well known Dunkard family, and was born and reared in Germany. At an early date he came to this country and settled in Pennsylvania, where he resided for many years. A hard working man all his life, he won for himself a comfortable competence.

Christian Brolliar, son of Christian and father of Lafayette, early caught the pioneer spirit and took a leading part in the building up and settling of the middle west. Born in Pennsylvania, he spent his early days in that state. As a wise provision for the future in his youth he learned the trades of a carpenter and a mill-wright, at which he in time became very proficient. Perceiving a good opening for him and his crafts in the newly settled districts of Ohio, in his young manhood he went there and located in Knox county. Here he found plenty of work and commanded good wages. After some time he erected a mill of his own near Ankenytown, and there engaged in the milling business. The industry proved a profitable one and he continued it for some years. In 1844, impressed with the excellent business openings in the new territory of Iowa, which was being so rapidly settled at that time, he disposed of his Ohio property and came to Keokuk county. Settling upon a place about two and one-half miles west of the town of Richland, he proceeded to make the acquaintance of the new section. After two years, however, his career was cut short by an early death, which occurred at the age of sixty. During his early manhood, while still living in Pennsylvania, he married Mary Brant, who was born in Pennsylvania and was of German descent, coming of a highly respectable Dunkard family. She was a great assistance to her husband in his different undertakings; she died at the advanced age of eighty-two. By this marriage there were thirteen children, of whom Lafayette was the eleventh. One died in infancy; the others grew to maturity. As an able business man and one of marked integrity Mr. Brolliar commanded the respect of all who knew him. H was a substantial member of the German Baptist church, and took a leading part in its various activities.

Lafayette Brolliar was born in Ankenytown, Knox county, Ohio, May 18, 1834, and received part of his early rearing and education in that state. At the age of eleven years he moved with his parents to Keokuk county, Iowa, where in the little log building of the neighborhood he finished his schooling. Though his educational advantages were limited in the crude pioneer schools he nevertheless was trained to habits of self-reliance, industry and alertness, which mark so prominently his mature manhood. He remained under the sheltering influence of his parental home until he attained his majority, but previous to this, in fact at the early age of fourteen, took up for himself life's active duties. Having inherited a knack for handicrafts, and from his childhood been familiar with his father's trades, carpentry and the work of a mill-wright, he followed these in his own township, which was being so rapidly built up. Displaying skill, he assisted many a farmer in the erection of his first frame house or cabin. Later he was enabled to secure work in more pretentious towns and villages, and during his young manhood worked steadily for some time at erecting dwellings and mills in Dallas and Guthrie counties. He married Emily J. Wayman, who was born and reared in Seneca county, Ohio, and they have had ten children: Eber; Ella, the wife of Alonzo Wade; Delia, who married Jesse Spurgeon; Sherman is now deceased; John has been married to Ella Smith, daughter of W. H. Smith ; Anna, now Mrs. Hedge, who resides in Oskaloosa; Sada is the seventh child; Nina has married Bert Nason, of Ollie; Tima, to Fred Duke, of Richland; Jennie, married Curtis Remil.

As a skilled workman Mr. Brolliar spent considerable time during his younger days as a mill-wright, and many mills in southern Iowa still stand as evidences of his proficiency as a builder. Besides working at his trades he has for some years engaged in farming, and about the time of his marriage located on a place west of Richland, where he carried on agriculture with marked success for five years. Later he moved to a farm in Jackson township, which he worked with even better results for about eleven years. Then he moved to Richland, where he has since resided. Throughout his mature life he has been engaged more or less in milling, and after coming to Richland he has turned his main attention to this mdustry. He purchased in 1900 his present large grist-mill. He is also interested in a grain elevator at Woolson. Mr. Brolliar has ever evinced a keen interest in things pertaining to the good of the county and is counted upon as one of the public spirited men. Always true to his convictions he is independent in politics. A man of decided opinions, forceful and energetic, he commands the respect of all who know him.

HON. JOHN TINLEY BROOKS

This is a utilitarian age, in which effort must contribute to some hue ol usefulness whereby may be promoted the welfare of the individual or the public. The marvellous energy and enterprise of the west has brought about a great change in the cities there. This change is the result of the aggregate effort of thousands of enterprising, wide-awake, and industrious citizens, of which class the gentleman named above is a representative. He entered upon his business career with little capital, but he possessed determination and a willingness to work. Indolence and idleness constituted no part of his nature, and as his financial resources have increased, he has made judicious investments, which have classed him among the substantial residents of his community. His business methods are progressive. He is systematic in all that he does, and as the architect of his own fortunes he has built wisely and well. As time has passed, the life of Mr. Brooks appealed to his friends as one which was worthy of honor, and he is therefore the honored representative of his district in the state senate. Mr. Broooks is actively engaged in the business life of the stirring little city of Hedrick, being at the present time vice-president and cashier of the First National Bank and cashier of the Hedrick State Savings Bank, both in Hedrick.19

Mr. Brooks was born October 17, 1850, the place of his birth having been Benton tovvrnship, Keokuk county, Iowa. He is the son of John G. and Mary (Kyger) Brooks. John G. Brooks was a native of Butler county, Ohio, where he was reared to manhood, and came to Keokuk county in 1842. Two years later he permanently located in Benton township, where he passed the life of a highly respected citizen engaged in farming, his death occurring in 1880 at the age of sixty-two years. Until the breaking out of the Civil war he gave allegiance to the principles of the Democratic party, but on the issues which precipitatedthat great struggle he followed Abraham Lincoln's principles, for whom he voted in i860, and thereafter supported the Republican party. He filled some of the minor offices of the township,, having been a justice of the peace for a period of years. He was an active member of the Methodist church from boyhood. His marriage to Mary Kyger occurred in Butler county when he was in young manhood. She died in 1853, aged about thirty-three years. She bore her husband six children, viz: Joseph Walker, deceased; Daniel Bigelow, deceased; Elizabeth,deceased; Samuel K., of Hedrick; John Tinley, subject; and Mary Frances. Joseph Walker Brooks and Daniel Bigelow Brooks, of these children, served in the Civil war. The former enlisted as private in Company F, of the Seventh Iowa Volunteer Infantry, in 1861, and was afterward transferred to the Thirty-third Missouri Infantry, as first lieutenant, and as such was in command of his company at Helena, Arkansas, where in battle he was killed July 4, 1863. The latter served as a private in the Nineteenth Iowa Volunteer Infantry from the summer of 1862 until he was killed in action at Sterling farm, Louisiana, in the summer of 1864.

Mr. Brooks was reared in Benton township, and the old homestead was the scene of the boyhood labors and pleasures in which he indulged, he in the meantime becoming familiar with the branches of study taught in the district school. This was later supplemented by more advanced work in the schools at Sigourney, and at the Iowa Wesleyan University, at Mount Pleasant, where he graduated in 1875. Deciding on the law as a profession, Mr. Brooks then entered the office of Woolson & Babb, at Mount Pleasant, and after finishing the required course of reading passed an examination before the court and was admitted to the bar at Sigourney in 1876. He immediately formed a partnership with Hon. John A. Donnell, with whom he continued in association for five years. While successful in the practice of law, the forces of circumstances and opportunity led him, in 1881, to discontinue the active practice of law and engage in the banking business as cashier of the Union Bank at Sigourney. He has, however, maintained his law library and continued his professional studies, though not practicing. In company with Mr. W. H. Young, he bought in 1882 the Waugh farm, in Benton township, and thereon laid out the town of Hedrick. Soon after this, in connection with the same gentleman, Mr. Brooks established the Bank of Hedrick, a private banking institution, which they conducted until 1899, when it was merged into the Hedrick State Savings Bank, and of this our subject has continued as cashier, and Mr. Young is the honored president. In 1900 Mr. Brooks became interested with others in the organization of the First National Bank of Hedrick, of which he is vice-president ami cashier. Mr. Brooks is also connected witli the Hedrick Telephone Company as president. He is extensively connected with the real estate and farming interests of the county and takes great interest in the raising of fine stock.

The public life of Mr. Brooks has been one of equal activity and interest with his business life. He served a period of ten successive terms as mayor of Hedrick. He has been for seventeen consecutive years the treasurer of the Independent district school board. His political afliliations have always been with the Republican party, in whose life he has been a tower of strength in the local organization. His standing in the community and the services which he has rendered the party in the past made him a marked man in the conventions of the party as the time passed, but not until 1901 could he be prevailed upon to accept a nomination. In that year he became a candidate for state senator for the Twelfth senatorial district, and in the election which followed he was chosen to fill that office. Fraternally Mr. Brooks is a Knight Templar Mason.

The family life of Mr. Brooks began May 21, 1879, when he chose for a life companion Miss Lucy E. White, daughter of James H. and Emeline White, of Mount Pleasant, Iowa, who presides with grace over his pleasant home. She is the mother of four bright and interesting children, namely - Mary, Florence, Alice E. and John W.

A. G. BROWN

Abner Gregg Brown was one of the founders of this county. His unexcelled business ability, his progressive spirit and public mindedness made him one of the moving forces of the community. He was born near Harper's Ferry, Virginia, in October, 1823. In 1833 his parents moved to Xenia, Greene county, Ohio. Abner's early training was that of the farm and common country school. At Xenia he held a clerical position for a mercantile house and became the station agent for the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. In 1855 he came to Iowa, settling in Sigourney and engaging in the general merchandise business for a number of years. When the increasing business of the city demanded a local bank, A. G. Brown was among the first to arrange for the organization of the First National Bank. He became one of the directors and continued in that office for years. He purchased land near the southeast limits of the town, engaged extensively in stock raising and met with such success in all his business enterprises that he became the owner of eleven hundred acres of fine land. He was a member of the Republican party and for years served on the school board of Sigourney. He was a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.

In 1862 he married Miss Etta Yerger, a native of Pennsylvania. She died in 1880 at the age of forty-three. Abner G. Brown died in Sigourney March 13, 1890. They had two children: Harry G., and Bernice A., wife of W. G. Jordan of Ottumwa, Iowa.

Harry G. Brown was born in Sigourney, December 29, 1865. He was reared and educated in his native city and in 1893 he married Miss Grace G. Harlan. Mr. Brown has gone into the business of stock raising and in that line is proving himself a worthy successor to his father. He is a Republican in politics. Fraternally he belongs to the Knight Templar Masons and is a Shriner of the Kaaba Temple at Davenport.

Click image to enlarge

C. M. BROWN

C. M. Brown is a native of Knox county, Ohio. He was born November 9, 1845, and is the son of Garretson and Ann (Holland) Brown. The father was of Welsh descent. His early ancestors settled in Maryland and there, in Montgomery county, Garretson was born in 1802. His wife was of German descent, one of a family of twelve children who all grew to maturity. She was born in Monongalia county, West Virginia, and for a short time after her marriage to Mr. Brown continued to live in her native state. Later they moved to Knox county, Ohio, where Mr. Brown engaged in farming for many years. In 1872 they settled in Keokuk county, this state, still interested in farming. The wife died in 1874 at the age of seventy, and the husband remained on his farm until the time of his death in i889. Three of their nine children died in infancy, four are now living; two sons and one daughter in Keokuk county and one son in Muscatine county.

C. M. Brown was reared on the farm in Ohio and his education was begun in the district schools of the county. Later he entered the high school at Mt. Vernon, Ohio, and subsequently spent a year at Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio. He taught school for two terms in his native state and in 1868 came west and taught for two years in the schools of Muscatine county, Iowa. Before leaving Ohio he had already begun the study of law and in 1871 he graduated from the law department of the state university at Iowa City. He at once located in Sigourney, where he has continued ever since with the exception of about five years spent at Whatcheer, Iowa. He is actively concerned with the political affairs of his state. In 1881 his party, the Republican, nominated him for state senator. He was elected and held the office for four years.

In 1874 he married Miss Flora Sampson, daughter of Judge E. S. Sampson. They are the parents of four children, namely: Anna, wife of Ernst E. Brackin of Coal Creek, Iowa; Roy C, an attorney-at-law associated with the father and having charge of a law office in Whatcheer, the firm being Brown & Brown; Mllie E. and -Helen, who are both at home. The son saw active service during the late Spanish-American war. He was a member of the Fifty-first Iowa Volunteer Infantry and spent one year in the Philippines.

Mr. and Mrs. Brown are both members of the Presbyterian church. Fraternally he belongs to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and is prominent in Grand Army of the Republic circles. In 1863 he enlisted with the national guard in Ohio, and on May 2, 1864, entered Company A of the One Hundred Forty-second Ohio Volunteer Infantry. He ranked as a private, and at the expiration of his term of service he was discharged, in September, 1864. He is a member of the Robert F. Lowe post and has been commander for two years. He has served for one year on the staff of the national commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, an index of Mr. Brown's popularity and executive ability.

JOSEPH BROWN

To endure the toils of early pioneer life, not to give up amid the many discouragements that beset one who ventures beyond the beaten paths, and at last to feel that the vast structure of civilization around him has been partially reared by himself, is a reward that comes to the early settlers of our country and causes a feeling of contentment with life's efforts. In the history of Keokuk county Joseph Brown and his father deserve a prominent place.

Thomas Brown, the father of our subject, was born and reared in Pennsylvania, was one of the brave men who struggled for the second and complete vindication of America in the war of 1812, and shortly afterward came west and settled in Knox county, Ohio. There in the forests, from which the Indians and wild beasts had not yet been driven, he cleared a farm and built his home. Here was his residence until 1848, and then in a wagon he journeyed to Iowa with his family; he took up the present farm of one hundred and sixty acres and brought it into a state of cultivation; this he later increased by three hundred acres. He lived faithful to all the duties of citizenship, allied with the Democratic party, and passed away in 1854. While in Ohio he married Nancy Markley; she came from Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, to Knox county, Ohio; her parents were among the earliest settlers of the latter county. To this worthy couple were born sixteen children, of whom only three are now (1902) living.

Joseph Brown was the fifteenth in order of birth of these children and was born December 22, 1833, in Knox county, Ohio. It was in his sixteenth year that he came with his father to Iowa, and there he completed his education in the district schools. His father died when he was twenty-one years old, and then he rented the old home place and one hundred acres besides; the latter he had to clear before it was suitable for cultivation. He now owns two hundred and twenty acres of fine land. In August of 1861 Joseph Brown enlisted in the Fortieth Iowa Volunteer Infantry and through three years he served in many of the important engagements of the war, being on the skirmish line at the siege of Vicksburg. Being mustered out in 1864, he returned to his farm labors.

In 1876, in Pennsylvania, Mr. Brown married Sarah Hice, who was born in Beaver county, Pennsylvania, in 1838; she came to Iowa when thirty-five years of age. Her parents were William and Hannah Hice, both old settlers of Pennsylvania. Mr. and Mrs. Brown had two children, one of whom is dead. Henry Hice was born in 1879 and is now farming the old homestead. Mr. Brown is identified with the Republican party, and is prominent in the affairs of the Baptist church, which he helped to build. All matters of importance to the community have found in him a zealous supporter, and his influence has ever been on the side of right.

S. W. BRUNT

In reviewing the life of S. W. Brunt, we are dealing with the history of a family that has been connected with the development of several states for several generations. James Brunt, the grandfather, was born in Currituck county, North Carolina, in 1770. He was the eldest son of Richard and Nancy (Bisco) Brunt; his ancestors had come from England in the very early days of colonization, settling in his native county. James married a young woman descended on paternal and maternal side from the French Huguenots. She was Sarah Harris, daughter of William and Ann (Cowel) Harris. For several years after his marriage James remained in Currituck county, where all his children were born save William Harris, the youngest. In 1809 the family moved to Rowan county. North Carolina. Here the seventh child, William, was born March 22, 1810. Here James joined the Baptists and his wife entered the Methodist church. In 1829 they moved to Indiana, settling in Rush county and later, in 1836, removing to Madison county, Indiana, where they spent the last years of their lives and where all that remains of these brave pioneers, in an earthly way, lies buried. The six eldest children were: Lydia, Mary, Ann, John, Polly and Thomas.

William Harris Brunt, the youngest, was nineteen years old when he came to Indiana with his parents. He had received a fair education while in North Carolina and upon entering his new state he engaged in teaching, saving thereby enough money to buy eighty acres from the government. This land he cleared and in 1836, when his father located in Madison county, William Harris entered some new land in the same county, moved his own family there and remained for fully eleven years. Then in the spring of 1848 he cast his eye farther west and took up more government land in what is now Lancaster township, Keokuk county, Iowa. Thus, for the third time in his life, he became a pioneer and in all his efforts he was nobly aided and encouraged by his wife, a woman of sterling qualities, large heart and generous mind. He had married her in the old Indiana home while still in Rush county. She was a native of Maryland, who had been reared in Kentucky, and who was Nancy Williams, daughter of Mathias and Elizabeth (Lauftis) Williams; she was excellently prepared to furnish the lighter element to happiness and still exert a benign influence through her calm and purposeful life. She was born August 14, 1807, and it was her good fortune before her death, which occurred on October 25, 1874, in Keokuk county, to see honor and distinction come to the man of her maiden dreams and to see her husband rise in the estimation of the community and win the respect and esteem of his fellow men. They had been married February 21, 1832. In 1839 they joined the Christian church and to this faith they ever afterward remained firm adherents. He was ordained a minister of this church in Indiana, and until old age forced his retirement he continued in the ministry, his labors being mostly those of a local minister. Their children were: Sarah, widow of Jacob Shoemaker, living in Grand Island, Nebraska: James M., who died at the age of seven years; John M., of Lincoln, Kansas; Samuel W., the subject of this sketch; and Elizabeth, wife of J. S. Morrow, a farmer of Lancaster township, this county. They all received a liberal education and excellent home training. John M. Brunt was during two terms clerk of the courts of this county and for one term he served as county treasurer.

William H. Brunt was a public-spirited man, a liberal patron of church and school. He was an organizer of the Christian church at Lancaster, Iowa, and was a principal donor to the construction of the church building. He was a strong Union man during secession times, though in politics he identified himself with the Democatic party. He held the office of county treasurer, was school fund commissioner and member of the county board of supervisors. He filled all these positions with entire satisfaction to all concerned and ingratiated himself in the heart of the community. He lived on the farm on which he first settled when he came to Iowa until his death on July 17, 1898.

Samuel W. Brunt was born in Madison county, Indiana, October 4, 1840. He was in his eighth year when his parents brought him to Keokuk county. They gave him a fair education, and with industry aiding natural ability, Samuel reached sufficiently high scholarship to warrant his entering the profession of teaching. He soon turned his sole attention to farming. In 1874 he went to California, spent about six years there in civil engineering and upon his return to Iowa resumed farming, devoting his main efforts to stock raising and buying and selling cattle. It was about this time, somewhere along in the eighties, that he held the office of county surveyor. Politically he accepts the traditions of his father and associates himself with the Democrats. For ten years previous to January, 1900, he was cashier of the Keokuk County State Bank. The confidence in his integrity was so great that the directors intrusted him with the entire management, never once during the entire ten years requiring him to furnish a bond. He was careful and conservative, and on retiring from the position of cashier he was elected president of the bank, but declined the position.

In 1866 he married Miss Rebecca Payne, daughter of Rev. Samuel and Lucy Payne. Their two children are living; they are: Arthur H., cashier in the Keokuk County State Bank, succeeding his father; and Lulu, wife of U. G. Dawson, residing in Ottumwa, Iowa. Mrs. Brunt is a native of Iowa.

In October, 1861, Mr. Brunt enlisted in Company D, of the Thirteenth Iowa Volunteer Infantry. He served as a private three and a half years and was honorably discharged in 1865. He saw some very active service, being in the battles of Shiloh, Corinth, the siege of Vicksburg and Atlanta. He was captured at Atlanta, July 22, 1864, and for seven months thereafter was held a prisoner of war at Andersonville and Florence, North Carolina. He belongs to the Robert F. Lowe Post, No. 167, Grand Army of the Republic. Fraternally Mr. Brunt is a Mason and a Shriner. He is a member of the Webb Lodge, No. 182, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons. He is prominent as a York Rite Mason. He belongs to Jopa Chapter, No. 40, Royal Arch Masons, of the De Payne Commandery, No. 6, Knight Templar, of Oskaloosa, Iowa; Kaaba Temple at Davenport, Iowa.

AARON BUCHER

There are some compensations to the man who in early life is deprived of parental care and nurture. It is indeed hard for a child to work out his own destiny, to choose a vocation in Hfe and qualify himself for it, but in the end the rigorous experiences undergone serve but to strengthen and make self-reliant the developing man and leave an imprint which all time cannot eradicate in the character subjected to such influences. Such a man, hewing his own way, unaided by the strong arm of a helping father or the tender love and sympathy of a mother, was Aaron Bucher.

He was born January 27, 1835, in Sandusky county, Ohio, the state which has furnished so many of the strong energetic sons who have helped to make the west what it now is. His father, Frederick Bucher, was a native of Pennsylvania and died when our subject was only twelve years of age. His mother, Susanna Wimer, also died when he was only seven years old. Thus he was deprived, while very young, of the example and support of both parents and from that time on was thrown solely upon his own resources. He made his home with George Wimer from the death of his father until he was twenty-two years of age; on November 20, 1844, he located in Keokuk county, where during the long winter months he went to the old log schoolhouse, and by his diligence and earnest effort acquired a good education, which was of great assistance to him in his later years. As soon as he was large enough he went to work at farming and with his accustomed zeal and ability soon became familiar with all its varied duties and responsibilities.

At the age of twenty-three years he had become fully qualified to assume the maintenance and responsibilities of a home, and November 1, 1857, was united in marriage to Martha J. Chastain, who also came to this county in the early days when it was still undeveloped; she was a native of Illinois and came to Jefferson county, Iowa, in 1843, and to Keokuk county in the spring of 1844. She proved to be a helpmeet not in name alone, but in the working out of the future of all the family. Three children were born to Mr. Bucher: Iowa Keaster; Janette, wife of Jacob Conner, a prosperous and well-known farmer of Lancaster township; and Fannie, wife of Charles Conner, likewise an able and well established farmer of, the same county.

He owns three hundred and forty acres of fine farm land and also some valuable properties in Hayesville. In 1874 Mr. Bucher located on the farm,where he now lives. This he cleared and improved, putting up the houses and barns now there, and constructing fences, tilling the soil and developing the farm in every way until it has become one of the most fertile and inviting in the country. He has carried on all branches and dqaartments of farming most successfully, and has been noted for the fine character and abundance of the stock which he has raised and sold from the farm.

He has been a life-long Democrat, at all times espousing the interests and being true to the principles of the Democratic party, to which he has rendered invaluable services as occasion gave opportunity. He was treasurer of his school district for some nine years, during which time he advocated and carried out many reforms and improvements in the schools. He is one of the oldest settlers of Lancaster township and has left the stamp of his influence and ability upon many of its institutions. He is now reaping the rewards of his early efforts and trials. He has reared his family in plenty, giving them all the advantages the country affords, and has lived to see his untilled and uncultivated farm "blossom as the rose." He has seen it constantly improving and his fortunes increasing, and it cannot but afford him great satisfaction to look back, amid the respect and admiration of all, through his long line of successes.