Keokuk County Iowa IAGenWeb 1880 (2024)

Adams, J. M., insurance agent; was born in Washington county, Pennsylvania, in1830; at an early age he was taken by his parents to Perry county,Ohio, and in 1852 came to this county and was engaged in teaching, andfollowed mercantile pursuits; he held the office of sheriff for twoterms; filled the position of cashier of the Sigourney bank andremained such until it sold out to the First National Bank; he has hada large experience in insurance and express business, and at thepresent time is the agent of the United States Express Company; herepresents the following insurance companies; Home, N. Y., NorthAmerica, Philadelphia, Continental and Springfield Fire and Marine,Royal of England, North British Mercantile and Queen, besides variousState companies; he married Miss Eunice I. McLean, in 1854; she wasborn in Green county, Ohio, and died in 1855; he married for his secondwife Miss Susan C. Cissna, in 1857; she was born in Indiana; they havefive children: Hattie I. (now Mrs. T. C. Weaver), Charles E., Milo A.,Mary B., and Gertrude D.

Adams, R., blacksmith.

Adams, Joseph, farmer; was born in Washington county, Pennsylvania, in 1814,and raised there until 1821; he was raised a farmer and afterwardlearned the trade of blacksmith; he came to Washington county, Iowa, in1839, and lived there until 1844, and since that time has made his homein Sigourney, where he worked at his trade for a long time; he owns afarm near town of 80 acres; he married Miss Mary Tracy, in 1839; shewas born in Maryland and died August 11, 1879, leaving seven children:Margaret (now Mrs. Farra), Henry C., sheriff of the county, John B.,Mattie A. (now Mrs. Ellis), James A., Mollie (now Mrs. Hay), andWilliam.

Adams, H. C., sheriff of Keokuk county; was born inWashington county, Iowa, in 1844, and brought to this county by hisparents the same year; he was raised a farmer; he enlisted in theThirteenth Iowa Infantry during the late war, in Co. D., and afterserving three years re-enlisted as a veteran; he was present at thebattle of Pittsburg Landing, siege of Corinth, Vicksburg, and in theAtlanta campaign, and with Sherman in his march to the sea, andparticipated in the grand review at Washington; he was mustered out asorderly sergeant of Co. D; after returning to his home he worked at thetrade of blacksmith, and in 1877 was elected sheriff, and again in1879, re-elected to the same office; he married Miss Sophronia Minteerin 1871; she was born in Ohio; they have two children: Stella, and aninfant daughter.

Abernethy, J. F., clerk.

Alexander, Mrs. A. E.

Allbright, Geo., farmer, Sec. 35.

Alsup, G. W., farmer, Sec. 20.

Alsup, T. F., farmer, Sec. 8.

Ames, J. W., farmer, Sec. 35.

Anchors, John, farmer, Sec. 35.

Anderson,J. T., hardware merchant; born in Washington county, Pennsylvania, in1847, and lived there until nine years of age, when his parents removedto Saux City, Wisconsin, where they resided eighteen months and thendecided to settle in Washington county, Iowa, coming there in 1857;here the subject of this sketch was educated, and after a mercantileexperience of four years came to this county in 1873, and connectedhimself with T. C. Cunningham, under the firm name of Cummingham &Anderson, dealers in hardware, agricultural implements and farmmachinery; he married Miss Virginia I. Cunningham in 1872; she was bornin Indiana; they have one daughter: Mary Victorine.

Applegate, J. H., principal of schools.

Armsstrong,Dr. J. N., dentist; born in Columbiana county, Ohio, in 1851, and livedthere until 1865, when he removed to Iowa; he entered the office ofDrs. Wilson & Denise, dentists, of Burlington, to learn hisprofession, after which he settled in this city, in 1876, and has sincebeen engaged in the practice of dentistry; he married Miss Mary E.House in September, 1877; she was born in this county; they have onechild; Lewallen.

Baird,J. C., station agent C. R. I. & P. R. R.; was born in Portagecounty, Ohio, in 1835, and resided there until 1845, when he was takenby his parents to Illinois; he enlisted in the 112th, Ill. Vol.Infantry during the late war, and was sergeant-major of the regiment,and was in the service three years and three months; came to thiscounty in 1874, and has been connected with the company he nowrepresents eight years; he married Miss Josephine Annison, ofCambridge, Henry county, Illinois, 1867; she was a native of New York;their family consists of five children: Raymond, Evelyn, Lucy,Henderson and Elsie.

Baines Brothers, dealers in generalmerchandise; the firm is composed of John M. and G. P. Banes (sic);they are natives of Ohio and came to this state in 1856 and settled inHenry county; they have been selling goods from boyhood, and may besaid to have grown up in the business; they came to this county in1872, and have built up a successful and profitable business andcommand a large trade.

Baldauf Bros. & Co., clothing dealers

Barker,W. H., farmer, Sec. 15; P. O. Sigourney; born in Vermont, August 12th,1828; was raised there a farmer, until 1856, when he moved to Walworthcounty, Wisconsin; he remained there until February, 1860, when hemoved on the place where he now resides; owns 215 acres of land; in1851 he married Miss Laura Wilcox, a native of Vermont; they have onechild; Alice B. (now Mrs. Page), who has two children: Anna L. andLloyd S.; in 1861 he enlisted as a private in Co. F, Eighth IowaInfantry; served for three years and participated in the battles ofPittsburg Landing,Vicksburg, Corinth, and others; Mr. and Mrs.Bakerare members of the M. E. Church; he also belongs to Lodge No.Ninety-eight I. O. O. F. and A. O. U. W., No. Sixty-two, Sigourney; heand his son-in-law, Mr. Page, run the farm and also have a blacksmithshop in connection.

Baker, J. N., farmer, Sec. 17.

Basil, Jeremiah, farmer, Sec. 8.

Basil, Stephen, farmer, Sec. 8.

Beatty, J. A., stock dealer.

Beatty, Wm., photograph artist; was born in Newark, Ohio in 1844, and remainedin Ohio until 1855, when his parents removed to Wisconsin, where theylived until 1856, and then settled in Burlington, Iowa, and in 1857 hechanged his place of residence to Johnson county, Missouri, and whileliving here learned the art of photography, in which occupation he hassince been engaged; he came to this county in 1873; married Miss KatieShanafelt, in February 1870; she was born in Mooresville, Indiana; theyhave four children: Lottie, Willie, Anna and James D.

Beatty, Thos., proprietor of the Beatty House; born in Missouri in 1814, andraised in that State; his youth was spent in attending school and inmercantile pursuits; he became a prominent merchant of St. Louis, andaccumulated a large sum of money, which he lost in steamboatinvestments; came to Iowa in 1851, settling at Pleasant Plains, and in1852 moved to Richland, Keokuk county, where he engaged in generalmerchandise and buying stock; this occupation he followed twenty years,and in 1872 changed his business, came to Sigourney and purchased theBeatty House; he married Miss Mary A. Taylor, in 1840; she was born inVirginia; they have five children: Catharine (now Mrs. McIndoe), James,Callie (now Mrs. Charlton), Mary, and Celia (now Mrs. Dr. Higgins).

Beard, Eliza, farmer, Sec. 17.

Belcher & Stranahan, beer saloon.

Belcher,Wm., billiard saloon; born in Stueben county, New York, in 1844, andwas raised there a farmer; came to this county in 1867 and engaged infarming, and soon turned his attention to railroad building, and hasbeen engaged on the B. & M. road, Burlington & Cedar Rapids,Chicago, R. I. & P., Muscatine & Western, St. Louis &Kansas City, and the C. B. & Q; his latest work was building thebridge across the river at Plattsmouth; he was married to Miss AmandaMoore in 1867; she was born in Ohio; they have four children; David,Sidney, Samuel and Harry; Mr. Belcher enlisted in the Eighty-sixth NewYork Infantry in the late war, and served two years, and was thentransferred to the Fourth New York Heavy Artillery, and served twoyears and four months; his service was in the Army of the Potomac.

Bensmiller, Peter, farmer, Sec. 7.

Benton, Thomas H. M., barber; born in Morgan county, Missouri in 1847, andlived there until 1861, and then went to Kansas; from here to Monmouth,Illinois, where he resided some time, and then came to Iowa, andsettled in Washington county, and came to this county February 27, 1871.

Berry, L. A., horse dealer.

Birtsch, Phillip, billiard saloon; born in Germany in 1853, and came to theUnited States in 1869, and settled in Pekin, Illinois, and came to thiscounty in 1871; in 1874 he went to Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah,returning in 1875; he married Miss P. Huodeck in 1879; she was born inGermany, and came to this country when young, and was raisedprincipally in Washington county.

Birtsch, Jacob, meatmarket; born in Germany in 1833, and raised there until fifteen yearsof age; in 1848 he emigrated to America, and landed in Baltimore, andin 1851 went to Washington, D. C., and lived there until 1854; he cameto Davenport in 1855, and to this county in 1869; he married MissCatherine B. Jacobs in 1857; she was born in Germany; they have fourchildren: Anna and Mary, twins, Jacob M. and George; lost five sons andtwo daughters.

Black, Joseph, farmer, Sec. 35.

Boegel,H. H., dealer in general merchandise; born in Waynesburg, Stark county,Ohio, June 1, 1822; he was raised there, and learned the trade oftailor, and followed the occupation in that state until April, 1855when he came to this county; he owns a farm of forty acres. He was amember of the first city council; he enlisted in the Thirty-third IowaInfantry, Co. B, and served three years; he married Elizabeth Mang in1853; she was born in Jefferson county, Ohio; they have five children:Florence, Inez, William Charles and Ralph.

Boaton, S. W., retired farmer.

Bracken, R. F., merchant.

Brolliar,J. C., deputy sheriff; born in Richland township, Keokuk county, April12, 1846, and was raised on a farm, and has divided his time betweenteaching and farming; he has held the office of justice of the peaceand other township offices previous to his appointment as deputysheriff; he married Miss Sarah Cox, February 28, 1872; she was born inthis county; they have two children: Gill B. and Olga.

Brown, Granston, farmer, Sec. 35.

Brown,C. M., attorney, of the firm of Sampson & Brown; born in Knoxcounty, Ohio, November 7, 1845; his early life was that of a farmer,but he had the advantage of the common schools and the high schools ofthe place, and entered the preparatory department of Kenyon College,Ohio; he came to this State in 1868, and settled in Muscatine county;he read law in the office of the Hon.Thomas Hanna, and was admitted tothe bar in 1870, and graduated from the law department of the IowaState University, in 1871, and July 6, the same year, he came to thiscounty, and engaged in the practice of his profession, and has made ithis home since that time; June 18, 1874, he married Miss Flora Sampson,a daughter of the Hon. E. S. Sampson, his law partner; they fruits ofthis union are two children: Eunice Anna and Roy Chase.

Brown,A. G., farmer and stock raiser; born in Virginia, in October 1823, andlived there until 1833, and then removed to Greene county, Ohio, andremained there until 1855, when he emigrated to Iowa, and settled inSigourney, and engaged in banking and mercantile pursuits, and in thiswas very successful; he gradually bought up a large tract of land nearthe city, and now owns 1,140 acres of choice land; he closed out hismercantile business, and has since devoted his time to raising stock,and his returns from this, as well as other investments, have beenattended with satisfactory results; he has always taken great interestin educational matters, and has been on the school board a largeportion of the time; he is one of the directors of the First NationalBank, and one of the largest taxpayers of Keokuk county, he marriedMiss Ettie Yerger in 1862; she was a native of Pennsylvania; they havetwo children: Harry B. and Stock.

Bowen, James, Sigourney.

Brunt,J. M.; born in Madison county, Indiana in 1837; when ten years of agehis parents removed to Keokuk county and settled in Lancaster township;he was raised a farmer; he enlisted in the Thirty-third Iowa Infantry,August 13, 1862, and served three years; he was in various engagements,and was wounded at Helena, Arkansas; he has served the county fouryears as clerk of the courts, and one term as treasurer; he marriedMiss Mary A. Davis in 1859; she was born in Morgan county, Indiana;they have seven children: Viola M., Samuel, Lydia M., Isaac, Homer,John, and Ralph W.

Buck, Dudley, farmer, Sigourney.

Burkholder, Geo., farmer, Sec.2.

Byrne, N. P., farmer, Sec. 35.

Butler, M. H., grocer.

Cattell,J. B., dealer in general merchandise; is a son of Samuel G. Cattell,and Elizabeth, neeHair; born in Ohio; his father was a native of New Jersey, and hismother of Pennsylvania; when young his parents removed to Indiana,where the boyhood of the subject of this sketch was spent as a farmerboy; in 1857 his parents removed to this county, where he remainedengaged in the agricultural pursuits until he enlisted in theThirty-third Iowa Infantry, and served three years; in 1867 his fatherengaged in mercantile pursuits, and became the successor of Brown &Yerger, in what was known as the New York Store; the house is one ofthe prominent ones of the city, and commands a full share of publicpatronage; he married Miss Eliza Loffer in 1867; she was born in Ohio;they have two children: Willie and Rettie.

Cattell & Co., merchants.

Cissna & Selby, merchants.

Cissna, G. W., merchant.

Cissna, J. B., carpenter.

Clark,J. T., stock-raiser and stock dealer; was born in New Hampshire in1823, and moved to Ohio when young, and remained there until 1844, andthen settled in Indiana, and lived there four years, coming to thiscounty in 1850; for eight years he was engaged in the hotel business,and it was at his house that John Brown and James Lane of Kansas fame,had their first meeting; of late he has devoted his time to the stockbusiness; he owns about 500 acres of land; he has been twice married,first to Miss Nancy Richards, in 1850; she was born in Ohio, and diedin March, 1873; he married for his second wife Margaret Marks; theirfamily consists of seven children: Mary (now Mrs. Shean), Kate,Charlie, Ella, Jennie, Nettie and George.

Clark, C. C., stock dealer.

Clubb, James, stock dealer.

Cook, G. B., retired.

Cook,S. D., M. D., physician and surgeon; was born in Knox county, Ohio, in1832, and was raised in Knox and Delaware counties; he received acommon school education, which was supplemented by attendance at theWesleyan University at Mount Pleasant; he commenced the study ofmedicine in 1851, and was educated at the Starling Medical College atColumbus, Ohio, and the College of Physicians and Surgeons at Keokuk,Iowa; in 1855 he came to Henry county, and engaged in the practice ofhis profession, and has been in constant practice since that time,excepting a short time he commanded a Company in the Thirtieth IowaInfantry, previous to his being promoted to the Medical Staff of theEighth Iowa Infantry; he was in the service three years; has pursuedhis chosen calling with untiring zeal and energy; he started on hisprofessional career with a laudable ambition to succeed, and has notbeen disappointed; Dr. Cook is a man of acknowledged ability as aphysician, and his services are recognized by a host of appreciatingfriends, and his kind and sympathetic nature makes him a welcomevisitor in the sick room; he is known all over the county, and therespect shown him is as wide as his acquaintance; he is very kind tothe poor and has ridden hundreds of miles to administer to theirnecessities without expectation of any compensation; he married MissJennie Moore in 1865; she was born in Henry county, Iowa; their familyconsists of five children: Ida E., Lulu, Homer, Roscoe, and Minnie.

Corbin, S. L., salesman.

Cowell, John, farmer, Sec. 18.

Covey, A., foundry.

Coy, John, farmer, Sec. 36.

Croneweth, J. W., grocer.

Crownweth, P., painter.

Crouse, N., farmer, Sec. 6.

Crouse, John, farmer, Sec. 5.

Cunningham,T.C., dealer in hardware, agricultural implements and farm machinery;was born in Franklin county, Indiana in 1842, where he was educated andraised in mercantile pursuits; he came to this State in 1868, andsettled in Washington county, and in 1872 came to Sigourney and engagedin his present business; during the war he enlisted in the 11th IndianaVolunteer Infantry, and was discharged on account of disability; heafterwards re-enlisted and was appointed quartermaster sergeant of the134th Indiana Volunteer Infantry, and a considerable portion of thetime was the acting quartermaster of the regiment; he married Miss EmmaM. Pickett in 1878; she was born in Ohio; they have one daughter:Charlotte V.

Dana,G. B., farmer, Sec. 1; P. O. Sigourney.

Darner, P. J., farmer, Sec. 11; P. O. Sigourney.

Daut,George, bakery, lunch and refreshment house; born in Germany in 1827,and was engaged in mercantile pursuits and learned the trade of baker;he came to the United States in 1848; after a residence in variousplaces he visited Australia, Alaska, California, Caraboo, Mexico andSouth America; when he concluded to return to the United States he waswithout money and worked his passage on board a steamer, and arrivingin New York he borrowed $75 and returned to Germany, and came back in1866, bringing with him $25,000 in gold and U. S. bonds; he investedlargely in real estate in Sigourney and has made valuable improvements;he married Miss Mary T. Mitchell in 1866; she was born in Germany;their family consists of five children; Peter, Katie, Rosa, Lizzie andWillie; they lost one son: George.

Dern, W., grocer.

Detchon, F. R.

Disney, J. B., harness-maker.

Dobie, G. W.

Donnell, R. L., attorney.

Donnell, John A., attorney and counselor at law, was born in Decatur county,Indiana, in 1838; when sixteen years old he came to Iowa; he waseducated at Washington College, and graduated in 1861; about the timeof graduation, and a short time before, in conversation with the judgeof the District Court, and a number of lawyers, about the war ofRebellion which had begun shortly previous, he stated his determinationto enlist as a volunteer, which he did shortly afterward in a companywhich afterward became a part of the first cavalry; entering theservice, he was promoted from one rank to another till he finallybecame adjutant of the regiment, which office he held at the time heresigned to accept the office of county clerk, to which he had justbeen elected; after serving acceptably in this office till theexpiration of the term, he began the study of law under the instructionof G. D. Woodin; he was admitted to the bar in 1867, and the successwhich has attended him in the practice of his profession has been mostextraordinary; there are few men of Mr. Donnell’s age and experience towhom has been committed the management of such important cases; theskill and ability which characterized his management of the“Whitemurder case” became a matter of common report in this and adjoiningcounties; besides being a close student in matters pertaining to hisprofession, Mr. Donnell gives a portion of his time to literarypursuits, and to him more than to any other one belongs the credit ofmaintaining one of the most interesting and successful literarysocieties in the State; Mr. Donnell is yet a comparatively young man,and has a long career of usefulness in store for him; in 1867 hemarried Miss Sue C. Hogin, daughter of Hon. J. C. Hogin; his familyconsists of five children: Una Z., Willie W., Birney, Orrella M., andan infant.

Downing, T., laborer.

Durland, A. F., coal dealer.

Dwyer, E., tailor.

Dwyer, James, farmer, Sec. 35.

Eastburn, William, farmer, Sec. 3.

Eckley,T.R., grain dealer; born in Ohio in 1831 and lived there until 17 yearsof age, and then came to this State in 1848; he learned the trade ofblacksmith and wagon-maker and followed it as an occupation for manyyears; he spent two years in Van Buren county, and came to Lancaster,Keokuk county, in 1855; he owns 520 acres of land and his home is oneof the choicest locations of the county; he held the office ofpostmaster in Lancaster for sixteen years; he married Miss Honora D.Hart in 1852; she was born in Washington county, Ohio, Sept. 29, 1829;by this union they have five children living; William T., Abraham L.,Romaine, Mary and Maggie; Mrs. Eckley died Oct. 5, 1879, and we copythe following from the Sigourney News in a notice of her death; "Shewas a woman of retiring nature; had to be known to know her true worth;she had a strong desire for knowledge; she was a graduate of theLadies' Seminary at Harmar, Ohio; to the last, her intellect was keptpolished by study; granted a home, she neglected it not; blessed withchildren, for them she cared; a faithful wife and true mother, yet theambiotion of her life was to educate her children; nothing preventedher from leading them into the sphere of knowledge; while in thissphere with them the morning came to her a brighter day; years ago sheunited with the Presbyterian church; clouds of doubt at times flittedacross her sky of faith; those getting nearest to her Christian lifeshould not her doubt; they caught the gleams that shone from a brightinner life-gleams that shone upon the path along which her spiritquietly ascended into a world of cloudless faith and higher knowledge."

Eckley,P.L., dealer in groceries and provisions; born in Ohio in 1824, andraised there a farmer; in 1848 he emigrated to Jefferson county, Iowa,and came to this county in 1852, and in 1856 he came to Sigourney;during the late war he enlisted as a private in the Eighth IowaInfantry, and after serving three and one-half years was mustered outas second lieutenant; he engaged in his present business in 1869; hasheld the office of town trustee; he married Miss Mary Martin in 1849;she was born in Ohio and died in January, 1871, leaving two daughters:Elcina (now Mrs. Corbin), and Ella; he married for his second wife Mrs.Isabella McKibben, in May 1879; she was a native of Gloucester county,New Jersey, and was previously married, in 1851, to Robert McKibben, anative of Scotland, who died October 8th, 1865 leaving three sons:Robert, James and Joseph.

Ellis, E., restaurant.

Farra,J. R., proprietor of the Paragon Job Printing Office; born inShenandoah county, Virginia, in 1837, and lived there until eighteenyears of age; he learned the printer’s trade in the offices of the“Stanton Messenger” and “True American”; he came to Iowa in 1857 andsettled in Sigourney, and in 1858 established the “Iowa Democrat,” inconnection with S. B. Evans, now of Ottumwa, and continued it until theoutbreak of the war, when he enlisted in Co. D, Thirteenth IowaInfantry during the late war, and was captured at Holly Springs inDecember, 1862, and paroled in April 1863; he was discharged on accountof disability; he returned to Sigourney and bought out the “SigourneyNews,” which he afterwards sold out and established the “Review,” inconnection with A. J. Kenney, and sold out in 1873; he then bought aninterest in the “News” with J. W. Havens, and sold out in 1876 and wentto California and had charge of the “California Daily and Weekly Star,”Los Angelos, for six months; he married Miss Margaret A. Adams, in1858; she was born in Washington county, Iowa, and was the first whitechild born in Washington county, Iowa.

Fair, S. C., marble dealer.

Ferguson,J. M., saddler and harness-maker; born in Ohio, in 1825, and learnedthe trade of harness making; he moved to Washington county, Iowain1853, and lived there nine years, and came to this county in1862, andhas been in this business continuously longer than any man in thecounty in the same line; he is a member of the Masonic fraternity andthe A. O. U. Workmen; he married Miss. Laura M. Coleman, in 1855; shewas born in Knox county, Ohio; they have one son: Charles W.; lost onedaughter: Ella M.

Fear, J. H., farmer, Sec. 5.

Fidler, D. L., merchant.

Fischer, J., Merchant.

Fonda,S. L., attorney; born in Saratoga county, New York, November 26, 1848,and raised there and received an academical education, and, having apreference for the law profession, entered the office of W. T. Odell,in Ballston Spay, and prepared himself for admission to the bar, whichoccurred at Schenectady, in April 1869; September 29th, the same year,he came to Iowa and engaged in his chosen avocation; he is associatedwith Hon. S. Harned in business, and holds the office of mayor of thecity; he married Miss Mattie E. Harned in December 1871; she was bornin this county and died March 23d, 1877, leaving one daughter: Ella B.,born February 14th, 1873; lost two children: Seward L. and Staats S.

Franken,B., druggist, of the firm of Cook & Franken; born in Siegburg,Prussia, in 1833, and was raised there; he came to the United States in1852 and settled in New York, and afterward removed to Illinois andthence to this State, in 1856; he has held various township offices; hemarried Miss L. Schirmer in 1860; she was a native of Bavaria; theyhave two children: James L. and Edwin; he has been connected with Dr.Cook in general drug business for ten years.

Frey, Rev. J.;born in Knox county, Ohio, in 1827, and was raised there; in his youthhe received the benefits of the common schools and supplemented hiseducation by attendance at the Granville College, near Newark, Ohio;after preparing for the ministry, he was ordained in Muskingum county,Ohio, in 1851, and his first pastorate was at Tomaka, Coshocton county,Ohio, and this relation existed until 1856, when, owing to his wife’simpaired health, he came to Iowa and made Sigourney his home in 1857;and of the eleven congregations of the Baptist denomination inexistence in the county at the present time, all but three haveorganized since he came to the county, and for years he was the onlyBaptist clergyman in the county, and these are largely the outgrowth ofhis labors; he has served as pastor of the Baptist Churches ofSigourney, South English and Keota, Talleyrand, Fairview, Ioka and RockCreek; he married Miss Louisa Arnold, of Licking county, Ohio, August8th, 1851 she being a daughter of Hon. John H. Arnold, of that county;they have five children: Roger W. (now living in Livingston county,Illinois), Charles E., Sarah P., Samuel H. and Mary E.; have lostthree: Judson C., James N. and Frank A.; Mr. Frey was electedsuperintendent of schools for Keokuk county in 1861 and 1862.

Fritz,F., saloon keeper, and of the firm of F. Fritz & Sons, cigarmanufacturers; born in Bavaria in 1833, and lived there until 1853,when he came to the United States and enlisted in the regular army andserved five years, and in 1859 came to Sigourney and learned thecooper’s trade; he married Miss Louisa Kleitz, in 1856; she was born inAlsace, Germany; they have six children: Edward, George, Josephine,Nellie, Louisa and Emma.

Funk, L. A., miller; born in Ohio in1845, and in 1846 his parents removed to Van Buren county, Iowa, andremained there until he was eight years of age and then changed theirresidence to Davis county, this State, and came to this county in 1862;he has grown up in his present business from boyhood, and can well betermed a practical miller; he built his present mills, known as theGarden City Mills, in 1877; it has four run of burrs and fitted withall the improved machinery; the demand for his flour and the highrepute in which it is held speaks creditably for the manufactor; hemarried Miss Mary P. Davis in May, 1868; she was born in Indiana; lostone son: Claude.

Gaston, Wm. J., attorney; born in McDonough county, Illinois, in 1842, and in1844 his parents removed to Keokuk, Iowa where the subject of thissketch was educated and raised with a mercantile experience, in whichbusiness he has been engaged since attaining a proper age, until ashort time since; he owns, besides city property, eight-seven acres ofland in Lancaster township; he enlisted in the Thirty-third IowaVolunteers during the late war, and after serving about eighteen monthswas discharged at Little Rock, Arkansas, on account of impaired health;he married Miss C. A. Bottorff, in 1864; she was born in Indiana, anddied in 1867; he married for his second wife Miss M. McRunnells, in1872; she was born in Jefferson county, Iowa; has one child by firstmarriage; John J.; and lost one daughter; Cynthia.

Gann, L. O.; Sec. 35.

Gann, A.; Sec. 35.

Goldthwait,C. J., boot and shoe dealer; born in Waterville, Somerset county,Maine, in 1833, and was raised a farmer the early part of his life, andafterward learned the trade of shoe making; he came to this county in1855, and has been engaged in the shoe business since that time; duringthe late war he enlisted in the Thirty-third Iowa Infantry and servedthree years; he was wounded at the Saline River; he married MissFidelia E. Lyon, in March, 1858; she was born in Pennsylvania, and diedin August, 1875, he married for his second wife Mary Shawhan, in 1876;she was born in Indiana; their family consists of one daughter; Mary,by first marriage; and two sons: John and George, by second marriage;

Gortner,H. D., attorney; born in Green county, Ohio; in 1847, and was broughtby his parents to Washington county in 1850, and from this placeremoved to Iowa county; he was raised a farmer, and at the age ofseventeen commenced teaching school and taught eleven years; at thesame time he commenced reading law and attended the law department ofthe State University, and was admitted to the bar in June 1877; hemarried Miss Mary C. Boltz, in 1869; she was born in Ohio; they haveone son; Perry S., aged five years.

Haughenberry,J. T., laborer.

Hair,DR. J. H., physician and surgeon; was born in Washington county,Pennsylvania, in 1830, and while young his parents removed to Ohio,where the subject of this sketch was raised on a farm, and having madechoice of the medical profession, he prepared himself to enter theWestern Reserve Medical College, and graduated from that institution in1857; after practicing a few years, he was appointed surgeon of theThirty-third Ohio Infantry, in which capacity he served faithfully andacceptably; he came to this county in 1866, and established himself inthe practice of his profession and in the drug trade, in connectionwith the late Dr. Parks; he married Miss Mary Gaston in 1854; she wasborn in Ohio; they have five children: W. Mand, Lizzie, Mary, L. Royand Walter.

Hankins, W. H., of the firm of Johnson andHankins, abstracters and loan agents; was born in Trumbull county,Ohio, February 13, 1852, and was raised there until sixteen years ofa*ge, and came to this county in 1869; he received an academicaleducation, and has been engaged in his present business since 1877; hemarried Miss Ella M. Randall, November 19, 1873; she was born in Keokukcounty, her father, W. W. Randall, being one of the oldest settlers ofthe county; they have one son: Homer H; and one daughter: Grace G.

Hanson,J. W., farmer, Sec. 9; P. O. Sigourney; was born in Park county,Indiana, in 1827, where he was raised a farmer; he came to this countyin 1853, and settled where he now resides; he owns 270 acres of landand has made all the improvements since he came here; he has doneconsiderable civil engineering since coming to the county; he is theauthor of the first Greenback platform in the State of Iowa, and ranfor congress on the Greenback ticket in 1870, on the same platformwhich Gen. Weaver was elected in 1878; he married Miss D. Horner, June3, 1849; she was a native of Ohio; they have five children: Mary E.(now Mrs. John A. Benson, of California), Solon A., civil engineer,Alphens P., Della (now Mrs. L. D. Bond), and Monta.

Haffner, G., painter.

Henke, D. R., carpenter.

Harlan, C. M., lumber dealer.

Harned,S., attorney; among the early settlers of Keokuk county who have beenidentified with its interest officially and civilly, is the subject ofthis sketch; he was born in Hardin county, Kentucky, in 1814, and wasraised there in various occupations until twenty-one years of age; in1835 he removed to Warren county, Illinois (now Henderson), and inOctober, 1839 changed his residence to Iowa City having a professionalturn of mind, he entered the office first of A. Calkins, as a studentof law, and afterward, one year with Curtis Bates, Esq.; he wasadmitted to the bar in Sigourney in July, 1844, and the same year hesettled in Richland, Keokuk county, and engaged in the practice of hisprofession; in 1846 he was a delegate to the constitutional convention;in 1852 he was elected to the senate, but not admitted owing to a legaltechnicality; in 1855 he was elected county judge, re-elected in 1857,and during his term of office the present courthouse was built; in 1864he was appointed quartermaster of the Forty-seventh Regiment IowaVolunteer Infantry, and in July of the same year, he was appointed A.Q. M., with rank of captain, and ordered to Virginia, and was presentat the surrender of Lee; he was afterward on duty in Texas, and wasmustered out in March, 1866; in 1875 he was elected to the lower houseof the Iowa State legislature, and in 1877 was elected to the Statesenate; he was married to Miss Evaline Galbreath in 1837; she was anative of Tennessee; they have two children: Amanda and Z. T.; theyhave lost six children: Jonathan T., Elizabeth, Maria, Mary, Irena andMartha E.

Havens, J. W., born in Franklin county, Ohio, May17, 1842; he removed to Illinois in 1854; here he learned the trade ofmarble cutter, which occupation he followed until 1863; upon arrivingat the age of twenty-one he determined to change his occupation; he hadfor some time an inclination to enter the newspaper profession and forthis purpose came to Sigourney in December, 1863, and in connectionwith a brother, H. E. Havens, brought the “Sigourney News;” upon takingcharge of the "News" that journal soon gained a wide spread reputation,and Mr. Havens proved his genius for the new profession he had chosenby making the “News” one of the spiciest and sprightliest papers in theState; his connection with the “News” lasted till November, 1878, aperiod of nearly fifteen years, during which time he had exclusiveeditorial charge; in the fall of 1870, he was chosen to representKeokuk county in the State Senate, and although the youngest member ofthe Thirteenth General Assembly he acquitted himself with honor andmade a record for statesmanlike sagacity which would have beencreditable to one of more advanced age and wider range of experience;Mr. Havens was married to Miss E. J. Dunn in 1863; she was a native ofOhio; they have five children: Jessie, Benjamin, Josie, Birdie, Blanch,and an infant daughter; Mr. Havens sold the :News” in November, 1878,to Mr. Needham, of Oskaloosa, in order to relieve his mind from thecares of a business so long successfully managed, and to permit him toaccompany his wife, who of late years was in feeble health, on a tripto the mountains; fifteen years of journalism in one place is a morethan average career, and when successful, as was that of Mr. Havens, issomething to be proud of; as an anti-grange editor and legislator, Mr.Havens especially distinguished himself, and in this particular did hisconduct contrast most favorably with those truckling time-servers whoembraced the Granger in prosperity only to abandon his falling fortuneswhen the tide ebbed.

Henton, W. C., stock dealer; was born inHillsboro, Highland county, Ohio, August 25, 1831; when young hisparents removed to Hendricks county, Indiana, near Danville, where thesubject of our sketch was raised on a farm until nineteen years of age;he came to this county in 1850, and has been principally engaged inagricultural pursuits and the stock business; for the last few years hehas devoted his time to the latter; he has served the city as a memberof its council and on the school board; he married Miss A. E. Homan inFebruary, 1853; she was born in Indiana; they have two children: Aliceand Ollie.

Higgins, G. W., harness maker; was born inSpringfield, Illinois, in 1821, and was raised there; he wasapprenticed for five years to a tanner to learn the business, and oneof the conditions of the indenture was, that the apprentice was to haveall holidays and general muster days for himself, and these he occupiedin learning the collar trade, so that by the time his apprenticeshiphad expired he was able to make a full hand at this business as well asa tanner; he engaged in business on his own account in Washington,Illinois, and remained there until 1856, when he came to Sigourney,which has since been his home, excepting two years, when he had chargeof a collar manufactory in Albia; he has recently discovered, after agreat deal of experimenting as well as expense, a process for tanninglace leather in an incredible short time, and claims as a merit, thatthe glutinous substance of the skin is extracted in such a manner thatthe fiber is stronger than in its natural state, although manufacturingby this process is in its infancy; Mr. Higgins cannot begin to supplythe demand; he married Miss Isbel Smith of Irish Grove, Illinois, in1842; she was born in Ohio; he enlisted in Company F, Eighth IowaInfantry, and served three years and six months;

Hull, W. Mc., farmer, Sec. 14.

Hiser, Samuel, farmer, Sec. 17.

Hogin, Hon. James L., deceased; for many years a distinguished member of theMasonic order, and in 1854 grand master of Iowa, was born in Kentcounty Delaware, on the 7th of March, 1801; his father was ofScotch-Irish ancestry, and his mother of English origin; both familieswere strong patriots during the revolution, and several of them borearms in the cause of the colonies; the subject of this sketch receivedbut a limited education in early life, and during his minority learnedthe shoemaking trade, at which he worked for many years, but he wasalways a diligent student, and noted as a lover of books; even whenpoor and earning but a scanty livelihood, he was continually adding tohis stock of historical and standard works, and in after yearspossessed one of the finest libraries in the State; in March 1819, heremoved to Indiana, and located in Brookville, Franklin county, of thatState, where he worked at his trade for a number of years; he afterwardengaged in mercantile pursuits, a pursuit which he followed as long ashe continued in business, and from which he derived a reasonablecompetency; in the spring of 1832, he removed to Indianapolis, andcontinued in business there until 1845, when he removed to Danville,where he remained till his removal to Sigourney, in 1850; here he madehis home, and passed the remainder of his life time, enjoying theesteem and confidence of his fellow citizens; although shrinking frompublic notice, yet the importunities of his fellow citizens of Keokukcounty pressed him into their service, and he was elected to the Statesenate in 1854, and served with distinction two regular, and onespecial session; but it was as a Mason that he was especiallydistinguished, having taken a deep interest in the order from the timehe connected himself with the fraternity, and held the prominentoffices of the order in the State in 1854, being elected grand master;Mr. Hogin married Miss Eliza J. Crouch, of Wellsburg, VirginiaSeptember 3, 1822; she was a woman of high intellectual attainments,and led a blameless and useful life; her social qualities were highlydeveloped, and she was the centre of a large circle of friends, wholooked up to her as a counselor and leader; she died in 1864; of theirfamily of twelve children eight are still living: John C. (now one ofSigourney’s prominent business men), Caroline N. (now the wife of Dr.N. Henton, of Salem, Oregon), Elvia A. (wife of Wm. M. Wells Esq., ofOskaloosa), Mary (now the wife of T. B. Matthews, of Kansas), CorneliaE. (now wife of Rev. C. W. Shaw, of Salem, Oregon), George B. (is adruggist, of Newton), Juliett W. (now the wife of A. C. Romig, ofAbilene, Kansas), and Benjamin R. (now living in Kansas; they have lostfour: one son, Wm. F., was captain of Co. F. Eighth Iowa Infantry, andwas killed at the battle of Shiloh, Tennessee, on the 5th of April,1862, having just reached his majority; he was a youth of greatpromise, a gallant soldier, and estimable gentleman; in the home of ason he forgot the world of care and the battle of life, which hadfurrowed his earlier years and drawn closely around the hearths ofchildren and grandchildren, and in their loved presence awaited thehour when he should be summoned to meet his beloved partner in themansions of rest; the hour came in peace and quiet, and “the spiritascended to the God who gave it” he died on the 7th of December 1876;James L. Hogin was one of nature’s noblemen; living an upright andhonorable life, he did much to build up the town and county in which hehad cast his lot for life, and to-day many rise up and call him blessedin their recollection of pleasing memories of his intercourse with them.

Hogin,Hon. John C., merchant; whose portrait appears in this work, was bornin Brookville, Franklin county, Indiana, in 1823, and is the oldest sonof Jas. L. Hogin, and Eliza nee Crouch; his father was anative of Delaware, and his mother of Virginia; In 1832 his fatherremoved to Indianapolis and engaged in mercantile pursuits, and the sonbecame a very valuable assistant of his father; of Mr. Hogin, it maywell be said that he was bred a man of business, and the uninterruptedsuccess which has attended him through life this far may be attributedto his early training; in 1848 he removed to Sigourney, Keokuk countyIowa, and engaged in business on his own account; in a few years hisfather became associated with him, and the name of the firm was JamesL. Hogin & Son, and continued some time, when it was afterwardchanged to Hogin, Harned &Glandon, and in a few years Mr. Hoginagain became sole proprietor, and remained so until his retirement frombusiness, near the close of the year 1877; when Mr. Hogin retired frombusiness it created quite a sensation, and the press of the city tookoccasion to comment on the event in poetry and prose; like many othersuccessful business men Mr. Hogin, soon after retiring, became uneasyand restless, and he came to the conclusion it was better to wear outthan to rust out, and he again embarked in business, after a briefretirement, changing, however, to the drug and book trade, and in thisas in other pursuits, he has made it a success; we here recall anincident in his life worthy of a record in these annals of the county;in 1853, while he and his father were partners in business, theDemocratic party selected the subject of this sketch as their nomineefor the State senate, and in order to defeat him, if possible, the Whigparty nominated his father; although the contest was a spirited one, itdid not cause the least ill feeling between the two partners, who longafterwards continued their present business relations; the record ofthe election as made by the canvassing board, shows the James L. Hoginwas elected by sixty-one votes; at the same election M. M. Crocker(afterwards General Crocker), who was the Democratic nominee forrepresentative, was defeated by 131 votes; neither Mr. Hogin nor hisfather sought the office for which they were nominated; during therebellion Mr. Hogin again became a candidate (much against his will)for the State Senate on the Union war ticket, and instead of beingdefeated by a small majority, was elected by a majority, was elected bya majority of 500 votes; Mr. Hogin’s uninterrupted business career inKeokuk county covers a period of thirty years and six months, andjustly entitles him to the credit of being in business longer than anymerchant in the county; he may well be termed an old citizen, and canremember nearly all the period covered by the county’s history; he hasrisen slowly but steadily; he accepted the hardship of pioneer lifewith good grace, and even zest, and has built up his prosperity on thebusiness principle that in every fair bargain both parties gain,consequently he has become a man of mark and influence in thecommunity, and has made an enduring impression on the business andsocial life about him; his life has been one of ceaseless activity andindustry; his official record without a stain, having served withcredit and ability; as a business man he has proven himself upright,reliable and honorable in all places and under all circ*mstances; he isloyal to truth, honor and right; socially he is pleasant and affable;few men have more devoted friends or merit more the confidence andesteem of their fellow citizens: he was married to Miss C. H. Richardsin 1847; she was a native of Highland county, Ohio; but a resident ofHendricks county, Indiana, their family consists of five children:Clara (now Mrs.Hutchinson), Susan C. (now Mrs. J. A. Donnell),SamuelR. (a merchant in Delta), Josephine (now Mrs. Ellis), and Lillie.

Hollingsworth,L., retired; was born in Columbiana county, Ohio, in 1831, and spenthis early years on a farm, and afterward learned the trade of cabinetmaker; he came to this county in 1854; he settled in Prairie township,where for twelve years he was engaged in agricultural pursuits; he hasheld the office of county auditor for four years, and also the officeof county treasurer, and in 1862 represented Keokuk county in the StateLegislature; at the present time he is the coroner of the county; hehas filled his official positions with ability and unswervingintegrity; he is modest and unassuming in his manner, an uprightcitizen, enjoying the confidence of all who know him; he married MissHannah Fawcett in 1859; she was born in Ohio; their family consists oftwo children: Luella E. and Horace S.

Hollingsworth, W. R.,editor and proprietor of the “Sigourney Review;” born in Maysville,Kentucky, in 1840, and removed with his parents to Des Moiens county,Iowa, in 1841, and remained there until 1856; then went to Ohio, andentered Oxford College; he graduated from this institution in 1861, andreturned to Iowa, and in 1863, purchased a farm in Henry county, andengaged in agricultural pursuits, and lived there until he came toSigourney and bought the “Review, in connection with Mr. Kinney; hesoon became sole editor and proprietor, and continues as such at thepresent time; he married Miss Anna S. Thorneloe, in 1874; was born inEngland.

House, E. B., plasterer.

House, D., plasterer.

Howard,J. Q., of the firm of Howard & Kerr, dealers in books, stationery,etc; was born in York county, Pennsylvania, in 1823, and in 1833removed with his parents to Licking county, Ohio; he came to this Statein 1855, and settled in Davis county, and was engaged in teaching; heenlisted in the 113th Ohio infantry during the late war and servedthree years; he came to this county in 1868, and owns a farm of 168acres; he has held the office of county treasurer for six years, andserved as a member of the school-board, he married Miss Julia A. Demingn 1868; she was born in Washington county, Ohio; they have sevenchildren: Wm. D., Hattie E., Kittie A., Bertie, Edward, Mabel and May.

Huddleson, N., butcher.

Huffman, W. D., physician.

Huff, Sanford W., M. D., deceased; born in Hamburg, Erie county, New York, onthe 25th of December, 1826, and was the son of Timothy Huff and Phebe, neePotter, and was the youngest of five children: his early boyhood dayswere passed on his father’s farm and attending school; financialembarrassments prevented his father, in a measure, of carrying out hischerished design to give the subject of this sketch a thoroughcollegiate education, so that he was left to achieve his own mentaldiscipline as best he could; he was able, by dint of perseverance,economy and industry, to avail himself of the advantages of academicalschools; he chose the medical profession for an occupation andgraduated from the medical department of the University of Buffalo, inthe spring of 1851, and commenced as the partner of a practitioner ofhigh standing in that city; but the severe application incident to hisprofessional studies began to recoil on his health and he was obligedto change his location to the country; he came to Iowa and located inIowa City, in 1857; during the first two years of his westernexperience his attention was divided between his profession and outsideoperations; he then devoted himself exclusively to his profession, andwhen the war opened in 1862, he accepted the surgeoncy of the TwelfthIowa Infantry, and served until the close of the war; he participatedin nearly all the great achievements of the army of the southwest andfilled all the grades of responsibility to which a regimental surgeonis eligible, and rendered valuable service on the staff of Gen. Mower,and afterward Gen. McArthur, as surgeon-in-chief of the department ofAlabama, on the staff of Gen. Davis, and remained in this positionuntil he was mustered out in the winter of 1866; he then returned tohis home and resumed his practice, and soon after was elected to theposition of secretary to the State Historical Society and editor of itsannual. this little publication grew in his hands, from a pamphlet ofsome thirty odd pages, to a dignified quarterly of magazineproportions; he visited the legislature during its session of 1868-9,at his own expense, and secured an appropriation of seven thousanddollars with which to defray the expenses of printing and preservingthe records and accumulations of the society for the benefit of thefuture historian of the State: after three years of toilsome butsuccessful labor, he was compelled, on account of private business, toresign; he soon afterward engaged in a newspaper enterprise, but hisprofessional duties requiring his attention, the paper was absorbed bythe “Republican;” he received a very flattering unofficial invitationto a chair in the medical department of the State University, which hedeclined; he was president, for several years, of the Johnson countyMedical Association, and a member of the State Medical Association, andin 1877 was a delegate to the annual meeting of the National MedicalAssociation held at Chicago; his taste for literature has not preventedhim from concentrating his intellectual forces on the great sciencebelonging to his profession, and in it he has always been a success,taking leading parts in professional gatherings, making an eviable(sic) reputation as a practitioner; he was twice married, first to MissHarriet E. Borland, in 1853; she died in 1863, leaving one daughter:Alice (now Mrs. H. Sheldon, of Fremont, Ohio); he married for hissecond wife, Miss Laura S. Nickerson, in 1870; she was a native of FortCrown Point, N.Y, a lady of high education and refinement, and of fineartistic talents; she was educated in the art department of CooperInstitute; by this union they had three children: Wirt S., born October3, 1871; died in July 1873; Laura C., born September 16, 1875; Frances,born April 18, 1877; died February 19, 1878; Dr. Huff died November 7,1879.

Jackson, Thomas, barber; was born in Washington county, Mississippi, February10, 1849, and lived there until 1866, when he came to Iowa and settledin Washington, where he learned his trade; in June, 1869, he came tothis county and has followed his present business since that time; hemarried Hattie Black in 1874; she was born in Davenport, Iowa; theyhave one son: George.

Jackson, B. F., merchant, dealer iniron, hardware and agricultural implements; was born in Hamiltoncounty, Ohio, November 25, 1833, where he was raised on a farm; he cameto this county in 1871, and engaged in his present business; the housein one of the oldest in the city and was established by Wm. Jackson andHugh McElroy in the spring of 1856; January 1, 1859, William Jacksonbought out McElroy; in 1865, J. H. Shawhan became a member of the firm,under the name of Wm. Jackson & Co.; in 1869 Mr. Shawhan withdrew,and Wm. and R. B. Jackson continued under the same firm name; in 1871B. F. Jackson purchased Wm. Jackson’s interest and the businesscontinued under the firm name of R. B. & B. F. Jackson; in January,1879, R.B. Jackson sold his interest to B.F. Jackson, who is now soleproprietor. Mr. Jackson married Miss L. C. Carrington, of Piqua, Ohio,in May, 1867; she was born in Baltimore.

Jackson, Wm. farmer, Sec. 1.

Jacobs, J. W., farmer, Sec. 20.

James, Samuel A.; born in Botetourt county, Virginia, on the 27th day ofDecember 1823, his parents being Thomas James and Barbary neeBritts; his father was of mixed Scotch and Welsh lineage, while hismother was of German origin; in 1829 the family removed from Virginiato Indiana and settled in Hendricks county, in which and the adjoiningcounty of Montgomery the subject of this sketch obtained a commonschool education; as soon as he was old enough he had recourse to theusual expedient of aspiring youths --- school teaching; he taught threewinter terms, being at the same time an industrious and diligentstudent himself; in the spring of 1842 he resolved to follow the starof empire westward, and, turning his back upon the scenes of hisboyhood, he started alone and on foot, with a pair of saddle-bagsthrown over his shoulder containing his worldly effects; he crossed theStates of Indiana and Illinois into the then Territory of Iowa,and tothe town of Washington, which he reached on the 25th of March, 1842; inthe fall of the same year he taught one term of school in Washington,but in the year following, 1843 he removed to Keokuk county, Iowa, andmade a claim four miles north of Sigourney; in the autumn of this yearhe returned to Washington and spent the following winter in the studyof law, and was admitted to the bar in Sigourney soon after; as yet theterritory now forming Keokuk county was a part of Washington, and inMarch, 1844, Mr. James was appointed clerk of the District Court with aspecial commission to organize the county of Keokuk, and accordingly,equipped with the same old saddle-bags he journeyed to the southeasternpart of the county, where he arranged places for holding the firstelection and designated the judges thereof, after which he canvassedthe returns and qualified the first set of officers; soon after theorganization of the county he was appointed postmaster; he remained atSigourney until, the seat of justice having been removed to Lancaster,he followed the office to the latter place; in 1849 he removed to thecity of Keokuk, in Lee county, where he was soon appointed deputyclerk, with headquarters at Fort Madison; in 1852 he was elected clerk,and re-elected in 1854; the business of this office required suchincessant labor and close confinement that his health became impairedand he was obliged to resign as the only means of prolonging his life;in the autumn of 1855 he returned to Keokuk county; in May, 1861, hewas appointed postmaster of Sigourney by President Lincoln, a positionhe held for five years, but refusing to Andy Johnsonize, as themovement was then phrased, he was superseded in August, 1866; theinterval between that date and the present time he has devoted toprivate pursuits, giving his attention mainly to the transactions inreal estate and in the brokerage and money-loaning business; judiciousand prudent investments in real estate and other business operationshave combined to make him one of the large tax-payers of Keokuk county;during the period of the civil war he was unable to enter the militaryservice on account of defective eye-sight, from which he had longsuffered, but he did excellent work for the Union cause with his pen inthe columns of the Sigourney" News,” of which he was principaleditorduring the first year of the war; he has been prominently identified ineducational matters of the county; he has always been a man of publicspirit, advocating every measure calculated to benefit the city; he wasmarried in Sigourney on the 2nd of September, 1847, to Miss SarahMoody, of Licking county, Ohio; they have three children living: GeorgeS. (now associated with his father in business), Libbie A. (now Mrs. H.A. Seamans), and Ida Bell; they have lost three; Mr. James is a man ofgreat decision of character, with strong and enduring convictions ofright; he has filled his official positions with marked ability andalways with unswerving integrity and unyielding firmness; he is modestand unassuming in his habits and manners-- an upright citizen, enjoyingthe confidence of all who know him.

James, Geo. S.; son of S.A. and Sarah James; born in Lancaster, Iowa, April 16, 1849, and wasmarried to Miss Frances S. Barringer, April 10, 1879; she was born inthe State of New York, in 1857, and came to Iowa in 1877; he is thejunior member of S. A. James & Son, in real estate and loanbusiness.

Johnson, R. M., carpenter.

Johnson, T., tinner.

Johnson, Peter, farmer, Sec. 35.

Johnston,C. G., attorney and abstracter, of the firm of Johnston & Hankins;born in Steubenville, Ohio, in 1837, and was raised there until 1851,on a farm; at this time he emigrated to Iowa and settled in Davenport;he read law and was admitted to the bar in Scott county in 1859; hereturned to Steubenville, Ohio, and in 1864 accepted a position in theTreasury Department at Washington, D. C.; he came to this county in1867 and engaged in the practice of his profession; he has been honoredwith the office of mayor of the city; he married Miss Hannah Updegraff,in February 1867; she was born in Jefferson county, Ohio; they havethree children: Edward, A. Josiah and Zella.

Keller,C., butcher; born in Germany in 1840, where he lived until 1860, whenhe came to the United States and settled in Ohio, and remained thereten years; he learned his trade in his native country, and has followedit successfully since coming to this county in 1870; he married MissLouisa Emdre in 1862; she was born in Germany; they have eightchildren: Charlie, George, Jacob, Lula, Theodore, Ida, Maggie, Claraand Baby; they lost one daughter: Ida.

Kelley, G., shoemaker.

Keck, Irving A.; born in Washington county, Iowa, in March, 1846; his motherwas a daughter of John Jackson, one of the first settlers of Washingtoncounty; his father Joseph Keck, settled in Washington in 1842, and as asuccessful financier and public-spirited citizen has been prominentlyconnected with the interest of that flourishing city almost from thefirst to the present time, a period of thirty-nine years; Irving A.Keck was bred and trained a banker; he was educated in the schools ofWashington---first in the public schools and then in the academy ofthat place; during his leisure hours while attending school, and hiswhole time after graduation, he was in his father’s bank, and receivedhis ideas of financiering while assisting in the practical work of thatinstitution; upon the organization of the First National Bank ofSigourney; he was appointed cashier in 1871; since that time he has hadexclusive charge of the management of that institution, and the bestproof of his skill and industry is the bank’s record which forstability, accuracy and accounting and liberality of dealing has nosuperior in the State; Mr. Keck is an author as well as a banker, hehaving contributed several of the most interesting and reliablearticles appearing in the “Annals of Iowa,” a periodical published someyears since and educated by a number of the most distinguishedgentleman who settled in the State during an early period; consideringthe fact that Mr. Keck is now but thirty-three years of age, his lifehas certainly been an exceptionally successful one; he married Miss A.D. Wait, of Boone, Iowa; she was born in New York.

Kerr, E.B., of the firm of Howard & Kerr, dealers in books and stationery,wall paper etc.; is the son of the Rev. Joseph and Mary J. Kerr, andwas born in Jefferson county, Ohio, in 1838, and was raised in thatState until sixteen years of age; he came to Iowa in 1854 and settledin Jefferson county; he was raised a farmer and afterward learned thetrade of carpenter; during the late war he enlisted in the ThirtiethIowa Infantry and was commissioned Captain of Co.G., he served threeyears; he came to this county in 1861, engaged in farming and owns afarm of eighty acres; he has held the office of county surveyor, and isthe present incumbent of the office; he married Miss Kate A. Deming in1862; she was a native of Ohio; their family consists of threechildren: Mary A., Clara H. and Julia.

Keys, L. H., grocer.

Klett, G., blacksmith and carriage works.

Klinesmith, G. E., wagon maker.

Knape, F., cigar manufacturer.

Laffer,E., druggist and jeweler; born in Tuscarawas county Ohio, April 17,1837; he was raised on Ohio; in mercantile pursuits until seventeenyears of age; in 1854 he came to Keokuk county, and has been engaged inmerchandising since that time; he has been closely identified with thegrowth and prosperity of the county; he has attained a large measure ofsuccess and gained an enviable place in the confidence of the people;he has served the county on its board of supervisors and the city inits council; he enlisted in the Forty- seventh Iowa Infantry during thelate war; he married Miss Susan F. Goodson in 1864; she was born in NewYork; they have one daughter; Stella May; Mr. Laffer is one of theorganizers of the Union Bank and vice-president of the same.

Laffer, Phillip, farmer, Sec. 4; P.O. Sigourney; born in Tuscarawas county,Ohio, August 2, 1827; he was there raised on a farm and lived thereuntil 1855, when he came to this county and settled where he now lives;he owns one hundred and nineteen acres of good land, well improved; hason his land a fine bearing orchard; August 28; 1862, he enlisted in Co.F. Fifth Iowa Infantry; served fifteen months and was then dischargedon account of disability; he participated in several small battles; hemarried, in 1850, Miss Catharine E. Williams, a native of Ohio; theyhave four children: Hannah E. (now Mrs., Randall), Franklin, George andEdward.

Laffer, H., farmer, Sec. 9,

Landers, J., farmer, Sec. 3.

Lash,D. W., restaurant and confectioner; born in Johnson county, Indiana, inNovember 1842, and came to this State in 1845; he was raised a farmeruntil seventeen years of age, when following the impulses of hispatriotic nature, he enlisted in Co. F, Eighth Iowa Infantry and servedfour years and nine months, and was in the engagements of Shiloh,Corinth, Vicksburg, Jackson, and many other engagements of lessimportance; he married Miss Isadora Stickney in 1868; she was born inLouisa county; they have two children: Lola and Lulu; lost onedaughter: Lottie.

Leachman, Wm., clothing merchant Sec. 35.

Lewis, J. G., farmer, Sec. 35

Lowe,J. M., merchant, dealing in clothing, hats, caps, and gents’ furnishinggoods; was born in Indiana in 1844, and was brought by his parents tothis county in 1849; he was raised on a farm until 18 years of age andthen enlisted in the 33rd Iowa Infantry in August 1862, and serveduntil discharged on account of disability; he returned to his home andthen attended school for some time at Oskaloosa; he has been engaged inhis present business since 1866; he has held the office of citytreasurer four years; he married Miss Belle Hair in 1869; she was bornin Ohio; they have three children: Elsie, Thomas L. and Addie.

Loux, Joseph, farmer, Sec. 21.

Lucie, D. J., merchant.

Lyons, G. T., laborer.

McCarty,T. F., county auditor; was born in Onedia county, New York, in 1842;from that county he removed to New England, and came to this State in1858 and engaged in railroad building; his home since 1865, when hecame to the county, and previous to his election to his present office,was in Lafayette township, where he owns a farm of 80 acres; he waselected auditor first in 1877 on the Democratic ticket, and althoughhis township was strongly Republican he carried it by a large majority;he was re-elected again in October 1879; he married Miss Mary Boyer in1869; she was born in Pennsylvania; they have four children: CatherineM., Theressa, Charlie and George.

McClelland, J. S., printer.

McClenahan,R., postmaster; was born in Stark county, Illinois, in 1840, and livedthere until 12 years of age; he came to this county in 1854 and wasraised on a farm; heeding his country’s call for troops to defend itagainst the traitors of the South, he enlisted in Co.F, 5th IowaInfantry, and was the first man to enlist from this county; he waswounded at the battle of Iuka, and discharged on account ofdisability; after his return he learned the marble-working business andfollowed that occupation until June 5, 1869, at which time he receivedthe appointment of postmaster, on the recommendation of the popularvote of his party; he married Miss Tillie Hoover; she was born in Starkcounty, Ohio; they have a family of two children; Curtis and Freddie.

McCollough, A., farmer, Sec. 16.

McJunkin,E. W., attorney; was born in Richland county, Ohio, in 1844; in earlylife his time was divided between farming and mercantile pursuits; hereceived an academical education, but while pursuing his studies thecall for troops to suppress the rebellion of the South awoke thestudent from his dreams over mathematical problems, and he enlisted inthe 123d Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and served three years; the was beingover, he came to Iowa in 1865, and entered the office of his uncle,Attorney-General McJunkin, of Washington, as a student of law; afterpreparing himself he was admitted to the bar in September, 1868; he wasengaged in the practice of his profession for two years in Knoxville,Marion county, Iowa, previous to his coming to this county, in 1872,and since which time he has been associated with G. D. Woodin, Esq., inthe practice of law. He married Miss Sally A. Jenkins in December,1872, she is a native of Kentucky; they have one son: Paul.

McIntire, J. A., pattern maker.

McLean, M. H.

McLean, W. I., farmer.

McNabb, John, farmer, Sec. 6.

McMurry, David, farmer, Sec. 4.

McNabb, H., farmer, Sec. 5.

McMullen, Wm., hotel keeper.

McWilliams,W. C., county recorder; was born in Knox county, Ohio, in November,1851, and raised there until six years of age, and at that period wasbrought by his parents to Keokuk county, he was raised a farmer, anddivided his time between farming and teaching until elected to hispresent position in 1878.

McWilliams, Dr. T. B., physicianand surgeon; was born in Knox county Ohio, November 12, 1843, and wasraised in that State until 14 years of age, when he removed to Iowa; hecame to this county in 1857; he studied medicine and graduated for theKeokuk Medical College in 1871, although he had been practicing forthree years previous to his graduation; he married Miss Amanda Gore in1867; she was born in Jefferson county, Indiana, and died September 23,1870; he married for his second wife Miss Sadie R. White in 1877; shewas born in Pennsylvania; he has two children by his first marriage:Lucy Addie and Frank.

Mackey, C. H., attorney; born in Fultoncounty, Illinois, in 1837; here he received his education and learnedthe trade of carpenter; he came to this county in 1855; having anatural taste for the profession of law, he prepared himself foradmission to the bar, and was admitted in 1858; in August, 1862, filledwith patriotism, and obedient to the calls of his country, he enlistedin the Thirty-third Iowa Infantry, and was commissionedlieutenant-colonel, and was mustered out in July, 1865; returned to hishome and resumed the practice of his profession, and has built up alarge business; he was elected to represent the county in the StateLegislature in October, 1879, he married Miss Lydia Reed in 1858; shewas born in Ohio; they have five children: James R., Mollie, Frank,Lizzie and Charles; lost two: Nellie and Freddie.

McCaulay, Charles, dealer in stoves, agricultural implements, hardware andtinware manufacture; was born in the north of Ireland in 1834, and whenthirteen years of age removed to Scotland; he was brought up a farmer,and remained in the employ of one man nineteen years, who, inrecognition of such service presented him with a valuable testimonial;he emigrated to the United States October 28, 1869, and came to thiscounty in 1870; he is doing a prosperous business, and building up alarge trade.

Maleby, A., egg dealer.

Mahon, Richard, farmer, Sec. 35.

Marsh, G. L., jeweler.

Mead, Clark, farmer, Sec. 35.

Merriam,W. D., real estate dealer, was born in Lowell, Washington county, Ohio,in 1825, and lived there until he arrived to years of manhood; hisearly life was spent on a farm, and afterward he devoted considerableattention to the grain and produce business, and at the outbreak of therebellion was doing a large business in shipping to New Orleans andother river towns; he came to this county in 1864, and engaged in hispresent business; he owns a farm of 160 acres near Sigourney, besidewild lands in other places; he married Ruth Clark, in October, 1868;she was born in Hamilton county, Ohio; Mr. Merriam has one daughter:Angevine (now Mrs. West), living in Ohio, by a former marriage.

Middleton, J. J., farmer, Sec. 20.

Miller, Fred, carpenter.

Mitchell, Mathias, farmer, Sec. 19.

Miles, William, farmer, Sec. 8.

Minteer, J. P., farmer, Sec. 12.

Minteer, B. C., livery stable.

Miles, Daniel, farmer, Sec. 5.

Miles, John, farmer, Sec. 5.

Miller, C. E., farmer, Sec. 2.

Miller, J. W., farmer, Sec. 1.

Mohme, Henry, farmer, Sec. 36.

Morrison, John, grain dealer.

Myer, A., farmer, Sec. 35.

Namur, Theodore, saloon; born in Paris, August 24, 1842, and was raised there;he emigrated to the United States in 1865, and settled in Chicago,where he remained one year, and came to Keokuk county, Iowa in 1866; hemarried Miss Christine Triebel in 1868; she was born in Keokuk county;they have four children: Charles, Henrietta, George and Theodore.

Neas, Samuel, farmer, Sec. 2.

Needham,Wm., editor of the “Sigourney News,” is a native of Guernsey county,Ohio, and was born on the 22d day of August, 1840, and lived thereuntil thirteen years of age, and then came with his parents to Iowa,and settled in Oskaloosa in October, 1853; he received the benefits ofthe educational advantages of the town and entered the "Herald” officeand learned the printing business, and followed it for a time as anavocation in Des Moines and Albia until the outbreak of the rebellion;he enlisted in the Twenty-second Iowa volunteer Infantry as a private,and after several promotions, was mustered out as first lieutenant atthe close of the war; he participated in the battles of Port Gibson,Champion’s Hill, Jackson, Black River Bridge, and in the charge onVicksburg, May 22d, 1863 and was also under Sheridan in the ShenandoahValley, at the battle of Fisher’s Hill and Cedar Creek; after the warhe returned and bought an interest in the “Herald” and was connectedwith it for twelve years; he held the office of postmaster of Oskaloosafrom February 1, 1870 until March 1, 1876; in November, 1878, he becamethe editor of the Sigourney News;" he married Miss Olive A. KnowltonDecember 26, 1866; she is a native of Clinton county, Ohio; theirfamily consists of four children: Charles K., John R., Edna Pauline andEmma; lost one daughter, Alice Pearl.

Neff, Mrs. M., physician.

Neff, Samuel, stock dealer.

Nelson, John, farmer, Sec. 10.

Newkirk, C. J., farmer, Sec. 17.

Newkirk, Daniel, farmer, Sec. 20.

Nuller, David, farmer, Sec. 8.

Neiman, Fred, farmer, Sec. 35.

Olemayer, Joseph, furniture dealer and undertaker; born in Germany, October 3,1828, and was raised there until 1854; in his youth he was apprenticedto a cabinet maker to learn the business; he came to the United Statesin 1854, and settled first in New York, where he remained one year thencame to Iowa City, and during the year 1855 came to Sigourney, where hehas since resided; he has served as a member of the town council, andis one of Sigourney’s prominent business men; he married Miss Mary Rupfin 1855; she was born in Germany in 1827; they have three children:Joseph, Mary and Lucy

Olive, D. P., merchant, dealer ingeneral merchandise, agricultural implements and lumber; was born inPerry county, Ohio, January 19,1821, and lived there until 1857; whileliving there he read law, and was admitted to the bar November 5, 1844;he came to this county December 15, 1857, and engageD in the practiceof his profession, which he continued for many years, but owning toimpaired health he relinquished his profession and engaged in hispresent business; he has held various township offices; he married MissMargaret Sellers March 30, 1845; she was a native of Perry county,Ohio, and died June 10, 1877; he married for his second wife Mrs. BelleWilliams, October 12, 1878; she was born in New York; their familyconsists of three children: James, Louisa, and Emma.

Page, T. B., farmer, Sec. 14.

Page,A. T.; born in Cavendish, Windsor county, Vermont, September 15, 1806,and lived there until eighteen years of age, when his parents removedto Mansfield, Ohio, where he lived for twenty-eight years; his youthwas divided between teaching school during the winter months, andworking on a farm in summer; he was also engaged to some extent inmercantile pursuits previous to his removal to this county, in 1854;this business he resumed after coming to Sigourney; he held the officeof justice of the peace many years, and very satisfactorily; he owns anundivided half of about eighty-five acres of land in Sigourneytownship; he married Miss Cynthia J. Dana in May, 1829; she was born inUtica, New York; they have three children: Joseph, Thomas, and Cleora(now Mrs. Huffman).

Parker, I. B., farmer, Sec. 10.

Parker, Sam,, house-mover.

Parker, J. T., carpenter.

Parks, E. A., jeweler.

Pernell, M., farmer, Sec. 35.

Pennell, J. S., farmer, Sec. 35.

Pfaff,M., furniture dealer and undertaker; born in North Carolina, in 1828,and removed with his parents to Indiana, in 1830; he was raised afarmer; having a desire to come to Iowa, and wanting some one to comewith him, he paid the expenses of a companion to accompany him, andwhen he arrived here, in 1851, he had but fifty cents left, and this hepaid for the lodging and breakfast of the person coming with him; hehas worked at his present business since that time; he owns a farm offifty-one acres, beside valuable city property; he married Miss AmeliaStrong, in 1853; she was born in Michigan; they have six children:Harriet (now Mrs. Clark), Carrie (now Mrs. Cheney), Frank, Ettie, Belleand Earl.

Pfaff, G. W., farmer, Sec. 16.

Pfaff, A.J., stock raiser, farmer, Sec. 16; P. O. Sigourney, born September 1,1820, in North Carolina; when seven years of age his parents emigratedto Indiana and settled in Morgan county; he was raised a farmer and hasfollowed it as an occupation to the present time; he came to Iowa at anearly day and without means; when he arrived here he had only fiftycents in his pocket and owed fourteen dollars, but he had what was morevaluable than gold – he combined industry, perseverance and economytogether with a strong constitution and fixed principles of honor andhonesty; he went to work with a will, and has been eminentlysuccessful; he owns 450 acres of land, and his homestead is one of thebest improved farms in the county; he married Miss C. Jackson inSeptember 1851; she was born in Ohio; they have three children: George,Harriet and Delia, they lost an infant daughter.

Pfaff,Samuel I., farmer, Sec. 21; P. O. Sigourney; is the son of John D. andLourana Pfaff, and was born in North Carolina in 1819; the family movedto Morgan county, Indiana, when the subject of this sketch was eightyears of age; his early life was spent on a farm; he afterward learnedthe wagon-making trade, and after he came to Sigourney, in 1848, heworked at the business 16 years; in 1865 he bought they farm he nowoccupies, containing 160 acres, well improved; he came here withoutmeans, and has accumulated whet he now enjoys by honest labor; hemarried Miss Caroline Jackson in 1851; she was a native of Ohio; theyhave four children: Willis B., William C., Charles D. and Samuel L.;lost one son: Jackson A.

Pilkington, R., farmer, Sec. 2.

Pinkerton, C., billiard saloon.

Plessner, O., blacksmith.

Pope,Maj., A. J., deputy auditor; was born in Morgan county, Indiana in1837,and learned the trade of tinsmith in youth, and came to thiscounty in 1856, and worked at his trade; heeding the call of thegovernment for troops to preserve the honor of the country and tosuppress the rebellion of the South, he enlisted in the Thirteenth IowaInfantry, October 21, 1861, and after passing through several grades ofpromotion, he was mustered out as major at the close of the war; he wasat the battles of Shiloh, Corinth, siege of Vicksburg, Jackson, Atlantaand many of less importance than the last named places, he was prisonerJuly 22, 1864, and taken to Macon, and afterward to Charleston, andplaced under fire of the federal guns; he participated in the grandreview at Washington, and after his return to this county, he wasappointed an assistant in the office of collector of internal revenue,and afterward, he was appointed collector, and held the office fouryears; he has also had four years experience in the auditor’s office;he married Miss Hannah Pinkerton, in 1861; she was born in New York;they have a family of five children: John, Jessie, Mary, Worth B.,Eakes.

Prather, C. G., drayman.

Prather, John, drayman.

Price,A. C., M. D., physician and surgeon; among the medical practitioners ofKeokuk county, no one is more deserving of a place in these memorialsthan the subject of this sketch, who has been engaged in the practiceof medicine in this county more years than any other in his profession;he was born in Urbanna, Ohio, in 1822, and is the son of Abraham andMartha Price; the former was a native of New Jersey; the latter wasborn at Fort Hamilton (now Cincinnati), and in one of three of thefirst white children born in this place; the family moved from Ohio, toSangamon county, Illinois, and thence, to Morgan county, and in 1841,he came to Iowa, and located in Iowa City; he was raised a farmer, withvery limited advantages, but after his removal to Iowa City, feelingdesirous of acquiring an education, he availed himself of thefacilities offered by the Academy in the town, and at intervalsteaching school; he turned his attention to medicine, and read with Dr.S. M. Ballard, as preceptor; he attended the St. Louis Medical College,and graduated from that institute in 1850; he came to this county at anearly day, and soon built up a large and fairly remunerative practice;he established himself in the confidence of the public, and was alwaysprompt in responding to the calls of duty, whether the patient was ableto pay for professional services or not, and in no instance has everrefused to attend the suffering on this account; he responded to thecall of President Lincoln for volunteers to assist in putting down therebellion, and recruited Co. D, Thirteenth Iowa Volunteer Infantry, andwas commissioned captain, but after serving for a time was compelled toresign in consequence of impaired health; after his discharge, hereturned home and resumed the practice of his profession; in hismedical relations he has built up his reputation by skill and energy,and much of his success may be attributed to his careful attention tothe details of his profession; he is a well-read man, of independentthought, and has strong convictions of his responsibility as a citizen,never wavering in the discharge of his duties; he has held the officeof postmaster at Sigourney, and one of the State commissioners for theinsane; he was married to Miss Amanda F. Stebbins, in the autumn of1852; she was a native of Kentucky and died in April 14, 1877; he hastwo children: Imogene and Maud.

Randall, Maxon., retired farmer; born in Steuben county, New York, September 10,1810, and was raised there until sixteen years of age; he then went toSalem, Ohio, in 1826, to learn the trade of millwright; he returned toNew York and also lived for a time in Erie county, Penn., in 1822 heremoved to Illinois and was one of the inspectors of election thatorganized Kendall county, in that State; he came to Iowa with a wagonand four yoke of oxen, bringing two plows with him; he reachedTalleyrand May 5, 1843; he settled in Warren township, where he residedthirty-five years; he has held various offices of trust; he served ascounty commissioner for many years, and also drainage commissioner,beside filling all the township offices; he is one of the oldestsettlers of the county, and has been closely identified with itsmaterial growth and prosperity; he married Miss Drusilla Greenfield, in1832; she was born in Montgomery county, New York; they have sixchildren: Sarah (now Mrs. Hankins), Sabra (now Mrs. Payton), Nancy (nowMrs. Hildebrand), James P., John and Thomas J.; two sons, Maxon W. andCharles, enlisted in the late war; the former died at Helena, and thelatter n Mississippi.

Randall, W. W., stock dealer.

Raumaker, F. S., mail carrier.

Rehkoff Bros., carriage makers.

Rickey, C. D., farmer, Sec. 35.

Richmiller, A., farmer, Sec. 17.

Rice, J. W., retired.

Richardson, Joel, clerk of the courts of Keokuk county; born in McDonough county,Illinois, in 1839, and lived there until 1845, when his parents removedto this county; he was raised a farmer, and owns a farm of 130 acres inLancaster township; he has held various township offices previous tohis election to his present position; he married Miss Mary Brown, in1860; she was born in Indiana, and died in 1875; he afterward marriedMiss Lizzie Hubbird, in 1876; she was born in Keokuk county; theirfamily consists of four children: Schuyler, Julia and Viola by firstmarriage; and a daughter Lucie, by second marriage.

Robison, A. G., tailor.

Robison, T., cashier of Union Bank.

Rogers, John, justice of the peace; born in Bedford county, Pennsylvania, in1808; when eight years of age his parents removed to Ohio; here helearned the trade of shoemaker; and in 1839 he removed to Indiana, andin 1856 came to Keokuk county, bringing with him a printing press, andpublished the first paper published in Sigourney; he has held theoffice of county judge seven years, from 1861 to 1868; and mayor of thecity for two terms, and justice of the peace for seven years; he hasbeen thrice married: first to Elizabeth Davis in 1830; she was a nativeof Ohio, and died in 1846; he married for his second wife ElizabethDerrick, in 1846; she was a native of Ohio, and died in 1853; he wasmarried a third time to Diadana C. Adamson, in 1853; she was a nativeof Ohio; he has two children by first marriage: Howard S. and Mary(wife of G. W. McKean); by the second marriage, one son: Horace; and bythe third marriage, one daughter: Alice (wife of Charles A. Gray).

Rohloff, farmer, Sec. 18.

Rosecrans, H. C., miller.

Sampson, Hon. E. S., attorney; born in Huron county, Ohio, on the 6th ofDecember, 1831, and is the son of Ezekiel Sampson and Polly, nee Merifield;his father was of English origin and his mother a native of Vermont;the family, when the subject of this sketch was young, he moved toFulton county, Illinois; thence to what is now Keokuk county, Iowa, in1843, the first year the whites were permitted to enter upon thatportion of the territory called the New Purchase; the subject of oursketch attended the public and subscription schools a portion of thetime between the age of seven and twelve years; from twelve to nineteenhe worked on his father’s farm, attending school but one winter; hewas, however, a diligent student, and extremely fond of his books; hestudied arithmetic and grammar at night and during intervals of labor;his father, being in limited circ*mstances, was able to render butlittle assistance to his son in the way of procuring an education, sothat he was mainly thrown on his own resources; from 1850 to 1853 heattended the high school of Prof. S. S. Howe, at Mr. Pleasant, Iowa;the last two years of his stay at the academy he was enabled to pay hisboard and tuition by learning to set type, setting type mornings andevenings and on Saturdays, in the autumn of 1853 he entered thesophom*ore class of Knox College; his father died during the year, whichterminated his educational privileges; having developed a taste andaptitude for professional studies, he entered the office of Messrs.Eastman & Rice, of Oskaloosa, as a law student; in the yearfollowing he was admitted to the bar, and in the spring of 1856 movedto Sigourney (which has since been his home); in August 1856, he waselected prosecuting attorney, and held the position till January, 1859,at the same time carrying on a general civil practice; he enlisted inthe late war, and was commissioned captain of Co.F, Fifth IowaInfantry; in 1862 he was promoted to lieutenant-colonel, and served inthat capacity until mustered out in 1864; on returning from the army heentered again upon the practice of law, in partnership with G. D.Woodn,(sic) Esq., and soon took a leading rank at the bar; in 1865 hewas elected to the State Senate, and in the autumn of 1866 he waselected Judge of the Sixth Judicial District of the State, and servedin that capacity till the end of 1874, having been re-elected in 1869,without opposition; in this situation he won and maintained thereputation of being one of the foremost jurists in the State, receivingon his retirement the most flattering testimonials as to his abilityfrom the bar of every county in the district; while yet on the bench,and after having declined to become a candidate before the convention,he was nominated to represent the Sixth District of Iowa in theForty-fourth Congress; he was elected by a majority of two thousand,four hundred votes, and re-elected in 1876, by a majority of fourthousand; he served on several important committees with credit to theState, to his district, and honor to himself; he is at present engagedin the practice of his profession, and is associated with C. M. Brown;he is characterized as a man of great industry, and is governed by themost rigid principles of honesty and integrity; he was married to MissEunice McCann, in 1855; she was a resident of Keokuk county but anative of Indiana; they have a family of seven children: Lee, Edmund,Flora (now Mrs. C. M. Brown,, Leona, Clara, Ellen, and Lavina.

Sanders, Samuel, farmer, Sec. 3.

Schriever, Wm., cigar maker

Snodgrass, H. S., clergyman.

Schipfer,F. A., merchant, and dealer in general merchandise; born in Germany, in1832; he was raised there, and came to the United States in 1852; andsettled in Sigourney in 1856; he has always been engaged in sellinggoods, and is the oldest house in this line in the city; he marriedMiss Emily Knape, in 1857; she was born in Germany; their familyconsists of seven children: Francis A. (who is associated with hisfather in business), Herman, Lewis, Oscar, Eugene, Clara and Freddie.

Schott, Andrew, lumber dealer; born in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1843, and livedthere until 1856 when he came to Iowa and settled in Muscatine; heenlisted in the Second Iowa Cavalry and served until the close of thewar; he then received the appointment of post-trader in Texas, andremained there two years; he came to this county in 1871 and engaged inthe lumber business; he is also connected with a firm in the same lineat What Cheer, and also at Keswick, in this county, he is associated inbusiness with Charles M. Harlan; they deal in all kinds of lumber,doors, sash, blinds and wagon stock; he married Miss Emma Berry, inMuscatine, in 1865; they have one son; Edward H., born September 9,1966.

Seevers, Paul, farmer, Sec. 13.

Scott, John, retired.

Seamans, H.A., telegraph operator.

Selby, Mrs. M. D.; whose maiden name was Cissna, was born in Ohio, and removedto Michigan in 1859; she married Dr. H. W. Selby in 1860; he was bornin Knox county, Ohio, and after making choice of the medical professionhe prepared himself for its practice and followed it for an occupationfor several years; owing to impaired health he engaged in mercantilepursuits, and while absent in Chicago purchasing goods, was taken sickand died, April 11, 1876.

Seamans, H. A., telegraph operator;born at Wheaton, Illinois, in 1853, and came to Iowa in 1876; hemarried Miss Libbie A. James, daughter of S. A. and Sarah James, April3, 1878; they have one son: Worth J.

Shafer, E., dealer ingeneral merchandise; born in Knox county, Ohio, in 1838; he came tothis State in 1844 and settled first in Washington county, andafterward removed to Jefferson county and remained there until hesettled in this county, in 1858, where he has been engaged for thegreater portion of the time selling goods; he has held school andtownship offices; he married Miss Cynthia A. Jones, in 1863; she wasborn in Jefferson county, Iowa; they have six children: Alta E., MaryL., Nina L. John E., Mattie, and an infant; lost one daughter; Carrie.

Shawhan,Joseph H., dealer in agricultural implements; born in Rush county,Indiana, in 1838, and when seven years of age was brought by hisparents to Keokuk county, Iowa, settling here in 1845; his father,Benjamin P. Shawhan, was born in Kentucky, and his mother’s name wasMaria A., and she was a native of Virginia; Mr. S. enlisted in Co. B,Thirty-third Iowa Infantry during the late war, and was commissionedfirst lieutenant; he was compelled, on account of sickness, to resign,and as soon as he had sufficiently recovered, he recruited Co. K, NinthIowa Calvary, and remained in service until February, 1866; he marriedMiss Mary A. Jackson, in March 1861; she was born in Piqua, Miamicounty, Ohio; their family consists of six children: Benjamin P., HarryH., William J., Ethel G., Bessie and Glenn.

Shilling, E., tinner.

Shilling, S., farmer, Sec. 35.

Shiflett, A. J., farmer, Sec. 6.

Shults, F. W., shoemaker.

Sidenbender, S., horse dealer.

Sims, E. T., painter.

Simpson, Nic., farmer, Sec. 8.

Skillman,Dr. E. H., retired physician; prominent among the citizens of thiscounty who have passed the ordeal of pioneer life in the west and whoseearly struggles well deserve a place in these memorials, is the subjectof this sketch, Dr. E. H. Skillman; he was born in Highland county,Ohio, on the 21st day of June, 1812; he received his education atWashington, Fayette county, Pennsylvania; having made choice ofmedicine as a profession, and after preparing himself, he attended theMedical College, at Cincinnati; in 1842, following the star of empirewestward, he came to Iowa and settled in Columbus City, Louisa county,and lived there four year, and then removed to this county, in 1846,and engaged in the practice of his profession; he pursued his chosencalling with untiring zeal and energy and with a success which hasearned for him an enviable reputation and acquired an extensivepractice; to the poor he was ever kind and obliging, and has riddenhundreds of miles to administer to their necessities withoutexpectation of pecuniary compensation; after practicing his professionfor several years he engaged in mercantile pursuits and finallyabandoned his practice, and in this, as well as in other pursuits, waseminently successful; he owns over 700 acres of land and is one of thelarge taxpayers of Keokuk county; he married Miss E. A. Browder, in1838, she was born in Green county, Ohio; they have a family of sixchildren: Nancy J. (now Mrs. Moore), Lizzie (now the wife of Hon. Geo.D. Woodin), Allen C., Elnora (now Mrs. Havens), Evan H.Jr., Eliza A.(now Mrs. Marshall,) Sarah (now Mrs. Kelly); he is a man of strongconvictions and bold and fearless in advocating them; he is modest andunassuming in his habits and manners and an upright citizen.

Smith, Samuel, billiard hall.

Smith, Albert, farmer, Sec. 7.

Smith, J. G., farmer, Sec. 35.

Smith,G. H., attorney; born in Hanco*ck county, Indiana, in 1843, and whenthree years of age his parents removed to Jefferson county, Iowa, andremained there until March, 1856, when they came to Keokuk county, andsettled in Jackson township; in October, 1862, he enlisted as a privatein Company A, Seventh Iowa Cavalry and after serving three years wasmustered out second lieutenant, November 25, 1865; having been deniedschool privileges in youth, and ashamed of his backwardness, he hired ateacher after he became of age; having a taste for the profession oflaw, he studied and was admitted to the bar October 3, 1871; he hasheld various township offices and owns a farm of forty-six acres ofland; he is associated in business with W. J. Gaston and H. L.Richardson, who in connection with their general business make aspecialty of collecting pensions and U. S. Claims; they also do a largeinsurance business and represent a large line of companies, among whichmay be mentioned the Commercial of Hartford, National of Hartford,Orient of Hartford, Meridian of Connecticut, Fire Association ofPhiladelphia, American of Philadelphia, Glenn Falls of New York,Niagara of New York, Watertown of New York, Newark of New Jersey,British America and Commercial Union of London; Mr. S. married Miss C.Porter January 31st, 1866; she was born in Indiana; they have fivechildren: Frankie, David B., Samuel S., Gad O. and Eva.

Sonwalts, Fred., farmer, Sec. 17.

Sparks, J. S., restaurant.

Starr,J. C., editor of the Sigourney Courier; born in Columbus, Ohio in 1848,and was raised there until eighteen years of age, at which time hisparents removed to this county; he divided his time between the farmand attending school; having a taste for the practice of law, heentered the office of Mackey, Harned & Fonda, and was admitted tothe bar April 6, 1877; he married Miss Minnie Mohme, in 1871; she wasborn in Prussia, Germany; they have four children: Rosa, Ella, Annieand Mertie.

Startzman, C. D., harness maker.

Stevens, W., teamster.

Stevens, owen, farmer; born in Frederick county, Maryland, in 1811, and wastaken by his parents to Belmont county, Ohio, in 1816, where his fatherengaged in farming; he also gave his attention largely to tobaccoculture, curing and shipping; the subject of this sketch remained inOhio until 1864, and then removed to this county, where he owns a farmof 230 acres, adjoining the city, and is devoting his attention mostlyto stock; he married Miss Ann Chambers, in 1838; she was born in Ohio;they have a family of seven children: Oliver P., Lida, Mollie (now Mrs.McLean), John Q. A., Belle, Pauline and Pigeon.

Stewart, R., farmer, Sec. 14.

Stranahan,A.; born in Philadelphia, in 1841, and lived in Pennsylvania until1855, when he came to this county, where he has since resided; he wasraised a farmer; in 1868 he was elected sheriff of Keokuk county, andserved eight years in this capacity; since his retirement from thesheriff’s office he has been engaged in railroad building; of hispromptness and success in arresting criminals mention is made inanother part of this work; he married Miss C. E. Smith, in 1867; shewas born in Illinois; they have three children: Lizzie, Melinda P. andCarrie.

Stuck, H., carpenter.

Swails, D. P., planning-mill.

Thornloe, W., stock raiser.

Thompson, Dr. Jas., dentist; born in Harrison county, Ohio, July 9, 1846, and wasraised in that State; he enlisted in the 172d Ohio Infantry during thelate war; he made choice of the dental profession, and has followed itfor twelve years; he came to Iowa in 1868, and settled in Washingtoncounty, and in 1872 changed his residence to Sigourney; he married MissAnna M. Snyder, of Jefferson county, Ohio, March 26, 1868; they haveone son: Robert A.; lost one daughter: Minnie V.

Todd, H. D.,formerly county superintendent of schools; born in Decatur county,Indiana, in 1847, and came to this State in 1854 and settled inWashington county, and lived there until 1858, when he made his home inthis county; he was educated at the Oskaloosa College and the IowaState University, and was engaged in teaching four years previous tohis election as county superintendent, in 1873; he married Miss Mary E.Deering, March 20, 1877; she was born in Maine.

Trussler, H. C., farmer, Sec. 18.

Trussler, H. O., farmer, Sec. 7.

Trussler, G. D., farmer, Sec. 18.

Trussler, R. M., farmer, Sec. 7.

Turner, H. J., farmer, Sec. 2.

Updegraff,A., dealer in groceries and provisions, boots and shoes; born in Ohioin 1836, and was raised there a farmer; he enjoyed the benefitsafforded by the common schools, and supplemented his education byattending the McNeely Normal School, in Harrison county, Ohio; hefollowed teaching as an occupation very successfully for ten years; hecame to this State in 1863, and settled in Mahaska county, and came tothis county in 1872; he married Miss Hannah Harlan, in 1869; she wasborn in Muskingum county, Ohio; they have two children: Harlan and ZenaM.

Valerius, Peter, saloon; born in Fondulac, Wisconsin, in 1846, and was raisedthere a farmer; he came to this county in 1867; he married Emma Fritz,June 15, 1878; she was born in Germany; they have five children:
Henry, Michael, Mary, Johnnie and Jennie.

Veitch, Wm., proprietor of the Sigourney woolen mills; born in Paisley,Scotland, in 1839, and emigrated to the United States in 1844, andsettled in Guernsey county, Ohio; his father was a practical woolenmanufacturer, and the son was educated in the business from boyhood; hecame to Iowa in 1859, and settled in Henry county, and while livinghere had the experience of building two mills; he came to this countyin 1872, and established his present business of manufacturingprincipally, cassimeres, flannel, jeans, blankets and knitting yarn,giving employment to about twenty hands; the goods manufactured bythese mills are of a good quality, and meet with a ready sale; Mr.Veitch was married in 1859, to Miss Lydia A. Booth, a native of Ohio;thy have a family of six children: Marietta, Frank, Minnie B., PearlE., Paul L. and Margaret; lost three: William, Annie and James.

Vert, John, farmer, Sec. 7.

Vickery, C., stock dealer.

Vogle, Andrew, farmer, Sec. 2.

Weaver,T. C., assistant cashier of the First National Bank; born inMechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, in 1847, and removed to Lafayette,Indiana, in 1850, and was principally raised there; he came toWashington, Washington county, Iowa, in 1871, and in 1872 came to thiscounty; he married Miss Hattie Adams in September 1878; she was born inEnglish River township this county; they have one son: Waldo T.

Wait, Wm., farmer, Sec. 2.

Warren, Geo., farmer, Sec. 35.

Wallace, J., teamster.

Warick, Oliver, farmer, Sec. 16.

Wells, Edward, farmer, Sec. 35.

Welsch, John, blacksmith.

Weller,R. F., grain dealer; born in Nelson county, Kentucky, August 9, 1820;the family removed to Indiana when he was an infant; his early life wasspent on a farm; he then learned the cooper’s trade, and in 1841removed to Illinois and lived there four years, and in 1845 came toKeokuk county and worked at his trade, and afterward engaged in generalmerchandise; Mr. W. has endured all the hardships of pioneer life; hetaught the first school in Steady Run township, in a log school-house,14X14, with puncheon floors, and for light one log was left out andpaper pasted over the opening thus made; the roof was so open that whenit snowed the floor would be covered with snow; he married Miss HarrietJacobs in 1848; she was born in Harrison county, Indiana; she diedNovember 30, 1859; he was again married, in 1867, to Miss Jane R.Shafer; she was born in Knox county, Ohio; he has one daughter by firstmarriage: Julia M. (now Mrs. Dunn); lost four; and two by secondmarriage: Mabel and Alexander J.; lost three.

Wallace, J., teamster.

Welch, John, blacksmith.

Westman, G. E., tailor.

Westman, G., tailor.

Williams, Henry, farmer, Sec. 7.

Williams, Matt, attorney; born in Rush county, Indiana, in 1834, and lived thereuntil he came to this county in 1846, and settled in Lancastertownship, where he now owns a farm of 160 acres; he was engaged inagricultural pursuits the early years of his life and has held varioustownship offices; having a taste for the profession of law, afterpreparing himself, he was admitted to the bar, in April, 1870; in 1877he was elected to the lower house of the State legislature and servedhis term acceptably to this constituents and creditably to himself; hemarried Miss Martha Vittetoe, in 1856; she was a native of Johnsoncounty, Indiana; she died in June, 1864; he married for his second wifeHenrietta Morrow, in 1867; she was born in Missouri; has one daughterby first marriage: Margaret (wife of Wm. Eulin); and four by secondmarriage: Martha, Lillian, Jettie and Mattell,

White, J.S.,dealer in general merchandise; born in Indiana, in 1842, and livedthere until 1855, when he removed to Missouri, and after a residence ofa few years in that State came to Iowa in 1859; has been engaged inselling goods eighteen years; he married Miss Phebe A. Williams in1863; she was a native of Indiana; they have a family of four children:Ida, Ellsworth, Eddie and Bertie.

Wightman, M., grocer; bornin Fayette county, Indiana, in 1835, and lived there until eleven yearsof age, when his parents removed to Bloomington, McLean county,Illinois, in 1844, where he was raised on a farm; he came to thiscounty in 1855; during the war he enlisted in the Seventh IowaInfantry, as a private, and was mustered out as first lieutenant; afterhis discharge from the army he returned to the county and has sincebeen elected county clerk three successive terms; he married MissHattie Forgrave in March, 1860; she was born in Ohio; they have fourchildren; Louie B., Abbie E. George R. and Hattie V.

Whiteman, Calder, farmer, Sec. 4.

Woods, Pack, farmer, Sec. 35.

Woodin,George D., attorney and counselor-at-law, born in Warren county,Pennsylvania, on the 27th of February 1827, and is the son of David andParthena Woodin, natives of Monroe county, New York; his father was adescendant of Puritan stock, the original ancestor having come overwith the Massachusetts Bay Company, in 1628; the mother of our subjecttraces her ancestry to Irish origin; the youth of Mr. Woodin was spentat work on his father’s farm during the summer and attending school inthe winter until 1844, when he attended one term at the Waterford(Pennsylvania) Academy, and the next winter taught a district school;the two following summers were spent at Jamestown Academy, New York,and the winters were spent in teaching; with one term of preparatorystill to complete he entered Allegheny college, at Meadville, in 1847;the full course of one term in the preparatory department, and fouryears in the college were completed in four years, while at the sametime he taught school for three months each winter and made one year inhis law studies with A. B. Richmond of Meadville, Pennsylvania; hegraduated with honors at the head of his class in 1851, having defrayedthe entire expense of his educaton by teaching, except ten dollarsgiven him by his mother; after leaving college he taught in the academyat Warren, Pennsylvania, for one year, reading law at the same time inthe office of L. D. Wetmore; he was admitted to the bar in 1862, andfor one year after practiced his profession with his preceptor,developing at the same time rare powers and genius as a practitioner;in 1853 he decided to come to Iowa and he made the then incipient townof Iowa City, his future home; his entire stock of trade consisted, onarrival, of a few books, a suit of clothes and four dollars in money,the bar of Iowa City, at that time being on of the ablest in the State,and had as its shining lights Gilman Folsom and W. Penn Clark; in 1854he was elected prosecuting attorney of Johnson county and in 1855 waselected mayor of Iowa City; in 1856 he was elected to the legislaturefrom Johnson county and served one term with credit to his constituentsand honor to himself; in 1857 he moved to Sigourney, which has sincebeen his home, and in 1858 was elected district attorney for the SixthJudicial District, and served four years, during which time he earnedfor himself the reputation of being one of the most skilled andsuccessful criminal lawyer’s in the State; Mr. Woodin has had greatsuccess as an attorney and has been engaged on one side or other ofalmost every important case since he came to Sigourney, and during aperiod of twenty years he has not been absent from the court room onefull hour at any one time during the session of court; his addresses tothe jury are quick, pungent and exceedingly earnest and he rarely failsof success with either judge or jury; he is a man of great penetration,seeming to know a client’s case before it is half stated; he hassteadfastly refused all offices since those above named which were inthe line of his profession; he has devoted himself to the duties of hisprofession and may emphatically be termed a man of one work; in July,1859, he was married to Miss Mary E. Skillman, of Sigourney; she was anative of Louisa county, Iowa; they have three children, Link, Guy andGrace.

Yerger,J. P., president of the Union Bank; born in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, in1825; he studied dentistry and followed it as an occupation for someyears; he came to this county in 1856, and after relinquishing thepractice of his profession engaged in mercantile pursuits; hisinvestment in this direction proving satisfactorily remunerative, inconnection with E. Laffer, vice president, T. Robison, cashier, andothers, he organized the Union Bank, July 1, 1875; his financialability and integrity have never been questioned; careful and accurate,he has the fullest confidence of the people as a man, upright, reliableand honorable; he has served the county as a member of the board ofsupervisors and has always taken great interest in educational matters;he is a genial gentleman, a quick observer and as prompt in hisbusiness relations as he is generous in his social relations andthoroughly merits the esteem in which he is held by his fellowcitizens; he married Miss Matilda Colder, in 1858; she was a native ofBaltimore, Maryland; they have one son: Frank, now a student of law inthe office of Woodin & McJunkin; they lost one daughter Kate C.,she died on May 16th, 1877 aged eighteen years.