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Jasper County, Iowa
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Hess D. Parsons Hess
D. Parsons, one of Jasper County's most popular and influential residents, and
Malaka Township's most successful stock-raiser and dairymen, is the descendant
of a wealthy Virginia family. His grandfather, George Parsons, was throughout
his entire life a resident of West Virginia, where he was an extensive slave
owner and man of wealth. He was a
prominent and enthusiastic Democrat, and a farmer by occupation. A large, portly man, he had a powerful physique, and retained
until his death, at seventy, the vigor which had characterized him in life's
prime. The
father of our subject, George Parsons, was born the old plantation in West
Virginia, and was reared to manhood in that state, receiving excellent
educational advantages in his youth. He
learned the trades of a blacksmith and wagon maker, and manufactured the wagon
in which the family came to Iowa. His
wife, whom he married in 1827, bore the maiden name of Susanna Harper and was of
Dutch ancestry, her father having been
a native of Holland. After his
marriage, George Parsons received from his father
a small tract of timberland, upon which he cleared a space of sufficient size to
admit the erection of a cabin. That
place continued to be his home until 1843, and in the meantime be suffered all
the hardships incident to life upon the frontier.
His father had offered him a slave, but, being opposed to the
institution, he refused to accept
the gift. As
early as 1843 George Parsons came to Iowa, traversing the entire distance from
the Old Dominion to the Hawkeye State in a wagon, his family coming at the same
time in a carriage drawn by four horses. The
trip was attended by many hardships and discomforts, and all were glad when
their destination was reached. For
a time they resided east of Newton, after which they came to Malaka Township,
where the father entered three hundred; and-twenty acres and also purchased a
tract of eighty acres of partly improved land.
The lumber for his house he hauled from Burlington, and by arduous labor
finally improved a farm. In those
days harvesting was done in the old crude way, harrows were made in the shape of
the letter A, and other farming machinery was equally crude in design. Mr.
Parsons brought him a corn plow, but the nature of the soil there was such that
he was unable to use it successfully. A
man of great energy, George Parsons was prospered in his farming and
stock-raising enterprises. Among
his prominent characteristics may be mentioned close observation, careful
reflection, soundness of Judgment, practical views and a wide range of interest.
His faculties were well balanced and he was, perhaps, inclined to
conservative rather than radical views and actions. He was public spirited,
always deeply interested in what ever he thought promised to advance the
well-being of society. He was one
of the men, of whom the number is none too large, who give their time, knowledge
and thought, almost without reservation, to promote public interests and private
happiness. While he moved in the
best circles of Jasper County, he was well known to the cultivated and poor, who
trusted and loved him. He had wide
circle of acquaintances and friends, to whom his pleasant home was always open.
His house stood for cheer, counsel and hospitality. It was therefore a
source of regret to all when, in 1856, Mr. Parsons passed away, at the age of
fifty-four years. He possessed a deeper religious nature, and for many years was
connected with the Methodist Church at Newton. Though eight miles away, every
Sunday found the family in their accustomed places at church, to which they rode
on horseback, there being a horse for every member of the family.
The widowed mother of our subject is still living, and makes her home
with her sister in Newton. The
subject of this sketch was born in West Virginia, April 17, 1843, and was less
than a year old when brought by his parent to Iowa. Being the eldest son at home
in the family, a large part of the work fell upon his shoulders, and at an early
age be was initiated into the duties connected with rural life. His
opportunities for attending school were limited, but through reading and
self-culture, he has become well informed. He was one of thirteen children, of
whom six are now living, viz.: Alvernon, who lives in Newton; Harper J., a
resident of California; Geraldine, the wife of James Mendenhaw, of Montana; Hess
D., of this sketch; George W., an inventor of numerous machines and a resident
of Newton; and Newman L., whose home is in Newton Township, Jasper County.
Residing
with his mother until twenty-six years of age, our subject was theft united in
marriage with Miss Mary, daughter of George Wydell, a native of Pennsylvania.
The Wydell family came to Newton, Iowa, in the year 1866, where the father
followed the occupation of a fanner. He
was a carpet weaver by trade, and had charge of an establishment while residing
in Lebanon County, PA. Mr. and Mrs.
Parsons are the parents of three children, the eldest of whom, Hattie Bell, died
at the age of seven months. Lula
and Mary Pearl are the surviving children. In
1882, Mr. Parsons embarked in the creamery business on small scale, but has
constantly increased his facilities until the present time, when the
output of butter averages thirty-three hundred pounds per day; he has churned as
high as five thousand pounds per day. The most improved machinery is used in the
creamery, and the products marketed, principally in Philadelphia, New York and
Baltimore. In 1887 all the buildings burned to the ground, causing total
loss, as there was no insurance. Mr.
Parsons decided not to rebuild, but friends and neighbors prevailed upon him to
change his determination, and assisted him by drawing bricks and sand for him.
The houses were rebuilt, and in three weeks the creamy resumed
operations. Formerly he kept as
many as eighty milk cows, but be does not
now do so. In
addition to his dairy interests, Mr. Parsons engages in stock-raising and has a
herd of Short-horn cattle numbering about, ninety head of the purest blood.
Among them is the celebrated animal, "Band Master," which was
bred by Amos Crookshank in Scotland, and imported by Luther Adams. This
herd took the first premium at the Iowa State Fair, the purse being $250.
Mr. Parsons is also the owner of an animal which took the first premium
ay the World Fair. He owns about sixty horses, among them the well-known
“Toronto,” of Percheron stock, which was imported by George Metz, of Palo,
IL. Poland-China hogs also command
some attention, and Mr. Parsons has about four hundred of very fine stock. The Parsons farm
resembles a small village, having on every hand buildings of various sizes, each
adapted to its peculiar purpose. Mr. Parsons is a man of exemplary habits, and
has never used tobacco or intoxicating
drinks. Politically, he has voted twenty-eight Republican tickets, and
expects to continue voting that ticket so long as he lives. From the perusal
of the above, one might conclude that Mr. Parsons has been an exceptionally
fortunate man, and such, in some respects, he has been.
However, he has had his share of misfortunes, and his life has not been
smooth sailing. In 1867, on account
of an accident in a threshing machine it was found necessary to amputate his
left arm at the shoulder. Three times have wagons run over him, and once he was
lost for one day on the prairie, where his feet were frozen, he being rescued
when almost perished with hunger and cold. He is a man of powerful physique,
brawny and muscular, well fitted by nature and individual preference for the
career of pioneer, farmer, stock raiser and dairyman. Portrait and Biographical Record, Jasper, Marshall and Grundy Counties, IA, Biographical Publishing Co., Chicago, IL, 1894, p. 182. |
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