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Jasper County, Iowa
Historical and Genealogical Data Exchange
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Hayden
Reynolds This
well-known and highly honored old soldier of Newton, Jasper County, is an
excellent representative of the retired business men of this locality, coming
from an ancestry that distinguished itself in the pioneer times, when the
country was covered with wild, native growths; in fact, Mr. Reynolds himself
came to this country in the days of the wild, wide-sweeping prairies, and
assisted his people and the rest of the early settlers to carve homes, build
schools and churches and introduce the customs of civilization in the
wilderness. They were hardy,
courageous, honest pioneers, willing to take the hardships that they might
acquire the soil and the home that was sure to rise and enjoy the blessings
following inevitably in the wake of civilization. Hayden
Reynolds was born in Hart County, Kentucky, on October 12, 1842, the son of
Shadrach and Mary (Logsdon) Reynolds. The
father was a native of Virginia, but when a child his parents brought him to
Kentucky and there he grew to manhood and married, and in 1855 he moved with his
family from the "dark and bloody ground" country to Jasper County,
Iowa; however, the trip was not made at once, for they went in wagons to
Louisville and New Albany, stopping in the latter city several months, when the
journey was resumed by steamboat to Keokuk, Iowa, and from there in wagons to
Newton, the father buying land in what is now Newton township, which was at that
time a part of Malaka township, settling there in 1856, thus becoming one of the
early settlers of the County. There the elder Reynolds farmed until his death, which
occurred when he was fifty-eight years of age, his wife reaching the age of
sixty-four years. They had a
large family, fourteen children, of which Hayden, of this sketch, was the third
in order of birth; the others are, James 0., who served in the Civil War as a
member of Company B, Thirteenth Iowa Volunteer Infantry, died in Kansas; Sarah,
who married Green B. Bridges, lives in Newton; Deliah died in infancy; Nancy J.,
now Mrs. John Montis, lives at Bellefontaine, Ohio; William, who was in Company
L, Ninth Iowa Cavalry, during the Civil War, died in Afton, this state;
Zachariah died in Oskaloosa, Iowa; Joseph lives in Des Moines; Isabel married
John T. Rapp, a veteran of the Civil war, who is living at the Soldiers' Home
near Dodge City, Kansas; Thomas lives in Newton; Charles lives on a farm near
Newton; A. G. lives in Des Moines; E. F. lives in Newton; Martha is the wife of
Lee Logsdon and they live in Newton. The
last five named were born after the family came to Jasper County. Hayden
Reynolds attended the district schools in his Township, and during the summer
months he assisted with the work on the home farm. When the great war between the states came on he gladly
sacrificed the pleasures of home and prospects of business and offered his
services to the Union, being among the early volunteers, having enlisted in
Company B, Fifth Iowa Infantry, in June 1861, and on July 15th following he was
sworn into the service at Burlington, Iowa, this being the first regiment raised
in this state under the call for three hundred thousand troops. He saw some hard
service, having been in the battle of Iuka, in which his company lost very
heavily, in fact, more than half of it was killed or missing. Mr. Reynolds
witnessed the bombardment of New Madrid, Missouri, and he was in the hard-fought
battle of Corinth. At Memphis he was accidentally wounded and was laid up in the
hospital for some time. On September 7, 1863, he was given an honorable
discharge and sent home on account of disability, after a faithful service of
twenty-six months, during which time he participated in several important
campaigns, hotly contested battles and innumerable skirmishes.
After returning home he engaged in farming, but his health was broken and
his injury troubled him, in fact, has ever since been somewhat of a handicap to
him. On
October 25, 1865, Mr. Reynolds was united in marriage with Mary Linder, who was
born in Iowa, and this union resulted in the birth of six children, namely:
James lives at Sully, Iowa; Elizabeth died when four years of age; Ida B.
married J. E. Townsend and they live in Dexter, Guthrie County, Iowa; Frederick
died in infancy; Arthur lives in Newton, being at present street commissioner
there; Sarah married Robert Linder, and they live on a farm in Sherman township,
six miles west of Newton. The
first wife of Mr. Reynolds died and he was subsequently married to Harriet
Walker, June 5, 1881. She was the
daughter of William and Mary (Dixon) Walker, the father a native of Ohio and the
mother of Illinois. They came to Iowa in 1853. Mr. Walker was a soldier in the Civil War, a member of
Company C, Thirty-third Iowa Volunteer Infantry, having been sent to the front
as a volunteer, and he saw much hard service, was wounded at Jenkins Ferry,
captured and confined in prison at Tyler, Texas, making his escape from his
captors at one time, but was overtaken and returned to prison, having been run
down by bloodhounds. He was held a
prisoner thirteen months. His eyes
having been affected by the treatment he received while a prisoner, he later
went blind. His death occurred in
1891, at the age of seventy-one years. His
wife died in 1889, at the age of fifty-nine years. Mrs. Reynolds, who was born
in 1853, was the oldest of eight children; those now living are, Malissa Walker
is living in Newton; William makes his home in Kansas; Ruth is the wife of
George Rodgers and they live in Newton, where Erwin also resides.
The parents of Mrs. Reynolds came to Jasper County in 1885. To
Mr. Reynolds' second marriage one child, Iva, was born, but lived only a short
time. About the time of his second
marriage, thirty years ago, Mr. Reynolds moved to Newton and for a while was
engaged in the painting business, then became a pension agent, in which he has
since been engaged. At first he was associated with Judge Clements and Attorney
Salmon, but later established an office of his own. He is a property owner and has a substantial home in a
good portion of Newton, only two blocks from the public square.
Besides looking after pension claims, he is engaged very successfully in
the spectacle business. Mr.
Reynolds has been a member of Garrett Post of the Grand Army of the Republic at
Newton for over twenty-five years, of which he has held most of the offices and
has been commander twice. He was
signally honored in 1901 by being appointed an aid on the staff of the
commander-in-chief of the Grand Army of the Republic, the commission carrying
with it the honorary but nevertheless enviable title of colonel.
Mrs. Reynolds is a member of the Woman's Relief Corps, and she belongs to
the Baptist church. The Past and Present of Jasper County, Gen. James B. Weaver, Editor-In-Chief, 1912 B.F. Bowen Co., Indianapolis, IN, p. 558. |
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