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WASHINGTON
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ANDERSON, R. C., farmer; Sec. 5; P. O. Washington;
prominent among the practical and successful business
men of this county is the subject of this sketch,
who was born in Greene county, Ohio, March 1, 1830;
when about eight years of age he removed with his
parents to Laporte county, Indiana, where they lived
four years; his father carne to this county in the
spring of 1842, and built, a house one-half mile north
of- Washington where Wm. Todd now resides, and the
following fall the family came; he was married in
Washington to Miss Nancy, daughter of James H. and
Margaret Young, October 17, 1855; she was born in
Fleming county, Kentucky, and carne to this county
when fourteen years of age; Mr. Anderson is a man
of independent thought but of a kind and obliging
nature; a man of the people and one true to the highest
principles of honor and morality; as a citizen quiet
and unostentatious, cordially supporting any measure
of real public, benefit.
ANDERSON, J. B., farmer; Sec. 34; P. O. Washington;
among the pioneers of this county the subject of this
sketch is one of the first; was born ill Highland
county, Ohio, August 29,1816; when quite young his
parents moved to Ross county, Ohio; he was raised
there and in Pickaway county; he was married in Ross
county to Miss Elizabeth McCoy, a native of Ross county,
Ohio, August 29, 1839; they came to Iowa the same
year and located where they now live, and have been
residents of the county ever since; they have a family
of six sons and three daughters: Daniel M., Eliza
J., Fredonia H., Henry R., Oscar S., Melville M.,
Lewis, Florida M., and Seward L.
BELL, W. B., postmaster; was born in Muskingum county,
Ohio, in March, 1832, and was raised there and learned
the trade of blacksmith which he followed as an occupation;
he came to Iowa in 1854, and settled in Muscatine
and lived there two years and then removed to this
county where he has since resided, and in connection
with his brother has conducted a large manufactory
of carriages, wagons, etc.; he enlisted in the Eighth
Iowa infantry during the late war and was commissioned
captain and promoted to lieutenant-colonel; he was
breveted colonel of U. S. volunteers for meritorious
services at Mobile; he was taken prisoner and held
six months in the hand of the enemy and confined in
various southern prisons'; the regiment was in various
severe engagements and saw hard service; Colonel Bell
was appointed postmaster in September, 1878; as a
business man he has been upright,
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reliable and honorable, as a soldier brave and chivalrous,
as a public official attentive and obliging but inflexible
and unswerving in the discharge of his duty; in all
places and under all circumstances he was loyal to
truth, honor and right; he married Miss Nora O. McDonald
in 1855; she was a native of Ohio; their family consists
of four children: Emma, George, Harry and Cora.
BELVILLE,JOHN, farmer; Sec. 30; P. O. Washington;
was born in Belmont county, Ohio, June 18, 1815, where
he Jived until about thirteen years of age, when his
parents moved to Union county, Ohio; he was married
there November 17, 1840, to Miss Mary M. Amarine,
a native of Ohio; they came to this county in the
tall of 1849; he lived near Eureka until 1864, and
then moved to where he now lives; their family are
three sons and three daughters: Joseph, Mary E. (now
Mrs. Adam Lewis), Alonzo, Melissa (now Mrs. Robert
Lutee), John, Jr., and Minnie; owns a farm of eighty-six
acres; Joseph was in the late rebellion in company
H, Second Iowa and served three years; Mr. B. is a
good neighbor and highly respected by all.
BRITTON, M. B., proprietor of the Bryson House; is
a native of New Hampshire and was born November 3,
1835; he was raised a farmer and followed it as an
occupation until 1853, and then followed the water
for three years; in 1858 he removed to Illinois and
lived there five years; of late years he has been
engaged in the hotel business, and in 1878 took the
Bryson House and has succeeded in making it one of
the most popular hotels in the State; no pains are
spared in making it pleasant for his guests, and he
well deserves his success; he was married to Miss
Helen Lee in 1862; she was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin;
they have two daughters: Daisey and Hattie.
BRYSON, JOHN; among the self-made men of Iowa who
have passed the ordeal of pioneer life and commenced
life penniless there is no one deserving a more prominent
place in this work than the subject of this sketch;
he was born in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, on
the 20th day of June, 1819; he was one of thirteen
children, and his parents being in humble circumstances,
John was apprenticed to a cabinet maker when ten years
of age and followed this occupation as an apprentice,
journeyman and on his own account over twenty years;
in 1847, he removed to Ohio and engaged in business
for himself; during his residence here the California
fever was raging and flattering inducements was offered
Mr. B. to try his fortune in the new Eldorado but
he decided it was best not to go; in 1851, he came
to Iowa and settled in Muscatine, and in 1856, came
to Washington and engaged in the lumber business;
his capital at that time was scarcely $1,500, and
the first year he lost $700; but he was not the man
to be discouraged by a single reverse and he continued
the business in this place with eminent success for
years, and is now one of the largest dealers in the
State, and at the present time is conducting twelve
lumber yards in this State and Kansas in addition
to the distributing yard in Chicago; he has proved
himself one of the foremost men in Washington county
in the way of public improvements; the first sidewalk
was laid through his instrumentality and individual
effort; soon after coming to Washington he had the
misfortune to lose one of his children, and when laid
away in the cemetery the indifference and negligence
in keeping the grounds in order was so repulsive to
his sensitive feelings that he inter
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-ested himself at once and called a public meeting
and secured enough to improve the cemetery and make
it the pride of the town; in building and improving
the town he has taken the lead, and in this has shown
more sagacity and good j l1dgment than those who were
disposed to criticise his actions without doing anything
themselves; the Bryson House and other buildings are
monuments of his energy and progressive spirit; the
Southwestern railroad was secured through his individual
efforts and contributions in cash of over $1,400 and
his public spiritedness has not been confined to this
county; in Red Oak and other places where he has business
interests he is foremost in advancing the interests
of the towns; in a business point his life has been
a grand success, and the lesson of his indomitable
industry is before the young men of the county; he
has never sought or held office nor is he a candidate
for popularity or public fame; he is plain and unassuming
in his habits and manners, social and obliging as
a neighbor and kind and warm hearted as a friend,
and as a citizen generous and hospitable to all; he
is purely a self-made man; commencing life in straightened
circumstances he has by his own indomitable will,
energy and perseverance made for himself a fortune;
he married Miss Evaline Leutman in 184:3; she was
born in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania; a lady of
refined taste and domestic habits, whose life is devoted
to making home happy; their family consists of eight
children: Isaac H. (now of Red Oak, Iowa), James F.
(now of Shenandoah, Iowa), Margaret J. (now Mrs. Ashby,
of Kansas); William S. (of Essex, Iowa), John M. (of
Concordia, Kansas), Samuel A. (of Red Oak, Iowa),
Ed. ward E. (of Scandia, Kansas), and Eva (at home
with her parents); have lost one son: Myron.
BURRELL, H. A.; was born in Lorain county, Ohio,
January 4, 1838, and is therefore about forty-two
years of age; his ambition from a boy was to be a
writer, and to this end he has bent all his energies,
and now that he has arrived at the full growth of
manhood he may be said to have fully achieved the
object of his ambition, for he is universally admitted
to be one of the ablest newspaper writers of the State,
and his sprightly leaders on the political topics
of the day have in a great measure the effect of shaping
the policy of the Republican party of the State; in
contrast with a large majority of the newspaper men
of the county Mr. Burrell does not design to make
his business a steppingstone to office; he has never
held an office, has never been a candidate for office
and there is probably no office which he would accept
without deeming it a great personal sacrifice; he
graduated at Oberlin College in 1862; from college
he went to Cleveland, Ohio, and was engaged as a writer
on the "Leader" for three years; from Cleveland
he came to Iowa and in 1866 purchased the Washington
"Press", on assuming control of the "Press"
he found that journal a second-class periodical located
in the second story of a rented building; it is now
the leading Republican paper of the State and has
a home in the elegant and well-arranged building erected
by the proprietor for that exclusive purpose; aside
from the real ability of Mr. Burrell as a newspaper
man and his financial success in managing the business,
he has certain peculiarities as a writer which distinguish
him from all others: he is original, independent,
sprightly and erudite, and there is not a daily paper
published in the west which contains editorials of
equal merit with those found in the Washington "Press";
in 1863 Mr. Burrell was married to Miss
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Harriet Everson, by which marriage there are three
children living, viz: Norman E., Helen and Anna; Mrs.
Burrell died January 5, 1878; December 19, 1877, Mr.
Burrell was again married, his second wife being Miss
Martha Jackson, daughter of John Jackson, one of the
pioneers of Washington county.
CHILCOTE, J. H., dealer in tinware, stoves and house
furnishing goods; was born in Ohio in 1827, and was
raised there with a mercantile experience; in 1857
he removed to Madison, Wisconsin, and remained there
five years, and came to this county in 1863, and has
been in business since that date; ten years of the
time he was engaged in sell- ing drugs; he afterward
formed a
partnership with A. Hott; a dissolution took place
during the present month and Mr. Chilcote is conducting
business alone; he has avoided political office, preferring
the quiet and peace of his business to political honors,
and yet has felt constrained to serve on the school
board when elected to that position; Mr. C. is a man
of good, sound understanding, and large practical
experience, and one of those fortunate individuals
who succeed in what they undertake; he was married
in 1865 to Miss Sarah J. Simmons, a native of New
York; they have three children: George E., Mabel and
Maud.
CHILCOTE, A. W., president of the First National
Bank; was born in Perry county, Ohio, in 1825, and
was raised there; having a taste for the profession
of medicine he commenced the study; in 1848 he removed
to Indiana, and in 1853 he came to this county and
established himself in the drug business and prosecuted
the business for many years, and with eminent success;
he was one of the organizers of the Washington National
Bank in 1868, and in 1870 was elected president and
has been elected each succeeding year to the same
position; he, has proved a sagacious and successful
banker and business man and it is but due to say that
but few men possesses more fully the entire confidence
and respect of their acquaintances; his career has
been marked. by integrity, fair dealing and conscientiousness
in his business, combined with honesty and perseverance,
without possessing an avaricious disposition, and
although he has, ill a quiet and unostentatious manner,
shown a commendable liberality in all public, religious,
benevolent and chari table enterprises, he has accumulated
an ample competency, which he quietly enjoys in his
com- fortable and substantial home; he was married
in 1848 to Miss Jane, A. Bullord, a native of Indiana.
CORBIN, S. 0., of the firm of S. C. Corbin & Son,
boot and shoe dealers; was born in Knox county, Ohio,
in 1832, and lived there until twelve years of age
when the family emigrated to Iowa and settled near
Mt. Pleasant, Henry county, in 1843; in 1853 Mr. Oorbin
came to. Washington where he has since been engaged
in mercantile pursuits, first in hardware, tinware,
etc.; he has been established in his present business
six years; as a business man he has an enviable record--upright,
reliable and honest, he commands the respect of all
with whom he has business connections; he is a man
of sound judgment and large practical experience;
in educational and other- public enterprises he has
always been prompt to act and efficient to serve;
he has been a member of the board of education eleven
years and has served as member of the city council;
he married Miss Elizabeth Fer-guson in 1854; she was
a native of Ohio; they have one son: Norton C., who
is associated with his father in business; they have
lost two children: Elden S. and Cora.
CRAWFORD, Oliver, retired
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and operates a tile factory where he manufactures
all sizes of tiling from two to eight inches of the
best quality and is prepared at all times to furnish
them in any quantities desired at the lowest living
prices; these the are as durable as any made in the
country, and while his factory is in its infancy he
is prepared to increase his capacity to meet the demands
of the country; his tile are made on the celebrated
"Tiffany" tile machine, which has no superior
in the market, making a perfect and smooth tile; he
was married April 15, 1852, to Miss Emma Ross, a native
of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; they have a family
of twelve children: Martha E. (wife of Thomas Simpson
of this township). Anna O. (wife of J. O. Purvis,
of Washington), Wm. T., Mary Bo, Lizzie K, Annetta
F., Lillie May, John W., Rena A., Josie L., Charles
O. and Robert H., all living.
EYESTONE, W. J., county auditor; was born in Rush
county, Indiana, in 1830, and lived there until fifteen
years of age, and is the son of John and Alice
Young, his father being a native of Pennsylvania,
and his mother of Ohio; they came to this county in
1845; the subject of this sketch in early life divided
his time between attending school and helping in the
management of the farm; he afterward engaged in teaching
and farming, and owns a farm of 100 acres in Cedar
township; he has held various township offices, and
in 1879 was elected to his present position; he married
Miss Eliza Weller in 1858; she was born in Ohio; they
have a family of six children: Viola, A lice, Lillis,
Leslie W., Nannie, and Wilbur F.
EVERSON, NORMAN, was born in Oneida county, New York,
in 1815; he was brought .up on a farm, and after arriving
at manhood removed to Kentucky, where he divided his
time between teaching school and studying law; that
is, he taught school as a means and studied law as
an end; he removed to Washington in 1841, having been
admitted to the bar a short time prior to his removal
west; Washington was then a small town, the settlers
were few and money scarce; the young attorney found
the practice of law at first not very remunerative,
and was compelled to teach school part of the time
for a livelihood; as the country became settled the
people were not slow to recognize his ability as a
lawyer, and in a few years he became master of a large
and remunerative business; in the course of time he
was elected to the State senate, and in 1853 he established
an exchange bank; this business he conducted with
great success and gradually retired from the practice
of law; when the State Bank was merged into the First
National. Bank he became a heavy stockholder and more
recently was elected president of that institution,
which position he now occupies; Mr. Everson has not
only been singularly successful in accumulating property,
but has devoted a large share of his income toward
the building up of the town; the opera house block,
one of the most extensive buildings in the city, was
erected by him some twelve years since, and beside
this he has erected several other creditable buildings;
he was chiefly instrumental in the building of the
academy, and gave the greater part of one season in
personally superintending the erection of that creditable
structure; he has also acted a prominent part in securing
the construction of the several lines of railway which
center in Washington, and has, in fact, been one of
the foremost men in every enterprise calculated to
build up the city; but Mr. Everson has not solely
devoted his attention to money-making and developing
the city where
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he makes his home; considerable time and money he
has spent in travel and self-culture; has a fine library,
many selections for the practical study of natural
history, and .aside from extensive journeys through
his own country has made a tour of the old world;
the wife of Mr. Everson is a lady of more than ordinary
culture, and like him, has had opportunities for gaining
extensive information by means of travel and the advantages
which extended tours through this and foreign countries
bring to the tourist.
FLEMING, JAMES, farmer; Sec. 2; P. O. Washington:
was born in Allegheny county, Pennsylvania, December
30, 1824, where he lived until 1849; was raised on
a farm, and received the advantages of the schools
of that Commonwealth; he was married there to Miss
Mary J. (daughter of Wm. and Lydia) McCollister, June
15, 1847, and in the spring of 1849 they came to Iowa,
and located in Washington -county, where he lived
on a farm as a renter uutill855, when he bought and
moved on his present well improved farm of 125 acres;
Mrs. Fleming died May 3, 1879, leaving a family of
two sons and two daughters: Wm., Anna M., Sarah L.
and James V.; Mr. Fleming is a plain, unassuming farmer,
social and obliging as a neighbor, kind and warm-hearted
as a friend, and a .citizen of whom Washington county
may be proud.
FISHER, REV. G. F., pastor of the Seceders' Church;
was born in Harrison county, Ohio,. August 5, 1842,
and lived there until fourteen years of age, and then
removed to Muskingum county, Ohio; after preparing
himself for the ministry he was licensed to preach
July 13, 1872, and receiving a call to his present
charge he was ordained in 1873; he was married in
1877 to Miss Mary E. Orr, of Louisa county, Iowa;
they have one daughter: Lizzie J.
GOWDY, L.H., one of the editors of the Washington
"Gazette"; was born in Henderson county,
Illinois in 1852 and raised in Mon. mouth, Warren
county; he learned the printer's trade, and came to
this State in 1876 and became connected with the "Gazette"
August 10, 1876; he was married in 1877 to Miss Anna
L. Reid, a native of Page county. Iowa; they have
two children: Roy C. and an infant.
HENDERSON, J. F., of the firm of McJunkin & Henderson,
attorneys; was born in Indiana county, Pennsylvania,
on the 29th day of June, 1826; he was raised and educated
in his native State; afterward removed to Mercer county,
Illinois, where he resided for over seven years; having
developed a taste and aptitude for professional studies
he prepared himself for the practice of law, and was
admitted to the bar in 1864, and came to this county
the same year, since which time he has been actively
engaged in the practice of his profession; he is characterized
as a man of great industry, and is governed by the
most rigid principles of honesty and integrity; he
has never been a political aspirant, but has devoted
himself to his chosen calling; he married Miss Ursula
Dickey, on the 23d of May, 1852; she died October
13, 1856, leaving two children: William D. and Joseph
G., both practicing physicians; he married for his
second wife, Malinda C. Nesbitt, in 1861; she was
born in Indiana county, Pennsylvania; by this union
they have two children: Jennie May and Anna M.
HOOD, W. N., of the firm of Waters & Hood, editor
of the "Washington Democrat"; was born in
Portsmouth, Ohio, on the 20th day of July, 1858, and
is the son of Walter C. and Sarah L. Hood; his
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father was a well known journalist, and published
the "Portsmouth Times" and "Ironton
Times"; he was also appointed State Librarian
by Governor Allen; he died in 1870; young Hood's boyhood
was spent in attending school and working in the printing'
office, and in addition to working in the office of
his father he also worked on the "Marietta Register"
and "Columbus Gazette"; he came to this
county, and worked first on the "Gazette",
and afterward on the "Press"; in company
with his partner, he bought out the "Washington
Democrat" in 1879.
BOTT, A., of the firm of A. Rott & Son, dealers
in stoves, tinware and house furnishing goods; was
born in Jefferson county, Ohio, in 1830, and was raised
there; he learned the trade of tin and coppersmith
and has followed it as an occupation all his life;
in 1856 he came to Iowa and settled in this county
and engaged in his present business and is the pioneer
house in his line in the city; he has never sought
or held a public office, but has steadfastly attended
to his legitimate business, and he is a good illustration
of what an industrious man can accomplish; he was
married, in 1855, to Miss Rebecca Osborn, a native
of Harrison county, Ohio; have a family of four children:
Sarah (wife of L. Brinley), William, Albert and. Maud;
William is associated with his father in business
and was married February 14, 1880, to Miss Lida Darron
of Bridgewater, Pennsylvania.
JOHNSTON, REV. W. P., pastor of the Reformed Presbyterian
Church and president of the Washington Academy; is
the son of Samuel P. and Eleanor M. Johnson; was born
in Harrison county, Ohio, in 1839; his father was
a native of Pennsylvania and his mother of Ohio; when
he was twelve years of age his parents moved to Logan
county; here he enjoyed good educational advantages
at Geneva College in Ohio, and at Jefferson College.
Pennsylvania; he graduated from the latter institution
in 1858, being at the time nineteen years of age;
he attended the Theological Seminary at Pittsburgh,
and was licensed to preach in 1861 by Lakes Presbytery
and ordained in 1864; he received a call to a pastorate
in Baltimore and the relation existed for nine years,
but in consequence of impaired health resigned; he
came to Iowa in 1873 and took charge of the church
in this city and still continues its pastor; in the
summer of 1879 he was urged to accept the presidency
of the Washington Academy without solicitation on
his part, and under his management it has been greatly
prospered; be is not only an ardent student but a
successful teacher; he is gifted with minor graces
often denied men of studious habits, is graceful,
genial and attractive in manner and ranks high as
a promoter of every good work; in the pulpit he is
earnest, plain and forcible; in the discussion of
subjects he is argumentative and conclusive, never
leaving a point unsettled or an argument unfinished;
in June, 1874, he was married to Miss Clara D. Anderson,
a nativ6 of this town and county; have one son: Philip
S.
KECK, JOSEPH, capitalist; was born in Huntingdon
county, Pennsylvania, on the 29th of November, 1819,
and is the son of Andrew Keck and Rebecca, nee Rottruck;
his father was a farmer, and removed to Juniata county
when our subject was but seven years of age; hi&
educational advantages were limited, but, favored
with fine natural gifts and by the constant study
of men and things, has attained a fair general information;
at the age of nineteen years he removed to Delaware
county, Ohio, where he learned the cabinet-making
trade at which he
607
ing a resolution requesting that our representatives
and instructing our senators in Congress to use their
influence for the passage of an amendment to the Federal
constitution for the entire abolition of slavery,
(and the General Assembly of Iowa was the first legislative
body in the Union which passed such a resolution);
he terminated his legislative services with the close
of the eleventh General Assembly, refusing to be again
a candidate; in 1868 he was tendered in convention
the nomination of the judgeship of the sixth judicial
district of Iowa, but declined; in 1876 he was elected
attorney-general of the State, and is now the incumbent
of that office; Mr. McJunkin is a gentleman of fine
literary attainments, a superior scholar and an elegant
and effective. public speaker; agreeable in manners
and address, very genial and friendly, and a favorite
of the people of the county and State: in the practice
of his profession he is very zealous, and as a jury
lawyer has few equals in the county or district, while
as a common law practitioner he is the peer of any
in the State; in short, he has made the law his sole
study for the past twenty-two years; the secret of
his success with juries is to be found in the courteous
and gentlemanly manner in which he treats the opposing
party and the witnesses, and the impartiality with
which he presents his case; he was married on the
25th of May, 1864, to Miss Eliza Jane, daughter or
James M. Boland, Esq., of Martinsburg, Ohio, a lady
of refined tastes and domestic habits, whose life
is devoted to making home happy and attractive; they
have three children: Sarah, John H., and Mary.
MARBOURG, DR. M., dealer in dry goods and notions;
was born in Johnstown,. Cambria county, Pennsylvania,
in 1838; he was raised here and received the advantages
of the common schools of his native place, which he
supplemented by attendance at Pennsylvania College
at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania; having made choice of
medicine as a profession, he commenced reading and
attended lectures at the Jefferson Medical College
in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and graduated in 1859;
after his graduation he had experience in the Boston
hospitals, and the same year came to Iowa and settled
in Wilton Junction; he, continued the practice of
medicine until 1874, when, owing to the death of his
father, A. Marbourg, who was established in business
In this city, Dr. Marbourg relinquished the practice
of medicine and succeeded to the business which he
has conducted very successfully since that time, and
no house in the city has a better record or more enviable
reputation; the Doctor is known as a man of sterling
integrity, decided character, and receives and merits
the esteem of his fellow citizens; he was married
in 1865 to Miss Jessie E. Gilbert, a native of Gettysburg,
Pennsylvania; their family consists of one daughter:
Gertrude, born in Davenport, March 15, 1869.
MORELAND, L., retired farmer; of the many men who
have passed the ordeal of pioneer life with evident
zeal and relish, is the subject of this sketch, who
was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, February 14,
1806, and was raised there until thirteen years of
age; he then commenced cooking on a keel-boat, and
after going through the regular
grades of promotion was made pilot and afterward commander
of a steamer, and was engaged on the Ohio and Mississippi
rivers and tributaries; in 1829 he made a trip up
the Yellowstone river, and in 1832 his boat was pressed
into the United States service to carry troops to
Fort Stevenson (now Rock Island),.
608
and Fort Snelling; his life has been an eventful
and romantic one; at one time he accompanied governor
Sam Houston, Jesse Benton and David Crockett through
Texas and was within nine miles of Crockett when be
was shot; he came to this county at an early day and
settled north of Brighton and lived there for a long
time; he married Miss Rosanna Gallagher, December
26, 1830; she was born in Ireland but raised principally
in Philadelphia; they have two children: Mary (now
Mrs. Van Wagener), and Elizabeth (now Mrs. Klein).
McCULLY, S., farmer; was born 1n Ohio in 1820, and
lived there until 1836, and then removed to Illinois,
and remained t4ere until he came to Iowa in 1838;
he first settled in Henry' county and thence to this
county, where he owns a farm >of 57 acres; he was
married in 1844 to Miss Sarah Ritchey, a daughter
of the first settler of Washington
county, and who is the oldest resident of the county;
she was born in Indiana, came to this county with
her parents in 1836, mention of which was made in
another part of this work; they have three children:
Delle, James and Mary.
MEEK, MRS. SARAH A., farmer; Sec. 4; P.O. Washington;
widow of Thos. A. Meek, who was born in Tuscarawas
county, Ohio, September 2, 1820; Mrs. Meek's maiden
name was McCausland; she was born in Carroll county,
Ohio, in 1825, and was married there August 11, 1847;
they came to this county in 1851, and located where
she now lives; Mr. Meek died July 18, 1863, leaving
a family of four sons and three daughters: Margaret
E., McCausland, Joseph A., James L., Wilmer R., Anna
J., Ella M.; the career of Mr. Meek was both honorable
and successful, and he always enjoyed the confidence
and respect of ,all who knew him; Mrs. Meek is a lady
of refined taste and domestic habits, whose life is
devoted to making home happy and attractive; her farm
contains 240 acres.
MILLER, C. S., furniture dealer and undertaker; was
born in Northfield Massachusetts, in 1830, and was
raised there until thirteen years of age, and he then
went to Springfield and entered the employ of T. &
C. Wasson (now the Wasson Manufacturing Co.), car
builders, where he learned his trade; in September
17, 1849, he was married to Miss E. A. Worthen, of
Charlestown, Massachusetts, a niece of his employers;
he removed to Adrian, Michigan, 1853, and after a
residence of two years came to this State in 1855,
and located on a farm near Keota, in Keokuk county;
he remained a farmer two years and, then came to this
county, and with the exception of an absence of two
years in St. Louis has been a resident of the county
since that time; he has built up. a good business
and not only enjoys a liberal patronage but has the
esteem and confidence of his fellow-citizens; Mr.
and Mrs. Miller have a family of three children: Theresa
O. (wife of. Wm. Black), Fred, aged thirteen years,
and Wilbur, aged 11; they have lost two: Frank, who
was killed in Burlington, April 10, 1872, by the falling
of Ponds' warehouse, and Edgar, an infant.
MOORE, WM., farmer, Sec. 33; P. O. Washington; was
born in Putnam county, Indiana, in 1826, and is the
son of Richard and Rebecca Moore; his parents removed
to Iowa Territory in 1836, and settled on the land
where he now resides; he owns a farm of 140 acres
and is one of the earliest settlers of the county,
mention of which is made in another part of this work;
he was married to Miss Cynthia A. Thompson on the
27th day of May, 1853; she was born in Indiana; has
a family of ten children: Richard, Martha A. (now
609
Mrs. Eckerman), James L., Charles D., Rebecca E.,
Mary J., Margaret A., Sarah A., Thaddeus, and Dollie.
PALMER, D. J., farmer; was born in Washington county,
Pennsylvania in 1839, and was taken by his parents
to Carroll county, 'Ohio, in 1841, and lived there
until 1856, where he removed to Iowa and engaged in
farming; he enlisted in the Eighth Iowa infantry as
a private during the late war, and was mustered out
to accept the commission of captain of company A,
Twenty-fifth Iowa infantry, and was afterward promoted
lieutenant-colonel; his regiment was assigned to the
fifteenth army corps under Sherman, and did gallant
service; after the regiment was mustered out he returned
home and engaged in his chosen occupation, but in
1875 he received the nomination for county auditor,
and was [was] elected by a handsome majority, and
re-elected in 1877; as an official he discharged his
official duties with scrupulous 'care and fidelity,
and in his business transactions he is peculiarly
clear and transparent and has the unlimited confidence
of everyone with whom he has any intercourse; he was
married December 25, 1866, to Miss L. Young a native
of Kentucky.
RICHARDS, DR. G. B., dealer in drugs, paints, oils,
wallpaper, stationery and druggists' sundries; was
born in Romeo, Macomb .county, Michigan, on the 10th
day of June, 1829; he was the son of William Richards
and Persis nee Peters; he was raised in his native
county, dividing his time between attending school
and assisting his father in farming; he had the advantage
of an academical education at the academy at Romeo,
which at that time was connected with the State University
at Ann Arbor; he emigrated to Iowa in 1858, and having
made choice of medicine as a profession, he-commenced
reading and attending lectures at Ann Arbor, Michigan,
and was honored with a diploma from the Iowa Medical
College at Keokuk; he commenced the practice of his
profession in Appanoose county, and in 1861 changed
his residence to Washington county, and pursued his
chosen calling for eleven years with good success;
in 1872 he abandoned the practice of medicine and
engaged in his present business, and has built up
his business by pursuing a straightforward, true,
honest and upright course, and his character as a
business man may be inferred from the success which
has attended his career; he was married August 9,
1853, to Miss Mary J. Ballengee, who was born in Michigan
in 1832; their family consists of two daughters: Ida
M. and Minnie.
SIMMONS, W. G., assistant cashier ,First National
Bank; was born in Madison county, New York, in 1843,
and lived there until he came to this State in 1861;
he enlisted in company 0, Nineteenth Iowa infantry
during the late war and served three years; after
two years on a farm and a mercantile experience in
St Louis, he came to this county in 1870 and engaged,
in the hardware business for a short time; he became
connected with the bank in 1873; he married Miss Mary
Keck, daughter of Joseph Keck, one of Washington county's
oldest and most worthy citizens: have one daughter:
Edith.
SMOUSE, A., fancy grocer, baker, confectioner and
restaurateur; among the self-made men of this city
who are deserving of special notice is the subject
of this sketch; he was born in Maryland in 1849, and
lived there until 1856 and then removed to Iowa City,
and after a residence of one year in that place came
to this county in 1857; he is the architect of his
own fortune,
610
commencing early in life to depend on his own resources;
he engaged in his present business July 28, 1872,
and as a business man has been eminently successful;
he has always been a careful, frugal man, and has
bent his energies in one direction, which will account
for his success; he was married to Miss Hattie Trebilcock
in 1873; she was born in Ohio; they have a family
of three children: Frank E., Willie O. and Daisey
A.
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