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Washington cont.
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SMYTH, MAJOR WILLIAM, farmer and stock-shipper; was
born in Butler county, Pennsylvania, near Old Harmony,
where the Harmonites settled
in 1778; he there received the advantages of the common
schools and was raised as a farmer, continuing the
same until his marriage; he then purchased 240 acres
of the valuable land in Pennsylvania; on the 16th
of October, 1862, he was commissioned major of the
One Hundred and Sixty-ninth Pennsylvania volunteer
infantry; participated in the battle of White House,
Virginia, and various others of note; he served with
his regiment during their term of service, and July
31, 1863,was mustered out at Harrisburg Pennsylvania;
he then returned home, and in 1866 moved with his
family to this county, locating in Washington, where
he now resides; he owns a fine farm of 480 acres situated
two and a-half miles east and one north of Washington;
he makes a specialty of the raising of fine cattle,
and has a fine herd of shorthorns and good graded
stock; his farm is one of the best improved in the
county; be has been in the stock business for thirty-four
years past, and in this he has been very successful;
on the 11th of January, 1849, he was united in marriage
with Miss Catharine Young, a native of Old Harmony,
Pennsylvania; she was born October 12, 1829, and was
raised in that place; their family consists of ten
children; Sabina (now Mrs. Quin, of Vinton,. Iowa),
Lucetta (now Mrs. Hickey of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania),
Sarah G., Susannah, Alice J. (now Mrs. Wade, of this
county), Abraham L., Jeannette, Anna, Carrie A. and
Philip H.; lost one: Birdie O.
STEWART, W. G., deceased; one of Washington county's
most deserving citizens; was born in Virginia December
25, 1819, and lived there until sixteen years of age,
and then removed to Maryland; he was. raised a farmer
and followed it in connection with stock-raising and
stock-shipping until his death, which occurred June
16, 1864; he married Miss Hannah Patterson in 1841;
she was a native of Maryland and was born October
30, 1822; they came to this county in 1843 and were
among, the early settlers of the county; their family
at the death of Mr. S. consisted of eight chi1dren:
John G., Charles W., W. Sylvester, Lavenia E. (wife
of F. Geisler, of Muscatine), Franklin,. Lloyd S.,
Hannah M. and George W.; Lloyd died September 13,
1864,. aged nine years; Mr. Stewart, as a business
man, was upright, honorable and honest, a man endowed
with rare good sense and a well-balanced mind; he
took a great interest in the Bible Society; he was
one of the organizers of the United Brethren Church,
and contributed liberally to its support; Washington
county was fortunate in having men of solid merit
for its founders and its early settlers gave a good
reputation to the town and that reputation still abides.
STORY, REV. ALEX., editor of the "Washington
Gazette"; was born in Crawford county, Pennsylvania,
in 1820, and was raised there; he received his education
in Jefferson College, and graduated from that institution
in 1841; he pursued his
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theological studies at the same place, and graduated
in 1845, and was licensed to preach the same year
by the Presbytery of Shenango; in 1847 he was ordained
and for several years was engaged in the mission field;
in 1853 he received a call as pastor to a church in
Columbus City, Iowa, and this relation existed 23
years; he came to this county in 1876, and in 1877
he commenced editing the "Washington Gazette",
a paper which has large claims on the citizens of
Washington county; it has been the aim of the editors
to raise the standard of weekly newspapers, and the
"Gazette" will always be found on the side
of morality in championing every good cause; Mr. Story
was married to Miss M. Easton, in 1847; she was born
in Putnam county, New York; their family consists
of three children: George E., Jane and Mary.
STURGES, O. M., harness and saddle maker (of the
firm of Sturges & Son); was born in Licking county,
Ohio, in February, 1832, and was raised there; he
learned his trade in Columbus, Ohio, and came to this
county in 1855, and engaged in his present business,
and has followed it as an occupation since that time,
with the exception of a short interval; as a man of
integrity and firm principle is an honor to the town
in which he resides; he was married to Miss M. A.
Evans in 1855; she was a native of Wales; their family
consists of three children: George M., Helen A. and
Wilber E..; GEORGE M. was; born in Washington county
in 1857; he learned his trade with his father, and
is associated with him in business; he was married
November 13, 1879, to Miss Lizzie Adams.
TERRY, J: L. L., harness maker, whose name appears
frequently in this work, was born in Hopkinsville,
Kentucky, March 19, 1817; his father, whose name was
James Terry, was born in Virginia, and his mother
in Kentucky; in 1820 the family removed to Louisiana,
and on the 21st of July, 1821, the father died; the
remainder of the family returned to Kentucky. and
lived there until 1832; our subject then removed to
Illinois, and lived in Fayette and Tazewel1 counties;
in 1837 he was employed in the United States surveying
service, and while thus employed assisted in sectionizing
the south part of the county; he made a claim in Washington
county in 1839, and in 1844 became a resident of the
county; his claim included what is now a portion of
the town of Ainsworth; he held the office of county
commissioners' clerk for four years, and in 1847 was
county assessor, and has held the office of city assessor
for five years; of the many men in the county who
have passed the ordeal of pioneer life, none are more
deserving of extended ,remarks than the subject of
this sketch; as a man he is a close observer, and
has gained a large fund of information; his private
character and his public record are untarnished; hl
was married in 1839 to Miss S. J. Mounts, a native
of Switzerland county, Indiana, but who was raised
at Grand Gulf, Mississippi; they have three children
living: Marcus O. (a practicing physician in Brighton),
Josie T. (wife of Dr. McConnaughey, Riverside), and
William M.; have lost five: Catharine, Laura, James
H. (who was killed in the war), Sarah J. and Ellen
J.
THOMPSON, J. A., jeweler and watchmaker.
WATERS, L., editor of the "Washington Democrat";
was born in McKeesport, Pennsylvania, December 31,
51; he lost his father when three years of age; he
ren1ained in Pennsylvania eight years and came to
this State in 1860 and was engaged in farming until
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fourteen years of age; after passing through many
strange vicissitudes be finally settled down to learn
the trade of printer; he worked for some years on
the "Washington Gazette;" he afterwards
went to Nebraska and edited the "Lone Tree Courier"
before he was twenty-one years old; he also edited
for a time the "Lone Tree Sentinel"; owing
to impaired health he took a trip through Colorado,
Mexico and Texas; he had quite a number of strange
experiences and thrilling adventures; having regained
his health in a large measure and after becoming tired
of roaming about, and by close observation acquiring
a large fund of knowledge of men and things, he returned
to Iowa and studied law nine months; when he was,
about, ready to be admitted to the bar an inviting
field was opened up for him to again enter the newspaper
business; the "Washington Democrat" was
for sale by reason of the retirement from that journal
of Ken & McCracken; in conjunction with Mr. Hood
he bought the "Democrat"; the first number
issued under his editorial management appeared in
September, 1879; Mr. Waters is a most affable gentleman
and a writer of no ordinary ability; under his able
and energetic management the "Washington Democrat"
is achieving a wide-spread reputation and now ranks
among the leading organs of that party in the State.
WEEKS, C. H., farmer; Sec. 33; P. O. Washington;
son of T. N. and Alluy (White) Weeks; was born in
Licking county, Ohio, July 27,1846; he came with his
parents to this county in November, 1855; he received
a good common school education supplemented with a
commercial education; he was acting deputy treasurer
of Washington county four years, commencing in June,
1874, to July, 1878; his father was born in Licking
county, Ohio, February 1, 1820; his mother in the
same county December 31. 1824, and were married June
5, 1845, the subject of this sketch being the only
living child; have lost three; he and his father own
a well improved farm of 120 acres; as au official
he was prompt, perfectly reliable and very efficient;
he is a man of excellent character and a valuable
citizen and commands the respect of all who know him.
WILLIAMS, J. ALBERT, dealer in boots and shoes: was
born in East Hartford, Connecticut, in 1834, and was
educated and resided in his native place until 1852
when he went to Boston, and after a mercantile experience
of twelve years, came to this county and settled in
Washington and formed a partnership with W, P. Upham
under the style of Williams & Upham, dealers in.
boots and shoes; this relation existed until July,
1868, when Mr. Williams purchased Mr. Upham's interest
in the business, which he has since conducted with
eminent success; a marked characteristic of Mr. Williams
during his business career, has been his untiring
energy and enterprise; a man of strong will and determined
purpose, and as a result has secured that reward and
success which must follow persistent, honorable effort;
he has never
sought or desired political honors; he has always
shown a worthy public-spiritedness and has heartily
sympathized with all local improvements and enterprises;
he was married in 1859 to Miss Cornelia 1., adopted
daughter of C. Judson, of Boston, Massachusetts, a
native of Connecticut; their family consists of one
daughter: Hattie F.
WILSON, C. H., grocer; was born in Fayette county,
Pennsylvania, in 1834, and was raised there; in youth
he learned the printer's trade; when he came to Iowa
he first settled in Muscatine, and printed the first
issue of the Muscatine "Journal"; he came
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to this county on the 28th day of August, 1858, and
since that period has been intimately connected with
the growth and prosperity of' the county, and has
ever been recognized as one of Washington's best business
men; he was elected to represent this county in the
Fourteenth General Assembly of the State Legislature;
as a business man he is cautious and prudent, and
his career has been both honest and successful, and
he has the confidence of the community in a high degree;
he has been twice married: first to Miss Lucy Gray
in 1857; she was born in Greene county, Ohio, and
died in 1862; his second wife was Miss Mary Beard,
born in Somerset county, Pennsylvania; has five children:
Ella C., Charles, Frank, Robert and Laura.
WILSON, MICHAEL, farmer; Sec, 29; P. O. Washington;
among the pioneers of this county who deserve more
than a passing notice is the subject of this sketch,
a native of Alleghany county, Maryland; was born August
13, 1808; when only four years of age his parents
removed to Perry county, Ohio, where he lived till
twenty-five years of age, working on his father's
farm; his education was received in the schools of
that commonwealth, but this he has supplemented by
extensive reading, and being a close observer, and
a man of large experience, he has acquired an education
of no mean order; three years previous to his leaving
Ohio he engaged in tobacco culture, in which he was
very successful; thinking that the west offered a
wider field and better advantages for a young man
he came to this State, and with his earnings he entered
several hundred acres of land in this county in the
spring of 1840, and at the present time he owns 575
acres in this county and 220 acres in Mahaska county;
he is also one of the stockholders and a director
of the Second National Bank of Washington; February
15, 1849, he was married in Ohio to Miss Catharine,
daughter of Judge Charles C. Hood, of that, State,
and by this union their family consists of three sons
and one daughter: Charles J., Thomas T., William and
Alice; he is among those who have been longest identified
with the interests of the county, has shared all the
hardships incident to pioneer life, and a marked characteristic
of Mr., Wilson during his entire career has been his
untiring energy and enterprise; a man of strong will
and determined purpose, he turned the whole current
of his life force into one channel, and as a result
has received that reward and success which must follow
persistent, honorable effort.
WILSON, R. T., merchant; was born in Londonderry,
Ireland, in 1832, where he was raised and educated;
in 1852, he came to the United States to visit an
uncle, who was a minister preaching in New Jersey;
he had permission of his parents to remain three months;
while enjoying his visit he became so impressed with
the opportunity for a young man with energy and economy
to succeed that he had the consent of his parents
to remain; and instead of returning at the end of
three months his absence was prolonged twenty-one
years; he settled in Coshocton county, Ohio, and lived
there one year; and then emigrated to Iowa, and settled
in Muscatine; he came to this county in 1859, and
has been in business continuously for a longer period
than any other dry goods house in Washington, in connection
with which he conducts a merchant tailoring department
in which he has won an enviable reputation, as his
trade in this and surrounding cities will testify;
a marked characteristic of Mr. Wilson during his
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entire career has been his untiring energy and enterprise;
a man of strong will and determined purpose, he turned
the current of life force in one channel, and as a
result has secured that reward and success which must
follow persistent, honorable effort; his character
as a business man may be inferred from the success
which has attended his career; he was married in November,
1863, to Miss Ida Bell, a native of Lexington, Kentucky,
a lady of refined tastes and domestic habits; their
family consists of five children: Mary, Willie, Fannie,
James and Nellie; have lost two: Robbie and Ida; in
1873, Mr. Wilson visited his native home, where, out
of a family of ten, all except himself reside within
two miles of their birthplace.
WILSON, WM., JR., dealer in hard ward and agricultural
implements, seeds, etc.; was born in Uniontown, Fayette
county, Pennsylvania, in 1832, and was raised there
with a mercantile experience; it may be said he was
bred a man of business, and the success which has
attended him thus far in life may be attributed to
his early training; in 1853, he emigrated to Iowa
and settled in Muscatine, and remained there three
years, and came to Washington county in 1856, and
engaged in his present business, and is the pioneer
house in his line in the city, and of the many worthy
citizens who have made their home in this county none
are deserving of more extended notice than the subject
of this sketch; he 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
honesty; he is endowed with rare good judgment and
a well balanced mind, and his character as a business
man may be inferred from the success which has attended
his career, and a residence and mercantile experience
of twenty-four years has proved him to [to] be public
spirited and enterprising, and one identified with
the best interests and substantial progress of the
city; while he has made money legitimately he has
spent it liberally; when friends are needed to aid
churches, build railroads, and foster enterprises
that have a tendency to promote religious, educational,
commercial and other interests, he has always contributed
liberally; he is a director' in the Washington National
Bank, and was a member of the first city council and
has taken great interest in educational matters, whether
in office or private station; he is a worker and it
would be well for the city had they more such; he
is an active member of the M. E. Church and a delegate
to the general conference.
WILLIAMSON, REV. W. C., pastor of the First LT. P.
Church; was born in Greene county, Ohio, in 1842;
his early life was that of a farmer boy; he was educated
at Jefferson College, Pennsylvania, and graduated
in 1865, and pursued his
theological studies at Xenia, Ohio, and was licensed
to preach in 1868; his first charge was in Kansas
City under the charge of the missionary board of the
U. P. Church; there he succeeded in building up an
active and prosperous Church, and in collecting funds
and building a church edifice; he received a call
to the First U. P. Church in Washington, and for over
nine years has served very acceptably as its pastor.
YEARIOK, R., merchant tailor; was born in Mifflinsburg,
Union county: Pennsylvania, December 23, 1823, and
lived in this an Centre counties until he removed
to Wayne county, Ohio; he learned his trade in Ohio
and followed it very successfully as an occupation,
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and engaged in business on his own account; he came
to Iowa in 1853, ;and eleven years of the time since
that period, he spent on a farm; he -engaged in his
present business at the end of that time, and has
built cup a good trade, and justly earned a high reputation
in his line; Mr. Yearick is quite a horse fancier,
and drives the best team in the county, but he never
lets his taste in this direction interfere with his
business; as a business man he has the confidence
of the entire community; he has never been an aspirant
for po1itical favors, but when urged he felt compelled
to serve as a member of the city council, until he
steadfastly refused to serve longer; as a public spirited
citizen it would be well for Washington county if
she had more such; he was married in 1845, to Miss
Mary J. Daymude a [a] native of Ohio; she died in
1873; leaving two children: Albert S., and .Alice
M. (now Mrs. S. Armstrong); he married for his second
wife, Sarah S. Morris. a native of Ohio.
YOUNG, JOHN. A., cashier of the Washington National
Bank; was born in Rush county, Indiana, on the 29th
day of July, 1838, and is the son of James M. Young,
and Sallie nee Eyestone; the former was a native of
Kentucky, and the latter of Ohio; the subject of this
sketch was brought by his parents to Iowa, in 1843,
where he was raised on a farm; he enlisted during
the late war as a private in the Twenty-fifth Iowa
infantry, and was promoted to second lieutenant, also
to first lieutenant, and mustered out as captain;
he has held the office of county auditor, and is serving
his second, term as mayor of the city; in 1874, he
became connected with the bank of which he is now
cashier; and his financial ability and integrity have
never been questioned; careful and accurate, he has
the fullest confidence of the people; as a man upright,
reliable and honorable; he is a genial gentleman,
a quick observer and as prompt in his business relation
as he is generous in his social relations; he married
Miss Elizabeth A. Runyon, October 4, 1860; she is
a native of Jefferson county, Indiana; they have two
children: Ella A. and Harvey S.; lost one son: John
W.
YOUNG, J. H., cashier of the Washington Savings Bank;
was born in Kentucky May 9, 1841, and lived there
until seven years of age, and was brought by his parents
to this county in 1849; he was raised a farmer and
followed it as an avocation until the outbreak of
the war when he enlisted in the Nineteenth Iowa infantry;
he has been connected with the Washington Savings
Bank since its organization in 1876: he was married
in 1867 to Miss Lizzie Lawhead, a native of Indiana.

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