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HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY,
IOWA  1880

BIOGRAPHICAL

 

CLAY TOWNSHIP.

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BOSWORTH, DANIEL L., farmer; Sec. 28; P. O. River-side; was born in Oneida county, New York, January 12,1813; the same year his parents moved to Ohio; his father died there in 1819, and he went to Ashtabula county in 1828, remaining there until 1840; he then came to Iowa, locating in Lee county, :and after a stay there until 1852, he came to this county and located where he now lives; he has resided on the same place since and owns 220 acres of land; he was married December 4, 1835 to Miss Lydia J. Case, a native of Ohio; they have three children: Charles C. (now in Ringgold county. Iowa, and was elected representative to the legislature in 1879, Joab O. (living in Denver,

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Colorado), Amy B. (now Mrs. William T. Cornwell, of Union county, Iowa); have lost three: A. M., Benjamin B., Ada S.; A. M., served through the war in the Thirtieth Iowa infantry, and Charles C. first in the Seventh Ohio, afterward commissioned as hospital steward in the regular army; A. Y. Bosworth was elected sheriff of this county in 1873; has also been town assessor.

DEY, R. S., farmer; Sec. 25; P. O. Brighton; was born in New Jersey, December 16, 1821; when about four years of age his parents moved to Morgan county, Ohio, and to Miami county 1830; he came to Iowa in the fall of 1845, and located in Brighton township, this county; in the tall of 1879 he moved upon his present farm of 100 acres; has held the office of town trustee for two terms, and served on the city council of Brighton for four years; has been twice married; first, February 25, 1845, to Miss Eliza A. Shearer, a native of Ohio; she died June 25, 1871, leaving a family of ten children: John B., Mary E., Lydia A., Sarah M., Cyrus F., Harriet A. and Clark, living, and three deceased; was again married January 25, 1876, to Mrs. Mary Hinsey, of Peoria, Illinois; one son, John B. served in the late war; his grandfather was in the revolutionary war.

DILLON. JACOB, farmer; Sec. 22; P. O. Brighton; was born in Ohio, May 4,1818; in 1825 he moved with his parents to Tazewell county, Illinois; there he was raised receiving his education in the common schools; he lived there until 1839, and in 1843 he came to this State and located on his present farm of 485 acres; he bought a claim of 80 acres and in the course of the season entered 160 acres; also helped lay the mud-sills of Pickerel's old mill now known as the Brighton Mills; he returned to Illinois and stayed there until 1843; he started with 160 acres, entered by selling the finest horse in the State for $65; March 4, 1840, he was married to Miss Cynthia A. Hodson, a. native .of Ohio; they have a family of eight children: William H., Louisa, Sarah C., Rosetta, Reuben, Martha L., Irvin, Burtis H.; have lost three: Mary, Theodore, Walter (who died in the army a member of company K. Thirteenth Iowa infantry).

GOWEY,JACOB, farmer; Sec. 22;. P. O. Brighton; was born in Vermont, December 29.1791; there he was raised, and in 1816, went to western New York, living there until 1837; he then removed to Ohio and remained there until his coming to this State in 1852; he located where he now lives and owns 178 acres of land; October 7, 1817, he was married to Miss Fannie Judson, a native of Vermont; they have eight children: Galetsy, Hartland D., Arvjlla, Rolland, Ossian J., L., John F., Floretta H.; have lost two: Florian and an infant; Mr. and Mrs. Gowey are the oldest couple in this township.

GRIFFITH, ROBERT W., farmer; Sec. ] 3; P. O. Brighton; the subject of this sketch, whose portrait appears in another place, was, was born in Sussex county, Delaware, September 22, 1804; when very young his parents moved to Pickaway county, Ohio, and there he was raised and educated; his first efforts to start in life were to hire out on a farm at $8 per month for the first year; for the next year he received $108, and the two succeeding years. $120 per year; he then bought 200, acres of land in Crawford county,. Ohio, and here began farming; he lived there until 1846, when he sold his farm and removed to Macon county, Illinois, coming the entire distance by wagons, here he bought 900 acres of land and lost $1,100 by the operation; in 1848 he came to Iowa and located where he now lives, buying two hundred acres when he

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came; to this he has added large tracts of land almost every year since, and although he has given to each of his children, as they have gone from him, comfortable homes, he still retains 1,200 acres; he and his sons probably own more land than any other family in the county, and he has made it all by hard, honest toil; has a large coin commodious brick dwelling and the largest barn in the county, its dimensions being 50x100 feet and 50 feet from the floor to the roof; has always dealt to a considerable extent in stock, and this has been a source of revenue to him; has ever been most liberal with his means, ever ready to lend a helping hand to all public enterprises, and also to charitable purposes; stands high in the estimation of his neighbors among whom his word has ever been as good as his bond while his hospitalities have always been extended to all; on the 27th of December, 1832, Mr. Griffith was united in marriage with Miss Eleanor Long, a native of Northampton county, on the Delaware river; they have twelve children: Elias, Samuel, George W., Robert, Eliza, Mary, Isabelle, Jane, Martha, Sarah, Harriet and Abigail; have lost one: John Q.

HART, AMBROSE, farmer; Sec. 23; P. O. Brighton; was born January 20, 1824, in Trumbull county, Ohio; at the age of sixteen years he came to Iowa and located in this township in the fall of 1840; has remained here since that time, and in 1847 moved on his present farm of 98 acres, having entered his land from the government; his father's family are among the first settlers of this township, and fully realize what is meant by pioneer life; he was married February 11, 1851, to Miss Elizabeth Brier, a native of Ohio; they have five children: Sophia J., Ira A., Anna M., Mary E., and Lucy E.; have lost one, Austa E.

HORTON, DAVID, farmer; Sec. 23; P. O. Brighton; was born in New York, January 30, 1836; in 1846, he came with his parents to this county and located where he now: resides, entering his land from the government; he owns 120 acres of land; August 9, 1862, he enlisted in company E, Thirtieth Iowa infantry and served until the close of the war; was wounded in the instep at the battle of Ringgold, Georgia, and slightly wounded in the hip at the battle .of Resaca, May 13, 1864; he was honorably discharged June 5, 1865; participated in the battles of Arkansas Post, siege of Vicksburg; Jackson, Mississippi, Cherokee Station, Lookout Mountain, Mission, Ridge and through Sherman's March to the Sea; he married October 8, 1873, Miss Mary H: De Vecmon, a native of Maryland; they have two children: George A., Lucy S.; have, lost two (twins); the father of Mr. Horton came the entire way from New York in wagons; he lost one horse on the way and to purchase another one he bad to exchange a gun and a feather bed for it; sold his wagon to get money to enter forty acres.

HORTON, JOHN, farmer; Sec. 25; P. O. Brighton; was born in, New York, September 26,1833; in 1844, he with his parents came to Iowa and located in this township; he has followed farming- all his life and moved upon his present farm in 1873; owns a farm of 105 acres; in September, 1861, he enlisted in company K, Thirteenth Iowa infantry and served until December, 1864, when he was honorably discharged; participated in the battles of Iuka and Corinth; married in March, 1868, to Miss Susan Ramsey, a native of Pennsylvania; they have four children: Avery, Willis, Floyd, Grant.

INGHAM, MRS. ELIZABETH, farmer; Sec. 14; P.O. Brighton; was born December 16, 1825, in Ohio;


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her parents came to Illinois in 1837, and lived there until 1842; then came to Iowa, and located in this county; February 7, 1850, she was married to Mr. Benjamin Ingham, who was born in New York, August 7, 1811; he died January 29,1872, leaving a family of six children living: John W., Sarah H., Wm. C., Clara E., Benjamin E. and Horace S.; three are deceased: Rebecca A., Mary M. and Celia A.; Mr. Ingham's death is a mystery; several weeks before his death he met with an accident as he fell from the hay mow to the barn floor, striking on his head; this caused a disarrangement of his mind for some time, but he seemed to partially recover from it; on the morning of his death he complained of feeling dizzy in the head; he was seen by one of the family to go to the well, and whether he threw himself in or fell in will never be known.

INGHAM,HARRY,falmer: Sec. 26; P. O. Brighton; was born October 31,1821,in New York; he lived there on a farm until 19 years of age, when he came to Iowa in the fall of 1839, locating on what is now known as the Griffith Farm, on Sec. 13; he has ,been a resident of this county ever since, and owns 280 acres of finely-cultivated land. a large barn, a fine, commodious brick house, and everything well-improved; he moved where he now resides in the spring of 1847; he was married December 8, 1845, to Miss Elizabeth Russell, a native of Tennessee; have two children: Baxter and John R; Mr. and Mrs. Ingham are members of the Congregational Church, at Brighton.

JOHNSON, Z., farmer; Sec. 35; P. O. Brighton; ,was born in Ohio, January 12, 1818; here he was raised on a farm, and has followed farming as an occupation all his life; he received his education in the common schools of Ohio; in the spring of 1848 he came to Iowa, and located in Jefferson county; he lived there for one year, and then removed to this township, remaining here for three years; then returned to Ohio, and, and after living there four years, concluded that Iowa was better than Ohio, and so returned to this township; in 1861 he moved upon the farm where he now resides; he owns 190 acres of land, all of which he has made by his own efforts; he was married January 21, 1,845, to Miss Malinda Snyder, a native of Ohio; they have eight children: John A., Ephraim .T., Leroy C., Elihu C., William H., Charles J. Andrew J. and Effa; Mr. Johnson has been town treasurer for several years.

McCOLLOUGH, J. N., farmer; Sec. 36; P. O. Brighton; was born in Harrison county, Ohio, April 26, 1827; when 17 years of age he came to Iowa, and located near Brighton; he received his education in the Franklin College, Athens, Ohio; he followed the selling of goods nearly all his life, until he moved on his present farm in January 1871; he was married January 24, 1854, to Miss Rebecca E. Ferree, a native of Indiana; they have five children: Ralph F., Effa A. (now Mrs. Ed. Brown, of Brighton), Addison H., Lucy B. and Stella V.

MEACHAM, A. P., farmer; Sec.21; P. O. Clay; was born in Trumbull county, Ohio, June 1, 1825; he was raised and educated in the common schools, supplemented by a course of study in the academy at Kinsman; he came to Iowa and located where he now lives in 1848, and in 1855 moved upon his present homestead of 200 acres; November 9, 1864, he enlisted in company K, Thirteenth Iowa infantry, and served until the close of' the war, being discharged July 30, 1865; he has been twice married; first, November 8, 1853, he married Miss Mary Woodmaney, a native of Ohio; she died October

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16, 1862, leaving three children: Curtis L., Herbert T., Noble L.; he married again May 26, 1863, Miss Mary E. Andrews, a native of Ohio; they have two children: Lotta and Allen.

MEACHAM, ALFRED, farmer; Sec. 20; P. O. Clay; was born in Trumbull county, on May 8,1821; he was there raised and educated in the common schools; he came to Iowa in 1844 and located where he now lives; married March 23, 1847, Miss Emily Whitacre, a native of Pennsylvania; they have six children: Orlando, Mattie L., Clara E., Ezra M., Mary A., Susie C.; lost one: Louis T.; Mr. Meacham has held the office of justice of the peace four years; town trustee one term; town assessor five or six terms, and county supervisor three years, with credit to himself and the party who elected him.

MEACHAM. BENJAMIN, farmer; Sec. 33; P. O. Brighton; was born in Trumbull county, Ohio, October 27, 1832; there he was raised a farmer and has followed farming all his life; he was educated in the common schools and Grand River Institute of Austinburgh, Ohio; he came to Iowa in 1866 and located where he now lives; owns 120 acres of land; although he first came to Iowa in 1853 and taught school for six months two miles south of where he now lives, he returned to Ohio, but came to this State to live in 1866; January 5, 1858, be married Miss Jane Cowan, a native of Oxford county, Canada; they have nine children: William J., Jeremiah C., Louisa D., Joshua II., Maggie E., Orie C., Abbie 1., Lydia I., Frankie G.; lost two: Abbie M., and Eliza.

MORGAN, HENRY, farmer; Sec. 29; P. O. Clay; was born April 9, 1818, in Tennessee; in 1832 he with his parents moved to Indiana; there he was raised and educated in the private and common schools of that State; in 1846 he came to Iowa and located where he now lives; owns 107 acres of land; he is a miller by trade having learned the trade while he was young, but did not follow it except a few years; he has been mail contractor and carrier for the last nine years, carrying the mail from Ioka to Richland in Keokuk county; he is now postmaster and has the office at his residence; has held that position for the last four years; he was married May 13, 1840, to Miss D. A. Barnett, a native of Ohio; they .have eight children: I. N., Thomas H., Emily J., Mary L., Hattie E., Albert J., Oliver P., William H.; lost one: Wm. H. H., who died in the army a member of the Eighteenth Iowa infantry; he has been justice of the peace for several terms and also town trustee.

N1EUKIRK, ISAIAH, farmer;
Sec. 22; P.O. Brighton; owns a fine farm of 80 acres; was born March 7, 1832, in Tazewell county, Illinois; there he was raised on a farm; he was educated at Kellogg's High School, at Tremont, Illinois; he came to Iowa in 1851, and located near Brighton, but after a stay of only a few months he returned to Illinois, where he remained till 1863, when he returned to Iowa, and located where he now lives; being a cripple from his birth, he was incapacitated for farrning, and at the age of 18 years he began teaching, which profession he followed most of the time till 1871, at which time he was, by a petition of the citizens, appointed postmaster of Brighton, which position he has held since and still retains; he is a man well qualified to fill the office, as is evidenced by his long term of service and re-appointments; he lives on his farm and comes to the office daily, and has missed but few times since he has had the office; he was married March 24, 1855, to Miss Rebecca Israel; they have a family of four children: Eva (now Mrs.

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John Neal), Mary E. (now Mrs. Henry Harter), J. William and Dora--all living.

PRINGLE, DR. H. L., farmer and retired physician; Sec. 32; P. O. Brighton; born in Clarke county, Ohio, March 7, 1825; when quite young he with his parents moved to Indiana, where they lived until the spring of 1839; . they then came to Iowa and located where he now lives; owns 155 acres of land; he was raised on a farm until 22 years of age and was educated in the common schools of that State; in 1847 he began the study of medicine with Drs. Houston & Collins of South Charleston, Clarke county, Ohio, continuing the same for about two and one-half years; he then attended the medical college at Cleveland for four months; from 1850 to 1852 he was unable to practice on account of ill health; in 1852 he began the practice of his profession in the town where he now resides and continued the same until 1855; then attended the Keokuk Medical Institute for part of a term when he was again taken sick with his old disease, was obliged to return and was unable for duty that winter; in the spring of 1856 he went to California in steamer by way of New York and remained there until the spring of 1859, when he returned home by water; he again commenced to practice and has followed it to a greater or less degree since, although of late years he has been obliged to do but little on account of his disease, which has crippled him so much that it [it] is with difficulty that he is able to be around at all; he runs his farm, turning most of his attention to butter and cheese making; he was united in marriage October 22, 1863, with Miss Sarah H. Smith, a native of Ohio; have one chi1d: Amy A; Dr. Pringle has held the office of town assessor.

PRINGLE, R. H., farmer; Sec. 19; P. O. Brighton; was born in Keokuk county, Iowa, July 20, 1853;: he was raised a farmer and was educated in the Axline College, at Fairfield, and also at Whittier College, Salem, Henry county, Iowa; he
moved upon the farm where he now resides in 1866; owns ninety-five acres of land; was married January 19, 1878, to Miss Lila P. Sargent, a native of Ohio; she is the daughter of James Sargent, one of the oldest settlers in this county and one of its most prominent and worthy citizens.

ROBINSON, JOHN A., farmer; Sec. 31; P. O. Clay; was born in New York, May 22, 1825; when 12 years of age he removed to Indiana, where he grew to manhood; he lived there until 1853, then came to Iowa, locating in Des Moines; after remaining there for about three years, he moved to Denmark, Lee county, Iowa; in 1864 he came to this county and located where he now resides; owns 220 acres of land, .all of which he has made himself by his own labor; he was married March 8. 1845, to Miss Almira Sanger, a native of New York; have five children: Sanford C., Sarah (twins), Ellen E., Harvey S., Charles S.; lost one, an infant; Mr. R. has been ju8tice of the peace but resigned before his term expired.

SAVAGE, SAMUEL, farmer; Sec. 22; P. O. Brighton; born in Massachusetts, May 4, 1832; he was there raised on a farm and educated in the common schools; he came to Iowa in 1856 and located near Brighton; in the spring of 1859 he moved upon his present farm of 160 acres; November 3, 1859, he married Mrs. O. Fisher, a native of Trumbull county, Ohio; they have six children: Sarah C., Celia E., Carl Ellsworth, Edna S., Halbert B., Stella S; lost one, an infant; Mrs. Savage had three children by a former marriage, two of whom, Ada O. and Minnie L., are now living, and one, Addison, deceased.

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THORNE, MRS. FANNY, farmer; Sec. 25; P.O. Brighton; was born in Baltimore, Maryland, July 10, 1830; there she was educated in the high schools; she came to Iowa and located where she now lives; she owns 80 acres of land; September 7, 1861, she married John M. Halloway, a native of Baltimore; he died December 3, 1858, leaving a family of three children: Willie, now living, and William and Mary deceased; she married again June 29, 1864, Francis Thorne, who was born January 1, 1814, in England; he came to this country and located on section 13, of Clay township; being a blacksmith by trade he made the most of the plows used in this part of the country; he died February 15, 1876, leaving a family of four children: Katie M., William B., Mary M., Nannie; his children are living: Benjamin F., Lewis, Levi, Henry, Francis, Joshua.

TOWNSEND, F. T., farmer; Sec. 30; P. O. Clay; was born in Vermont, March 5, 1829, and was raised there, educated in the common schools, and in 1850 he moved to Massachusetts, where he remained until 1855, when he came to Iowa, locating in this township; in 1857 he went to Dutch Creek and improved a farm on section. 24, living there until 1869; he then moved on his present farm, which consists of 105 acres; he is a carpenter by trade, having learned it when young, and he has followed it more or less with his farming ever since he has been West; has built a great many of the houses in this county; October 24, 1864; he enlisted in company K, Thirteenth Iowa infantry, and served until the close of the war; he was honorably discharged July 30,1865; participated in the battle of Nashville, under General Thomas; Mr. T. has been married three times; August 3, 1852, he married Miss Charlotta Stebbins, a native of Vermont, who died April 1, 1874, leaving three children: George B., Frank S., Hattie E.; May, 1875, he married Mrs. Rosanna Heward, a native of
Illinois; she died February 2, 1877, and he married again August 9, 1877, Mrs. Malissa A. Braman, a native of Vermont; Mr. Townsend has held the office of town trustee for several: years; has taken a great interest in educational matters, and has been, school director for several terms.

WAGGONER, JACOB; farmer; Sec. 20; P. O., Clay; was born in Pendleton county;. Virginia, March 15, 1816; he was educated in the common schools, and lived there until 1856, when he came to Iowa, locating near Brighton; he moved upon his present farm of 140 acres in 1861; he has followed farming most of his life, although when quite young he learned the carpenter's trade; he had never followed it much but built the house where he now lives himself; November 1,. 1840, he was married to Miss Catharine Dice, a native of Virginia; they have seven children: Amelia,
Dorotha, Elizabeth, John E., Jacob N., George S., Sarah M.; Mr. Waggoner has made all his property himself, by his own industry and perseance.

WATERMAN, A. B., farmer; Sec.. 29; P. O. Clay; was born in Vermont December 28, 1819, and was there raised; he received his education in the common schools, also in Thetford Academy of that State; in 1842 he moved to New York State, remaining there for one year, then removing to Portage county, Ohio; after remaining there until 1849, he came to Iowa and located in Lee county, living there two years; he came to this county in 1852 and located where he now lives; owns 102: acres of land; Mr. Waterman was town clerk at one time for thirteen years, also justice of the peace for a term; has been twice married; first to

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March 6, 1850, to Miss Cornelia Sheldon, a native of Ohio; she died December 25, 1866, leaving two children: Newton S. and Dwight C. Jiving, and three deceased; June 6, 1867, he married Miss Elizabeth Hutchinson, a native of Vermont.

DWIGHT C. WATERMAN was born April 20, 1855, in this township in the house where he now lives; December, 1878, he went to Norwich, Vermont, and on the 31st of that month was married to Miss Emma F. Hutchinson, a native of Norwich, Vermont; in January, 1879, he returned to Iowa and now makes his home on the old homestead.

WOLCOTT, J. E., farmer; Sec. 20; P. O. Clay; was born in Trumbull county, Ohio, October 9, 1830; there he grew to manhood a farmer, and received his education in the common schools; in 1851 he came to Iowa and located where he now lives; owns 160 acres of land; September 25, 1854, he was married to Miss Orlie Roberts, a native of Ohio; they have two children: Emma and Edwin; Mr. Wolcott is the president of' the cheese factory company.

WOODFORD, N. A., farmer; Sec. 31; P. O. Clay; was born in Trumbull county, Ohio, November 29, 1831; he was raised there on a farm, and has followed farming all his life; he came to Iowa, locating in Brighton in 1855, and in 1874moved on the place where he now resides, consisting of 151 acres of land; he married Miss Jeannette E. Moore, daughter of Mr. Amos Moore, of Brighton, March 12, 1856; they have seven children: Gilbert H., Howard A., Albert W., S. Chase, Mary E., Ralph S. and Anson M.; lost one, Ada, who was educated at the Academy of Vienna, Ohio.

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