Past and
Present of Dallas County, Iowa
Chicago: The S. J. Clarke
Publishing Company, 1907.
E
Charles K. Ellis, whose death occurred on April 12, 1906, was a well known
and much respected agriculturist. He was born in Waterville, Kennebec county,
Maine, July 26, 1844. With his father, Joshua W. Ellis, and family, he went to
the state of Illinois in 1854, being but ten years of age at that time. Here
they remained for two years and then emigrated overland to Denison, Crawford
county, Iowa, where the father had a government contract to deliver the mail
from Denison to the frontier in Nebraska and was also given several other
routes. The western one was carried by his son Charles, then only thirteen. This
route lay in a territory occupied by hostile Indians and the boy's faithful
ponies were his only companions on this lonely trip until he reached the river.
Not many a lad of thirteen today would undertake a task fraught with so much
danger but Mr. Ellis served with honor in this position for two years. Owing to
the Indians becoming very hostile, the little village was broken up and they
again returned to Illinois, where the son Charles remained with his father until
1870. At that time he came to Washington township, Dallas county, where he
resided continuously with the exception of six years, when he had charge of the
county farm of Dallas county, a position which he filled with much credit. On the 9th of November, 1869, Mr. Ellis was married to Miss Arvilla A. Sweet.
She was born in Bureau county, Illinois, in 1848, and was the daughter of J. L.
and Florandia T. Sweet. Mr. and Mrs. Sweet came to Illinois at an early date and
located near Buda, where their deaths occurred and where they were laid to rest
in Buda cemetery. They had accumulated considerable wealth and had several fine
farms in Bureau county at the time of their demise. The father was married
twice. To the first union there were born five children, of whom two are now
living: J. B. Sweet, a lawyer at Council Bluffs, Iowa; and Mrs. A. A. Ellis. To
the second union five children were born, of whom three survive: Aura, Effie and
Albert. Mr. and Mrs. Ellis were the parents of ten children, of whom five sons
are now living, four of whom are married. The record is as follows: E. L., born
September 10, 1870, living in Perry, Iowa; F. R., born April 15, 1877,
conducting a livery barn at Minburn, Iowa; H. L., born July 4, 1879, living on
one of his mother's farms; J. P., born November 18, 1881, a farmer living near
the old homestead; and Roy J., who was born May 26, 1887, and operates the home
farm for his mother. From boyhood Mr. Ellis' life was a very active one but he always had time to
extend a helping hand and to say a kind word to his friends. His motto through
life was "do unto others as you would have others do unto you" and
this he most conscientiously followed, as his many friends can attest. Through
such memorials as this the individual and the character of his service are kept
in remembrance and the importance of those services acknowledged. His example,
in whatever field his work may have been done, stands as an object lesson to
those who come after. Up to the time that he was taken sick, at the age of
sixty-one, he had never been in bed a day from illness but pneumonia developed
very rapidly and at his age no hope was felt for his recovery. He passed away at
his country home, surrounded by his wife and his five sons. Mr. Ellis was a
republican and was identified with the Odd Fellows in Adel. He also belonged to
the Methodist Episcopal church and lived a life of uprightness and honor,
entitling him to high regard. Mrs. Ellis, after her husband's death, was appointed administratrix of his
estate and bought her sons' interests in the property, owning at present three
hundred and twenty acres known as the Prairie Lawn Stock Farm on section 15,
Washington township. She is a highly esteemed woman and a kind and loving mother
and a faithful friend to all who know her.
W. B. Ellis, now living a retired life on his farm in Linn township,
was born in Greene county, Tennessee, on December 27, 1829, a son of Jesse and Rachel
Ellis, both of whom were also born in Tennessee, the former in 1801 and the latter in
1804. The father always carried on agricultural pursuits but was engaged in blacksmithing
the greater part of his life as a means of livelihood. In 1849 he removed to Indiana, both
he and his wife passing away in that state. They were the parents of ten children, of whom
our subject is the third in order of birth.
W. B. Ellis was reared under the parental roof and acquired his education in the common
schools of Tennessee. In 1854 he came to Dallas county, Iowa, entering a tract of land in
Linn township. This he operated successfully and energetically for a number of years,
until his labor had brought him the competence that now enables him to live retired in
well earned ease. He still resides on his farm in Linn township, which is being operated
by one of his sons.
In 1851 Mr. Ellis was joined in wedlock to Miss Susan Lewis, who was born in Indiana in
1832, a daughter of Samuel and Lucinda Lewis, the former born in North Carolina and the
latter in Tennessee. They removed to Indiana at an early day and in 1854 came to Iowa, in
which state their demise occurred. Mrs. Ellis was one of a family of ten children and by
her marriage has become the mother of eleven, namely: M. D., who resides in Oregon; J. C.,
living in Kansas; E. J., the wife of Henry Cronk, living in Iowa; Rachel L., who married
Henry Evans and lives in Kansas; Maria M., the wife of Frank Seaman, a resident of Iowa;
Samuel R. C., a telegrapher at Hillsboro, Iowa.; Emma E., the wife of John A. Curtis, both
she and her husband being missionaries in India; Lucretia, the wife of J. H. Sanford,
residing in North Dakota; Mary M., who married F. Fansher and lives at Des Moines, Iowa;
W. A., who operates the home farm for his father; and one who died in infancy.
In his political views Mr. Ellis is a prohibitionist but was formerly a republican and
has held all of the minor offices in the township. He was also chairman of the board of
supervisors for four years and is active in the local ranks of his party. Both he and his
wife are members of the Quaker church and are esteemed throughout the entire community as
people of genuine personal worth and upright character. Fifty-three years have passed
since W. B. Ellis came to Dallas county. This state was then a wild district, its lands
unclaimed, its resources undeveloped. A few courageous frontiersmen had dared to locate
within its borders but the work of progress and improvement remained to the future and
there was little promise of early development. In the years which have since passed, Mr.
Ellis has not only witnessed a most wonderful transformation but has largely aided in the
labors which have transformed the wild tract into a splendid commonwealth. Now in his
declining years he is living retired, enjoying the well earned rest which is the merited
reward of a long and honorable business career.
Elmer A. Emmert, owner and publisher of The Times at Dallas Center since 1901, was born
at Lanark, Illinois, March 5, 1875, his parents being Josiah and Maggie K. (Miller)
Emmert, the former a mason by trade. His education was acquired in the public schools of
his native town. From early boyhood he had a desire to be a printer and after leaving
school he began learning the printer's trade under the direction of Charles A. De Witt on
The News at Lanark. He took up the work on the 13th of November, 1889, and after remaining
in The News office for a short time secured a situation on the Gazette at Lanark, of which
J. E. Laird was then publisher. His connection with that office covered eleven years, save
for a period of sis months spent in work at the printer's trade in North Dakota. He came
to Iowa in 1901 and on the 1st of February of that year purchased from W. R. Markley what
was then The New Times, of which he has since been editor and owner, though the name has
since been changed to The Times. He has made this an excellent country paper and its
circulation and advertising patronage have both greatly increased under his able
management.
Mr. Emmert was married in Ida Grove, Iowa, on the 24th of May, 1903, to Clara F.
Hammond, of Dallas Center. His life has always been characterized by a recognition of
community interests for the public good and by active co-operation therein.
Hon. Thomas A. Estes 
Hon. Thomas A. Estes, who has represented his district in the legislature and
is now living a retired life after many years of active connection with farming,
makes his home on section 2, Boone township. He is one of its well known
residents and for a long period was closely associated with agricultural
interests. He has lived here since February, 1874, and is a native of the state
of Maine, his birth having occurred in Durham on the 19th of April, 1825. The
Estes family is of Italian and English ancestry and was established in
Massachusetts in early colonial days. The great-grandfather, Edward Estes,
located in Harpswell, Maine, later removing to Durham, that state, where his son
Caleb was one of the founders of the Friends church. The maternal grandfather of
Thomas A. Estes was Benjamin Alden, a direct descendant of John Alden who came
over in the Mayflower and landed on Plymouth Rock, Mr. Estes being of the eighth
generation of his descendants. Thomas A. Estes was reared in Maine and when a
lad went to work in a shipyard, learning the ship-carpenter's trade. He was
afterward engaged in ship-building for a number of years and was employed on the
construction of a number of big ocean vessels in those days. While residing in New England, Mr. Estes was married on the 2d of September,
1855, to Miss Mary P. Alexander, also a native of the Pine Tree state. They
located at Harpswell, where Mr. Estes had for several years been engaged in
business. There she was reared and educated and prior to her marriage engaged in
teaching. Mr. Estes was a prominent man of Harpswell, active and diligent in
business and influential in political circles. He was a Jeffersonian democrat
and upon the party ticket was elected, in 1865, to represent his district in the
state legislature, where he served for one term. He was on a number of important
committees and was closely associated with much important legislation. He was
never an office seeker, however, nor did he desire political preferment. He
continued to reside in Maine until 1871, when he removed westward to the
Mississippi valley, settling first in Knox county, Illinois. There he located on
a farm and continued its cultivation for three years. In February, 1874, he came
to Iowa, settling in Dallas county upon a farm belonging to his brother, Horace
Estes, and here he has since resided. His brother settled here in 1860 and
opened up the farm, developing a good property. His death occurred in 1884. Mr. and Mrs. Estes have one son: A. H. Estes, who was born in Harpswell,
Maine, December 19, 1862. He came west to Illinois and afterward to Iowa with
his parents and was reared to manhood here. He has always remained on the home
farm with his father and for severed years has had charge of the property and
business interests, thus relieving his father, who is now living retired in the
enjoyment of the rest which he has truly earned and richly deserves. A. H. Estes
is a practical and progressive agriculturist and stock-raiser, widely known as a
man of good habits. Thomas A. Estes is a member of the Masonic fraternity,
belonging to Pioneer lodge, A. F.& A. M., at Des Moines. A. H. Estes has
taken the degrees of the subordinate lodge and encampment of Odd Fellows and
belongs to the uniform rank, being a Canton degree member. The Estes family is
well known in Dallas and Polk counties, both Thomas A. Estes and his son being
regarded as leading men in the community. He has now attained the age of
eighty-two years and deserves the veneration and respect which should ever be
accorded those who have traveled far on life's journey and whose record is in
harmony with all that constitutes the exemplary citizen. S. D. Evans
The agricultural interests of Dallas county
find a worthy representative in S. D. Evans, who owns and operates a well
improved farm of two hundred and forty-eight acres on section 11, Beaver
township. He is also well known as a stock-raiser. Mr. Evans was born in
Henry county, Indiana, May 17, 1840, and his parents were George and Catherine (Snideman)
Evans, the former born in Virginia, where he was reared and married, his wife
being a native of Germany. At an early day in the development of the west,
the father made his way with his family to Henry county, Indiana, where
he acquired a farm comprising seven hundred acres, and there spent
his remaining days, his death occurring in 1861. He had been twice married, his
first wife passing away in 1842, after which he was married a second time.
S. D. Evans is one of a family of four
children born of the father's first marriage but only two now survive, his
sister being Eva, the wife of William Wimmer, a resident of
Henry county, Indiana. The son was reared and educated in his native
state, assisting his father in the operation of the home farm during the period
of his boyhood and youth. He was a young man of twenty-two years when, in
1862, he was united in marriage to Miss Mary Reed, who was likewise a native of
Henry county, Indiana. The young couple there began their domestic life on
a farm and three children were added to the household. In 1868 he made his way
to Polk county, Iowa, where he rented a farm for four years and his wife here
passed away in 1873. Following her death Mr. Evans returned with his children,
now numbering four, for one had been born in Polk county, to Henry county,
Indiana, where he resided for two years and was there married a second time,
this union being with Mary L. Noggle, who was born in that county. Their
marriage was celebrated August 19, 1875, and soon afterward he removed with his
family to Dallas county, Iowa, where he made purchase of one hundred and twenty
acres of land, which constitutes a portion of his present homestead
property. A small house stood upon the place but this has been enlarged
and remodeled by the present owner. Mr. Evans tiled and fenced his land, built
substantial outbuildings, and from time to time added more land until his place
now embraces two hundred and forty-eight acres, which has been acquired through
his own well directed efforts. He has set out a good orchard and has
adorned the place with many shade trees, so that it is one of the attractive
farms of this section of the state. Mr. Evans is engaged in tilling the
soil and cultivating the crops which are best adapted to soil and climate, and
he likewise gives a portion of his time and attention to the raising and feeding
of stock, making a specialty of good grades of hogs. In addition to his land in
Dallas county Mr. Evans also owns one hundred and sixty acres of prairie land in
Coddington county, South Dakota, near Watertown.
The two surviving children of Mr. Evans' first
marriage are: Robert Evans, who is married and has one daughter, and follows
farming on the home place; and Rosetta, the wife of W. B. McDuffy, a farmer of
South Dakota, by whom she has two children. Of the last marriage three sons have
been born: A. Homer, who is a contractor and grader of Dallas county; H. H., who
owns farm land in Montana; and James, a young man at home.
Mr. Evans cast his first presidential ballot
in 1864 in support of Abraham Lincoln and has voted for each presidential
candidate of the republican party since that time. For eight years he
served as township trustee and for many years has acted as a member of the
school board. He and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal
church. More than three decades have passed since Mr. Evans made a
permanent location in Dallas county and with its history from that time down to
the present he is thoroughly familiar. He has aided in the early development and
progress of the county, reclaiming it for the purposes of civilization, and has
steadily pursued his way undeterred by the obstacles and difficulties in his
path until he has achieved a prosperity of which he has every reason to be
proud.
H. A. Eveland, a prosperous farmer and stock-raiser, is well known as a
breeder and dealer of Aberdeen Angus cattle, and is numbered among the old
settlers of Dallas county. He was born in Clermont county, Ohio, April 25, 1844,
a son of Joseph Eveland, who was born in New Jersey but was taken to Ohio when a
lad of eight years, and was there reared and educated. After reaching years of
maturity he was married in the Buckeye state to Miss Eveline Dimmit, who was
born in Virginia, a daughter of Samuel Dimmit, who was a relative of George
Washington. The father was a brick-mason by trade and followed that calling
during his residence in Ohio, but after removing to Iowa in 1845 he located on a
farm in Muscatine county, where he spent the remainder of his life, passing away
there in 1883. He was survived by his wife for a long period, her death
occurring in 1904. H. A. Eveland is one of a family of three sons and six daughters. His eldest
brother, Dimmit Eveland, served in the Civil war as a member of Company E,
Nineteenth Iowa Volunteer Infantry, enlisting in 1861 and serving for three
years. The other brother, Peter Eveland, was a member of Company E, Eighteenth
Iowa Volunteer Infantry and served until the close of hostilities. H. A. Eveland
was reared and educated in Muscatine county, Iowa, and remained with his father
on the home farm until he reached the age of twenty-one years. He has always
followed the pursuit to which he was reared, farming for three years in
Muscatine county, while later he removed to Dallas county, the year of his
arrival here being 1871. He purchased one hundred and sixty acres of wild land
and at once began to break and clear the land. In course of time he made it a
cultivable tract and erected a small house, in which the family made their home
for many years. This primitive structure, however, has been built to and
remodeled so that he now has a good country residence. He has also built two
good barns and many substantial outbuildings for the shelter of grain and stock,
has used woven wire fencing to divide his fields into convenient size, has set
out an orchard and shade trees and now has one of the best farms in the county,
consisting of one hundred and sixty acres, situated on sections 8 and 17,
Lincoln township. For ten or twelve years he engaged in feeding and fattening
hogs and cattle for the market but now gives his time to breeding and dealing in
pure blood Aberdeen Angus cattle, his stock all being registered. In this
connection he is known not only in his home locality but throughout the state. Mr. Eveland was married in Muscatine county, December 13, 1865, to Miss Ann
Beardsley, who was born and reared in the Keystone state. She was well educated
and engaged successfully in teaching prior to her marriage. The marriage of Mr.
and Mrs. Eveland has been blessed with three sons and six daughters, as follows:
Joseph, who is married and follows farming in Guthrie county; Edwin J., who is
married and resides on a farm in Lincoln township; Mary, the wife of A. D.
Dickey, a farmer of this township; Clara, the wife of F. M. Leeka, a farmer of
Guthrie county; Laura, the wife of Charles Doran, a farmer of Canada; Alice, a
young lady at home; Ella, the wife of Ervin Rote, a farmer of Guthrie county;
Bertha, also at home; and a son, who died in infancy. Mr. Eveland has been a lifelong democrat and for three terms served as
assessor and one term as township trustee. He has been a member of the school
board for many years, the cause of education ever finding in him a warm and
helpful friend. The parents are members of the Methodist Episcopal church, and
the family are highly esteemed in the community where they have so long made
their home, while the business methods which Mr. Eveland has ever followed are
such as to win him the confidence and good-will of all with whom he is
associated.
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