Dallas County >> 1907 Index

Past and Present of Dallas County, Iowa
Chicago: The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, 1907.

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Howard W. Taylor

Howard W. Taylor, a respected and worthy citizen of Sugar Grove township, living on section 32, has most intimate knowledge of the history of Dallas county. He has gained this not from hearsay or from any written accounts but by being a witness of the growth and development of this portion of the state. Here he has lived since 1849 and the experiences of his boyhood and youth were those which usually fall to the lot of the frontier settler who meets hardships and difficulties in establishing a home in the "far west." Mr. Taylor was born in Parke county, Indiana, on the 20th of February, 1848, and was therefore a little over a year old when the family came to Dallas county. His father, Slemmons C. Taylor, was a native of Ohio and in Indiana was married to Miss Phoebe Murrow, who was born in Kentucky. They located upon a farm in the Hoosier state and there lived until after the birth of two of their children. In 1849, however, they started for Iowa, arriving here when the county was a wilderness and a swamp. The government still owned much of the land and Mr. Taylor pre-empted a claim. Later he entered three hundred and twenty acres and with characteristic energy he began to break the sod and turn the furrows. The years passed and his labors resulted in the development of a good farm, upon which he reared his family and spent his remaining days, his death occurring in 1891. He long survived his wife, who died in September, 1863. Mr. Taylor served as sheriff of the county for one term and took the first prisoner to Fort Madison in a lumber wagon before the building of the railroad. He also filled the office of justice of the peace and rendered decisions which were strictly fair and impartial, so that his official record is one that is commendable and deserving of high encomiums. He voted with the democracy, advocating the principles as set forth by Andrew Jackson.

H. W. Taylor is one of a family of three children. His sister, Mrs. Sarah J. King, is the wife of Jasper King of Adel township, while Douglas Taylor resides in Sugar Grove township. Howard W. Taylor, whose name introduces this record, was reared upon the old homestead amid the usual scenes and environments of frontier life. As he advanced in age and strength he helped to open up the farm and make it a good property. He remained with his father until he had attained his majority and later he started out in life on his own account. On the 1st of September, 1870, he was married to Miss Harriet Albin, who was born in Indiana but was reared in this state. Mrs. Taylor was a daughter of William W. and Mary (Burns) Albin. The former, born in Kentucky, October 2, 1807, died May 1, 1892. Mrs. Albin was born in Pennsylvania, September 15, 1808, and died in February, 1896. In 1855 they came from Indiana to Dallas county, Iowa. Locating on new land in Sugar Grove township, he bought about three hundred and twenty acres and at the time of his death owned the same amount of property, although it was not all a part of the original purchase.

Following his marriage Mr. Taylor took his bride to the farm upon which he now resides. He now had an additional stimulus for energy and activity in business affairs in providing a comfortable home for her who had come to share with him his name and fortunes. He worked in the fields behind the breaking plow and soon planted the seed which in the course of months brought forth good harvests. He also split rails to fence the place and later he erected a good house and barn. He also put in stock scales and the latest improved machinery and carried on his farm work with a persistency of purpose and capable management until he had gained a place among the prosperous agriculturists of this part of the state. Another feature of his modern farming is the drainage which has been secured through the judicious use of tile. He inherited a tract of seventy-two acres and bought more land, his purchase comprising one hundred acres adjoining the other farm. He now owns two good farming properties, having eighty acres in the home place and owning altogether three hundred and two acres. All of the grain which he raises he feeds to his stock, for he is now engaged quite extensively in raising and fattening stock for the market, this constituting to him a profitable source of income.

Unto Mr. and Mrs. Taylor have been born five children. Delver W., who is married and has one daughter, Pauline, resides in South Dakota, where he engaged in the real-estate and farming business. George C., a.resident of South Dakota, is married and has three children; Harold E., Lola Irene and Glenn. Marietta is the wife of Webster Watter, a farmer of Grant township. Arthur 0. and Harry E. are at home. They also lost two children: Phoebe Pearl, who died at the age of thirteen months; and one who died in infancy.

Mr. Taylor has long exercised his right of franchise in support of the men and measures of democracy, is much interested in the success of the party and has been a delegate to various county conventions. He has also served as road supervisor. He and his wife are members of the Christian church and are greatly esteemed because of the many excellent traits of character which they daily display in their contact with social and business friends and acquaintances. Mr. Taylor has been a resident of the county for fifty-eight years. At the time of his arrival almost the entire countryside appeared just as it did when it came from the hand of nature. For miles the broad prairie stretched away and over it roamed the deer and elk, which Mr. Taylor has seen in quite large numbers. He has also seen much other wild game here. There were no railroads in the county at that early time and the work of development and improvement had scarcely been begun but into the county came a class of resolute, determined men who wished to make homes for their families and were not afraid of the hardships and privations that must be endured to accomplish this end. The events that occurred here, which to many people are largely a matter of history, were to him a matter of personal witness or of experience and he can relate many interesting incidents of the early days when this was a frontier district, and the plowshare had been put into the furrows in few fields.

Henry P. Thompson is the owner of a well improved farm of eighty acres, situated on section 5, Lincoln township.  He was born in Ohio, October 11, 1829, and in his youth was taken by his parents to Canandaigua county, New York, and later to Hillsdale county, Michigan, where they lived for a few years. Subsequently the family removed to Valparaiso, Indiana, where the father passed away at a comparatively early age.

Henry P. Thompson was quite young when his father died, so that he was dependent upon his own resources from an early age.  He accompanied his parents on their various removals and when starting out in life on his own account was employed at farm labor by the month.  After he had accumulated a competence sufficient to enable him to engage in business on his own account he rented land in Indiana and further established a home of his own by his marriage in Valparaiso, in 1856, to Miss Cordelia White, who was born in Ohio.  They began their domestic life on a farm and there several children were born to them.  In 1876 Mr. Thompson removed with his family to Missouri but only remained there for one year, and in 1877 came to Iowa, settling on a farm in Polk county. After a residence there of several years he made his way to Dallas county and for a number of years operated rented land in various sections, and then purchased a tract of eighty acres in Boone township, but later disposed of this and removed to Waukee, where he conducted a boarding house for two years.  He once more resumed farm labor, operating a rented tract in Dallas township for a period of five years, subsequent to which time he purchased his present homestead property in 1896. Since taking possession of this farm he has made many improvements, including good barn, fences and substantial outbuildings and he has also remodeled and built to the house, so that he now has a well improved and attractive place.  In addition to raising the cereals best adapted to soil and climate he is also engaged in raising and feeding stock, making a specialty of hogs.  He follows practical methods in the pursuit of his labors and is now a successful agriculturist.

After a happy wedded life of more than thirty-five years Mrs. Thompson was called from this life, her death occurring in 1891. She was a kind neighbor and friend and was devoted to her home and family.  The five children, two sons and three daughters, of this marriage, still survive, namely: Ezra, who is married and resides on a farm near Berkley; Charles E., who wedded Hattie Gregory and is assisting his father in the management of the home farm, having also installed a gasoline engine feed mill, with which he does work for the neighborhood; Alice, the wife of Harry Jones, a business man of Dana, Iowa; Jessie, a young lady at home; and Nellie, the wife of A. P. Smith, a farmer of Lincoln township.

Politically both Mr. Thompson and his sons are republicans, the father having cast his first presidential ballot in 1856 in support of John C. Fremont.  Aside from serving on the school board he has never held office.  He holds membership with the Methodist Episcopal church at Prairie Center and is one of its trustees and president of the board.  His worth is recognized by his fellowmen and his friendship prized by many with whom he is associated. Starting out in life at an early age, Mr. Thompson has overcome the difficulties and obstacles in his path and has gradually worked his way upward to success.

John C. Thomsen resides on section 3, Beaver township, where he is successfully engaged in farming and stock-raising. His place comprises two hundred and forty acres of land, which is fertile and productive, responding readily to the care and labor he bestows upon it. Here he has lived since 1886, having come to the county two years previously. He was born in Germany, on the 31st of January, 1868, and is a son of Hans Thomsen, of German birth, who was reared and married in the fatherland, the lady of his choice being Catherine Mangelson, also of German birth. Hans Thomsen followed farming in his native country, and in 1884 came to America with his wife and son John, their only child. They made their way direct to Dallas county, where the father purchased forty acres of land, upon which our subject is now residing. Here he began to develop his property and he spent his last years upon the old homestead, his death occurring on the 26th of April, 1903, when he had reached the age of seventy-three years. He had for about sixteen years survived his wife, who died in 1887, at the age of forty-six.

John C. Thomsen was educated in the schools of his native country, pursuing his studies for nine years in accordance with the laws of the land. He always remained upon the home farm and was early trained to the work of field and meadow. Practical experience well qualified him to carry on farming operations on his own account. He was married, in September, 1888, to Miss Katy Schnoor, a native of Beaver township, and a daughter of Hans Schnoor, of whom mention is made elsewhere in this volume. Mr. Thomsen began life here with forty acres and as his financial resources increased he bought an eighty-acre tract and still later another eighty acres. He now owns altogether two hundred and forty acres, constituting a valuable and well improved farm. He built the house and barns, added other equipments, planted his orchards, which are now in good bearing, drained his land by the use of tile and fenced his fields. Everything about the place indicates his careful supervision and practical, progressive methods, and in addition to the production of grain he is also engaged in the raising and feeding of stock.

Unto Mr. and Mrs. Thomsen have been born three children, Lena, Dora and Mary, all at home. The parents are members of the German Lutheran church, and Mr. Thomsen is a republican where national affairs are under consideration but casts an independent local ballot. He has served as road supervisor for one term but has never been a politician in the sense of office seeking. His life has been a busy and useful one and his prosperity has resulted from his own well directed labors. He now rents apart of his land but he still gives personal supervision to the farm work and is meeting with prosperity in his undertakings. He makes a specialty of the raising of Duroc Jersey hogs, keeps a number of cows for dairy purposes and uses a cream separator in the dairy. In fact all modern accessories of the model farm are found upon this place, which has always been well kept, indicating his careful supervision. His health, however, requires that he rent a part of his land. Coming to America when sixteen years of age, he worked with his father until he had attained his majority, then bought the home place of forty acres, and has since added to his possessions until he is now the owner of an excellent farm of two hundred and forty acres, pleasantly and conveniently situated about two miles west of Woodward.

H. G. Thornburg is proprietor of the Elmwood Stock Farm, which constitutes the old Thornburg homestead and consists of one hundred and seventy-four acres of well improved land, located on section 30, Lincoln township. He was born in Randolph county, Indiana, June 8, 1864, a son of H. C. Thornburg, who was born in Knoxville, Tennessee, in 1814. With his father, Jonathan Thornburg, he went.to Wayne county, Indiana, and was there reared and educated. After reaching years of maturity he was married in that county to Miss Eleanor R. Gilmore, by whom he had ten children. She passed away and he was married a second time, this union being with Hannah Garrett, by whom he had two children. Following his marriage he removed to Randolph county and there cleared and developed a farm and in 1876 he disposed of that property and came to this state. Here he purchased one hundred acres of land, a part of which had been developed. He further developed and improved the land and added to its boundaries until he owned two hundred acres. He also assisted his sons in getting a start in life. He spent his last years in Dallas county, passing away in 1884. H. C. Thornburg was for many years a local minister in the Methodist Episcopal church. His wife survives him and makes her home with a daughter, who was born of her previous marriage.

H. G. Thornburg was reared to farm life and pursued his education in the common schools and in the Panora high school, and he also attended the high school of Stuart. He remained with his father until the latter's death, when he assumed the management of the home property. He eventually purchased the interest of the other heirs in the home place and succeeded to its ownership. Since taking possession he has further improved the property by tiling and fencing the land and has also built many substantial outbuildings. The old home was replaced by a modern and up-to-date residence, this being supplied with hot and cold water, furnace heat, bath and other conveniences and comforts. He is engaged in general agricultural pursuits and in raising and feeding stock, making a specialty of pure-blooded Poland China hogs. He exhibits his stock at the county and stock fairs, where he has won many premiums. He is practical and progressive in all that he does and is numbered among the enterprising men of the county.

Mr. Thornburg chose as a companion and helpmate on the journey of life, Miss Louie Hester, the wedding being celebrated in Van Meter, March 11, 1891. She was born, reared and educated in Van Meter, and by her marriage has become the mother of seven children, Henry Virgil, Lloyd H., Calista O., Clara Iona, Jennie Lucile, Herschel C. and Mina Maurine.

Politically Mr. Thornburg is a republican and for three terms served as assessor and is now a trustee of the township. He has served as a delegate to county and state conventions and takes an active interest in local political affairs. He and his wife are members of the United Brethren church, of which he is a trustee. He is also an active worker in the Sunday-school and is now acting as its superintendent. He stands today as a high type of American manhood, who has won success in the business world and has gained the respect of his fellow men by his public service and private life.

L. B. Thornburg, recognized as a leading and influential citizen and as a prominent member of the republican party in Dallas county, makes his home in Perry. He was born in Wayne county, Indiana, in 1848. His parents, Lewis and Lydia Thornburg, were natives of Tennessee. The former followed the occupation of farming as a life work. He was at the head of the anti-slavery Friends church and a strong worker in behalf of the abolition movement, having been reared in the south amid the institution of slavery. In 1818 he removed to Wayne county, Indiana, becoming one of its pioneer settlers. There he acquired a tract of land and cleared a farm in the midst of the heavy timber, sharing in all the hardships and privations incident to pioneer life.

L. B. Thornburg, of this review, attended the common schools in his boyhood but is largely a self-educated man and in the school of experience has learned many valuable lessons. He came to Dallas county with his parents in 1864 when a youth of sixteen years, the family home being established on a farm south of the present site of Perry, although the town had not been founded at that time. Mr. Thornburg still has his home there and is numbered among the earliest settlers of the locality. He was employed in the postoffice at Perry from 1881 until 1895, serving for four years of that time as postmaster under President Harrison and giving a businesslike and capable administration, characterized by promptness and fidelity in all that he did. Since leaving the post-office he has presided over one of the local courts and his official record has at all times been characterized by unquestioned loyalty to duty. Since age conferred upon him the right of franchise he has been known as an active republican, working earnestly and effectively in behalf of the principles which he believes are most conducive to good government.

Mr. Thornburg was married in Perry, in 1867, to Miss L. J. Willis, and they had seven children, six of whom are yet living. He became a birthright member of the Society of Friends or Quakers but is now of more liberal religious views and belongs to the Unitarian church in Perry. He is popular in the city of his residence, having gained many friends here.

M. W. Thornburg, M. D.    

Dr. M. W. Thornburg, one of the prominent physicians and surgeons of Dallas county, was born in Randolph county, Indiana, May 28, 1859, a son of Henry C. and Eleanor J. (Gilmore) Thornburg.  The father was born in Tennessee in 1816 and was brought by his parents to Indiana when but a year old. They settled in Wayne county and there Henry C. Thornburg was reared to manhood. He then located on a farm in Randolph county, where he resided until 1876, when he came west to Iowa, purchasing a farm of two hundred acres in Lincoln township, four miles north of Linden.  This remained his home until the time of his death in January, 1886.  He was a life-long republican and for many years was trustee of his township in Indiana.  There being at that time but one trustee to a township, the office was therefore one of importance and Mr. Thornburg filled the same in an acceptable and capable manner. He was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church during his mature years and was also an ordained minister.  He never accepted a charge, however, but preached locally for various churches for many years in the absence of regular pastor. In his fraternal relations he was a Mason and was one of the well known and representative citizens of Dallas county.  By his first wife, who died early in the '60s, Mr. Thornburg had ten children, nine of whom survive:  Sarah, the wife of S. H. Lumpkins, a resident of western Nebraska; Louisa, the wife of William Mosier, living in Lincoln  township,  Dallas county; Jonathan, who resides in Linn township, Dallas county, being ex-county treasurer of the county; Paulina, the wife of Edward Parker, of Blountsville, Indiana; John S., of Lincoln township, Dallas county; Dennis G., a resident of the same place; Mary L., the wife of R. J. C. Bird, living in Blountsville, Indiana; M. W., the subject of this review; and Elmer E., who now resides in western Nebraska.  The deceased daughter, Nancy, lived to be the grandmother of several children.  For his second wife, H. C. Thornburg chose Hannah Garrett, who still survives him and makes her home in Farmland, Indiana. She became the mother of two children: Henry G., residing on the old homestead in Lincoln township; and Jennie, a graduate of Cornell College, who is now assistant librarian at that institution.  

M. W. Thornburg remained under the parental roof until he had attained his seventeenth year, when he began his business career as a farmer, carrying on agricultural pursuits from 1876 until 1883 as a renter. In 1883 he entered the Stuart high school and was graduated in 1885.  The following winter he engaged in teaching school, and in the spring of 1886 began attending the Iowa State College, at Ames, from which he was graduated in the class of 1889, with the degree of B. S.  In the fall of 1888, during a vacation period, Mr. Thornburg entered the medical department of the State University and thus took up the work of two colleges at the same time.  He attended the lectures at the university through the following winter and in the spring of 1889 took up his studies at Ames and was graduated from that institution in the fall of the same year.  In the winter following he again attended medical lectures at the State University and in the fall of 1890 went to New York city, entering Bellevue Medical College and completing the course in the spring of 1891.  On the 6th of July of the same year he came to Redfield and began the practice of his chosen profession, having in the intervening years gained an extensive and profitable patronage, which numbers him among the prominent medical practitioners of Dallas county.  He has ever kept abreast with the progress made in his profession by post-graduate work, taking a course at Ames in 1887 and another at the Post Graduate Medical School of Chicago, in 1898.  In the line of his chosen calling he is connected with the Dallas County Medical Society, the Iowa State Medical Society and the American Medical Association.  The state of Iowa with its pulsing industrial activities and rapid development has attracted within its confines men of marked ability and high character in the various professional lines and in this way progress has been conserved and social stability fostered. He whose name initiates this review has gained recognition as one of the able and successful physicians of the state, and by his labors, his high professional attainments and his sterling characteristics has justified the respect and confidence in which he is held by the medical fraternity and the local public.  

On September 20, 1839 (sic), Dr. Thornburg was united in marriage to Miss Louise Redfield, a daughter of Jay Ward Redfield, a member of the Redfield family who at one time owned all the land around Redfield and who were the founders of the town.  Unto our subject and his wife were born two children  -- Maurice and Helen.  

In his political views Dr. Thornburg is a republican and is at present serving as a member of the town council and also of the school board, the interests of his home community ever finding in him a stalwart champion. Fraternally he is connected with the Masons, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Knights of Pythias.  Genial in disposition, unobtrusive and unassuming, he is patient under adverse criticism and in his expressions concerning brother practitioners is friendly and indulgent.

Hon. Thomas A. Thornburg

Thomas A. Thornburg, one of the most extensive farmers and stockmen of Dallas county, was born in Wayne county, Indiana, April 9, 1847, a son of William  M. and Catherine (Kearn) Thornburgh.  The father was born in North Carolina in June, 1804, and when a, boy removed with his parents to Tennessee.  When he had attained young manhood he took up his abode in Wayne county, Indiana,where he was married to Mrs. Catherine Bohrer, formerly a Miss Kearn.  She had eight children by her former marriage, two of whom survive; Rebecca K. Bohrer, now living with our subject; and Rufus J. who resides in Cawker City, Kansas.   On June 1, 1856, William M. Thornburgh arrived in Dallas county, Iowa, where he purchased eighty acres of land from John Maulsby, the tract being located in section 19, Linn township. He successfully operated and conducted this farm up to the time of his death in 1876, when he had attained the age of seventy-two years.   He was a whig in his political affiliations and on the dissolution of that party joined the ranks of the new republican organization.  He was active in local political circles and was a man of influence in this section of the state, serving for years as county supervisor and also as an incumbent in the various township offices.    He was reared in the Friends church, and was one of the charter members of the Wiscotta lodge of Masons at Redfield, having been made a Mason in Wayne county, Indiana. His wife survived him until 1887 and passed away at the age of seventy-eight years.

Thomas A. Thornburg is the only one of three children born to the marriage of his father who still survives.  He was reared on the home farm, acquiring his education in the public schools and at the State University at Iowa City. In May, 1864, his patriotism being aroused by the continued attempt of the south to overthrow the Union, he enlisted in Company C, Forty-sixth Iowa Volunteer Infantry, and served until mustered out on the 1st of October of that year.  After his military experience he returned home and finished his education.  His father being in poor health, Thomas A. Thornburg took charge of the home farm when nineteen years of age, being assisted by his brother Kearn, and conducted the same until after the father's demise.   During this period, in 1872, our subject bought a farm of seventy acres from John Maulsby, making the purchase in connection with his brother Kearn.  They farmed this land, together with the home farm, and until the time of the brother's demise in 1901 they conducted all their business transactions in partnership, one pocket-book answering for the expenditures of both. Kearn was the only brother of our subject and was never married. They met with an unusual degree of success in their business interests and acquired six hundred and fifty acres of land in one body in Linn township; also five hundred and twenty acres in Nebraska, of which Mr. Thornburg came into possession after his brother's death.  He has since also purchased one hundred and sixty acres of land in South Dakota, his landed holdings being extensive and profitable. He is heavily engaged in feeding cattle and raising hogs, feeding from four to five hundred head of cattle annually and about the same number of hogs.  He has been identified with the stock business since early manhood and for thirty-five years was a heavy buyer and shipper of stock. He is among the heavy cattle-feeders of Dallas county and is one of the few men who shipped for years and made a financial success of the business.  He is a man of keen discrimination and sound judgment and his executive ability and excellent management have brought to him the large degree of success which he enjoys.

On the 11th of October, 1871, Mr. Thornburg was joined in wedlock to Miss Jennie Vestal, of Boone township, Dallas county, a daughter of Simon H. and Allie (Chambers) Vestal, who on their removal from Parke county, Indiana, in 1854, took up their abode near Adel, Dallas county. Mrs. Thornburg's father was one of the prominent men of Boons township, having been a, member of the board of supervisors for a number of years.  He also held the office of justice of the peace and served as postmaster  when the mail was brought by stage.   His death occurred at Oneida, Cass county, Iowa, December 2, 1905, when he had reached the age of eighty-eight years and six months.  Mrs. Vestal is still living.  Mr. and Mrs. Thornburg are the parents of six children: Zenas C., ex-county superintendent of schools of Polk county and now one of the faculty of Highland Park College; Mabel V., who is at home; William V., a practicing physician of Yale, Iowa; Mark G., who is associated with his father in stock feeding; Carroll K., who is attending Cornell College at Mount Vernon; and Thomas H., who is yet at home and attends the high school here.

Mr. Thornburg is one of the most prominent republicans of the county.  He has served for many years as township trustee and for the past ten years has been a member of board of the independent school district of Linden, being president of the board most of the time.  In 1888 he was elected to the legislature from this district and was re-elected in 1890, thus serving in the twenty-second and twenty-third general assemblies.   He has served repeatedly as a county and state delegate and has for years been an important factor in the republican politics of this section of the state.  He is justly accorded a place among the prominent and representative citizens of Dallas county, for he belongs to that class of men whose enterprising spirit is used not alone for their own benefit; he also advances the general good and promotes public prosperity by his ably managed individual interests, thus placing this section of the country on a par with the older east.  Mr. Thornburg and his family affiliate with the Methodist Episcopal church and are active  in its work and growth.  He is a member of Active lodge, No, 529, A.F.&A.M., of Linden, of which he served for fourteen consecutive years as secretary, and is also connected with Mt. Etna lodge, No. 360, K.P., of Linden.  Such in brief is the life history of Thomas A. Thornburg.  In whatever relation of life we find him -- in political circles, in business or in social relations -- he is always the same honorable and honored gentleman, whose worth well merits the high regard which is uniformly given him.

Isaac M. Thornburgh

No more desirable place for a quiet home can be found than in the section of Dallas county where Isaac M. Thornburgh resides.  He is justly accounted one of the county's most prominent pioneer settlers, for he dates his residence here from 1865, and no man has done more to upbuild the community and transform the wild land into a rich and productive district, inhabited by a prosperous and progressive people than he whose name introduces this review.  Mr. Thornburgh is the owner of a well improved farm of one hundred thirteen and a half acres, situated on section 21, Spring Valley township, his postoffice address being Perry.

He was born in Wayne county, Indiana, September 30, 1845, a son of Lewis andLydia (Macy) Thornburgh, both of whom were natives of Tennessee.  The father removed from his native state to Wayne county, Indiana, where he cleared and developed a farm and made a home until 1864, in which year he removed to Dallas county, Iowa, and purchased four hundred acres of land, a portion of which constitutes the present home farm of our subject.  The father was here engaged in farming throughout a long period and passed away in 1890.  His wife had been called to the home beyond several years previous.   Their family numbered twelve children, seven sons and five daughters, but the daughters all died in early life, while the five sons grew to years of maturity and four still survive.

Isaac M. Thornburgh received his education in the district schools of his native state and was a youth of eighteen years when, in the spring of 1864 he enlisted for service in the Civil war, becoming a member of the Fifth Indiana Cavalry.  Going to the south he participated in several skirmishes but was mostly engaged in guard duty until the close of the war, when he received an honorable discharge at Murfreesboro, Tennessee, in September, 1865.

Returning from the war, Mr. Thornburgh joined his parents in Dallas county and resumed agricultural pursuits, assisting his father in the operation of the homestead property. He was married here in October, 1868, to Miss Martha Howell, a native of Indiana and a daughter of Nedham Howell, who settled in Dallas county in 1854.   After his   marriage Mr. Thornburgh continued to assist his father in the management of the home place until 1871, when he located on his present farm, commencing with eighty-eight and a half acres of land. He erected a residence and barn, set out fruit, fenced the land and made it a well improved property. In addition to raising the cereals best adapted to soil and climate he is also engaged in raising and feeding stock, making of late years a specialty of Duroc Jersey hogs.  As his financial resources have permitted he has added to his original holdings from time to time and now owns one hundred and thirteen and a half acres of land, which constitutes one of the productive and attractive farms of this section of the state.

The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Thornburgh has been blessed with two sons and one daughter, namely:   Lorenzo E., who is engaged in merchandising in Bouton, Iowa; Alonzo A., who is at home and assists his father in carrying on the farm; and Melissa E., who is a graduate of the Perry high school and for a number of years was engaged in teaching in the schools of that place but is now engaged in the conduct of a photograph gallery at Onawa.

Mr. Thornburgh gives stanch support to the republican party, having cast his first presidential ballot in 1864 for Abraham Lincoln.  He has served as a member of the school board but otherwise has filled no public office, preferring to give his time and attention to his private business affairs.  He is a member of Perry post, G. A. R. of which he served as commander for one year.  He is thoroughly familiar with the history of the county from an early period in its development and has done much to advance its material interests. A man of exemplary habits and strict integrity, he is honored not only as a veteran of the Civil war, but also as one of the substantial citizens and pioneer residents of Dallas county.

G. H. THORNLEY

G. H. Thornley, as a financier of Dallas county whose watchfulness of opportunity, strong executive force and business ability have gained for him distinction among the most successful business men, has lived in Woodward for nearly twenty years and is therefore widely known. He is, moreover, a native son of Iowa , his birth having occurred in Des Moines town­ship, Dallas county, on the 17th of April, 1853 . His father, Henry Thornley, was born in Illinois , was there reared to manhood and in that state was married. About 1849 he removed to Iowa , settling in Dallas county, where he se­cured a tract of wild land and opened up a farm in Des Moines township. There he died in the prime of life in 1853 and his was the first interment made in the old cemetery. His wife survived him for many years and passed away in 1901, at the age of sixty-nine.

G. H. Thornley is one of two sons, his brother, S. M. Thornley, being a, retired merchant of Perry , Iowa . The subject of this review was reared in Dallas county by his grandfather, J. Waldo Thornley, who was one of the pioneers of this part of the state and who in an early day entered land from the government on Beaver creek near the present city of Perry . Later he disposed of that property and secured a claim in Des Moines town­ship which he improved. Upon this place he added modern equipment, spending his re­maining years there upon the excellent farm which he had developed. It was as a member of his father's household that G. H. Thornley grew to manhood, assisting in the work of the farm as his age and strength permitted. He acquired his primary education in the com­mon schools but is largely self-educated, gain­ing the greater part of his knowledge through reading, experience and observation since at­taining to mature years. He possesses an ob­serving eye and retentive memory and has thus greatly supplemented the learning of his early school days. He was married in Des Moines township, near Woodward, to Miss Marion McColl, who was born in Caledonia, New York, and was there reared.  She is a sister of A. M. McColl who is mentioned elsewhere in this volume.

Mr. and Mrs. Thornley began their domestic life upon the farm and in 1887 Mr. Thornley came to Woodward, where he established a store, opening up a general line of merchandise  He built a good brick house and continued in the sale of goods for a number of years, gradually securing a large and profitable trade. He carried on the business until 1904 when he helped to organize the Farmers Bank of Woodward with Charles Brenton as president and G. H. Thornley as vice president.  They are now conducting a general banking business with almost unlimited capital and the institution has become recognized as one of the strong moneyed concerns of the city. They have put up a neat brick bank building and are receiving a good share of public pa­tronage. Mr. Thornley has erected two busi­ness houses and several residences and has helped to build up and make the town, con­tributing of his time and means to many progressive public movements. In addition to his other business affairs he has become the owner of several hundred acres of land, near Woodward, which are cultivated under his personal supervision.  In all of his business life he has displayed keen discernment and sound judg­ment and has carried forward to successful completion whatever he has undertaken.

Unto Mr. and Mrs. Thornley have been born two daughters: Clara Belle and Hazel K., young ladies at home.

Politically Mr. Thornley is a republican but he has never sought or desired office, prefer­ring to give his undivided attention to his busi­ness interests. He is a member of the Woodward lodge of Odd Fellows, has filled all of the chairs and is a past grand, while his wife has been equally honored in the Rebekah lodge with which she affiliates. She belongs to the Methodist Episcopal church and is much in­terested in the work of the church and Sunday school, acting as one of the teachers in the latter. Both Mr. and Mrs. Thornley have many warm friends in Dallas county and the hospitality of their own home is greatly en­joyed by those with whom they have social relations. Mr. Thornley has spent his entire life in this county and therefore its history is largely familiar to him. He has done not a little to mold public policy in Woodward and Des Moines township and his co-operation has been given along those lines which work for public improvement and substantial progress.

Lea Thornton is mayor of Adel and the prominence of his official position is indicative also of his place in public regard, for he stands prominent in the opinion of his fellowmen. In is business life he has won most creditable and gratifying success. The elements which have contributed to this result are not so notable because of their rarity as because of their harmonious union.

Mr. Thornton has spent his entire life in the Mississippi valley, his birth having occurred in Vermilion county, Illinois, on the 1st of July, 1844. His great-grandparents, natives of Newfoundland, came to America at an early day, establishing their home in Vermont, in which state the grandparents of Mr. Thornton were both born. It was that generation that established the family in the middle west and Isaac Thornton, the father, was born in Wayne county, Indiana. He followed farming and in early life also learned carpentering. He became a resident of Vermilion county, Illinois, about 1836, making his home there until 1846 when he came to Iowa and purchased a tract of wild land in Polk county. Five years later he removed to Dallas county, where he again purchased land on which not a furrow had been turned. With characteristic energy, however, he began its development and in the course of years his labor succeeded in transforming the wild prairie into an excellent farm, whereon he made his home until his death. In 1876, he visited the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia and while upon the return trip was killed in a railroad accident in Ohio. In early manhood he had married Anna Henderson, a native of Vermilion county, Illinois, who died when her son Lea was but two months old, leaving three sons. The eldest, Thomas, enlisted for service in the Civil war in 1861 as a member of the Second Iowa Battery and died at St. Louis in June, 1862. Nathaniel, who was a member of Company A, Twenty-third Iowa Infantry, which he joined in 1862, passed away in St. Louis in June, 1863.

In the maternal line Mr. Thornton is a representative of old families of Tennessee. His grandparents, Nathaniel and Mary Henderson, were both natives of that state, whence they removed to Illinois, casting in their lot with its pioneer settlers. There Nathaniel Henderson died at the age, of seventy years, while his wife passed away at the age of sixty.

Lea Thornton was reared to farm life, his time being devoted to the work of the schoolroom, the pleasures of the playground and the tasks that usually fall to the lot of the farm boy. Throughout his entire life he has been to a greater or less extent connected with agricultural interests. Following his marriage he established his home on a farm in Van Meter township and while conducting that place he also carried on business as a hardware merchant and lumber dealer in Van Meter. In 1884 he disposed of his store and came to Adel, where he has since made his home. In 1890 he opened a clothing store, which he conducted for two years, and after selling out that business in 1892 he carried on general merchandising until his retirement to private life. He still owns residence property here.

Mr. Thornton was married March 27, 1867, to Miss Hester Dunn, who was born in Wisconsin and died in Iowa when about thirty years of age. In 1877 he wedded Miss Maggie Dunn, a sister of his first wife and also a native of Green county, Wisconsin. Her parents were early settlers of the Badger state and in 1865 came to Iowa, locating in Dallas county where they lived until called to the home beyond, the father passing away at the age of seventy-one, while the mother had reached the age of sixty-six years at the time of her demise. In their family were seven children, four sons and three daughters. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Thornton have been born eight children but they lost two daughters, Anna, at the age of two years, and Lettie B., at the age of twenty-two years. Those who still survive are: Clara M., Mabel A., Charles H., Herschel H., Hubert M., and Walter N.

The parents are members of the Methodist Episcopal church and are much interested in its work. Mr. Thornton also belongs to the County Agricultural Society, of which he has served as secretary, and in his fraternal relations he is connected with the Masons, the Knights of Pythias and the Ancient Order of United Workmen. He also became a charter member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows when the lodge was organized at Van Meter and of all of these societies he has been a worthy representative, his life being in harmony with the beneficent principles upon which they are based. Age conferred upon him his right of franchise in 1865 and he has since been a stalwart republican. He filled various local offices while living in Van Meter township and for six years was county clerk of Dallas county. At the present writing, in 1907, he is serving as mayor of Adel, being called to this position by the vote of his fellow townsmen, who recognize his ability and desire his service as chief executive of the city. His is a career whose success is measured by its usefulness. He has ever been found on the side of right, truth, justice and advancement and in all things he has been actuated by a fidelity to principle, so that his name is honored wherever he is known. He is numbered among Dallas county's successful citizens and the most envious cannot well grudge him his prosperity, so honorably has it been gained and so worthily used.

William R. Thornton, who is engaged in the livery business in Van Meter, having a well appointed stable which receives a liberal patronage, is one of Iowa's native sons, his birth having occurred in Polk county, on the 16th of September, 1848. His paternal grandfather was a soldier in the Revolutionary war and served for seven years in defense of the cause of liberty and thus aided in laying the foundation of the republic. The father, Isaac Thornton, was a native of Ohio and married Miss Rebecca Stanfield, whose birth occurred in Greene county, Tennessee. The wedding, however, was celebrated in Vermilion county, Illinois, where each had removed in early life. During the infancy of their son William they came to Iowa and took up their abode in Dallas county when the Indians still roamed over the prairies, frequently visiting the pioneer homes, begging food and other things of the settlers. The family suffered all the privations and difficulties incident to life on the frontier during the period when the father, assisted by his sons, was developing a farm from the wild prairie. In the family were nine children: Thomas, a valiant defender of the Union cause who died in St. Louis in 1862 while serving as a soldier in the Civil war, being a member of the Second Iowa Heavy Artillery; Nathaniel, who also became a defender of the Union cause, a member of the Second Iowa Infantry, and laid down his life as a ransom on the altar of his country in 1863; Leander; William R.; Anna M., now deceased; Marietta; Cynthia, who has also departed this life; Lewis, located in Nebraska; and Minnie, whose home is in Minnesota.

William R. Thornton was reared amid scenes and environments of the frontier at a time when Iowa was on the very border of civilization. He can remember when there were very few houses in the county, the greater part of the land being still uncultivated. He remembers seeing Indians as they wandered from place to place, hunting and trapping, and he visited Des Moines when that city contained but two stores. Many of the now flourishing towns and villages of Dallas county had not

yet sprung into existence and there was little to indicate the great growth and improvement which have since transformed this district into one of the leading counties of the commonwealth. He embraced such opportunities as were offered for acquiring an education and from the time of early spring planting until the harvests were gathered in late autumn he was busy with the work of the fields. He now owns a fine residence in the village of Van Meter, where he makes his home, and his time and energies are devoted to the conduct of the livery business. He has a large barn and a number of good horses and vehicles and is receiving a liberal patronage because of his earnest desire to please his patrons and his reasonable prices.

Mr. Thornton was married to Miss Olive Aldrich who was born in Jones county, Iowa, June 5, 1850, while her father was a native of Massachusetts and her mother a native of Illinois. In their family were five children, two daughters and three sons. The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Thornton was celebrated December 5, 1872, and has been blessed with five children. Hattie and Thomas are now deceased. The others are Cecil, Ora and Mary.

Politically Mr. Thornton is a democrat and has been an interested witness of the growth of the party for many years. He has held office as a school director for twenty years and had always been a champion of progressive measures for the interests of education. He belongs to the Odd Fellows lodge at Van Meter, in which he has filled all the chairs, and he and his wife are faithful and consistent members of the Christian church at De Soto. They own and occupy a fine residence in the village, have many friends here and the hospitality of the best homes is extended them. For fifty-eight years he has been a resident of the county and few citizens within its borders have a more intimate knowledge of the history of this section of the state and its development. He can remember when the evidences of pioneer life here were many but they have been displaced by those of advancing civilization until the county today bears little resemblance to the region into which the Thornton family came almost six decades ago. The log cabin is now a thing of the past and upon the farms are substantial, commodious dwellings, while the villages have grown into thriving towns and cities with all the comforts, conveniences, accessories and business interests of the older east.

John Tice is a retired farmer living in Redfield. His activity and enterprise in former years have brought him a comfortable competence, so that he is now enabled to enjoy a well-earned rest, though for many years he was closely associated with agricultural interests. He was born in Ingham county, Michigan, October 17, 1850, his parents being Daniel and Delaney (Smith) Tice, natives of the Empire state, where they were reared and married. Removing westward to Michigan at an early period in the development of that state, they established a home in the midst of the forests in Ingham county, Mr. Tice hewing out a farm in the green woods. He came to Dallas county, Iowa, in 1863 and settled on section 21, Colfax township, upon a tract of land of one hundred and twenty acres which the older brother of our subject had purchased in 1856. This was raw prairie, not a furrow having been turned nor an improvement made upon the place. The father built the first house upon the farm and it still stands, it now being used as a granary. It has been a mute witness of the many changes which have occurred as the years have gone by and is one of the old landmarks of this part of the state. The father continued to engage in farming throughout his remaining days, passing away at the age of seventy-six years. He was born February 8, 1806, and died February 14, 1882. His wife, who was born September 11, 1809, died on the 4th of February, 1892. In the family were nine children, of whom the following are still living: Mrs. Mary Colton, who is living in Colfax township; Mrs. Lota Marshall, of California; Manson, who resides in Union township, this county; Mrs. Asher Lyon, of Union township; and Mrs. B. F. Ralston, of Colfax township.

John Tice was reared upon the farm and acquired a common-school education in Michigan and in Dallas county. He was a youth of thirteen years when he came with his parents to Iowa and made his home upon the old farm. A few years prior to his parents' death he took possession, of the property and cared for his parents throughout their remaining days. The occupation to which he was reared he made his life work, save that for a few years he was in business in Adel. There he suffered a loss by fire, after which he returned to the farm, where he carried on general agricultural pursuits until 1896. He then retired to private life, turning the farm over to his son, and at the present writing he is a resident of Redfield, where he has now lived for a year in enjoyment of the rest which he has truly earned and richly deserves.

Mr. Tice was married to Miss Mary Edwards, a native of Porter county, Indiana, and they have three children: James, who is proprietor of a hotel at Bozeman, Montana; Jessie, who is conducting a bakery and restaurant at Redfield; and Chauncey E., who remains upon the home farm.

Mr. and Mrs. Tice have been life-long members of the Christian church and for a number of years Mr. Tice was an elder in the Prairie Home church. In politics Mr. Tice is a republican and has held the office of justice of the peace, his decisions being strictly fair and impartial. He was school director for one year and has always been interested in those matters which to general progress and improvement. His life has been quietly passed and yet his history contains many lessons worthy of emulation, for it has at all times been characterized by those principles of conduct which ever awaken confidence and regard. He has been honorable in business, loyal in citizenship and faithful to the ties of home and friendship.

J. C. Towns, who successfully operates his tract of one hundred and thirty acres on section 14, Linn township, was born in Dallas county, Iowa, June 27, 1858, a son of Cyrus and Rachel (Duck) Towns, the former a native of Maine and the latter of Ohio. The father removed to Ohio in an early day and subsequently took up his abode in Indiana. In 1857, however, he came to Dallas county, Iowa, entering a tract of land from the government, whereon he made his home and carried on agricultural pursuits until the time of his death in 1893. His wife still survives him, making her home with her son, J. C., in Linn township. This worthy couple were the parents of nine children, six of whom are yet living: Mahala, the wife of Milton Maulsby, of Linn township; Marion, a resident of Dallas county; Ira, also living in this county; J. C., whose name initiates this review; and Jesse and Irving, both residing in North Dakota.

J. C. Towns acquired his education in the district schools of his native county and as he was reared on a farm it is not strange that he early became familiar with all the duties and labors connected with agricultural life and that he took up this work as a permanent occupation. That his choice was a wise one is indicated by the fact that he is now the owner of one hundred and thirty acres of fine farming land on section 14, Linn township, which he operates successfully and energetically, having brought the tract under a high state of cultivation. Rich harvests annually pay tribute to his enterprise and diligence and he is numbered among the representative agriculturists of the county.

On March 31, 1881, Mr. Towns was united in marriage to Miss Lizzie Wagle, who was born in Wisconsin in 1862, being a daughter of John and Betsy (Call) Wagle, the former a native of Ohio and the latter of Maine. Her parents removed to Minnesota in 1860 but the following year, at the time of the massacre, were driven out by the Indians. They then took up their abode in Wisconsin but subsequently returned to Minnesota, where they remained until they were called to their final rest. They were the parents of three children, as follows: Addie, the wife of Jack Wyckoff, living in Guthrie county, Iowa; Mrs. Towns; and one who died in infancy. Mr. and Mrs. Towns are the parents of three children: Roy H., who is married and resides in this county; Glenn M., who is attending the high school at Linden; and Harold C.

In his political affiliations Mr. Towns is a republican. He is always courteous, kindly and affable and those who know him personally have for him a warm regard, while any movement or measure instituted to promote the growth and prosperity of his native county never seeks his aid in vain. He has resided in Dallas county for almost a half century and has become widely and favorably known by reason of his sterling traits of character and genuine personal worth. Not only has he seen this district develop from a wild country, with only a few white inhabitants, to a rich agricultural country, containing thousands of good homes and acres of growing towns, inhabited by an industrious, prosperous, enlightened and progressive people, but he has participated in and assisted the slow, persistent work of development which was necessary to produce a change which is so complete that it has come to be popularly referred to as magical.