Dallas County >> 1907 Index

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

W

S. L. Ward, who has led a life of activity and enterprise, resulting in the acquirement of a goodly measure of success, is now engaged in blacksmithing in Adel and is also the owner of a valuable farming property near by. His life record began in Jersey township, Licking county, Ohio , on the 28th of August, 1839 . His parents were Samuel H. and Caroline (Whitehead) Ward, the former a native of New Jersey and the latter of New York . The father was a machinist and carpenter, who followed those pursuits throughout his entire life. He came to Iowa in the early '50s, living for a time in Warren county, after which he removed to Adel. Subsequent to the death of his wife, which occurred in Adel when she was sixty-two years of age, he returned to Licking county, Ohio , where he departed this life at the age of sixty-four. In their family were six children, of whom one sister of our subject is now living in Ottumwa , Iowa , and another in Kansas . A brother, T. H. Ward, enlisted in the Forty-sixth Regiment of Ohio Volunteers at the time of the Civil war and later was made first lieutenant of the Fifty-fifth Regiment of United States Colored Infantry, serving for nearly four years in defense of the Union . He became a physician and was post physician at Fort Berthold for two years, after which he removed to Kansas and subsequently to California , where his last days were passed.

S. L. Ward was a youth of sixteen years when he came to Iowa with his parents. He acquired a good common-school education, and on the 3d of September, 1861 , just after he had passed his twenty-second birthday, he offered his services to the country in defense of the Union , joining the boys in blue of Company K, Third Iowa Cavalry, in Marion county. He then served until mustered out by special order at Memphis , Tennessee , in October, 1864. After having been a member of the army for ten months he was commissioned first lieutenant and held that rank during the remainder of his military experience. He took part in the battle of Pea Ridge , Arkansas , did much skirmishing and bushwhacking under Curtis in Missouri , took part in the latter part of the siege of Vicksburg and then went upon the expedition against Memphis . He was never wounded nor taken prisoner and save for a short period when he was ill with lung fever in June, 1863, he was always found at his post of duty, faithfully defending the old flag and the cause it represented. A short time ago he was granted a pension in recognition of the aid which he had rendered to his country.

In 1865 Mr. Ward came to Adel and engaged in blacksmithing, following that pursuit until the fall of 1878, when the Milwaukee Railroad was extended from Waukee to Adel and Mr. Ward became the first engineer on that line. The next year the line was extended to Panora and Mr. Ward took the first passenger train into the latter place. After two years on the road he built a machine shop and foundry at Adel and at that time made castings for the railroad. When the railroad shops were built at Des Moines he traded his shop for farm lands and again took up blacksmithing, in which he has since been engaged. He is a skilled blacksmith and mechanic, especially in the line of iron working, and he enjoys a very liberal and profitable patronage. He also owns a good farm of one hundred acres in Adel township and a fine residence in the city of Adel , which stands as a monument to his thrift and enterprise.

On the 22d of September, 1859 , Mr. Ward was united in marriage to Miss Anna Margery Batten, a, native of Ohio and a daughter of Joseph and Jane (Cochran) Batten, who were also natives of the Buckeye state, whence they came to Iowa in 1856. They were farming people of Marion county until 1865, when they came to Adel, where they have since resided. Mr. and Mrs. Ward have one son, George C., who married Carrie T. Gray, of Colfax township, and is now living at Long Beach , California .

Mr. and Mrs. Ward are consistent members of the Presbyterian church, in which Mr. Ward is serving as ruling elder and in the work of the church they have taken an active and helpful part, doing all in their power to promote its growth and extend its influence. Mr. Ward is a stalwart republican, deeply interested in the success of his party, and for four years he served as mayor of Adel, giving to the city a public-spirited and beneficial administration characterized by reform and improvement. For twelve years he has been a member of the school board and for nine years of that time has been its president. He is a member of the Ancient Order of United Workmen and of the Grand Army post, of which he served for fifteen years as commander, while at the present time he is officer of the day. In those finer traits of character which combine to form that which we term friendship, which endear and attach man to man in bonds which nothing but the stain of dishonor can sever, which triumph and shine brightest in the hour of adversity in those qualities Mr. Ward is royally endowed.

Politically Mr. Warford is a republican. He was a member of the school board for nearly twenty-six years, a term of office which speaks volumes for the efficiency of our subject. At present he is one of the directors of the Gray fund of Dallas county and has also served as supervisor. He is a member of Masonic lodge, No. 412, at Minburn, Iowa, and has also been a member of the Odd Fellows lodge at Adel since 1862. He and his wife are both members of Eastern Star lodge, No. 366, at Minburn. In religion they give their support to the Christian church. In every sense of the word they are self-made people, who have every reason for satisfaction with their well spent lives. There are few people who are able to inspire more courage and enterprise than this worthy couple. Their exemplary traits of character and their life records may well prove of great benefit if their many friends will but heed the obvious lessons which they contain.

Henry M. Waters

The qualities of thrift and determination, which constitute a solid basis for success, are found in Henry M. Waters, one of the leading and prominent agriculturists of Sugar Grove township. He lives on section 22 and owns and cultivates three hundred and seventy-five acres of valuable land, constituting one of the best farms in Dallas county. Almost four decades have come and gone since he arrived in Iowa, for he took up his abode within its borders in 1869. Twenty years further, however, were added to the cycle of the centuries before he came to Dallas county. His life record began on the 13th of March, 1857, in Henry county, Indiana.

His father, William D. Waters, was a native of what is now West Virginia, his birth having occurred near Wheeling, and he removed with his father to Indiana when a lad of twelve years, settling first in Henry county. There he made a farm and reared his family. It was in that locality that William D. Waters spent the days of his boyhood and youth, and when he had attained to adult age he was married there to Clarinda Conway, a native of Indiana. For some years he continued to engage in farming in Henry county but at the time of the Civil War he put aside all business and personal considerations in order to prove his loyalty to the government by active service on the battle-fields of the south. He served during the last year of the war under General Thomas in the Twelfth Indiana Regiment. In 1869 he removed to Iowa, settling in Polk county, where he purchased a tract of land and began farming. His labors were effective in their results, for as the years passed he developed an excellent property which continued to be his home until his death in the year 1872. His wife survives him and yet resides on the old home place.

Henry M. Waters was reared in Polk county and as a boy trudged off to the district school, where he acquired a knowledge of the common branches of English learning. His training at farm labor was not meager and he continued to assist his father in the further development and improvement of the old home place until his death and afterward remained with his mother and carried on the farm for her for several years. In 1889 he came to Dallas county and as he had no ready money he rented land for the first year. He then bought where he now resides, securing one hundred and sixty acres which he began to cultivate, and as he prospered he added to his holdings from time to time until he is now an extensive landowner, having a valuable farm of three hundred and seventy-five acres. Upon this are two sets of buildings and the farm is well fenced and tiled. It is now valuable because of the practical and systematic methods he has followed in its development. He likewise owns a place of twenty acres at Dallas Center. He raises good stock and considerable grain and that he is one of the prosperous residents of the community is attributable entirely to his own labors.

On the 3d of April, 1889, Mr. Waters married Clara Mortimer, of Sugar Grove township. Her father, W. W. Mortimer, was born in Virginia in 1841, and on coming to Iowa in 1863 located in Jasper county, where he spent four years. He then lived in several different places and in 1870 came to Dallas county, where he spent the remainder of his life, dying March 14, 1907. Mr. and Mrs. Waters have three children: Clyde C., who is a graduate of the Dallas Center high school and in November, 1906, was appointed by Congressman Hull as midshipman at Annapolis, where he took up his studies on the 18th of June, 1907; Alta L. and Martha Lois, at home. They also lost their first born, William, who died at the age of six months.

Mrs. Waters is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church and is a lady of many estimable qualities, who presides with gracious hospitality over her pleasant home. Mr. Waters votes with the republican party, for he believes its principles are most conducive to good government. In a review of his life it will be seen that he is a self-made man whose advantages in youth were limited and he received no financial assistance when he started out on his own account. He realized, however, that diligence is the basis of financial progress and that intense and well directed activity will produce desirable results in the business world. Therefore he has worked hard and today is enjoying the fruits of his former toil, being one of the prosperous agriculturists of the community with a record which should serve as a source of encouragement and inspiration to others. He has, moreover, the social qualities which win friendship, and he is spoken of in most favorable terms throughout his part of the county.

Solomon Weaver, an honored veteran of the Civil war who has been connected with public interests and the business development of this section of the state since the early days when he carried mail on horseback or drove stage, is now living in Adams township, where he has good farming interests. He was born in Jefferson county, Ohio, on the 1st of April, 1840, a son of Andrew and Sarah (Garlinger) Weaver, of whose family of six children but two are now living, the sister of our subject being Catherine, the wife of Ralph Thompson, of Alliance, Ohio. The father was born in Pennsylvania and was reared and married there. A few years later, in 1839, he removed to Jefferson county, Ohio, where he followed his trade of wagonmaking, which he had learned in the east. He died about 1850.

Solomon Weaver was then ten years of age and when a youth of fifteen he came to Iowa with an uncle, Thomas Garlinger -- for many years one of the foremost men of Madison county, Iowa. The spring following his arrival Mr. Weaver secured a position to carry mail on horseback and was thus employed for two or three years, carrying mail on a side line to a small place called Bennington, on the Des Moines river, from the old Tom Mitchell place in Polk county, to which it had been taken by stage. The old Tom Mitchell place was a noted stage-house of the early days, at which at times as many as two hundred people were fed in a single day. Later Mr. Weaver drove the stage from Des Moines to Adel and from Adel to Council Bluffs and on various other routes owned by Colonel Hooper. Thus his time was passed until 1861 and his work brought him a wide acquaintance among the prominent people of the state and the travelers who had occasion to patronize any of the routes over which he made his runs.

In the year of the outbreak of the Civil war Mr. Weaver entered the service of his country, enlisting as a member of Company F, Fourth Iowa Cavalry, as a private, serving with that command until after the close of hostilities. He was appointed veterinary surgeon. He took part in the siege of Vicksburg and the battles of Guntown and Tupelo. When the war was over he returned to Winterset, Iowa, and engaged in farming until 1869, when he removed to Dallas county, making his home in the vicinity of Earlham until 1873, when he took up his abode in Union township, where his wife owned a farm of eighty acres upon which they located. Two years later Mr. Weaver purchased eighty acres of land in Adams township and in 1881 removed to this place, which he cultivated and improved until 1904. In that year he retired from active life and is now making his home with James Wilson, of Adams township, enjoying a rest which he has truly earned.

In 1872 Mr. Weaver was united in marriage to Mrs. Frances J. Mendenhall, nee Bingman, of Adams township, whose first husband died while serving in the Union army in the Civil war. Mrs. Weaver was born in November, 1840, and died in 1893. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Weaver had been born three children: William L., who is with the Dempster Manufacturing Company, of Omaha, Nebraska; Hattie B., the wife of Charles Johnson, of Union township; and Orville E., of Cedar county, Iowa, who occupies a clerical position with the Rock Island Railroad Company. Mr. Weaver's present wife, whom he married April 6, 1905, was Mrs. Mary A. James, nee Marlow, born December 10, 1839, in Tuscarawas county, Ohio. She was married in that state to W. S. James, who died in Ohio. She came later to Winterset, Iowa, where she married Mr. Weaver. Mrs. Weaver had one daughter by her former marriage -- Bertha A. Her first husband was Wesley Crump, by whom she had two children, James and Ella.

In his political views Mr. Weaver is a stalwart republican, doing all in his power to promote the growth and insure the success of the party because of his firm belief in its principles. He has served for several years as school director and yet has never been a politician in the sense of office-seeking. He belongs to the United Brethren church and has ever been deeply interested in the welfare and upbuilding of the community along material, intellectual and moral lines. Years of unremitting activity in business have brought to him a comfortable competence, so that he is now enabled to live retired without further recourse to labor.

John B. White, who since 1874 has engaged in the practice of law at Adel, occupying a foremost place at the bar throughout the third of a century which has elapsed since he located here, was born in Taylor county, Kentucky, January 14, 1849. His parents were Rev. Fielding and Sarah Elizabeth (Cooley) White. The father was born in Loudoun county, Virginia, near Harpers Ferry, and that the family is an old one in America is indicated by the fact that the grandfather was a soldier of the Revolution.

John B. White spent the first five years of his life in the state of his nativity and in the fall of 1854 was brought to Iowa by his parents, who settled first in Keokuk county, near Fremont, whence they removed to Mahaska county, Iowa, in 1856. In 1859 they became residents of Poweshiek county, in 1861 went to Warren county and in 1864 to Marion county.   Mr. White of this review accompanied his parents on their various removals and on the 13th of January, 1873, he came to Dallas county, where he has since lived. He was provided with liberal educational privileges, and after completing his preliminary studies he entered Oskaloosa College at Oskaloosa, Iowa, from which he was graduated with the degree of Bachelor of Arts in June, 1871.  Later he received the Master of Arts degree from the same college and in 1904 the honorary degree of Doctor of Law was conferred upon him by Drake University at Des Moines, Iowa.

After coming to Dallas county he began teaching, serving as principal of the high school of Adel from the 14th of January, 1873, until June, 1874. In the meantime he had taken up the study of law, had largely mastered the principles of jurisprudence and was admitted to the bar.  After completing the school work in June, 1874, he entered upon practice in Adel and since January, 1882, has been a partner of G.W. Clark, this constituting one of the strongest law firms of the county.  In the trial of cases he is strong in argument and logical in his deductions.  He prepares his cases with great thoroughness and care and is seldom, if ever, at fault in the application of a legal principle.  Almost from the beginning he has enjoyed a goodly measure of success and for years his clientage has been of a distinctively representative character.

In June, 1874, Mr. White was married to Miss Mary Greene, of Adel, Iowa, a daughter of Benjamin Greene, one of the pioneer settlers of Dallas county.  They have two adopted daughters, Gertrude and Lottie, aged respectively twenty-four and sixteen years.   Gertrude is now the wife of Julius F. Bacon, an attorney of Billings, Montana.

In politics Mr. White is a republican, with strong liberal tendencies.  He has held no office except that of member of the school board, in which capacity he has served for a quarter of a century, while for twenty years he has been president of the board. The cause of education has indeed found in him a warm and stalwart friend and under his guidance the standard of the schools has been raised. Mr. White belongs to the Knights of Pythias fraternity and was grand tribune of the lodge for ten years. He is a member of the Disciples of Christ and for thirty-one years was superintendent of the Sunday school at Adel but retired from that position in December, 1904, owing to ill health, which obliged him to seek rest in southern Florida and Cuba.  He has, however, always been deeply interested in church work and his influence has ever been on the side of right, justice and truth.

His life has been rather that of a student and professional man than of a business man, although various business interests have profited by his co-operation and his counsel. He is a director in the Van Meter State Bank, president of the News Publishing Company and president of the Adel Abstract Loan and Land Company.  He is also a park commissioner of Adel and every interest calculated to benefit the city receives his endorsement.   He traveled quite extensively in Europe in 1896, visiting Ireland, Scotland, England, France, Switzerland, Germany and Belgium.  He has decided taste for the study  of  languages  and  in  addition  to courses in Latin and Greek in college he has since studied French and Spanish. He is widely recognized as a man of scholarly attainments and literary tastes and his strong intellectual development has been an element in his professional success and his widely felt influence in his adopted county.

L. Calvin Wise

In the history of Sugar Grove township mention should be made of L. Calvin Wise, who resides on section 14, where he is engaged in the raising and feeding of stock and also in the cultivation and improvement of a farm of one hundred and sixty acres. His individual business enterprise and firm purpose have constituted the strong elements in his success. He has lived in the county since 1884 and is one of the worthy citizens that Pennsylvania has furnished to this state. His birth occurred in Franklin county, of the Keystone state, on the 5th of June, 1865 . His father, Andrew J. Wise, was born in Cumberland county. Pennsylvania , on the 7th of April, 1841 . There he was reared and married, the lady of his choice being Miss Susan Shank, also a native of Pennsylvania . Mr. Wise was a farmer and also a miller by trade, following the latter pursuit when a young man. Five children were born unto him and his wife in Pennsylvania and he afterward removed with his family to Illinois , settling in Carroll county upon a farm of one hundred and fifty-three acres. which he owned and cultivated. There he made his home for nine years and three other children were added to the family during that period. In 1884 they came to Dallas county, Iowa , and Mr. Wise here purchased three hundred and twenty acres of land, constituting the west half of section 14, Sugar Grove township. This he began to till and later bought eighty acres east of Dallas Center . To that farm he then removed, spending his later years there and in the town, where he died in 1904. His wife still survives him and yet makes her home in Dallas Center .

L. C. Wise is the eldest of the sons and daughters, the others being: John S., who is a resident farmer of Sugar Grove township; Jacob A., who follows farming in Walnut township near Waukee; Daniel W., also living in Walnut township; Martha, the wife of H. L. Royer, a farmer of this township; Bertha., who is assistant principal of the high school at Dallas Center; Lizzie, who married Frank Sehman and died on the 14th of February, 1905; and George Z., who died in January, 1904.

L. Calvin Wise spent the days of his boyhood and youth in Pennsylvania , Illinois and Dallas county, according to the removal of his parents. His education was largely acquired in the common schools of Illinois and assisted his father in developing the farm. He aided in building the barn and otherwise improving the place and worked in the fields until after he had attained his majority, when started out in life for himself, choosing as a life work the occupation to which he was reared.

Mr. Wise was married in Guthrie county, on the 17th of November, 1889 , to Miss Ida Slaybaugh who was born and reared in Guthrie county and was a daughter of Dr. Isaac Slaybaugh, an early settler, formerly of Pennsylvania . Following their marriage they located on a farm in Sugar Grove township, living there until the summer of 1892, when they removed to Yale, where Mr. Wise engaged in merchandising for six months. He did not find that pursuit as congenial to him as farming however, and selling out, he spent eight months where he now resides. He then located on a farm in Guthrie county, where he carried on general agricultural pursuits until the spring of 1902. At that date he removed to Kansas , purchasing a farm in Franklin county, upon which he lived for one summer, when he sold out and went to California , purchasing a ranch near Los Angeles . He devoted it to the raising of fruit and stock and continued upon the Pacific coast until February, 1904, when he returned to Iowa and again located upon the old homestead, purchasing the north half of this property. He has since remodeled the house, adding all modern improvements, including furnace heat, hot and cold water on both floors, a bathroom and in fact all modern conveniences. He makes a specialty of feeding and fattening cattle and hogs and he also deals in horses. He is a well known stock dealer and shipper and is seldom, if ever, at error in placing a valuation upon farm animals. He has thus been enabled to make judicious purchases and profitable sales and his stock-raising interests are an important branch of his business.

Unto Mr. and Mrs. Wise have been born two children: Moses A. and Bertha E., both at home. The former is a young man who aids in carrying on the farm and is of much assistance to his father. The parents are members of the German Baptist church and Mr. Wise is a democrat but has no desire for public office. He is a good financier and business man and as the years have gone by has gradually worked his way upward until he is now one of the prosperous citizens of Sugar Grove township. He is practical and systematic in all that he does and has gained that measure of prosperity which follows earnest, persistent and well-directed labor.

Rufus R. Wilson

Rufus R. Wilson, who resides in Waukee, is one of the few remaining of the veterans of the Civil war and as such deserves mention in this volume. Moreover, he was for years an enterprising, practical and progressive farmer and stock-raiser, living in Van Meter township, where he owned one hundred acres of well improved and valuable land. He dates his residence in Dallas county, Iowa, from May, 1867, arriving here when a young man of twenty-five years. His birth occurred in McDonough county, Illinois, on the 26th of October, 1841. Mr. Wilson's father, John Wilson, was born November 2, 1806. His mother's maiden name was Martha A. Vance and she was born May 16, 1804. The former died in January, 1886, in McDonough county, Illinois. The mother died at the same place three years previous. They were the parents of six sons and six daughters. Rufus R. was a twin, his brother being Lewis R. Wilson, who enlisted at the same time as Rufus, in the same company, served in the same battles and was discharged at the same time. He now resides at Halsey, Oregon. Of the twelve children born to John Wilson seven are now living: Mary, in McDonough county, Illinois; Hugh, living on the old homestead in the same county; James and William, of McDonough county; Christopher, of California; Rufus R. and Lewis R.

Rufus R. Wilson was reared to manhood in McDonough county, Illinois, spending his boyhood and youth upon a. farm, and after the outbreak of the Civil war he offered his services to the government, enlisting on the 14th of August, 1852, and being mustered in on the 1st of September as a member of Company I, Seventy-eighth Illinois Volunteer Infantry. He went south with General Sherman and participated in the battles of Chickamauga, Kenesaw Mountain and Atlanta and was in the Atlanta campaign with all of its skirmishes and fights for two months. He was also in the engagement at Jonesboro and later went with Sherman on the march to the sea. He also participated in the last fight of the war and marched through Richmond and on to Washington, D. C., participating in the Grand Review at the close of hostilities. Those at all familiar with the history of the great civil strife will see from the foregoing list that his service was arduous, for he participated in some of the most hotly contested engagements, but he never faltered in the performance of any duty and when the war was over he was honorably discharged and returned to his homes. He was never wounded nor was he ill during the period of his service at the front but was always found at his post of duty whether on the lonely picket line or on the firing line with all of its incident dangers.

Mr. Wilson, following his return home, took up his abode upon the farm. He was married on the 22d of February, 1867, in McDonough county, Illinois, to Miss Martha A. Harkrader, who was born in Indiana and was a daughter of Joseph Harkrader, who removed from the Hoosier state to Ohio and thence to Illinois. Mrs. Wilson was three years old at the time of her parents' removal to Illinois. Following their marriage the young couple came to Iowa and began their domestic life in Dallas county. Mr. Wilson had previously visited this locality in the fall of 1865 and had purchased here sixty acres of land. He located upon this tract, broke the fields and fenced them, built good buildings and made the farm a productive and valuable property. Later he bought forty acres which he also improved and he continued to actively and successfully carry on farming upon his old home place until 1904, when he rented his farm and came to Waukee. Here he purchased the residence which he now occupies and he has since lived retired in the enjoyment of a rest which he has truly earned and richly deserves.

Mr. and Mrs. Wilson have seven children, three sons and four daughters. Charles, who is living on the home farm, is married and has five children. John, a farmer of Adel township, is married and has three children. Silas, a mason and plasterer, who is married and has three children, makes his home in Waukee where he owns a house and lot. Della is the wife of Elmer Thomas of De Soto, Iowa. Genarie is at home. Susie and Katie are also under the parental roof. The last three are associated in the millinery business in Waukee and are conducting an excellent establishment.

Politically Mr. Wilson is a democrat where national issues are involved but casts an independent local ballot. He has served as road commissioner but has never sought or cared for office. For forty years he has lived in the county. This has been the period of its greatest growth and development, for it was still a frontier district when he located here. It had little railroad communication with the outside world and the now thriving towns and cities were small villages or hamlets. The growth of the county has been promoted by such enterprising, progressive and public-spirited men as Mr. Wilson, who has always championed every movement for the public good and who has, by his diligence and determination, overcome all obstacles in his business career and worked his way upward to success.

S. T. Witham, at one time closely associated with farming interests in Dallas township but now living retired in Adel, owes his prosperity entirely to his own labors. He was born in Washington, Ohio, February 16, 1832. His father, Jonathan Witham, was a native of Maine and the mother was born in the Buckeye state. Unto their marriage were born fifteen children, of whom S. T. Witham is the twelfth in order of birth. The parents were for many years residents of Ohio and passed away there.

S. T. Witham was reared under the parental roof and lessons concerning the value of industry and perseverance were early impressed upon his mind. Coming west of the Mississippi, he worked at the blacksmith's trade in Des Moines with the firm of Skinner & Stanton and subsequently removed to Monroe county, Iowa, where he also followed blacksmithing. Later he came to Adel, where he carried on business until after the outbreak of the Civil war, when he responded to the country's call and joined the army as a member of Company D, Second Iowa Cavalry. He participated in a number of battles and after serving for three years he was honorably discharged by reason of the expiration of his term of service. He was always found at his post of duty, faithful in defending the old flag and the cause it represented, and therefore he returned home with a creditable military record.

When the war was over Mr. Witham again located in Adel, where he engaged in blacksmithing until 1887. In that.year he went to Montana, where he worked for the Northern Pacific Railroad Company for seven years. On the expiration of that period he returned to Adel and bought a farm in Adel township, giving his time and energies to general agricultural pursuits until 1901. He then sold the farm and removed to the city of Adel, where he has since lived a retired life.

On the 19th of April, 1857, Mr. Witham was married to Miss Emily Bryan, who was born in Ohio, November 9, 1837. Her father was born in Pennsylvania, while the mother was a native of the Buckeye state. They became the parents of fourteen children, of whom Mrs. Witham was the third. In 1854 Mr. Bryan brought his family to Iowa, settling near Des Moines, and there his wife died, while his last days were spent in Wilson county, Kansas. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Witham have been born seven children: Damaras, who was born May 22, 1858, and married A. J. Ginnell and lives in Montana; Delmar L., who was born April 6, 1860, in Omaha, Nebraska; Mattie, who was born June 4, 1866, and is the wife of E. T. Weyman, a resident of Montana; Febbie, who was born January 11, 1869, and is deceased; John, who was born February 1, 1871, and has also passed away; Mabel N., born December 7, 1876, and now deceased; and Ethel, who was born November 27, 1880, and is still at home.

Mr. Witham exercises his right of franchise in support of the men and measures of the democracy. He and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church and are highly esteemed people, taking an active interest in church work and in all that pertains to the city's progress and improvement. They own end occupy a fine residence in Adel, which is noted for its hospitality and good cheer. Mr. Witham has now passed the psalmist's span of three score years and ten. Unlike many men of his years, he does not live in reminiscences and his look is still forward. He keeps in touch with the trend of modern thought and matters of general interest, and his record of intense and well directed activity is proof of what may be accomplished when one has determination and executive force combined with diligence.

William Wolf

The fact which draws so many men of foreign birth to the new world is the splendid business opportunities here offered where labor is not hampered by caste nor class. In America "labor is king" and it is the only sovereignty which our liberty-loving people acknowledge, the spirit of self-help is the source of all genuine worth in the individual and it is this which has made William Wolf a substantial citizen, now enabled to spend his years in honorable retirement from labor, at the same time enjoying the comforts and some of the luxuries of life.  He started out for himself empty-handed at the age of twenty years and later he engaged largely in the grain and stock business, whereby he gained the handsome competence that now enables him to rest from further business activity.  

Born in Ohio on the 14th of March, 1855, William Wolf is a son of David and Carolina (Kaepler) Wolf. The parents were natives of Germany and came to the new world in a sailing ship, landing at New York.  They made their way to Ohio and afterward to Illinois, making the journey westward in a wagon drawn by one horse. They were pioneer people of the Prairie state, settling in Whiteside county near Sterling.  There the father began the development of a farm and as the years passed and his financial resources increased he kept adding to his property until he became owner of extensive holdings, embracing seven hundred acres of very valuable land.  He carried on general agricultural pursuits, bringing his fields under a high state of cultivation.  In community affairs he was deeply interested and filled a number of township offices, the duties of which he discharged in a manner that won him uniform commendation. He voted with the democracy and held membership in the Lutheran church.  His death occurred in Sterling, Illinois, in February, 1905, and his wife passed away at the age of seventy-four years. They were the parents of nine children, of whom six are living, namely: William, Henry, Jacob, David, John and Mary.  

William Wolf, was reared upon the old homestead farm and when not busy with the duties of the schoolroom his time was largely occupied with the work of plowing, planting and harvesting.  When twenty years of age he started in life on his own account in Whiteside county, where he followed farming for three years and then removed to Ottawa county, Kansas, taking up his abode near Minneapolis.  There he gave his attention to the tilling of the soil and to the raising of stock, remaining at that place for three years, after which he returned to Illinois. Hoping a removal to Iowa might result profitably to him, he came to Dallas county in 1883 and settled on a farm five miles east of Perry.  Three years later, in 1886, he took up his abode in Bouton, where he was in the grain and stock business until the fall of 1906, when he leased his elevator and removed to Perry, where he is now living retired.   Here he purchased a fine home in the fall of that year and is now most comfortably situated.  

On the 4th of April, 1875, Mr. Wolf was married to Miss Carrie Stoll, who was born near Freeport, Stephenson county, Illinois, March 2, 1857.   Her parents were John and Mary (Bealer) Stoll, who were also natives of Germany, in which country they were reared and married.  Both have now passed away, the father having died in Stephenson county, Illinois, in 1899, when seventy-two years of age, while his wife passed away in 1904, at the age of seventy-five.  Unto them have been born eight children but only three survive: Mary, Mr. Wolf and John.  The father was a minister of the Lutheran church and established a congregation of that denomination in Jordan, Whiteside county, Illinois.  He also preached at Dakota, Stephenson county, Illinois, and at Lena, that state, having a circuit. He likewise established a church at Cedarville and at McConnell and his labors were far-reaching and effective in behalf of the moral development of' the communities in which he lived and preached the gospel.  His political allegiance was given to the democracy.  

The home of Mr. and Mrs. Wolf was blessed with two daughters, Hattie and Jennie, the former a stenographer living in Denver. The family are most pleasantly situated in a beautiful home in Perry and in addition to that property Mr. Wolf owns the Wolf elevator, which is the second elevator at Perry and another elevator at Bouton, which he leases.  He also owns four hundred acres and a nice dwelling house there and four store buildings in Perry.  He has two one-half sections of land in Faulk county, South Dakota, and about one thousand five hundred acres in North Dakota, a store in Sterling, Whiteside county, besides some vacant lots and several dwelling houses in Sterling.  He is a director and stockholder in The Peoples Savings Bank of Perry and his property is the visible evidence of a life of well directed thrift and enterprise.  He and his wife belong to the Lutheran church and in politics he is independent.  As a, citizen, however, he is public-spirited and progressive, interested in all measures for the general good, and his labors have been resultant factors in advancing the welfare of Perry and this portion of the state.  Enterprise and diligence have constituted the key which has unlocked for him the portals of success and his life record proves the fact that prosperity is ambition's answer.

James H. Wolfe

A well developed and highly improved farm of eighty acres, situated on section 17, Spring Valley township, is the home of James H. Wolfe, who, as a veteran of the Civil war, displays the same loyalty and patriotism to his country and home locality as he did when upon southern battlefields he followed the stars and stripes. His farm is well located within two miles of Perry, and he has made his home thereon since 1873.

Born in Fairfield, Ohio, August 15, 1846, Mr. Wolfe was there reared to the age of fifteen years, and at that early age he offered his services to the government in defense of the Union, for the Civil war had been inaugurated. He enlisted for service with the Seventeenth Ohio Volunteer Infantry and with the Army of the Cumberland went south under General Thomas. He participated in a number of important engagements, including Mill Springs, Kentucky, Stone River, Tallahoma and Chickamauga, Georgia, September 19 and 20, 1863, where nearly forty-nine per cent of General Brennan's division was killed. After the battle of Missionary Ridge he re-enlisted as a veteran volunteer and was granted a thirty days' furlough and returned to his home in Ohio. The regiment later returned to Chattanooga, and he participated in the Atlanta campaign, helped take Jonesboro, was with Sherman on his celebrated march to the sea and took part in the fight at Bentonville--the last engagement of the war. He then marched with the regiment to Richmond and on to Washington, D. C., where it participated in the grand review. From the latter place he marched on to Parkersburg and down the river to Louisville, Kentucky, where he received an honorable discharge in July, 1865. During the four years that he was at the front Mr. Wolfe lost no time on account of illness. He was a most loyal soldier, returning home with a creditable military record.

Following the close of the war Mr. Wolfe returned to his home in Ohio and then engaged in railroading, first working as a fireman on the Pennsylvania Railroad, being thus employed for two and a half years, after which he worked as an engineer for twenty-five years. During that period he was with the Pan-Handle, Burlington and Rock Island roads. He retired from railroad work in 1892 and having several years previously purchased a farm in Spring Valley township, Dallas county, Iowa, he removed thereon in 1893, and this has continued to be his home to the present time. Since locating there he has made many improvements upon the place, has built to and remodeled the house, which is a very comfortable country residence, has built a barn and substantial outbuildings, planted fruit and shade trees, and altogether has made it a model property. He is here engaged in general agricultural pursuits, and the crops which he annually harvests bring to him a gratifying income.

Mr. Wolfe was married in Perry, October 18, 1876, to Miss Irene Smith, a native of Indiana, where she was also reared and educated. They have become the parents of two sons, but the elder, Volney, died in September, 1890, when in his fifteenth year. The surviving son is Frank, who was educated in the Perry schools and also had the advantage of a collegiate course and is now assisting his father in the operation of the home farm.

Mr. Wolfe has always been a stalwart republican, casting his first presidential ballot in 1864 in support of Abraham Lincoln, and he has supported each candidate of the party since that time. Although he keeps well informed on the political questions and issues of the day, he has never been active as an office seeker. Mr. Wolfe is a Master Mason, belonging to Perry lodge, but he first became associated with the order at Grand Junction in 1876. He is popular with his Masonic brethren. He is numbered among Dallas county's leading citizens and his record as a soldier, as a.business man and as a private citizen has been so honorable that he has gained the good will and confidence of all with whom he has been brought in contact.

Robert F. Wood was born in Gallia county, Ohio, July 4, 1869; He attended the public schools until he was sixteen years of age, when he entered Rio Grande College, from which institution he was graduated four years later. After teaching school for three years in his home town -- Adamsville, Ohio -- he took the teachers' training course at Lebanon under President Alfred Holbrook, and then entered the Ohio University, finishing the scientific course in that institution in 1894. After teaching in the graded schools of Illinois and Texas for several years, he came to Van Meter, Dallas county, Iowa, where after acting for four years as principal, he was elected to the office of county superintendent of schools, in which position he is now serving his third term.

Albert L. Worster, of Adel, manifests in his life that business enterprise which brooks no obstacles and overcomes all difficulties by determination and resolute purpose.  Although making his home in the city, he hasextensive and profitable farming and stock-raising interests and in all of his business dealings is alert and energetic, forming his plans carefully and then executing them with a precision and fidelity which lead to success.

Mr. Worster was born in Delaware county, Indiana, in 1850.  His father, John O.Worster, was a native of Fayette county, Indiana, born in 1817, and his death occurred in December, 1895.  He was of English lineage and at an early period in the settlement of Kentucky representatives of the name went to that state, whence James Worster, the father of John O. Worster, removed to Indiana about 1800.  It was at that time still under territorial government and in fact was a wild frontier district.

He opened up a farm in Fayette county and there reared his family including John O. Worster, who was reared upon a farm and remained a resident of the Hoosier state until 1854, when he lost his wife.  Mrs. Worster bore the maiden name of Elizabeth Bundrant and was born in Virginia in 1817, while her death occurred in 1854.  She was a devoted member of the Methodist Episcopal church. She was of French ancestry and her parents were early pioneers of Indiana.   By her marriage she became the mother of eight children: James T., Charles S., Ann, Jonathan and John, twins, and Edward, all deceased; H. Sue, the wife of Don A. Blanchard, a merchant of Adel; and Albert L., of this review.

After the death of his first wife John O. Worster removed to Edgar county, Illinois, and was engaged in the dry-goods business at Grand View for five years. On the expiration of that period  he  sold  out  and  resumedfarming. After spending a year in  Wisconsin  he returned to Blackford county, Indiana, in 1859, and in 1862 removed to Fayette county, where he resided for ten years.  In the fall of 1872 he came to Dallas county and located in Adel.  He had previously purchased a farm in Colfax township and he also entered into partnership with Ben Winans in the conduct of a hardware and grocery store, under the firm name of Winans & Worster. He remained in that business until the spring of 1875, when he took up his abode upon the farm, making it his place of residence until 1891, when he retired to Adel, spending his remaining days in the enjoyment of a rest which he had truly earned and richly deserved.

In 1854, John O. Worster was united in marriage to Miss Mary Hoover, who died within a year, and in 1857 he wedded Mary A. Slaughter,  of  Franklin county,  Indiana.    In  their family were two daughters: Esther, the wife of Dr. A. Shafer of Frazer,  Webster county, Iowa; and Cora E., the wife of Albert. E. Beall, a manufacturer of Clinton, Iowa.  The father was an enterprising, practical and progressive farmer and good business man.  He belonged to the Methodist Episcopal church, in which he took a very active and helpful part, serving as one of its officers.  In his fraternal relations he was a Mason and his political allegiance was given to the republican party, of which he was a most stalwart advocate. In 1861 he offered his services to the government in defense of the Union, enlisting at Blackford county, Indiana, as a member of Company H, Twelfth Indiana Volunteer Infantry.  He served for one year as orderly sergeant of that company.  After retiring from the ranks he entered the secret service of the army and thus continued until the close of the war. He was a valued member of the Grand Army of the Republic.  He was a citizen of worth, much respected in social and business circles and he left to his family a comfortable competence and an untarnished name.

Albert L. Worster was reared on the home farm and attended the country schools.  He was only four years of age when his father removed from Indiana and the days of his boyhood and youth were largely passed in Illinois and in the Hoosier state, to which the family returned.  He has always carried on farming and kindred interests save for the exception of four years which he spent in a hardware store in Adel as a member of the firm of Graham & Worster.  He then gave his time and energies to active agricultural pursuits until 1896, when he removed from his farm to Adel, but he still applies himself to husbandry.  He has three hundred and sixty acres of land in Colfax township, two miles west of Adel, and likewise owns a tract of one hundred and sixty acres five miles northwest of Adel.   He buys and feeds stock in large numbers and does his own shipping. In fact he is regarded as one of the leading stockmen of the county who operates extensively in that line and has met with very gratifying success.

In 1875, Mr. Worster was united in marriage to Miss Margaret A. Young, who was born in Beaver county, Pennsylvania, in 1853 and is a  daughter  of George  G.  and  Elizabeth (Sowash) Young.  In both the paternal and maternal lines she comes of Scotch-Irish ancestry.   Mr. Young furnished supplies by wagon, taking orders in the primitive manner of the "traveling salesman."  At length he loaded his teams and equipments for housekeeping on a boat on the Mississippi river and with his family started for Iowa in 1854. When near Keokuk he fell off the boat and was drowned, leaving his wife and two children. The family landed at Keokuk and by team came to Adel.  Mrs. Young, the widow, was practically left penniless.  Her husband had purchased a farm and made a small payment thereon.  When he fell into the river the money with which he was to start life in his new home in a wild prairie country was in a belt around his waist, but the body was never recovered and the small capital of the family was thus lost.  Mr. and Mrs. Young had two children: Nancy, the wife of F. E. Houghton, a druggist of Des Moines; and Margaret, the wife of Mr. Worster.  Mr. Young met his death when only thirty-six years of age. Mrs. Young maintained herself and her children by sewing. About three years after becoming a resident of Adel she was married to Lewis Jolley, who was a carpenter and speculator in town lots.  He finished paying for the farm in Colfax township belonging to Mrs. Young and soon afterward they took up their abode there.  They had three children, of whom two reached mature years: Jasper, who is now living on the old home farm in Colfax township; and Mary, the wife of Harry V. Rickerson, a merchant in Adel.  The mother died September 4, 1902, in her eightieth year.  She was originally a member of the Presbyterian church but after coming to Iowa joined the Methodist Episcopal church.

The home of Mr. and Mrs. Worster has been blessed with three children: Idabel, the wife of Norman H. Tyson, cashier of the Lehigh Valley Savings Bank of Webster county, Iowa; Georgia, who is a student in the Iowa State University; and Mary Jo, formerly a student of the State University and now employed in the office of the county treasurer.  Mrs. Tyson was for five years a successful teacher in the Adel high school and the other sisters have also been teachers, Georgia having taught for one year at Lehigh and for two years at Northwood.

The family are consistent and faithful members of the Methodist Episcopal church, in which they take an active interest.  Mr. Worster has served as an officer of the church and was assistant superintendent of the Sunday school.  He has also been a member of the school board in Colfax township for a number of years but he has no aspiration for political office, although he is a stalwart republican in politics.  His energies have been largely concentrated upon his business, which is capably managed and well directed, bringing to him a gratifying measure of success, so that he is now one of the prosperous citizens of the county.  He is a man of genial nature, always approachable, and he has gained an enviable position in the favorable regard of his fellow citizens during the long years of his residence in this county.

Frederick Worster lives in Dallas Center, Iowa, and gives general supervision to his farming and stock-raising interests. He owns four hundred acres of good land in Grant township, which he has brought under a high state of cultivation and which is supplied with all modern equipments and accessories. He has lived in Iowa since 1868 and in Dallas county since 1870, so that he is well known here and his life record is an open book, which all may read. His birth occurred in Bavaria, Germany, on the 18th of June, 1846. His father, Frederick Worster, Sr., was also a native of that country and was there married to Miss Margaret Barnhart, who was likewise born in Germany. He devoted his attention to farming in Bavaria and five children were born unto him and his wife ere they removed from the old country. In 1850 they crossed the Atlantic to the new world, settling in Coshocton county, Ohio, where Mr. Worster improved and developed a farm, there rearing his family. He continued to reside in that county up to the time of his demise, which occurred in 1863, when he was fifty-seven years of age.

Frederick Worster of this review was only four years old when brought by his parents to America. He was therefore reared in Coshocton county, Ohio, where he enjoyed such educational advantages as the common schools afforded. He was a youth of fourteen at the time of his mother's death, and was seventeen years of age when his father died. He remained upon the home farm with the family until 1868, when he came west to Iowa as a young man of twenty-two years. He first located in Washington county but in the fall of 1869 returned to Ohio, and in Coshocton county in the spring of 1870 occurred the celebration of his marriage to Miss Sadie Drescher, who was of German birth. Soon afterwards be brought his bride to Dallas county, which he had visited in the fall of 1869 and had purchased here a tract of raw land of one hundred acres. He commenced its improvement in 1870, broke the sod, fenced the fields and built a small house. As time passed he brought his land under a high state of cultivation and later bought more property as his financial resources increased, extending the boundaries of his place until it now comprises four hundred acres all in one body. He has prospered as the years have gone by, as is indicated by the excellent appearance of his farm. He has erected here a large residence, commodious barn and substantial outbuildings and has tiled and fenced the place. He also has two tenant houses on the farm, with barns and sheds near each. In connection with the work of tilling the soil he makes a business of raising, feeding and fattening cattle and hogs, and also raises good horses. He continued active in the work of the farm until 1903, when he removed to Dallas Center, where he erected an attractive residence. It is heated with hot water furnace, hot and cold water is piped to various parts of the house, and in fact the home is supplied with all modern conveniences, is well arranged and tastefully furnished.

Unto Mr. and Mrs. Worster have been born four sons and a daughter: Charles H., who is married and lives on the home farm; Fred S., who resides near Bagley; Frank A., living on the home farm who is married and has two children, Hazel and Helen, twins; Benton H., who is married and lives on the old home place; and Lula Maud, the wife of William Elleman, a farmer of Grant township.

In his political views Mr. Worster is an earnest advocate of democratic principles, and while living on the farm served as township school trustee. He has always been interested in the cause of education and did effective service in behalf of his party and is most interested in its growth and welfare, believing its principles most conducive to good government. For thirty-seven years he has been it resident of the county and has labored effectively and earnestly for its welfare and interests. He and his wife are members of the Progressive church at Dallas Center and are greatly esteemed by all who know them. Their married life has practically been passed in this county and they have won many friends during a residence here of thirty-seven years. Mr. Worster deserves much credit for what he has accomplished in a business way and may rightfully be termed a self-made man.

B. F. Wright, who has been engaged in the livery business in Adel, now conducting a first-class barn under the style of B. F. Wright.  B. F. Wright is a native of Indiana and crossed the Mississippi in 1853 to become a resident of the Hawkeye state. He first located in Jones county, Iowa, whence he removed to Dallas county in 1856. He is now engaged in the livery business in Adel, having established the barn in 1900. He now owns a fine livery stock and barn and has a liberal patronage, owing to his reasonable prices, his fair dealings and his earnest desire to please his patrons.