Hardin County >> 1911 IndexPast
and Present of Hardin County, Iowa
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Benjamin C. Dean, pp. 1016-1017
[Biography not yet online] Among the representative citizens of Hardin county is the gentleman whose name heads this biographical review, the owner of a fine landed estate in Providence township, but he is now living retired in his beautiful home the village of New Providence. For many years he carried on the various departments of his enterprise with that discretion and energy which are sure to find their natural sequel in definite success, having always been a hard worker, a good manager and a man of economical habits and being fortunately situated in a thriving farming community, it is no wonder that he gained, the front ranks of the agriculturists of this favored locality. S. DeWitt was born in 1840 in Kingston county, Canada, the son of Luke and Nellie (Jenkins) DeWitt. The paternal grandfather was Abram DeWitt, who was born in 1788. He settled in Frontenac county, Canada, in 1813. He was of Welsh parentage and he married Rebecca Leaman. They spent their lives on a farm, the grandfather dying on February 25, 1868, and his wife lived to be about ninety years of age. They were the parents of the following children: Luke, father of the subject; Hiram re mained single and died in Canada; Abram died in Canada; John, born in 1832, is still living in Canada; Martha Ann married Andrew Emery and they both died in Canada; Eliza married Patrick Caton and they both died in Canada; Fannie married Benjamin Hicks and died in Canada; Caroline married Titus Detler and lives in Canada; Amanda married Thomas Hicks and lives in Canada; Jane married Edward Shull and lives in Canada. Luke DeWitt, father of the subject, was born in Ernestown, Canada, in 1815 and died in October, 1894, being buried in Wisconsin. He was always a member of the Methodist church. His wife, Nellie Jenkins, was born in Ernestown, Canada, in 1814, died in 1873 and is buried at her old home town. Their children were: John C., who resides in Wisconsin; Abram, of this review; Luke A., who left home in early life and has never been heard from; Anna Amelia married James Sproul in Canada. The mother of the above named children was the daughter of John and Susanna (Brown) Jenkins, the father a Welshman and a man of fine personal traits; he was a blacksmith by trade, but devoted much of his life to farming and became the owner of three hundred acres of good land.. They were the parents of nine children, namely: Nellie, wife of Mr. DeWitt; Susanna died young; Walter also died in early life; Egbert married into the Orr family and spent his life in Canada; Eliza married M. Devine, a Welshman, and they live in Canada; Harriet married Alex Hamilton, of Canada; Alpheus, who remained single, is now deceased; Jane married William Ansley, of Canada. Abram S. DeWitt grew up in Canada and received his early education there. In 1868 he was married to Sarah A. Aylesworth, daughter of David and Nancy (Frasier) Aylesworth. In 1870 they brought their one child, Olivia, to Providence township, Hardin county, Iowa. The first year he worked out by the month and the second year rented the old McDonald farm, the owner of which was one of the county's early settlers. He then bought one hundred and twenty acres in Concord township, for which he paid three and one-half dollars per acre, and he built the fourth shanty in the township. He improved the place and remained there until 1878, when he came to Providence township, locating in section 8, where he improved one of the finest farms in the township, which he still owns and where he made a pronounced success at general farming and stock raising. Since coming here he has prospered and has owned several excellent farms. In 1905 he retired from active work and moved to his modern and commodious home in New Providence, where he is popular, being a good entertainer and a genteel gentleman of the old school. Politically, he is a Democrat and he never aspired to political office. David Aylesworth, father of the wife of the subject, was born in Ernestown, Canada, November 17, 1801, and his death occurred on August 24, 1887. He was a very determined man when he knew he was right and he was a strong temperance advocate. His wife, Nancy Frasier, was the daughter of Isaac and Nancy ( Sterling ) Frasier. They spent their lives in Canada, where the father was military officer and register of records for some time. They were the parents of these children: Charles, Alice, Timothy, Cotton, Nancy, Triny, Margaret, Sallie and Elizabeth. The following children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Abram S. DeWitt: Olevia, born January 22, 1870, married Samuel Spurgeon in 1900; they live in Louisiana and have three sons, Holland, Charles and Joseph. David Seymour, born October 6, 1871, married Minnie Mitchell and they have four children, Rodney, Ruth, Louisa and Alice. Bowen A., born January 1, 1873, married Maggie Carter, daughter of an old settler and they have three children, Ivan S., Gale Olevia and John Wilson. Libbie, born June 9, 1874, died August 12, 1887, at the age of thirteen years, two months and three days. Nellie Alice, born November 9, 1875, married John Beach, of Providence township, and they have five children, Frank, Lea, Jerome, Paul and Chelsea. Sarah Amelia, born March 21, 1879, married Ray Hadley, of Providence township, and they have three children, Jessie, Bruce and Bernard. Arthur Jenkins, born February 11, 1882, married Mabel Lundy, of Union, and they have two children, James Seymour and Wandena. Luke Milo, born September 5, 1883, married Jennie Drury, and they have two children, Herald and Anthony. The Dillon Family, pp. 804-807 No family in Hardin county has been better known or performed their duties as public-spirited, enterprising citizens than the Dillons. For a period of sixty years they have labored here, doing their full share at all times in the work of general development. They came here among the early pioneers, when the vast prairies were wild and sparsely settled, roamed over by Indians and untamed beasts, but they had the foresight to prompt them to make this favored region their permanent place of abode, knowing that advancing years would bring untold riches as the result of man's energy and enterprise. They have been known from the first not only as people of energy who halted at no obstacles, but also as law-abiding, obliging and honest in all the relations of life. One of the worthy members of this honored family, one of the most progressive and best known of the present generation, is Clinton Dillon, of Iowa Falls, whose birth occurred on November 13, 1854, along Honey Creek, near the present site of New Providence, this county. He is the son of Daniel and Lydia Ann (Townsend) Dillon, the father having come from Jefferson county, Ohio, probably prior to 1850 and located in Jefferson county, Iowa. Here he married Miss Townsend, daughter of Nathan and Sarah (Mercer) Townsend. She had come from Columbiana county, Ohio, to Jefferson county, Iowa, with her parents, as early as 1850, the family locating two and one-half miles east of Iowa Falls, securing one hundred and sixty acres of prairie and forty acres of timber. About the first of September, 1851, four men made their first settlement in Providence township, one of whom was Samuel Dillon. In the spring of 1852 Joseph Dillon, father of Samuel, came here with James Fitzgerald, and these men made the first settlement in Providence township. Daniel Dillon was born in Jefferson county, Ohio, and was the son of Joseph and Delilah (Music) Dillon. He came with his parents to Jefferson county, Iowa, and later to Honey Creek, this county. In 1852. Nathan Townsend and wife moved to Hardin township, this county, locating two and one-half miles southeast of the present site of Iowa Falls, before this city was thought of. There Mr. Townsend entered one hundred and sixty acres of prairie land and forty of timber, as above related, all of which he cleared up and improved, establishing a good home here in which he and his wife spent the balance of their lives. They were the parents of the following children: Lydia Ann, mother of Clinton Dillon, of this review; Thomas; Wilson; Allena is the wife of R. S. Horr; Cyrus; Nathan; Sarah is the wife of Ellsworth M. Fiske; Oliver. There were thirteen children in Joseph Dillon's family, of whom Daniel, father of Clinton Dillon, was the third in order of birth. When the latter was only a small child, his father embarked in the general merchandise business at New Providence; this, it is believed, was the first store there. The first Indian which he recalls having seen, visited his father's store. But when he grew older he had occasion to frequently see the settlers banding together for the purpose of repelling attacks by the red men, after the Spirit Lake massacre and other outbreaks. The family later moved to a place one mile east of where Iowa Falls now stands, and he lived in a log house, while Daniel Dillon went to look for gold. He was one of the hardy band who crossed the plains of the great West, seeking the yellow metal in Colorado and California. In the latter part of 1863 Daniel Dillon enlisted for service in the Union army, becoming a member of a company of Iowa volunteer infantry. He served until the close of the war. Before leaving for the war, the father bought a small farm in Providence township, where the family could be near his parents; this proved to be a wise thing, since he was away until the close of the war. Upon his return he bought a farm three miles east of Iowa Falls and moved his family there and this remained the family home as long as he lived. He was a Republican and active in party affairs. He and his wife were both Quakers by birthright. His death occurred in 1895, his wife surviving until the spring of 1901. They were the parents of eleven children, namely: Oswell lives at Estherville; Clinton, of this review; Adelbert, of Delta county, Colorado; Anneta married Isaac Blackman and died about 1904; Herbert was an engineer, on the Iowa Central railroad and was killed while on the road about 1898; he left one son, Veryn, of whom the subject was guardian until he became of age; he is now living at Hemet, Riverside county, California; Warren is a conductor on the Rock Island system and lives at Estherville, Iowa; Rosell is an engineer on the Illinois Central road, and lives at Fort Dodge; Albert is on a farm in South Dakota; Thomas was an engineer on the Iowa Central road and died from accidental injuries about 1890; Lenna married A. H. Page and lives at Fort Dodge; George is conductor on the Illinois Central railroad and also lives at Fort Dodge. Clinton Dillon grew to maturity on the home farm and when only sixteen years of age began working out at farm work. Before he was nineteen years old he began railroading, working first two or three years on the section. He resigned his position to go to California, where he secured a position braking out of Sacramento. Falling ill with inflammatory rheumatism, he was laid up in the hospital for some time and upon his release returned to Iowa and resumed work on the Illinois Central road as a brakeman and in a short time was promoted to conductor. He remained with the company about eight years, or until 1882, then went with the Burlington, Cedar Rapids & Northern railroad, with which he remained until 1896, and becoming, as he did with the former road, one of their most efficient and trustworthy employees and became one of the best known men in railroad circles in central Iowa. In 1896 he and Michael Hogan bought the Iowa Falls Bus & Transfer Line from William Burgess. Mr. Dillon remaining in that business for eleven years, then sold out to J. D. Cowan. He built up a large business and made this line popular with the traveling public. In January, 1909, he was prevailed upon to accept the exclusive management of the bus business and since then has carried the business forward with much success in a financial way and to the eminent satisfaction of the owners. In 1875 Mr. Dillon was united in marriage with Elizabeth Turner, daughter of Joseph and Sarah Turner, and to this union two children were born, both of whom died in infancy. Mrs. Dillon's death occurred in the fall of 1877, and in 1880 he was married a second time, his last wife being Elizabeth Dermady, a native of Virginia; she was a cousin to Mr. Dillon's first wife and came to Iowa Falls with the Turner family about 1871. This union also resulted in the birth of two children, Martha Agnes, who is the wife of Roy Evans, lives at Iowa Falls and has one son, Dillon Evans, and Seward Dillon, who is now living in Estherville, Iowa, a conductor on the Rock Island railroad; he married Florence Egbert. Fraternally, Mr. Dillon is a Mason, belonging to the blude lodge, chapter, commandery and the Ancient Arabic Order of nobles of the Mystic Shrine; also the Order of the Eastern Star, and he has long been prominent in lodge circles. Israel Doud, pp. 578-579 Among the well known and successful farmers of Jackson township, Hardin county, who have won success in their chosen life work is Israel Doud, a man whom to know is to respect, for his life has been an exemplary one in every relation with his fellowmen. Mr. Doud was born at Braceville, Trumbull county, Ohio, may 12, 1824, and he is the son of Alva and martha (Rogers) Doud, the latter a native of New London, Connecticut, born near the sea shore and of English descent; her people were Seventh-day Baptists, and they lived in Connecticut. Jesse Doud, the subject's paternal grandfather, was a native of New York and he always lived there. The father of the subject went to Ohio, locating in Trumbull county in 1812 or 1813, and there secured wild timber land, which he began improving, being a man of unusual business ability. He assisted in the building of the Cross Cut and Sandy Beaver Canal. He also owned a great deal of real estate in Trumbull county, Ohio, and he built a great many mammoth bridges. He was a Whig, but never sought office. His death occurred at the age of forty-nine years, while his wife lived to be eighty-two years old. They were the parents of nine children, namely: Alva, Hannah, Jessie, lydia, Cloe, all deceased; D. R. is farming near Gardner, Illinois; Fayette, who was a preacher in Illinois for many years, is deceased; Martha is also deceased; Israel of this review. The subject was reared on the farm and received a good education in the public schools, living at home until he was twenty-five years of age. He was married in September, 1845, to Margaret Hardy, who was born near Nedford, Ireland, the daughter of Thomas and Martha (Brather) Hardy, natives of Ireland, who came to Canada in 1829, later to the United States, locating on Lake Champlain, in the state of New York, where they lived for four years, then moved to Trumbull county, Ohio, where they spent the remainder of their lives on a farm. They were the parents of eight children, namely: Ann, William, Thomas, James, John, Mary and Martha, all deceased; Margaret, wife of Mr. Doud, is living. Mr. Doud and wife became the parents of six children, namely: Olive is the widow of Derias Williams and lives at Berlin, Iowa; Alfred H., who is farming near Otego, Kansas, married margaret Hayden; Arthur M. married Carrie Cross and is farming in Jackson township, Hardin county, Iowa; Mary F. is the widow of Samuel Stewart, and lives at Colorado Springs, Colorado; Ella married George Lynk, a merchant and farmer, living in Jackson township, this county; Herbert is single and living at home. After his marriage Mr. Doud and his wife lived in Warren, Trumbull county, Ohio, until 1848, when they moved to DeKalb county, Illinois, locating at Genoa. He has learned the carriagemaker's trade in Ohio, which he worked at in Buffalo, New York, and also in Ohio. He ran a store in the latter state seven years. In 1856 he moved to Howard county, Iowa, and got a farm of wild land which he went to work to develop, making that his home for twelve years. He came to Hardin county in 1868, locating in sections 23 and 24, Jackson township, securing one hundred and sixty acres of land, of which seventy were broken. There were no buildings on it, but he soon had a good home established here and a good farm developed, his first cabin being sixteen by twenty-four feet. Later he bought ten acres in section 15. He has been very successful as a general farmer and stock raiser, having specialized on Poland-China hogs, short-horn cattle, Durham cattle and some driving and draft horses. He has been trustee and treasurer of the school board. He has long manifested more or less interest in politics, first as a Whig, then as a Republican. In Ohio he was a member of the Christian church. He and his wife started in life in a small way, but by hard work and good management they have succeeded. Mrs. Doud worked as a tailoress for some time. For many years Mr. Doud had charge of the cemetery at Berlin, Iowa. He is one of the prominent elderly men of Hardin county, honored and liked by all who know hime. He is in the employment of fairly good health.
[Biography not yet online] Charles McKeen Duren, pp. 394-396 There is both lesson and incentive in contemplating a career like that of Charles McKeen Duren, well known bank of Eldora, Hardin county, whose enterprise, force of character, sterling integrity, fortitude amid discouraging situations, and his marked success in bringing to completion large business plans, have contributed in no small measure toward the development of this section of the Hawkeye state. He has always been a strong man, both physically and mentally, of great business capacity, a thorough organizer, good in the generalities of business, strong in his friendships, and never willing to give one up whom he trusted until that one had fully proven his unworthiness of that trust. Strong in his convictions of right and in his hatred of the tricks of business, of which some men even boast, his integrity stands as an unquestioned fact today among friends, acquaintances and business associates. Mr. Duren hails from the old Pine Tree state, his birth having occurred at Sangerville, Maine, November 26, 1842, and he is the son of Rev. Charles and Serena (McKeen) Duren, the father a prominent minister in the Congregational church. When the subject was six months old the family moved to Vermont. He spent his boyhood at home and received a good education in the New England schools, and he began life for himself in 1858 in a general store at Sheldon, Vermont, and in 1864 he went to St. Albans, Vermont, and entered the drug business as a member of the firm of Wead & Duren. Leaving Vermont in 1866, he traveled about a year for a New York paper warehouse and in May, 1867, he came to Dubuque, Iowa, where he secured employment as bookkeeper for the Merchants National Bank. In November, 1868, he left there and came to Eldora, Iowa. Here he became the first cashier and manager of the Hardin County Bank, of which he was one of the organizers. In 1893 he was elected president of this institution, which position he has held ever since, the duties of which he has discharged in a manner that has reflected much credit upon himself and to the entire satisfaction of the stockholders and which has resulted in greatly increasing the prestige of this sound, safe and popular institution. As told in the chapter on banks and banking, appearing in this work, the law of 1904 required the banks to use the word of "state" in the name of any institution organized under the state banking laws, and this change was made in the name of the Hardin County Bank. When it was converted into a national bank in 1908 and the Hardin County Savings Bank was organized to handle business not pertaining to national banks, Mr. Duren also became president of that bank. In 1906 the Providence State Bank was organized at New Providence and Mr. Duren became president of that institution, and he still holds the presidency of all three banks, the large success of each being due principally to his wise counsel and judicious management. Mr. Duren was married on June 1, 1868, to Gertrude E. Whiting, of Dubuque, and a native of South Brookfield, Massachusetts, a lady of culture and refinement, and the representative of a fine old New England family, being the daughter of Rev. Dr. Lyman Whiting, a well known and influential minister in the Congregational church, who was preaching at Dubuque, Iowa, at the time of Mr. Duren's marriage. It is worthy of notice that the father of Mr. Duren, the father of his wife and the father of his mother were all ministers in the Congregational church. Two sons and three daughters were born to Mr. and Mrs. Duren. The first two, sons, being twins, died when a year and a half old, then a daughter died at the age of four years. The other children are Mabel and Fnny; the former married J. T. Harnett and lived in Eldora until her death, in October, 1907; Fanny is librarian at the public library in Waterloo, Iowa. Mr. and Mrs. Duren are members of the Congregational church, of which he has been clerk since 1869 and a deacon for a number of years and is a liberal supporter of the same. Politically, he is a Republican and has manifested an abiding interest in public affairs. In 1878 he was elected treasurer of the city of Eldora, which office he held until 1881, when he was re-elected and he has discharged the duties of the same most worthily every since, having been treasurer the greater portion of the time since Eldora became a city. Personally, Mr. Duren is a pleasant gentleman to know, kind, generous, honest in all relations of life, easily approached and unassuming, consequently he is eminently deserving of the large success he has attained by his own efforts, of the confidence reposed in him by all and of the high esteem in which he is held.
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