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Shelby County
>> 1889 Index Biographical
History of Shelby and Audubon Counties, Iowa R Unless noted, biographies submitted by Dick Barton. Newton J.
Roundy,
a resident of Washington Township, is an old settler, having come to the
county in 1851.
He was born in Pike County, Illinois, March 27, 1850,
and is the son of Washington and Alvira (Williams) Roundy, being the
oldest of a family of eleven children.
He remained at home working on
his father's farm until he was nineteen years old, when he went to work
by the month for another farmer.
march 17, 1870, he was married to Miss
Anna Kleeb, a daughter of John and Barbara (Spars) Kleeb.
She was one
of a family of fourteen children, eleven of whom survive.
She was born
in Fayette County, Iowa, August 17, 1852.
Mr. and Mrs. Roundy are the
parents of five children - Carrie A., John E., George W., Albert R. and
Lorinda B., who died July 25, 1888.
Her death was very sad, being
caused by her clothing catching fire from matches with which she was
playing.
Her brother George rode to Panama, three and a half miles
distant, and brought back the physician, Dr. Gregg, in thirty minutes.
But there was no help for her, and after four days of suffering her soul
was released from the tortured little body.
For three years after his
marriage Mr. Roundy rented land.
he then concluded to go to Nebraska,
but his father offered to make him a gift of forty acres of land in
Shelby County if he would live upon it.
He accepted this proposition,
and made this place his home for three years.
He then sold it to his
father and bought eighty acres, which are included in his present farm;
it consists of 485 acres, 295 of which are under the plow, 140 in
pasture, and fifty in hay land.
In 1888 Mr. Roundy erected a fine frame
residence at a cost of $2,400.
He handles live-stock quite extensively,
shipping from 150 to 200 head of hogs each year, and from two to three
car loads of cattle.
Politically Mr. Roundy is inclined to the
principles of the Democratic party.
He has served his township as
assessor, clerk, trustee, and is the present treasurer.
He is a member
of Parian Lodge, No. 32, A. F. & A. M.
Sarah
Roundy is the daughter of William and Polly (Hedrick) Van Ausdall, natives of
Virginia.
Mr. Van Ausdall was born February 23, 1788, and died January
1, 1869, in Shelby County, Iowa.
His wife was born in November, 1792,
and died in November, 1846.
They were married in Virginia, and in 1839
they came to Iowa and located in Lee County, where Mrs. Van Ausdall
died.
They were the parents of twelve children, of whom seven survive -
Jane, wife of William Gaugh; Elizabeth (deceased); Mary, wife of Thomas
Woodcock; Anna, wife of John Cachran; Malinda (deceased); Margaret Sims
(deceased); Cornelius (deceased); Leanah, wife of Chauncey Williamson;
Martha, wife of George Oman; Sarah Roundy, the subject of this notice;
Susannah (deceased), and William H., residing in San Antonio,
California.
Mr. Van Ausdall was reared a farmer and followed this
occupation successfully through life.
He came to Shelby County in 1850,
bringing his family with him, settling at Galland's Grove; there he
spent the latter part of his life.
He figured very prominently in the
early political history of the county; he was the first judge of the
county, and held some of the township offices.
He was an elder in the
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (reorganized), and took an
active interest in the upbuilding of that society.
He united with the
church in 1832, and clung fast to the faith until his death.
He was a
man who did whatever he could to promote the welfare of the community.
The last seventeen years of his life he spent with his daughter, Mrs.
Sarah Roundy.
Mrs. Roundy was born in Lawrence County, Ohio, February
22, 1831, and came to Iowa with her parents when she was eight years
old.
She was married March 22, 1853, to Asahel Roundy, a native of
Onondaga County, New York, who was born September 10, 1828.
He came to
Shelby County in 1850, and there lived the remainder of his days; he
died June 6, 1879.
His first venture in real estate was a claim of 160
acres in section 20, Grove Township; there he and his wife commenced
life together.
They struggled through the early history of the county,
fearlessly facing the hardships met with by all pioneers.
They improved
their land and increased their possessions until at the time of Mr.
Roundy's death they owned 300 acres, all of which is highly improved.
They have done their share in promoting the interests and welfare of the
county.
Through their many deeds of kindness and hospitality they have
become endeared to a large circle of friends.
Mr. Roundy was noted for
his honorable and square dealing.
He had few equals as a neighbor, and
as a husband and father he was kind, faithful and true.
He held
positions of honor and trust among the people, and his death was mourned
by a large circle of friends.
His place is one that can not easily be
filled.
Mr. and Mrs. Roundy were the parents of ten children - Mary,
wife of J. M. Franklin; Artimicia, at home; Frances, wife of J. C.
Hardman; Sophia, at home; William U., residing in Grove Township; Forest
Rose and Lillie A., at home; Alma (deceased).
The family are members of
the reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.
Sophia and
Marthy have been successfully engaged in the profession of teaching.
Hon.
Washington Roundy,
one of the pioneers of Shelby County, was born in Onondaga County, New
York, September 22, 1825.
He is the son of Uriah and Polly (Lyons)
Roundy, his mother being a cousin of General Lyons, of Connecticut.
The
father was a native of Vermont, and the mother was born in New York.
Washington was the fourth in a family of nine children, of whom three
survive, a brother and sister, both residents in Iowa.
When he was
about nine years of age his parents came to Ohio, and settled in
Cuyahoga County, remaining there one year.
They afterwards lived in
Clay County, Missouri; Adams County, Illinois, and Pike County,
Illinois, remaining in the last-named place for thirteen years.
Our
subject received his education in the common schools, and was reared to
farm life.
At the age of twenty-one years he commenced life for
himself, with nothing but pluck and ambition; however, he was determined
to succeed; and success has been his reward.
He was married October 31,
1848, to Alvira Williams, daughter of Isaac and Sarah (Coleman)
Williams, natives of Kentucky, who had removed to Illinois at an early
day; there they remained until death.
They had a family of thirteen
children, of whom Alvira was the sixth; she was born in White County,
Illinois, December 5, 1832.
Mr. and Mrs. Roundy are the parents of
eleven children, all of whom are living - Newton, Polly A., wife of
William McCole; Sarah, wife of James Addison; Adda, wife of William
Major; Julia, wife of William Fonts; Rena, wife of James Fonts; Ellen,
wife of David Adamson; Fannie, wife of Freeman Vandemark; John W., Mary
E. and Adelbert.
In the spring of 1850 Mr. Roundy, on account of ill
health, attempted to make a trip to California, and pursued his journey
as far as Council Bluffs; here he was dissuaded from continuing the
trip, and remained the winter in the Bluffs, then a small village.
The
following spring he traded one of five yoke of oxen for 160 acres of
land in Grove Township; this claim had been taken out by Frank Rudd, and
a rude log cabin had been erected on it.
Here Mr. Roundy and family
settled, intending to stay a year or two and then go to California; they
were among the very first settlers in the township, only seven other
families having located there previous to them.
The plan to go to
California was abandoned, and they have ever since made this their home.
They endured all the hardships encountered by pioneers in those early
days, and have done their share in building up Shelby County from a wild
and unbroken prairie, inhabited by wolves, deer and elk, to a fine,
prosperous, enlightened community.
They have ever extended a hearty
welcome to the cold and hungry traveler, and have always lent a helping
hand to the needy.
In sickness and distress, in joy and health, they
are ever the same true friends, and they receive the affection and
respect of the entire community.
Mr. Roundy possesses nearly 1,000
acres of land in Shelby County, 645 of which are in his home place.
At
one time he owned over 1,200 acres in this county.
He has made many
valuable improvements, and has one of the finest homes in this part of
the county; he has commodious barns for live-stock and grain, and
devotes his time to general farming.
He is a staunch Democrat, and
strongly advocates the issues of the party.
In 1887 Mr. Roundy was
elected member of the Iowa Legislature, and has served with credit to
himself and to the satisfaction of his constituency.
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