Warren County >> 1879 Index

History of Warren County, Iowa
Des Moines: Union Historical Company, 1879.

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Biographies submitted by Dick Barton.

BABB, R., proprietor of the national Hotel; born in Frederick county, Virginia, in 1810; he was raised in this State on a farm until eighteen years of age; previous to this time he had crossed the Alleghany mountains three times with a six-horse team; in 1828 he moved to Ohio and learned the wagon- making trade, and carried on the business nine years; then moved to Clinton county, Indiana, and engaged in merchandizing; while living here was elected sheriff of the county, and served four years; in 1849 he again changed his location, settling in Bloomington, Illinois, and engaged in selling goods and keeping hotel; he came to this county in 1854, and commenced trading in stock and selling goods; in 1866 he purchased the National Hotel, and has conducted it successfully since that time; he married Miss Elizabeth Anderson, February 2, 1832; she was born in Greene county, Ohio; they have three children living: Martha J., now Mrs. Myers, Mary E., wife of J. H. Whitney, and Hannah M.; they have lost four. .

BAKER, E. D., hardware, stoves and furniture, Carlisle; born in Dodge county, Wis., Oct. 8, 1848, and was raised there; he came to his present home, and has been engaged in his present business ever since; he married Miss L. D. Perrin, Jan. 16, 1871, a native of Ohio; they have a family of three sons and one daughter: Edward, Alva, Addie and Perry. .

BAKER, Dr. E. L., physician and surgeon; son of the late Gen. N. B. and Lucretia Baker; born in Concord, New Hampshire; his father was a former governor of New Hampshire, and came to Iowa in 1856, and was the adjutant-general of the State from 1861 to 1871, being in office during the time of the rebellion, and his name became a household word in every family. The subject of this sketch was educated at Racine, Wis., and the United states Naval Academy; he made choice of medicine as a profession, and received his medical education at the Rush Medical College, Chicago, and the Louisville Medical College, at Louisville, Kentucky; during the winter of 1872 and 1873 he was assistant-surgeon of the Marine Hospital in Louisville; he came to this county in 1875, and has built up a successful practice; he also holds the office of coroner; he married Miss Eva N. Otwell, February 13, 1878; she was born in Bloomington, Indiana; they have an infant daughter. .

BALES, J., farmer, Sec. 14; P. O. Indianola; born in Tippecanoe county, Indiana; when four years old, his parents came to Jefferson county, this State, where he was raised on a farm; was married in Knox county, April 29, 1864, to Miss Louisa Bales, a native of Ohio; have a family of six children: Jennie, Mary, Charles, John, Emma and Adda; owns 100 acres of land under a good state of cultivation. .

BALL, JAMES, farmer, Sec. 5; P. O. Milo; he was born July 24, 1820, in Indiana; he was left an orphan at the age of nine years, and wandered through Ohio and Indiana, peddling and working by the month, to get his start in the world; he came to this county in 1856, and settled where he now lives, in 1857; he owns 120 acres of land; he was one of the first settlers of the township; he was married June 6, 1845, to Matilda A. Wilson, a native of Indiana; they have six children: Sarah J., Ira, Lydia, Nancy, James C., and John; all of them are now living. .

BARKER, M. R., merchant; was born in Gallia county, Ohio, in 1825, and was raised on farm; he came to this State in 1845, and settled in Fairfield, Jefferson county, and lived there five years, and then removed to this county in 1850, and has been selling goods since that time, his being the oldest house in business in the city; he married Miss Rachel L. Cox, in 1850; she was born in Chester county, Pennsylvania, and died in 1858; he afterward married Miss Esther A. Cox, a sister of his first wife; she was born in Indiana; their family consists of three children, by first marriage: Arthur W., Alice M., now Mrs. Berry, and Louisa K., now Mrs. C. H. McCune; two by second marriage; George E. and Warren W. .

BARNS, JOHN W., sheriff of Warren county; was born in Madison county, Indiana, in 1841; he came to Clayton county, Iowa, in 1851, and moved to this county in 1857; he was raised a farmer and owns a farm of 300 acres; he enlisted in the 34th Iowa Infantry, during the late war, and served three years and was in fourteen general engagements; he has held various township offices previous to his election to his present position in 1877; he married Miss Cynthia Bundy in August, 1866; she was born in Quincy, Illinois; they have four children: Lora, Walter, Clyde and Charles R. .

BARTHOLOMEW, G. M., merchant, Palmyra; was born in Indiana, in 1825, but was raised in Illinois, from a small boy; his parents died when he was young; he located in this county, in 1852, in October, and that same year he engaged in the mercantile business, and has been connected with it since; October 2, 1878, he was burned out, and his loss is estimated at about seven thousand dollars, but he rebuilt as soon as possible; he married in Illinois, in 1849, to Miss Mary Flesher, of that State; they have seven children: W. N., Ezra, Laura, Noah, James, Joseph and Minnie; he enlisted in the one hundred day service, in Co. A, Forty-eighth Iowa, but served for five months; he owns 142 acres of land, and follows farming to quite an extent; was appointed postmaster at Palmyra, 1859. .

BARTLETT, E. G., farmer and merchant; lives in Lacona; owns forty acres of land in Sec. 27, and his hotel and store property in Lacona; he was born March 10, 1821, in West Virginia; he moved to Adams county, Illinois, in 1843, and to this county in 1853; he is one of the leading men of the township; has been elected justice of the peace, a position he now holds; has also been township clerk, trustee and county supervisor; he went to Pikes Peak in 1859, and spent two and one-half years, when he returned to this place; he was secretary of the first school board and built the first school-house; built the first frame house and set out the first orchard in the township; he is now postmaster, and keeps the office in his store, where he also keeps a large stock of dry goods groceries, etc.; he also keeps a hotel, where the weary traveler always finds rest and a hearty welcome from the landlord; he is a printer by trade, but has done nothing at it of late years; he was twice married, first, December 18, 1843, to Sarah, daughter of John Potter, of West Virginia; they had seven children: Beatrice A., Rufus J., Eugene C., Izorah, Ediadore S., Horace G., Nettie M.; Beatrice A., Rufus J., Eugene C. and Izorah are dead; wife died December 6, 1870; married again May 22, 1872, Mrs. Eliza J. Coles, daughter of Jonathan Morris, of West Virginia; they have had four children: Lola, Elbridge G., Dale and an infant; E. G. and Dale are dead. .

BASSETT, HENRY, farmer, Sec. 26; P. O. Sandyville; born in Athens county, Ohio, April 10, 1839; and at the age of sixteen he came with his parents to this county, where he has since resided; he begun life with nothing but stout hands, a brave heart, and energy and industry as a capital, and by this has accumulated a handsome property; he now owns a finely improved farm of 240 acres, and also owns 60 acres of valuable land in Missouri: he was married August 9, 1859, to Miss S. E. Spurgeon, of Washington county, Indiana; they have four children living; Amzi L., Commodore R., Samuel E. and Ida May; has held the office of township trustee for three terms. .

BAUGH, THOS. W., physician and surgeon, Carlisle; born in Highland, county, Ohio, Jan. 31, 1835, and was raised there till eight years old, when his parents moved to Brown county, where he lived till fifteen years of age, and came to Oskaloosa, Iowa, where he was educated at the Normal school of that place, and Washington College, at Washington, Iowa; he read medicine with Dr. D. A. Huffman, of Oskaloosa, and graduated at the College of Physicians and Surgeons, at Keokuk, in 1864; the same spring he went into the service as assistant surgeon, and remained till the fall of 1865, and then came to this place and commenced the practice of his profession; he married Miss Carrie Connell March 1, 1866, a native of Highland county, Ohio; they have one son and two daughters: Minnie A., Wm. L. and Flora M.; during the winter of 1869 he took a course of lectures at Belvue College, New York; he has been very successful in the practice of his profession. .

BAYSINGER, E. H., farmer, and brick-maker, Sec. 4; P. O. Indianola; was born in Breckenridge county, Kentucky, in 1833, and removed to Illinois in 1835, and afterwards to Indiana, and came to this county first in 1852; he is a farmer and owns 90 acres of land; he spent six years in Kansas, from 1854 to 1860, and was in the John Brown raid; after his return to this county, he engaged in brick-making, and has made the largest portion of the brick used in the buildings of Indianola; he has held township offices; he married Miss Sarah Goosic, in 1861; she was born in Ohio; they have eight children: Phebe A., Mary E., Sarah F., Peter A., William, John F., Eda B., James. .

BEAMAN, N. R., builder and wagon-maker, P. O. Sandyville; born in Monroe county, Indiana, January 29, 1836, and in 1854 he came with his father to the county where he has resided since; when twenty-two years of age he, without any instruction, began the manufacture of furniture, which sold in Sandyville and the surrounding vicinity; in 1865 he added house- building to his other occupation, and has been very successful, as some of the best houses and churches in this part of the county bears evidence; he married August 6, 1858, to Miss Mary J. Goss, a native of Indiana; they have one daughter living, Martha Ann, and have lost three, Lizzie May, Gay and Rose; he owns a good residence, five lots, and his shop. .

BEERY, DAVID, farmer, Sec. 24; P. O. Norwalk; is a native of Ohio; born the 7th of January, 1819, and came to this county in the fall of 1855; was married to Miss Jennie Black, a native of Ohio, in 1842; they have a family of ten children living: Emanuel, Mary, Barbara, Noah, George, Sarah, Rebecca, Jennie, Henry and Ellen; he owns 785 acres of land, divided into three improved farms; his son Emanuel, enlisted in Co. E, 34th Iowa Infantry, August 15, 1862, and served three years.

BELL, JOHN J., farmer, Sec. 28; P. O. Lothrop, son of Samuel Bell, deceased; was born in Ohio, in the year 1833, and came to this county with his parents in 1853; he was first married to Mary Welsh, a native of Ohio, in 1858, who died in 1869; by this marriage there are three children living: Margaret, Thomas, Mary and J. P.; was married a second time, to Margaret Garvey, a native of Ohio; have four children living: Hugh, Joseph, William and Ellen; has held the offices of township assessor and trustee; owns 170 acres in this county, and 160 acres in Boone county, this State.

BELL, THOMAS, farmer, Sec. 28; P. O. Lothrop, son of Samuel Bell, deceased; was born in Ohio, October 20, 1835, and came to this county, with his parents in 1853; was married to Miss Margaret Sims, in the year 1859, and have a family of six children living: James, Thomas, Annie, Dell, John, Samuel; he owns in this county 173 acres of land.

BERGEN, ULYSSES, farmer, Sec. 33; P. O. Indianola; was born in Pittsylvania county, Virginia, October 9, 1817, and lived there till the spring of 1830, and emigrated to Henry county, Indiana, with his parents, and lived there till 1845, then to Andrew county, Missouri, and came from there to this county in 1846, and has lived here since; married to Miss Margaret Waddell, November 11, 1841, a native of Indiana, born February 15, 1820; have a family of two sons and five daughters living: Samuel W., Mildred T. (wife of Samuel Reddish), Sarah J. (wife of Edward Swarts), John D. (deceased), Elizabeth N., (wife of James Hedrick), J. M., Mary F. (wife of Henry Griffith), Oliver H. (deceased), Robert M. (deceased), and Sinai G.; he was one of the first two justices of the peace elected in the county; owns a farm of 412 acres. .

BERGER, H., farmer, Sec. 34; P. O. Indianola; born in Orange county, New York, in 1830, and lived there till seven years of age, then moved to Rochester, with his parents, and remained till about eighteen years of age; emigrated from there to Indiana, and worked on the Michigan Central Railroad, the first one that ever run into Chicago; left there in 1839, and went overland to California, and remained there for one year, and returned to New York; was married there to Miss Lucinda Wild, a native of Virginia, in 1852, and came to this county in 1857, and since that time has lived fourteen years in Indianola; has a family of three sons, and three daughters: Herbert, Charles, Lonnie, Elfraid E., Jennie E. and Lydia; owns a farm of eighty-five acres. .

BERRY, Capt. B. C., farmer and stock raiser, Sec. 18; P. O. Indianola; born in Orange county, Va., in 1823, and was raised there till about 10 years old, when he emigrated with his parents to Morgan county, Ills., where he remained till he came to this county, in December, 1867; he was raised on a farm and chose that as an occupation through life. He was married in Illinois, in 1848, to Miss Isabel Van Eaton, of Hamilton county, O.; they have five children: W. H., Joseph V., Mary E., Franklin C., and Martha B. He enlisted in the late was in Co. D, 114th Ills. Vols., Aug. 15, 1862, and served as Captain till February, 1865. He owns an improved farm of 400 acres; he was elected a member of the board of supervisors in 1871, and served three years. .

BERRY, Rev. T. S., President of Simpson Centenary College; was born in Cass county, Ill., in 1841; his early life was spent on a farm; he enlisted in the 114th Illinois Infantry during the late war, and was commissioned 1st Lieutenant of Company D; he was wounded at Guntown, Miss., and taken prisoner and held in the hands of the enemy eleven months; after his discharge from the army he attended Garrett Biblical Institute, at Evanston, Ill., and graduated in 1870; he also graduated at the Northwestern University, in the same place, in 1872; his first charge was at Carlisle in this county; he was for a time pastor of a church in Des Moines, and later in Indianola; in July, 1878, he was elected President of Simpson Centenary College, and under his leadership it has been eminently successful; President Berry has pursue his ministerial calling with untiring zeal, energy, and with a success which has earned for him no inferior rank among the clergy of the State; he is a man of strong sharp intellect, untiring ambition and an attractive speaker; the success that has crowned his efforts, and the prominence he has attained, while yet so young, is a monument which might satisfy an ordinary ambition; he married Miss Lou A. Van Eaton, a native of Cass county, Ill., in 1865; their family consists of two children: Hattie and Mary. .

BERRY, W. H., attorney; of the firm of Henderson & Berry; was born in Cass county, Illinois, in 1849, and removed with his parents to this county in 1867; he was educated at Simpson Centenary College, and graduated in the class of 1872; he read law and was admitted to the bar before Judge Maxwell in 1873, and has been associated with J. H. Henderson in the practice of his profession since that time; he married Miss Alice M. Barker, daughter of M. R. Barker, Esq., one of Warren county's early settlers, in 1875; she was born in Indianola, and educated at Simpson Centenary College, and graduated in the same class with her husband. .

BILBO, ELIJAH, farmer, Sec. 20; P. O. Indianola; born in Boyle county, Kentucky, March 3, 1826, and when three years of age was brought by his parents to Park county, Indiana, where he was raised a farmer, and divided his time between duties on the farm in summer and teaching school during the winter months; he came to this county in 1853 and entered the land on which he now resides; he owns a good farm of 155 acres, well improved, and with good buildings; he has a choice orchard of selected fruit; Mr. Bilbo was one of the organizers of the township, and has held various township offices during almost the entire time since; he also taught the first school taught in the township, and the first in the county south of Indianola; in his religious preferences he is a Methodist, and a local preacher in that denomination; he is a man of sterling honesty and integrity, and possesses in a high degree the confidence of his neighbors and acquaintances; he has been closely identified with the interests of this township, as well as the county, and we are convinced it were well for Warren county if she had more of such citizens; he has been twice married: first to Miss Elizabeth, daughter of Albert Randolph, Esq., Nov. 17, 1853; she died Feb. 18, 1857; he married for his second wife Miss Elizabeth Bellamy, May 6, 1858; she was a native of Indiana, but a resident of Marion county, Iowa.

BISHOP, A. C., attorney; was born in Warren county in 1850, and raised here; he was educated at Simpson Centenary College, and Des Moines University, and graduated in 1874; he studied law, and was admitted to the bar in 1876; he is associated in the practice of his profession with W. F. Powell, under the firm name of Powell & Bishop.

BLACK, GEO. G., farmer, Sec. 23; P. O. Norwalk; was born in Fairfield county, Ohio, Dec. 21, 1828, and made that his home till he came to this county, in April, 1867, except two years that he served in the late war; he was married in Ohio to Miss Amelia Ann Keller, a native of Portage county, Ohio, September 19, 1850; they have a family of seven children living: Isabella, Euphemia, Rebecca, John W., Clara E., Cora and James Arthur; Mary J., deceased; Mr. Black enlisted in Co. G, 114th Ohio Infantry, and served two years and two months.

BLACK, JAMES, farmer, Sec. 6; P. O. Summerset; born in Scotland Oct. 8, 1824, and came to the United States and settled in Columbiana county, Ohio, in 1854, where he lived until he came to this county, in April, 1870. He was married in Scotland, to Miss Margaret Pilmer, of that country, April 22d, 1870; they have a family of five children living: Margaret, Jeanett, John, James L., and Selena, and one deceased: Ida May. His present homestead consists of 126 acres which he bought in 1859, but has only lived on it for the past eight years; he was raised on a farm but followed railroading for 12 years previous to his coming to this country, and since he came to America he was in the employ of the Cleveland & Pittsburg R. R. Co. for 16 years, and since he came West has followed his present occupation.