Webster County

Biographical Record and Portrait Album of Webster and Hamilton Counties, Iowa.
The Lewis Publishing Company, 113 Adams Street, Chicago. 1888.

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Lafayette Cady, postmaster and general merchant of Barnum, Iowa, is a native of Franklin County, Vermont, born in 1825, a representative of one of the early families of the Green Mountain State, where he has spent the greater part of his life. In 1872, under commission from Thomas Harlan, a nephew of Senator James Harlan, he went to Cheyenne, Wyoming Territory, as a revenue collector, and some time later went to Harlan County, Nebraska, where he was the pioneer of the town known as Republican City, and erected the first house in the town, residing there some time with his family. Republican City was at that time the western border of civilization, soldiers and Indians being the principal inhabitants of that section of the country. In 1886 he took his family to Vermont for a visit, and on their return in May, 1887, stopped at Barnum to visit friends, Mrs. Cady being a sister of Theodore Stearnes, and was induced to remain, and thus Barnum has gained a valuable citizen. He is an enterprising man, progressive and energetic, as is characteristic of all New Englanders who emigrate west, and in the short time he has lived in the county has made many friends, who esteem and respect a man of his caliber. Mr. Cady was married in 1848 to Miss Martha A. Stearnes, a native of Vermont , and to them have been born two children – Anna and Buchanan F. In his political affiliations Mr Cady is a Democrat.

Michael Calligan, residing on section 35, Cooper Township , is one of the pioneers of 1857. He is a native of County Galway , Ireland , and came to the United States in 1844. In 1846 he married Catherine McGee, a native of County Monoghan , Ireland , who came to America when quite young. After their marriage they settled in Salisbury , Connecticut , where they lived several years, and in 1857 moved West and settled in Fort Dodge . Mrs. Calligan died several years ago. They had a family of four children, three daughters and one son – Susan M. married James McCoskie in 1863, and died in 1864; Mary E. married C. W. Maher in 1870, and is now a resident of Badger Township; Catherine E. is the widow of L. C. Warner, and lives at Miles City, Montana; Frank is engaged in the mercantile business at Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Mr. Calligan has been an industrious, energetic citizen and is respected by all who know him.

S. J. Carr, section 11, Clay Township , is a native of Addison County , Vermont , born September 22, 1828 , a son of Henry C. and Henrietta ( Moore ) Carr, also natives of Vermont . He is the eldest of a family of ten children, and his father was one of a family of thirteen. He was reared in his native county, receiving only limited educational advantages, as his assistance was needed on the farm. When eighteen years of age he began to work at the carpenter's trade, and when about twenty-one years old went to Wisconsin and located at Watertown , Jefferson County , where he lived two and a half years, working the greater part of the time at the painter's trade. He then began traveling through the States of Wisconsin, Illinois and Iowa , in the circus business, at which he was successful, and in 1858 concluded to locate and worked by the month on a farm in Bureau County , Illinois , where he was living at the breaking out of the war of the Rebellion. He enlisted at the first call for troops and served three months and then enlisted for three years. Not being able to enlist in an Illinois regiment, he with others went to Leavenworth , Kansas , and became a part of Company D, of the noted Seventh Kansas Cavalry, known as Jennerson's Jay Hawkers. He took an active part in all the engagements of his regiment, among them being Corinth , Tupelo , the pursuit of General Price, and after the latter raid was ordered to Fort Kearney and later to Leavenworth , where they were discharged. He then returned to Bureau County, and in April, 1866, came to Iowa and located in Webster County, and in 1874 moved to the farm where he now lives, which is one of the pleasantest homes in the township. He was married October 8, 1868 , to Mrs. Susan M. Spear, widow of John Spear, and daughter of James and Betsey Douglas. Mr. Spear was a member of an Iowa regiment and died in Libby Prison during the war of the Rebellion. He left one child, Olna. Mr. and Mrs. Carr have three children – Henry Alva, Bessie Eveline and Bertha Beatrice. In politics Mr. Carr affiliates with the Greenback party. He is a member of the United Brethren church.

Thomas Chantland is prominent among the pioneers of Badger Township , where he has lived since July, 1867. He is a native of Norway , born June 21, 1843 , a son of Thomas and Stena Chantland, who are now making their home with our subject, the father aged eighty-five years and the mother about seventy. They came to America in the summer of 1853, on the sailing ship Amelia, and after a tedious voyage of three months landed safely in Quebec , and from there made their way to Milwaukee , Wisconsin , by boat, rail and stage, the journey occupying a month. From Milwaukee they proceeded by rail to Palmyra , and from there to Dane County , a distance of sixty miles, by ox teams, and there entered Government land and engaged in farming. Thomas remained with his parents until August 14, 1862 , when he enlisted in the defense of his adopted country and was assigned to Company K, Twenty-eighth Wisconsin Infantry, and served until September 25, 1865 , when he was discharged at Madison , Wisconsin . While in the service he participated in a number of important engagements. He was in the Yazoo Pass expedition, in the rear of Vicksburg , in the spring of 1863; at Helena July 4, 1863 ; and the summer of the same year was in the Little Rock expedition and in a number of skirmishes, the most important being at Little Rock . At that place he filled the responsible and dangerous position of color-bearer for his regiment, and narrowly escaped death by the explosion of a shell near by which cut to pieces the flag he bore and also one in the hands of a comrade. From Little Rock they went to Pine Bluff , where they had several skirmishes, but the principal one was on the retreat from Camden , known as the battle of Jenkins' Ferry. During the progress of his battle they had to build a pontoon bridge across the Selina River . In February, 1865, they went to New Orleans and thence to Fort Morgan and Spanish Fort, opposite Mobile , and took part in a thirteen days' seige and took the fort by assault about midnight . They then marched to Fort Blakely and about sundown took part in the assault there and then crossed the bay and occupied the city of Mobile . From there they went to Whistler Station and had their last skirmish with the rebels, when they were attempting to destroy the machine shops and rolling stock of the Mobile & Ohio Railroad Company. In May they went to Texas in what was known as the army of observation, under General Sheridan, at the mouth of the Rio Grande , and lay there and at Brownsville until fall, when they were sent home and discharged. Mr. Chantland was a brave and gallant soldier, and although he escaped the bullet his health was undermined and he is almost a constant suffered from rheumatism. He was the first actual settler of Badger Township , building his house on the prairie away from the timber belt, and has since been prominently identified with the interests of the county, and has filled nearly every township office in the gift of the people. He is the principal representative man of his nationality in the township, if not in the county, and is always foremost in the advancement of anything pertaining to the public welfare. He is a strong supporter of the Republican party and in religion is a member of the Lutheran church. November 25, 1866 , he married Susan Storland, a native of Norway who came to America in 1854. They have had five children, but four of whom are living – Stena, Judith, Minnie, and Ida. Mr. Chantland owns a good farm of eighty acres where he lives and also has land in other parts of the township. He has for a number of years been extensively engaged in buying and shipping livestock. He is a member of Fort Donelson Post, No. 236, G. A. R., and also of the United Workmen's order.

Judge J. L. Cheyney is one of the first settlers of the town of Fort Dodge , his residence here dating back to March 24, 1855 . He was born in Fayette County , Pennsylvania , March 29, 1809 . His father, John Cheyney, was a native of Cheshire County , Pennsylvania , of English descent. His grandfather, Thomas Cheyney, was a soldier of the Revolutionary war, and Headley, in his “Life of Washington,” mentions the fact, that Thomas Cheyney, then acting as scout, brought to Washington the first information that the British were approaching, and as a result Washington made a stand at Brandywine , and that noted battle of the Revolution followed. He also adds, that had it not been for this timely information received by Washington the American army would doubtless have been defeated. The maternal grandfather of our subject, who name was Graves , lived on what was the battle-field of Brandywine , and his mother, Tacy Graves, at that time was a child seven years old. Their house was used as a field hospital by the British. His parents were married at Uniontown , Pennsylvania , and in the fall of 1814, moved to Wayne County, Ohio, and there our subject was reared amid the wild scenes of a new country. The advantages for schooling when he was a youth were of course limited. When twenty years old he became an apprentice to the trade of a cabinet maker. His father was a millwright, and when but a boy he became accustomed to the use of tools. He worked at cabinet-making fifteen years, and then began to work at the painter's trade, which he has since followed the greater part of the time. May 2, 1833 , he was married to Margaret Riddle, who was born near Steubenville , Ohio , December 26, 1812 , a daughter of Samuel and Margaret (Patterson) Riddle. Her paternal grandparents were native Americans, and her maternal grandparents were from Ireland . Her mother was twice married; first to James Robinson, by whom she had five children; and second to Samuel Riddle, by whom she had four children. Mrs. Cheyney is the only one of the family living, and of a family of ten children, Judge Cheyney and one sisters, Elizabeth Bevington, of Defiance , Ohio , are the only ones living. When Judge Cheyney and his wife came to Fort Dodge all was new, and they have witnessed the great changes that have taken place. He was elected Judge of Webster County, and served one term. He was also recorder of the county one term, and served as assessor of the city seven years. In early life he was a Democrat, but from the repeal of the Missouri Compromise till the close of the civil war was a Republican, and since then has affiliated with the Greenback party. For many years Judge and Mrs. Cheyney have been members of the Methodist Episcopal church. During their long residence in Webster County they have made many friends, and are honored and esteemed by all who know them.

Lorenzo S. Coffin has been identified with the history of Webster County since its organization. He was born in Alton , Stafford (now Carroll) County, New Hampshire , April 10, 1823 , a son of Stephen and Deborah (Philbrook) Coffin. The Coffin family was of English descent, and early settlers of Massachusetts , the grandfather of our subject moving to New Hampshire and settling on the farm where Stephen and L. S. were both born. Stephen Coffin was a Baptist clergyman, and died in Dover many years ago. Lorenzo was the only son of his mother. In early life his educational advantages were limited but later the family moved to Wolfboro, and there he had to a very limited extent the privilege of attending the academy. His mother died when he was fourteen years old, and from that time home had less attraction for him. Having attained his majority and being master of his own time, he worked for farmers until he had saved a little money and then devoted his time to study until competent to teach, a pursuit he followed some time. At that time the celebrated school at Oberlin , Ohio , was one of the most popular of the day, and hither Mr. Coffin went, intending to pursue an extended course. After a year and a half in the preparatory department, and having in the meantime married Miss Cynthia T. Curtiss, he went to Geauga County , where he and his wife engaged as teachers in the Geauga Seminary. At this institution James A. Garfield and his future wife, Lucretia Rudolph, were at this time students, and here they first met. The failing health of Mrs. Coffin induced them to give up teaching, and in the winter if 1854-'55 he came to Iowa, and liking the country, and having faith in the future prosperity of Webster County, decided to make it his future home, and accordingly made a claim of the quarter section where he now lives, buying it when land came into market. To this he has added until he now owns 720 acres, which he has improved and beautified, and it is now widely known as Willowedge. April 20, 1856 , Mrs. Coffin died, and in 1857 Mr. Coffin married Miss Mary Chase, of Orleans County , New York . Mr. and Mrs. Coffin have had three children, only one now living – Carrie C., wife of John J. Rutledge, of Douglas Township . One child died in early infancy, and Kittie May died at the age of fourteen years. Mr. Coffin is a firm believer in the doctrine of the Christian religion, and during the war was Chaplain of the Thirty-second Iowa Infantry a year. Returning home he for seventeen years did missionary work in Northwestern Iowa , preaching every Sabbath in localities where regular services could not be maintained. Meanwhile he worked hard on the farm six days in the week, frequently drove twenty to forty miles to his appointments and was home for early start at farm work Monday morning. For the work of these years he neither asked nor received pecuniary returns, $10 being the entire financial results to him of the whole time. Leaving this class of work for the most part, time not demanded by his farm work, was given to editorial and platform work in the interests of agriculture and the advancement of agricultural classes in this section of Iowa, the work of late years often overrunning State boundaries. For four years, and until he was appointed on the State railroad commission, he was well known to the readers of the Messenger , through the valuable farm department over which he presided. On the retirement of Hon. James Wilson from the commission, Governor Sherman appointed Mr. Coffin to the vacancy, and he was reappointed for a full term, which he is now serving. Mr. Coffin has seen the good and the harsh sides of Iowa life. The years of the grasshopper raids found his granaries far from depleted, and many a northwestern farmer was enabled, through his liberality in trusting him for the necessaries of life, to remain on the homestead. Some of these lived to prosper and repay; many to forget, prosperous or otherwise. The transformation of Willowedge into a stock-farm, where fine short-horn cattle are bred, was a step toward the substantial prosperity which has crowned its owner's many years of conscientious and unremitting toil. At present, advanced in years somewhat, and more or less scarred in physical health by the labors of earlier days, Mr. Coffin has an honorable ambition to live to see every railroad freight car in the country, controlled by automatic couplers and air brakes, and every railroad employee accorded his Sundays away from the everyday duties, which are now so generally thrust upon him on Sunday, as well as during the remainder of the week. To this end he has given more thought and labor than any other man in the entire country, and the cause he represents is so essential, and his side so plainly right, that the movement looking to the accomplishment of the needed reforms has received an impetus from which it will not recoil before the good work is finished. In politics Mr. Coffin has followed his earliest recollected tendencies, which made him an Abolitionist, and now a sterling Republican, never swerving for an instant from the advanced ideas of the party. As during the slave period he was a member of the underground railroad force in Ohio , so in later years he has been forward in promulgating prohibition sentiments and practical results, having stumped the State at his own expense in favor of the amendment. Beginning life with nothing but health and ambition, he has already lived to see the practical results of energy, industry and economy, and feels satisfied that generous deeds bring their own reward in the world, and that bread cast upon the waters will return after many days, many fold increased. Advancing years have detracted nothing from the earnestness of Mr. Coffin's convictions. What he feels to be right to do he still does with the old-time zeal and energy. Time and opportunity have broadened his scope for usefulness, while at the same time they have brought him matured powers and greater abilities. With northwestern Iowa he is thoroughly identified, and in its future he has unshaken and abiding faith. Doubting Thomases who fear for what may be accomplished here can find no better prop to their hopes for the best than a visit to the broad and hospitable acres of Willowedge, the spot which still holds the home-place in his heart, and whose oversight and supervision he has never relinquished.

(There is a portrait of him in the book.)

Colby Brothers, livery, sale and feed stables. – W. H. H. and Charles Colby, the members of this firm, are pioneers in this business in Fort Dodge , coming here in 1870. They have the largest stables in the county, fronting sixty-two feet on the public square and running back 140 feet to Williams street . Their stock comprises thirty or forty driving horses, and carriages of all descriptions. They are also the proprietors of Colby's Transfer ‘Bus and Hack Line. They are honorable business men, and have acquired a large trade in this city. The Colby brothers are natives of the Green Mountain State . W. H. H. was born in Barton County . He first engaged in the livery business in New Lisbon, Wisconsin, coming thence to Fort Dodge . Charles was born in Burke, and after reaching manhood went to Franklin County, Massachusetts, where he carried on a circular saw-mill and chair factory, until his removal to Iowa . In politics they affiliate with the Republican party. Both have served in the city council and are representative business men of the town.

Patrick Connors, one of the pioneers of Webster County , resides, on section 22, Johnson Township , where he has one of the best homes in the county. His farm of 600 acres lies on section 22 and 27, and is all under a good state of cultivation. He came to the county a poor man, but by industry and good management is now one of the prosperous citizens of the county. He was born in County Tipperary , Ireland , in April, 1834, a son of Charles Connors. The father died in 1849, leaving a widow and eight children – two sons and six daughters, Patrick being the youngest son. In 1850 Patrick came to the United States and joined his brother James who had come several years before, in New York , and together they subsequently came west and settled first in Whiteside County , Illinois . In 1856 they came to Iowa and lived in Des Moines until the sprint of 1857, when Patrick proceeded to Webster County looking for a location, and entered land, a part of which is his present farm. James was married before coming to America , but had no children. He died in Clare, this county, in 1884, and his widow still lives on the homestead at the age of eighty years. Patrick Connors was married in August, 1858, at Des Moines , to Ellen Connors, a native of Ireland , born in 1835. Her father died when she was a child, leaving her mother nine children. When she was seventeen years of age she came to America with a cousin, Simon Gallagher, who afterward enlisted in the war of the Rebellion and was killed. She lived in Broome County , New York , seven years and then removed to Des Moines , where she met her husband and was married. Although of the same name they are not related. In 1859 they settled on the land in Webster County and together shared the hardships of pioneer life and together made a home for their family. They are now reaping the reward of a life of industry and are enjoying the comforts and pleasures to be derived from their beautiful home and the consciousness of having lived a well spent life. Mr. and Mrs. Connors have had nine children, six of whom are living – Charles, John, Patrick, Bridget, Thomas and Mary. Three sons are deceased – Michael, James and Timothy. Their son Thomas is a merchant of Barnum, a member of the firm of Connors & Burke, and although a young man is fast becoming recognized as one of the prosperous business men of the place. Mr. Connors and his family are members of the Catholic church.

William Courtney resides on section 14, Newark Township , where he settled in 1881. His farm contains 160 acres of good land, on which Mr. Courtney has made all the improvements. He was born in County Monoghan , Ireland , in 1837, and when nineteen years of age came to the United States . His mother died when he was quite young, and his father afterward came to America , leaving his son in his native country for a time which his grandparents. On coming to America our subject landed in New York , but went soon after to Ontario , Canada , where he engaged in the lumbering three years, and then went to Saginaw , Michigan . In 1879 he came to Webster County, Iowa, with the intention of getting himself a home, and that he has been successful is evidenced by his present surroundings, which he has acquired by industry and good management. He was married in Grand Haven, Michigan , to Anna Lynch, a native of County Clare , Ireland . They have five children – Eliza Ann, Mary Jane, William, Joseph and Mene C. Mr. Courtney is one of the representative farmers of the township, and is a respected and enterprising citizen. He is especially interested in the cause of education, and for several years has been a school director of his township. In politics he is a Democrat and a warm supporter of the principles of that party.

Thomas Crowell, section 24, Badger Township , is one of its prominent pioneers. He was born in County Galway , Ireland , near the city of Galway , June 9, 1811 , his parents being also natives and life-long residents of that county. He was reared a farmer and was educated in the schools of his neighborhood, remaining at home until 1849, when, on account of hard times in Ireland, and his dislike for the Government, he determined to try his fortunes in America, where two brothers had preceded him several years before. April 27, 1849 he sailed from Galway on the ship Rebecca, commanded by Captain Simpson, and after a stormy voyage of six weeks and four days, landed in Boston . He went immediately to the town of Ellsworth , Maine , and remained about eight years, working for wages, and in 1857 moved to Webster County, Iowa, landing in Fort Dodge April 30. He worked as a laborer in Fort Dodge until the spring of 1870, when he moved to his present farm, having previously bought the land with the money he had saved from his earnings. At that time his land was an unbroken prairie, but by industry and energy he has converted it into a productive farm. He has taken an active interest in public affairs, and is one of the representative men of his township, and has filled many important offices, discharging his duties faithfully and conscientiously. He has made the most of his advantages, and although he received but a fair education, his fondness for reading and retentive memory has given him a good fund of general information. His honest and upright course through life has gained for him many friends. In politics he is a strong supporter of the Democratic party, and employs every honorable means to advance the cause of his party. He is a member of Corpus Christi Catholic Church, and one of its liberal supporters. August 1, 1842 , he married May Ford, a native of County Galway , Ireland . They have had a family of ten children, but five of whom are living – May, wife of Stephen Wilhelm, of Fort Dodge; Ellen, wife of Edward Flaherty, of Douglas Township; Catherine, wife of John Smith, of Wyandotte, Kansas; J. H., of Fort Dodge, and Walter, at home.