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FRANCIS SCHNOEBELEN, farmer and stock-raiser, was born in Alsace, France, in 1825, and is the son of Joseph and Elizabeth (Brugert) Schnoebelen, both of whom were born, reared and married in Alsace. by trade Joseph Schnoebelen was a shoemaker, and in the old county worked at the bench. They emigrated to America in 1836, and located in Stark County, Ohio, where he purchased a farm near Louisville. In Alsace their children were all born, and all came to Iowa in 1844, except Anthony, who died in Ohio. their children were named as follows: Joseph, the husband of Mary Weber, now a resident farmer of this county; Elizabeth, deceased, who became the wife of Gregory Gross, a farmer of Johnson County, Iowa; Mary A., the wife of Edward Swift, now a resident of Denver, Col.; Vincent, who wedded Margaret Dutremont; Catherine, the wife of Michael Doll, a farmer of Johnson County, Iowa; Nicholas N. is the husband of Mary Buquot; Sigismund, a farmer of Iowa Township, and the husband of Josephine Schmittle; Gregory, also a farmer in this township, and the husband of Josephine Worlamont; Frances, deceased, was the wife of George Edelstein, who is also deceased.
When the parents of our subject came to Iowa, in 1844, Mr. Schonoebelen purchased several claims, and when the lands were opened for entry, he secured patents for the same, the first at Dubuque and later at Fairfield. There were cabins on the different claims, of which one was selected, and into which the family moved. Gregory resides upon the manor farm, and the first cabin stood a quarter of a mile west of the present farm house. The children were of much service in helping to improve the land. Joseph, the eldest son, preceded his father in coming to the new country, and his glowing accounts were the inducements which brought the family West. Mr. Scnoebelen brought quite a sum of money along, and was one of the few who were not pinched with the hard times that most early settlers were called upon to face. They moved from Ohio with ox-teams, and their new lands were soon bearing fine crops. The family were Catholics, and the first service held in Washington County was at the Schnoebelen cabin about 1845, Joseph going to Iowa City in his lumber wagon for the Bishop, Rev. Matthias Loras, who organized a church and a house for worship was erected on land donated for that purpose to the church by Joseph Schnoebelen. He lived a useful life, and died at the age of sixty-five years. His wife survived him several years, and both are buried in the cemetery adjoining the church where for many years they devoutly worshiped.
Our subject was a single man when he first came to this county, and the first work of importance he engaged in was helping build a dam across English River, where the first mill, owned by Fred Felteman, now stands. The next year he went to Natchez, Miss., from whence he returned to Ohio, and his parents came West with him the same year. Joseph, Jr., and his father returned to Ohio with a team during the next year, to collect some money due the father, and while there our subject celebrated the event by getting married, Miss Agatha Weber becoming his wife. the wedding occurred in October, 1845. Mrs. Schnoebelen was also born in Alsace, near where our subject was born, and her parents, John and Mary Weber, emigrated to Ohio and settled in Stark County five years before the Schnoebelen family came. Abut one month after the Webers settled in Ohio the father died, leaving a wife and six children in poor circumstances. Mrs. Weber supported her family n a 2-acre tract which she had purchased, by knitting and doing work of ever kind. She reared her
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children well, and all grew to be useful men and women. the mother was well respected during her life, and died on her little farm. The children were respectively: Joseph, who married, and lives in Ohio; Mary married Sam Beaverton, a farmer of Wood County, Ohio; Mary Ann married Andrew Winegarden, one of the oldest and very prosperous dealer in meats in Dayton, Ohio; Louis is married and resides in Fayette County, Ill. Mrs. Schnoebelen was the next born, then Rosa, who married David Schidler, and is now a resident of Dayton, Ohio. The wedding tour of Francis J. Schnoebelen and his wife was taken in a spring wagon from Ohio to Iowa.
After their arrival in Iowa they began domestic life in the paternal dwelling, and Joseph, Jr., paid $1.50 for a claim, and later $50 more to enter it, but the administrator made a wrong number of the lands, and Mr. Schnoebelen was finally glad to sell the claim for $100, and for several years lived on rented land. He prospered however, and his next purchase of land was located with a land warrant purchased of Nathaniel McClure, being the eighty acres south of his present farm residence. The first house was a hewed-log building, with shingle roof, that Samuel Younkin and other old settlers helped raise. It was considered one of the nicest homes of its day, and is yet standing. Mr. Schnoebelen and his wife went to Iowa City with the first load of corn he ever sold in this country. She was going to fix up her house nicely, and intended to buy new dishes, etc. The corn brought twelve and a half cents, and milk crocks brought the same amount and muslin was twenty cents per yard, consequently she only brought a few things home. He sold his first load of wheat in the fall of 1846, hauled it to Muscatine, the round trip taking five days, and sold it for $8, taking it all in trade but $1.50, which he had to have to pay his taxes. What made this trip especially eventful was the loss of a dollar in the corn crib of Mr. Hall. the dollar was found and returned a year later by Mike Ween, one of the first blacksmiths of the neighborhood. the hard times were passed over with patience and good-will, and after awhile better days came to our subject and his wife. children came to gladden their home. Edward, their first-born, died when twenty-eight years old. He was born on Christmas Day, 1846. Francis A. came West, and is now married to Mary Bradley; then Mary W., the wife of John Heitz of Solon, Johnson Co., Iowa; Elizabeth married Nick Sueppel, a farmer of this county; Schnoebelen is unmarried; Magdalen wedded Peter Schillig, of this county; Frances C. married Charles Thumonn, a blacksmith of Riverside; Sigismund W. wedded Mary Carr, and is also a farmer; John married Frances Scherrer, and also resides on his father's farm; Theresa is the wife of Henry Eagle, of Richmond; Peter died in infancy; Celia died when two and a half years of age.
The years following the war brought large returns, and Mr. Schnoebelen from a poor lad found himself the owner of large herds of cattle and many broad new acres. He and his good wife were both of a happy, jovial disposition, and everybody knows how ready they were to crack a joke, and how their table always groaned beneath the weight of good things that Mrs. Schnoebelen knew so well how to prepare. Their riper years are passed amid plenty, and with their children well settled around them, they may rest with a consciousness of having done faithfully their part in life. Looking out from their roomy farm house may be seen the excellent out-buildings, the herds of cattle grazing on the broad fields, and the old church where for so many years they have devoutly worshiped. Every one who knows them will welcome this sketch of the Schnoebelen family.
LIEUT. SAMUEL R. PALMER is a farmer and stock-raiser, residing on section 8, Washington Township. He is a native of Washington County, Pa., born on the 23d day of December, 1834, and is a son of Thompson and Eliza (Moore) Palmer. His parents were natives of Ireland, who emigrated to this country in 1832, and located in Washington County, Pa., from where they subsequently removed to Carroll County, Ohio. They were the parents of eleven children, nine of whom lived to be adults, and four of them are now living: Mary resides in Washington; David resides in Washington County, Pa.; B. J. is
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a farmer in this county and Samuel R., the subject of this sketch.
Thompson Palmer was a man of intense convictions, who on coming to this country associated for a time with the old Whig party, but on account of that party not taking what he considered a right stand upon the slavery question, he became a Free-soiler, and voted for Birney for President. His views upon the slaver question were very positive. He did not and could not believe that one man had a right to own another. He believed that slavery was a sin, not only against man but against his God. On more than one occasion he remarked that slavery in this country would cause blood to be shed, though he might himself not live to see it. He did not live to see his predictions verified, but several of his own flesh and blood became actively engaged in the war that was caused by the curse of African slavery. Religiously, Mr. Palmer was a member of the Associate Church, and was one of the working members of that body. HIs wife was also a member of the same Church. He died about 1852, while his wife lived til 1879, dying in this county.
Lieut. Palmer, the subject of this sketch, was reared upon a farm and educated in the common schools of Carroll County, Ohio,where the family emigrated at an early day. In 1856, he came to Washington County, Iowa, where he engaged in farming, remaining until the breakout of the Civil War, when he enlisted as a private in Co. c, 8th Iowa Vol. Inf., and was mustered into the service with his regiment at Camp McClellan, Davenport, Iowa, in September, 1861. A few days after being mustered into service the regiment was ordered to Benton Barracks, Mo., from which place it was sent in the raid after Price, and then, in March, 1862, to Pittsburg Landing. In the engagement that followed, known as the battle of Shiloh, at that point, called the "Hornet's Nest," with many others, he was taken prisoner. He was first taken to Memphis, and there remained ten days, and was then sent to Mobile, ala., where he likewise remained ten days. Soon after this he was sent to Montgomery, Ala., where he remained one night. Macon, Ga., was the next point to which he was sent, and where he remained until the regiment was paroled. Returning north, he was sent to Nashville, Tenn., and subsequently to St. Louis, where they remained until their exchange. Leave of absence being granted him, he went home, remained a time, and rejoined his command at St. Luis. He was present at the siege and capture of Vicksburg, and at both battles of Jackson. The regiment then returned to Vicksburg, where it remained until fall, and then joined Sherman and became part of the 15th Army Corps. The regiment soon afterward veteranized and received furloughs, the greater number returning to their homes.
In the spring of 1864, the regiment became part of the 16th Army Corps and joined Gen. Canby's command at New Orleans. It was subsequently engaged in the assaults on Spanish Fort. Mr. Palmer soon after the organization of the company, was made Third Sergeant, and served as such until March 17, 1864, when he was commissioned as First Lieutenant. He was mustered out with the regiment in May, 1865, at Montgomery, Ala.
On receiving his discharge Mr. Palmer returned home; and in 1866 was united in marriage with Miss M. A. Stewart, a daughter of John and Matilda (McCullough) Stewart, who were early settlers of this county. She was born in 1843. By this union there are two childrenHarry E. and Mont. Floyd. In politics, Lieut. Palmer is a Republican. He is a member of the United Presbyterian Church, of which body his wife is also a member. Mr. Palmer is now living one and one-half miles north of Washington, on a farm of eight acres, all of which is under cultivation.
CAPT. THOMAS H. MAXWELL was born in Harrison County, Ohio, Dec. 21, 1834. He is a son of Henry and Esther (Orr) Maxwell. His paternal grandfather, Thomas Maxwell, was a native of Scotland, and Robert Orr, his maternal grandfather, from County Down, Ireland. Thomas Maxwell, Sr., wedded Rachel Meek, a Scotch lady, after he came to America, and Robert Orr became the husband of Ann Huston, after his coming to the United States. Both the Maxwell and
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Orr families first settled near Steubenville, Ohio. Mr. Maxwell removed to Harrison County, Ohio, in 1812, and Mr. Orr a few years later, settling north of Cadiz six miles, where both lived and died. Mr. Maxwell was the father of ten children, and Mr. Orr was the father of nine daughters. The latter gentleman was elected Justice of the Peace, and for upward of forty years held that office. He died in 1856, at the ripe old age of ninety-two years. After holding the office of Justice of the Peace for more than a score of years, it was discovered that he had not been naturalized, and special act was passed by the Ohio Legsilature legalizing his official acts to that date.
Henry Maxwell was the father of eleven children, only two of whom came to Iowa, our subject and his brother Samuel, who with his sister May J. Patton, constitute the surviving members of the family. In 1854, Capt. Maxwell, then a young man twenty years of age, came to Crawford Township, this county, and worked at the carpenters trade during the summer, and engaged in the profession of teaching school in the winter months. His first school was taught in District No. 5, in 1857. Until the breaking out of the war he continued in the same occupation, but the tocsin of war roused the intrepid young man, who, full of patriotism, was one of the first to enlist to do battle for the flag. In August, 1861, he enlisted in Co. C., 8th Iowa Vol. Inf., as a private, and after his discharge enlisted as a private in Co. I, 25th Iowa Vol. Inf. His attainments and soldierly bearing made him the choice of the company, and after the resignation of Capt. S. A. Russell, our subject was unanimously elected Captain of the company. From the beginning he saw active service until the close of the war, and he served in every battle participated in by his company and regiment until his resignation, June 16, 1864. From the first attack on Vicksburg, on to the bloody affray at Arkansas Post, Grand Gulf, Port Gibson, the taking of Vicksburg, Lookout Mountain, Missionary Ridge and Taylor's Ridge, he was at the front, and to-day the gallant soldier is a physical wreck in consequence of exposure and fatigue.
In a measure, Mr. Maxwell's health was regained after his return from the army, and on April 5, 1866, his marriage to Miss Martha J. Hawthorne was celebrated in this township at the home of her parents, Hugh B. and Grisella A. Hawthorne. The young couple remained upon the farm three years, then came to this pleasant village where they continued to reside. Four children grace their union—Jennie M., John R., William R., and Drusilla E. The eldest daughter has been carefully educated and for several terms her services as teacher have been secured in Crawford Township, the last time in District No. 5, where her father taught his first term in 1857.
In 1864, Capt. Maxwell was elected Justice of the Peace when he began the study of law and was admitted to the bar in 1878. He is engaged in the practice of law in this and other counties, and has done considerable business in the courts. He has been a Trustee of this township, and his official and private acts have been such as commend him to the public as a soldier, a citizen and a gentleman.
WILLIAM R. JEFFREY, capitalist, came to Washington County, when a small boy, and has since made it his home. He was born in Fayette County, Ind., Feb. 22, 1836, and is the son Asahel and Nancy (Stephens) Jeffrey. HIs father was born on Long Island in 1812 and moved to Indiana at a very early day, and there married Nancy Stephens, March 16, 1835. They were the parents of seven children, five of whom are yet living, as follows: William R., of Washington, Iowa; Marion, a farmer; Jeremiah, a resident of Wymore, Neb.; Jane, the wife of Frank James, express agent, Greenfield, Adair Co., Iowa; Hiram, stock and grain dealer in Page County, this State. Asahel Jeffrey in early life was a Democrat, but in consequence of the position of the party on the slavery question, became a Republican, casting his first vote with that party in favor of Abraham Lincoln for the Presidency. He was a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and died in March, 1887, at his home in Washington. He came to this county in 1843 and located in Oregon Township, where he entered 200 acres of land with a land warrant, and where he resided until his
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death. Few men were better known or more highly respected by those who knew him than Asahel Jeffrey. A sketch of him will appear in this work.
William R. Jeffrey was the first child of Asahel and Nancy Jeffrey, and came with his parents to this county when a lad of seven years. Notwithstanding his tender years, he helped haul the logs to build the first school-house in Oregon Township, and attended the first school. It was three miles from his home, but for three months in winter he was in daily attendance. Here he grew to manhood, assisted his father on the farm, and by home study as well as in the school, obtained a fair education. He engaged in teaching school himself until the call of President Lincoln in 1862 for "300,000 more," when he dropped his books and enrolled as a member of Co. C, 19th Iowa Vol. Inf., was appointed Color Sergeant, and as such marched with the regiment to the front. The regiment rendezvoused and was mustered into the service at Keokuk, from which place it was sent to St. Louis and from there to Springfield, Mo., on a raid after the bushwhackers infesting that portion of the State, and who were commanded by Marmaduke, who in 1884, was elected Governor of Missouri.
While on the battle-field where Gen. Lyon was killed a few months previously, the regiment received orders for a forward movement, and with others engaged the rebel army at Prairie Grove, Dec. 7, 1862, where Mr. Jeffrey was wounded by a piece of shell near the knee, carrying away a portion of the flesh, and with it the nerve, thus disabling him for life. While lying upon the field one of his toes was shot off. The battle raged until night, the men sleeping upon their arms, expecting to renew the engagement the next morning. When daylight came the rebels were not to be seen, having disappeared in the night. Mr. Jeffrey had his wounds dressed in the field hospital, where he remained for a short time and was then sent to Fayetteville, then to Springfield, Mo., and then to St. Louis, where he remained until Nov. 2,1 863, when he was honorably discharged.
Returning home and being incapacitated for outdoor employment, he began teaching school, in which profession he continued until the fall of 1864, when he was elected Recorder of Washington County, and was re-elected in 1866, serving for four years. While Recorder he compiled the abstract books of Washington County, and on the expiration of his term of office engaged in the abstract and real-estate business, in which he continued until 1882 with good success. In the organization of the Washington County Savings Bank, Mr. Jeffrey took an active interest and was one of its principal stockholders. He was elected its first Vice President, a position which he yet holds, and is also one of the Directors.
Mr. Jeffrey was first married in Louisa County, Iowa, in 1860, to Miss May Olds. By this union there were four children: Lillie, the wife of S. R. Wallace, of Washington; William R., Jr., a student at Mt. Pleasant; Hiram G., of Harlington, Neb., and A. P., a farmer in this county. Mrs. Jeffrey died March 9, 1869. She was a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church and a sincere Christian woman. Mr. Jeffrey's second wife was formerly Miss Lida Wright, by whom he has four children—Mertie, Kate, Jessie and John H. In politics, Mr. Jeffrey is a Republican, and is a member of the G.A.R.
MATTHEW P. DONAHEY, residing upon section 12, township 75 north, of range 8 west, an attachment to Washington township, came to Washington County, in 1846, the year in which Iowa was admitted into the Union. He was born in Harrison County, Ohio, Jan. 1, 1827, and is the son of John and Sarah (Picken) Donahey, the former a native of Allegheny County, Pa., and the latter of Harrison County, Ohio.
John Donahey emigrated wit his parents to Harrison County, Ohio, at a very early day, they being numbered among the pioneers of that county. John was there reared on a farm, and when he grew to manhood married Sarah Picken. Immediately after his marriage he proceeded to clear out a farm in the heavy timber of Harrison County,
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and there remained until the fall of 1846, when he came to Washington County, Iowa. Here he entered 600 acres of wild land and proceeded to improve a farm. He died in 1854, at the age of fifty-four years. His widow survived him many years, dying at Mt. Pleasant, Henry Co., Iowa, in 1876, at the age of seventy-two years. They reared a family of five girls, and four boys: Nancy married Samuel Wallace, of Tuscarawas County, Ohio, and died in Union County of that State, in 1879; Matthew, the subject of our sketch; Susanna married John Cecil, of Harrison County, Ohio, and died in Marion County, Iowa, in 1881; Robertson died in 1854, in Washington County, Iowa, at the age of twenty-six years; Birney died in 1865, at the age of twenty-seven years, in Washington, Iowa; Fulton died in 1874, at the age of thirty-six years, in the same place; Martha J. is the wife of Simon McLaughlin, and now resides in Mt. Pleasant, Iowa; Adeline is the wife of Daniel K. Shaffer, of Johnson County, Iowa; Alpha P. is now residing in Montana. Few men were better known at the time of his death than John Donahey, and none more universally respected. He was a member of the Christian Church.
Matthew P. Donahey, the subject of this sketch, came with his parents to Washington County, and lived with them one year after they here settled. He then engaged with Michael Hayes, for whom he worked until May, 1849, then, in company with Mr. Hayes, Jacob Kensler and Hon. A. C. Price, now of Sigourney, Iowa, hired men and went West, where they engaged in capturing buffalo calves, which they bred on their farms. The next year he worked for P. C. McKinnie, of Washington, as a teamster, and then engaged with Kendall & McFarland, in selling goods from a wagon through this part of the State. After remaining in their employ about a year, he took an interest in the enterprise, and continued in that line of trade for seven years, during which time, in partnership with Mr. Kendall, he ran a line of stage-coaches from Davenport to Oskaloosa, and also carried the United States mail. While engaged in this business, in company with Mr. Kendall, he entered thousands of acres of land between Davenport and Oskaloosa. A large portion of the land was near the present city of What Cheer, in Keokuk County. The town of Springfield was laid out by Messrs. Donahey and Kendall.
In 1857 Mr. Donahey sold out the stage business and engaged in the liver business in Oskaloosa, and also in Sigourney, having the best stable in each place. In this business he continued until 1860, when, after casting his vote for Stephen A. Douglas for President, he moved to a farm in Keokuk County, near Sigourney, where he lived one year, and then moved to his present farm on section 12, Washington Township, where he owns 170 acres of land, all under a high state of cultivation. For some time Mr. Donahey has been somewhat extensively engaged in breeding fine horses of the Bashaw and Membrino stock. He has at this writing, in August, 1887, about thirty-five head of the latter breed.
Mr. Donahey was married in 1853 to Miss Eliza Thompson, a native of Ohio, and daughter of John Thompson. Nine children have been born unto them: Minnie C.; Arminda, in Missouri; D. M., now residing in Dakota, engaged in farming and stock-raising; Edward, now in Dakota, engaged in the same business; Elva, a book-keeper; Viola, a teacher; Samuel T. and Anna reside at home.
Mr. Donahey is well known throughout this section of country. He is a man well posted in public affairs, one with a mind of his own, and one who can freely express himself upon all questions of public interest. He is of a jovial disposition, one who knows how to give and receive a joke. Politically, he is a Democrat of the strictest sect of our religion.
THOMAS P. McREYNOLDS, section 36, Lime Creek Township, is a native Hawkeye, born in Henry County, in 1838, and is the son of Rollins and Mary (Holland) McReynolds, the former a native of Kentucky, and the latter of Georgia. They moved to Henry County in September, 1838, and settled seven miles southeast of Mt. Pleasant. there they lived about two years, and then moved to Washington County, settling in Iowa Township, near the south of
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Davis Creek. There Rollins McReynolds took a claim and improved it. After living in Iowa Township a short time, the family moved to Johnson County, and there lived four or five years, returning once more to Washington County, settling in Iowa Township, where Mr. McReynolds bought forty acres. After living there about fifteen years they again removed across the line into Johnson County, where Mr. McReynolds improved a farm of 160 acres, and where he died in 1854, at the age of fifty-three. Mrs. McReynolds survived him, dying at the age of sixty-five. The former was a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and the latter of the Seventh-Day Adventists.
The subject of this sketch was reared on a farm and received his education in the common schools of this new country. At the age of twenty-two years he left home and went to Mills County, Iowa, and there worked on a farm until July 1, 1861, when in response to the call of President Lincoln, he enlisted in Co. A, 4th Iowa Vol. Inf., and served his country faithfully until Aug. 5, 1865. He participated in the battles of Pea Ridge, Chickasaw Bluff, Arkansas Post, first and second battles of Jackson, the siege of Vicksburg, where with his regiment he was under fire for forty-seven days, the battles of Cherokee Station, Lookout Mountain, Missionary Ridge, Kennesaw Mountain, Atlanta, Ezra Chapel, Jonesboro, Lovejoy Station, Resaca, siege of Savannah, Ga., and Bentonsville, N.C. In 1864 he veteranized, and with his regiment was in the march to the sea, and in the grand review at Washington. On receiving his discharge he returned to his home in Johnson County, remained a short time and then came to Washington County, and settled on section 36, Lime Creek Township, where he bought thirty acres of partially improved land, and commenced its further improvement. He has now eighty acres of fine land, all under cultivation.
On the 5th of November, 1865, Mr. McReynolds was united in marriage with Miss Tamer Dorrance, a native of Ohio, and daughter of William and Naomi (Robinson) Dorrance, the former a native of Ohio, and the latter of New York. Her parents came to this county in 1852, and her father died in 1854, at the age of fifty-four years. Her mother is still living in Lime Creek Township, at the age of seventy-nine. Mr. and Mrs. McReynolds are the parents of three children: Clara N., who died Sept. 8, 1881, at the age of fifteen years; Charles C., born Dec. 8, 1872; Myrtie M., born June 12, 1875. He and his wife are members of the Seventh-Day Advent Church. Politically he is a Republican.
Commencing life in limited circumstances, by hard work and good management Mr. McReynolds has accumulated a competency. On the 9th of May, 1882, he had the misfortune to have his house burned, entailing considerable loss upon him. As an illustration of how "bread cast upon the waters will return after many days," it may be mentioned that while the city of Columbia, S.C., was being burned by the soldiers Mr. McReynolds assisted Joseph Denk of that place to save his home from being destroyed by fire. In some way Mr. Denk heard of the destruction of the house of Mr. McReynolds, and at once sent him $25 as a partial reward for the services rendered during the time Columbia was burned. The neighbors of Mr. McReynolds were also very kind to him in his trouble.
JOHN STEWART, farmer, section 31, Jackson Township, was born in York District, on the Catawba Indian Reservation, South Carolina, July 2, 1809. He is the son of Samuel and Elizabeth (Graves) Stewart. They were native born South Carolina people. The parents of Elizabeth Graves died in that State, but left a family of two daughters and eleven sons. Samuel Stewart had a plantation and owned several slaves. the last were dispensed with before the family emigrated to Greene County, Ohio, about 1820, settling near Xenia, on the Jamestown Turnpike. Robert Stewart, brother of Samuel, came from South Carolina at the same time and purchased an adjoining farm. His aged father came along and made his home with his son during his lifetime, dying at the advanced age of ninety-three.
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To Samuel Stewart and wife were born thirteen children. Of these, all reached maturity except the youngest. Jane, John, William, James, Robert, Elizabeth, Hannah, Samuel, Joseph, Jesse, Jonathan, Sarah and the one who died in childhood. Jonathan was a minister of the United Presbyterian faith, and died in Adams County, Ohio. James became a physician and is yet a resident of Cedarville, Ohio, never having changed location. Robert practices medicine for years in Ohio, later in Missouri, and is now a retired resident of Xenia, Ohio. Jesse is also a resident of Greene County, Ohio, and for years was engaged in the mercantile trade at Cincinnati and elsewhere. The remainder of the sons were farmers.
In 1824 our subject was married to Matilda N. McCullough, born on the ocean while her parents were en route from Europe. They were of Scotch-Irish stock, and settled near Yellow Springs, Greene County, Ohio. After their marriage the young couple began domestic life upon lands owned by our subject from his boyhood, on Cedar Creek in that county. John had been well versed in "pioneering," having aided in clearing up many acres of dense forests, and he could roll logs or build a cabin as quickly as any man. they were the parents of ten children—Flora D., deceased; Samuel E., deceased; Mary A., Francis A., William A., Flora J., Sarah M.; Emma G., deceased; John F. and George M. The latter was born after the arrival of his parents in this county. they settled on a tract of partly improved land in 1857.
The present farm of Mr. Stewart was his second purchase, made the next year after his arrival in this county, and on which his modern farm house was built in 1861. He has upon the latter farm made all the improvements, and every tree which now gives such grateful shade was planted by him more than thirty years ago. His wife was a well educated lady, whose mother was a teacher in Ireland, and three of her daughters—Matilda, Flora and Emma—became teachers in the public schools of this county. The death of Mrs. Stewart occurred March 12, 1865, and in October of that year Miss Emma S. Ferguson became his wife. she was born in Jefferson County, Pa., and was the daughter of John C. and Anna (Alcorn( Ferguson. Anna Alcorn was born in County Down, Ireland, and after her marriage in America bore eleven children, all living except one.
The parents of Mrs. Stewart came to this county in 1857, settling three miles west of Washington. The death of the mother there occurred, and some time afterward the father moved to Washington, and, with his son Andrew, engaged in the grocer trade. He has since been twice married, and is now residing in Evans, Col., at the age of eighty-one years. The present mistress of the Stewart mansion is a lady well fitted to preside. Courteous, affable, and with an easy grace of conversation, she makes her guests welcome, and manages the house with equal pleasantness. She has become the mother of eight children—Anna L., deceased; Alice M., Ralph R., Fred, Maud, Blanche, Myrtle and Jessie. The Stewart family, consisting of eighteen children, of whom only three are deceased, area as noted for their social qualities as their parents for the success made in a financial way.
Mr. Stewart still owns his two farms, and has grown from a lad without means to an enviable position among the resident farmers of this township. Several of his children are well married and comfortably settled. Samuel E., deceased, wedded Susan Meek. He was a member of Co. A, 25th Iowa Vol. Inf., and served in all the important battles, and soon after his return his marriage was celebrated. He left one child, Clara. His widow is now the wife of Benjamin Warfel, to whom she has borne one son, Benjamin. Mary A. wedded S. R. Palmer, a farmer of Washington Township. They are the parents of Harry and Floyd. Frances A. is the wife of George Tripps. She is the mother of three children—Nellie, Clarence and Roy. William A. is husband of Maggie McLaughlin. They are the parents of four children—Mazie, John, Beulah and Everett. The other children are single. Two brothers of Mrs. Stewart, John and William, were soldiers. The first was a member of the 11th Iowa, and the latter was in the cavalry service. The son of our subject, Samuel Stewart, served in thirty-one hard-fought battles, and skirmishes innumerable.
It is only necessary to state that from the coming of John Stewart to this county he has ranked high in the estimation of its citizens. Coming from a
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Southern State, he was by education and birth a Democrat, and aided by his vote to return Andrew Jackson to the Presidency. After he came North his sentiments changed, and even before the war he began the espousal of the principles of the Republican party, and is as firm in the faith as any member of the party.
MRS. ELIZA MOORHEAD. The distinction of being the oldest living settler of this count attaches to this lady, who with her husband, Matthew Moorhead, came to the county when the State was yet a Territory, and purchased a claim from Adam Ritchie, who had preceded them. the location of Mr. and Mrs. Moorhead was made on their present farm, July 27, 1837. Her husband was a son of Matthrew and Lydia (David) Moorhead, both natives of Westmoreland County, Pa., who afterward settled in Butler County, Ohio, in which county Matthew Moorhead was born. His mother's children consisted of two sons and three daughters—Robert, Matthew, Ann, Jane and Mary—Matthew being the only one who came to this State. After the death of their mother, his father was married to Mrs. Hester Blackburn, the mother of James, Mary and another son by her first husband. the couple remained in Butler County, Ohio, during their lifetime, and were buried in her sacred soil.
Matthew Moorhead, Jr. was born in 1809, and his wife, Eliza Snodgrass, whom he married in 1834, in Sangamon County, Ill., was born in 1815. She was a daughter of William and Mary (Vance) Snodgrass. William was a son of Robert and Sarah (Taylor) Snodgrass, and his birthplace was upon the ocean, as the parents were emigrating from Ireland to America. they were natives of Ireland, being heirs of an estate to which they were entitled. Robert and Sarah Snodgrass were the parents of William, James, Agnes, Sarah, Samuel, Robert and John. The family settled near Pittsburgh, Pa., and later moved to Green County, Ohio, where the parents remained during their lives. Both were members of the Seceder Church and life-long Christians. William Snodgrass was for almost half a century a minister in the Free-Will Baptist Church, near Athens, Sangamon Co., Ill., to which State he with his family removed in 1822, and later of Dubuque County, Iowa. He served as a private during the War of 1812, and the widow of Samuel Snodgrass still preserves his old knapsack as a relic of that war. He was in his seventy-third year when their deaths occurred at Dubuque, Iowa, to which place they removed in the spring of 1836. Matthew Moorhead, the husband of our subject, learned the cabinet trade in Scipio, Ohio, and after coming to Illinois engaged in that business until his emigration to this State. In Sangamon county, Ill, he met, loved, and won the heart and hand of our subject, then a young lady nineteen years of age. The marriage ceremony was performed at her father's residence, Feb. 6, 1834, by Rev. Peter Cartwright, the best known Methodist minister of his day. Under the Rev. Cartwright's preaching she was converted and joined the Methodist Episcopal Church, being received into full membership at the home of Bazilla Clark, of Sangamon County. the young couple for some time made their home at Salisbury, Ill., where their two eldest children were born—William R. and Mary A. Both are deceased, the latter at date of death being the wife of Rev. John Haynes, Presiding Elder of the Methodist Episcopal Church of the Burlington District.
July 27, 1837, Matthrew Moorhead, wife and two small children, headed a train of ox-teams which conveyed their goods from Illinois to this county. the hot sun poured its fiercest rays upon the emigrants, and they suffered for water while crossing the wide prairie between Burlington and their new home, which was a log house standing opposite Mrs. Brown's residence. Their nearest neighbor on the west was Thomas Caldwell, and on the east Abraham Hulick, while neither on the north nor south had a settler entered a claim. One of the earliest, if not the first marriage in the county, was at the new home, two weeks after the Moorheads came, the contracting parties being John Hulick and Nancy Goble, who with three other couples came on horseback to see Esquire Adam Ritchie
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tie the knot. This was the first marriage he was ever called upon to solemize, and not a word of any kind of ceremony did he know, but through the aid of a Methodist Episcopal discipline owned by Mrs. Moorehead [Moorhead], it was satisfactorily performed. Ritchie was the first, and Matthew Moorhead the second Territorial Justice in this county. After the latter received his commission he achieved quite a well-earned reputation as Justice, and his acknowledged ability made him the choice of the Republican party, and in 1859 he was elected as the representative of that party to the State Legislature, in which body he both made himself felt and heard, and as a member, when the extra session was called in 1861 by Gov. Kirkwood, to make provisions for raising both troops and money to assist in putting down the rebellion.
One of the early landmarks in this county was the swinging sign, "Traveler's Inn," standing in front of Matthew Moorhead's house, which was a well-known hostelry, and a favorite lodging place for the hungry and tired traveler. Matthew was an entertaining host and his young wife was an excellent cook. All the goods for Washington and the settlers along the English River, were carted from Burlington, and the teamsters as well as the parties looking for lands, were made welcome. the first Methodist Episcopal class in the county was organized at their house in 1838, by Rev. West, consisting of five members—Matthew and Eliza Moorhead, Benjamin and Susan Sigafoose, and Nelson Ball, of which class Matthew was Class-Leader. Their house was for many years used by the Methodist Episcopal members for public worship, and from the society a large membership has grown.
After a long lifetime characterized by thrift and industry, Matthew Moorhead was gathered to his fathers, his death occurring in 1873. He was the father of ten children, four living, and all attained maturity: Joseph A., the youngest son, remains on the home farm with his mother; he resembles his father greatly in spirit and actions, and has had a thorough business experience, not only in this State but in Colorado, where for several years he was engaged in the stock trade. Sarah J., the oldest daughter living, and many claim for her the honor of being the first white child born in the county yet living, was born Nov. 22, 1838, and was reared and married in Crawford township; her husband is Robert A. Young, a prosperous farmer of Henry County, whose farm lies partly in this county. Nine children have graced their union—Eliza J., David M., John W., Laura M., Olive F., Lula J., Mary E., Ada R. and Robert C. Eliza is the wife of Walker W. Hough, of this county, and the mother of one daughter, Edna F., the only great-grandchild of Mrs. Moorhead. John Wesley married Mrs. Hattie Thomas, and resides in Paola, Miami Co., Kan.; Matthew D., a resident of Denver, married Melati Kitchen.
At the age of seventy-two, our subject appears active and fully possessed of every faculty. She manages her own house, which is cheerful, bright and roomy, and presents the appearance of comfort. As a family, the Moorheads have no superiors in the county, for honor and the esteem of their neighbors and acquaintances. The data forming this sketch was furnished by Mrs. Moorhead, and may be considered correct.
W. T. STEVENSON resides on section 3, Dutch Creek Township, where he is engaged in farming and stock-raising. He was born July 6, 1846, in Carroll County, Ohio, and is the son of William and Isabel (Tennant) Stevenson, the former a native of Ohio, and the latter of Maryland. They were the parents of six children, the subject of this sketch being the oldest; David is deceased; John C. is a farmer residing in Rush County, Kan.; Mary and Matilda are deceased; Isabel, wife of George Mitchell, a farmer residing in Mahaska County, Iowa. In the spring of 1852 the family came to Washington County, this State, where the father entered 320 acres of land in Franklin Township, where the family resided until 1857, when Mr. Stevenson purchased 280 acres of land on Skunk River, and erected the Black Hawk Mills, which he ran for about one year, when he was accidentally killed in the mill. The early life of the subject of this sketch was spent on the farm and attending the district school.
On the 22d day of January, 1867, our subject was united in marriage with Miss Sarah T. Kiser, a native of Hartsville, Ind., born Nov. 12, 1850, and daughter of Samuel and Rebecca (Arbuckle) Kiser, the former a native of Pennsylvania, and the latter of Ohio. Of this union seven children were born: John t., born April 5, 1871; Jesse, Feb. 11, 1876; Lillie, Jan. 22, 1877; Nellie, Aug. 5, 1879; Ethel, June 27, 1884; the first two mentioned died in infancy. In April, 1877, Mr. Stephenson purchased eighty acres of land on section 3, where he now resides, to which he has since added other land, giving him a fine farm of 142 1/2 acres. That which he has was secured by his own industry, assisted by his good wife. they have a very pleasant home, and both are highly respected and greatly esteemed for their many excellent qualities of head and heart.
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