| Biographies |
Arthur M. Beymer A. M. Beymer, hardware merchant, Corning, born in Seneca county, Ohio, in May, 1814, a son of Arthur S. and Ruth (Skinner) Beymer, natives of Ohio. The mother was of English ancestry, and the father was a farmer brought up in the Western Reserve, came to Union county, Iowa, in 1870, and died in 1872. His mother is still Jiving, at Afton, Iowa, at the age of ninety years. They reared ten children — Mr. Beymer was educated at the Seneca academy and spent one year at the Ohio Wesleyan University at Delaware; then returned to farming for a time; next was a year in commercial business at Clyde, Ohio, and then, in 1869, he came to Corning, Iowa, where he engaged in the lumber trade fifteen years, selling lumber for nearly all the fine houses in the vicinity; and he was one of the prime movers of the Blue Grass League, organized to produce blue grass in one of the finest regions in the world, he being one of the early discoverers of the elements required in a blue grass soil. Quitting the lumber trade, he engaged in the hardware business, in which he still continues. He has acquire some good pieces of land in the vicinity of town. He was a member of the city board of trustees when the electric lights and water works were established; was also a member of the school board thirteen years, during which time the public school buildings and the academy were erected; and he has been a trustee of the Corning academy. He was married in 1865, to Miss Amine L. Strickland, of Clyde, Ohio, and they have had four children, including one daughter, who died when young. He is a member of Instruction Lodge. No. 275, F. and A. M.; of Eureka Chapter. K. A. M., and of the Presbyterian church, as is also his wife. In politics he is a republican. [Adams County Free Press, April 27, 1893 pg 1, submitted by Terry Dicken] Mrs. W. G. Blood Jane Ewing Blood, was born at Kittaning, Armstrong County, PA. Her father, the Rev. Thomas Ewing, D. D., was an alumnus of Washington and Jefferson College, and of the Allegheny Theological Seminary. He was pastor of the First Presbyterian church of Kittaning, PA, 1864 - 1880, was president of the Parsons College, Fairfield, IA, 1880 - 1889, and was principal of the Academy at Corning, IA, 1889 -1905. He died, July, 1905. He was a scholarly man of a very high Christian character. Her mother, Anna Maria Graham, was born of Revolutionary ancestry at Brownsville, PA, July 16, 1844. She was distinguished by unusual beauty and intellectual brilliancy. She died at Fairfield, September, 1884. Mrs. Blood was educated at Parson’s College, Fairfield, a coeducational Christian College, in the class of 1890. For a number of years after leaving school she made her home with her grand mother, Mary Rebecca Graham, at Brownsville, PA, where in the same house and the same room in which her mother had been married, she was married to William Graffen Blood, a successful attorney of Keokuk, Jany. 15, 1903. Mr. Blood is the son of Col. H. B. Blood, a Civil War veteran, born near Worcester, Mass., and of Anna Belle Graffen, who belonged to a Quaker family of Philadelphia. They came to Keokuk in 1876. Mr. and Mrs. W. G. Blood have one son, William Graffen Blood, Jr., born Oct. 2, 1904. His paternal great-great-great grand father was a Lexington minute man, Nathaniel Blood. Mrs. Blood is a dyed-in-the-wool blue Presbyterian. She served for three years as Treasurer of the Iowa Presbyterial Missionary Society Auxiliary to the Woman’s Board of the Northwest at Chicago. Her sister, Rebecca Ewing McClintock (Mrs. Paul W.) is engaged in foreign mission work on the island of Hainan, China. During her visits to this country she has spoken in many Iowa churches and no one who has met this brilliant, charming woman could forget her or the missionary message she always leaves in the hearts of her hearers. Mrs. Blood’s brother, Prof. James F. Ewing, of Portland, Oregon, is an alumnus of Princeton University, Class 1893. He is principal of Portland Academy, an elder in the First Presbyterian church, and superintendent of the Sunday School. Mrs. Blood is a member of the Daughters of the Revolution, and Daughters of the American Revolution, joining on the service of Michael Sowers. She served on the committee of the Keokuk chapter, which raised funds for the monument to Chief Keokuk, unveiled in Rand Park, Oct. 22, 1913. Her son, Graffen, was one of the two children who unveiled the statue. She belongs to the Civic League, Visiting Nurse Association, Shakespeare Club, Mentor Club, Current Events Club, Fortnightly Club, Wednesday Reading Club, Woman’s Whist League, Keokuk Book Club, Y. W. C. A., Westminster Guild, the Rebecca Ewing Circle, Woman’s Missionary Society, Chapel Fund Society, the Benevolent Union, Travel Class, Monday Music Club, and the Keokuk Country Club. She has inherited a collection of antique furniture, old china and silver, which completely furnishes her home, a ten room house on Fulton Terrace. From plate and knocker on the front door to the quaint three cornered cupboard in the kitchen, the house is filled with an incomparable collection of furnishings in perfect state of preservation, which fills with longing the heart of a lover of the antique. [The Blue book of Iowa Women, by Winona Evans Reeves, Publ. 1914, Transcribed by Brenda Shaffer] Ed Bycroft Ed Bycroft, a successful farmer and favorably known citizen of section 36, Nodaway township, bought land there of the railroad in 1873, and two years afterward broke it, and since 1876 he has resided there. He was born in Lincolnshire, England, May ?, 1833, a son of John and Eliza (Ward) Bycroft, natives also of that shire. His father was a laboring man all his life, and reared to years of maturity four sons and two daughters, three of whom emigrated to the United States and three remained in England. Mr. Bycroft, our subject, sailed from Liverpool in 1866 to New York, and went to Henderson county, Illinois, where he had a brother living, and was employed there two years in ditching, well-digging and in hedging. The brother bought a team and farming outfit, and worked rented farms till 1875, when our subject came to Adams county. For his present farm he paid $16 for a portion, and $14 an acre for the rest. His present residence he built in 1890. It is a fine modern house, 16x20 in ground area, with 14-foot posts, and well arranged, in Southern style, and nicely situated on a natural building site a few rods from the road, and surrounded with a beautiful grove of trees,—maple, cottonwood, Lombardy poplar, box-elder and elm. There is also an orchard of small fruit, barn and other outbuildings and farm conveniences. He owns 180 acres of land, constituting one of the best farms in the neighborhood. At the age of twenty-four years, in Lincolnshire, England, he married Jane Proctor, a daughter of Richard and Eliza Proctor, and they have four sons and two daughters, namely: Eliza, John, William, Anna, Eddy and George. In his political sympathies Mr. Bycroft is with the "greenback" party. He and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church. [Adams County Free Press, April 27, 1893 pg 1, submitted by Terry Dicken] William O. Mitchell William O. Mitchell is a native of Iowa, born in Van Buren County, April 4, 1846. At the age of sixteen he enlisted in Company C, Thirteenth Iowa Volunteers, serving three years. During that time he was eight months a prisoner confined in the Andersonville stockade, Salisbury and Florence prisons, from the last of which he escaped. During his term of service he participated in the Vicksburg campaign and many other engagements. After the close of the war he graduated at Cornell College, Mount Vernon, and began the study of law, being admitted to the bar in 1872. He located at Corning in Adams County and in addition to practicing law became largely engaged in farming. He has done probably more than any other one man to call public attention to the famous "Blue Grass Region" of southern Iowa as a stock country. He was in 1891 elected Representative in the House of the Twenty-fourth General Assembly and had the unusual honor of being chosen Speaker the first term of his legislative service. He was re-elected to the Twenty-fifth General Assembly, serving as chairman of the committee of ways and means. In 1895 he was elected to the Senate, serving in the Twenty-sixth and Twenty-seventh General Assemblies and at the extra session. (History of Iowa from the Earliest Times to the Beginning of the Twentieth Century by Benjamin T. Gue, 1903) Mrs. Malinda (Danielson) Nelson Mrs. Malinda Nelson, now living in Strand, Adams county, Iowa, came in the same ship ("Enigheden") with Thomas A. Thompson. The story of her life throws a flood of light on the early days of Norwegian immigration; and while it contains some repetitions of what I have stated elsewhere, I cannot help giving the substance of her statements here. Her maiden name was Malinda Danielson. She was born in Aurdal, Norway, September 29, 1827. She emigrated with her parents. Her father's name was Knud Danielson, and her mother's maiden name was Sara Olson. Mrs. Malinda Nelson says the vessel "Enigheden" was eleven weeks and three days on the way from Stavanger to New York. We have already made the acquaintance of many of the passengers in "Enigheden." Among them are Hans Valder, Ole Thompson Eide, Knud Olson Eide, Christopher Danielson and others, and we have seen how they made their way up the Hudson to Albany, thence by canal to Rochester, N. Y., where they stopped several days, thence to Buffalo, and then on by the lakes to Chicago. As soon as they arrived in Chicago, Malinda Nelson says they sent one man to the Fox River settlement to engage some people to take the immigrants to Norway, Ill. Two men engaged for that purpose were Helge Vatname and Samuel Peerson, who yoked their oxen to their “Hoosier wagon" and started for Chicago, and in about ten days' time these newcomers were thus brought to their destination. It will be observed that in Helge Vatname and Samuel Peerson, we have secured the names of two immigrants who came to America before 1837. Malinda's parents settled in the town of Mission near what is now Norway, Ill. They had a little money and invested it in a small farm at $1.25 per acre. They had not been there very long before they received a visit from Kleng Peerson, and through his influence Ma- linda secured a place to work in Ottawa, Ill. Kleng Peerson, who had secured the position beforehand, accompanied Malinda to Ottawa and they walked all the way, it being about fifteen miles. I mention this fact here as evidence of Kleng Peerson's helpfulness to his countrymen. It is also interesting to note that Malinda was only about eleven years old, when she had to leave her parents and go out to earn her own living. She continued to be a servant girl until she was seventeen years old, that is until 1844, when she married Peter Nelson Ovrabo, who had emigrated from Fister, in Hjelmeland in 1839. Hans Valder was at that time, it seems, a Baptist preacher in Illinois, and he performed the marriage ceremony. After they were married they settled in the town of Freedom, La Salle county, Ill., where they purchased a little farm. In the early days of their married life their financial circumstances were not enviable. They had no stove, and Malinda did her cooking and baking over a hole in the ground. This hole had a stone wall around it and over it she hung her kettles and prepared food for the family, during the first six months of her housekeeping. In the fall of 1844, Peter yoked up his ox team and he and his young wife drove in to Chicago and bought a stove. In 1849, we again get the sad story of the cholera. Malinda's father, Knud, had died in 1838, and her mother had married Christopher Danielson. The cholera in 1849 carried off her step-father, her mother, two brothers and a working man, all of whom died within a few days in one house. In 1878, Peter Nelson and his wife moved to Adams county, Iowa, where he died in January, 1892. Malinda and six of her eleven children are still living. (The First Chapter of Norwegian Immigration (1821-1840) by Rasmus Bjorn Anderson) 1896 Thomas A. Thompson Among the emigrants arriving on the ship “Enigheden” in the year (1837) is Thomas A Thompson. He was born February 3, 1812, at Aareg, Skjold Parish, Norway, and died in Adams county, Iowa, October 15, 1870. On April 1, 1848, he married Carrie J. Melland, from Etne, and she is still living at Strand, Adams county, Iowa. Mr. Thompson first settled at Norway, Ill., where he bought a farm. In those early days the settlers broke up only small patches on their land and raised a little wheat and garden truck. When the time for marketing came, ten neighbors would sometimes club together, load one or two wagons, hitch two or three yoke of oxen to each wagon, and then start for Chicago to sell their produce and purchase as economically as possible the necessaries of life. On coming near Chicago, they would sometimes have to hitch five or six yokes of oxen to a single wagon in order to pull it through the mud, for which Chicago was noted. In the Fox River settlement that city was then known as "the Chicago mire." In course of time home markets were established and the overland trips to Chicago were abandoned. In 1877, Thomas A. Thompson moved to Adams county, Iowa, where he died as stated above. He was a Lutheran when he emigrated, but joined the Methodist church in this country. (The First Chapter of Norwegian Immigration (1821-1840) by Rasmus Bjorn Anderson)-1896 Horace M. Towner Horace M. Towner was born at Belvedere, Illinois, October 23, 1855. He attended public school in his native town and Chicago, teaching and studying alternately, thus earning the means to enable him to study law. He was admitted to the bar in 1880 and began the practice of his profession in Corning, Adams County, Iowa, where he had located. In 1890 he was elected on the Republican ticket judge of the Third Judicial District and at the close of the term in 1894, his re-nomination was endorsed by the Democrats and he was reelected without opposition. In 1898 he was again elected, and has been prominently supported for a seat on the Supreme bench. Judge Towner is a man of literary taste and has musical talent, being a composer of merit. (History of Iowa from the Earliest Times to the Beginning of the Twentieth Century by Benjamin T. Gue, 1903) Mrs. Horace M. Towner Mrs. Horace M. Towner, of Corning, had a large part in the creation of the Iowa Library Commission, appointed a member in 1900, and has been twice reappointed. She was born April 13, 1869, in Providence, R. I., daughter of Charles T. Cole and Caroline Greene. She was educated by private tutors, specializing in English literature. In 1887 at Corning, la., she was married to Horace Mann Towner, for twenty-three years judge of the third judicial district, and now congressman from the eighth Iowa district, and is one of Iowa's most able men. They have three children: Leta E. Towner, Horace C. Towner, and Constance M. Towner. Mrs. Towner has unusual literary ability and is a frequent contributor to magazines, and has prepared many copyrighted study outlines for clubs. She is secretary of the Congressional Club of Washington, D. C, vice regent for Iowa of the Mt. Vernon Ladies’ Association of the Union, vice-president of the Children of the American Revolution, President of Iowa Library Association, 1904-'5, member of the P. E. O. sisterhood, member Old Thirteen Chapter, D. A. R., president board of trustees of Corning Free Public library, recording secretary Iowa Federation of Women’s Clubs, 1909-11, auditor I. F. W. C, 1907-'9, chairman of the Department of Legislation of the General Federation of Women’s Clubs, 1912-14, member of the Iowa Press and Authors' Club, Des Moines, and of the Corning Culture Club, and has been chairman of many standing committees of I. F. W. C. Mrs. Towner has been Iowa’s representative in many national organizations and the state has much pride in such a representative. [The Blue book of Iowa Women, by Winona Evans Reeves, Publ. 1914, Transcribed by Dana Kraft] Luther Van Wagenen Luther Van Wagenen. One of the well-irrigated farms of the Yellowstone valley which shows what excellent results may be obtained by intelligent cultivation is that of Luther Van Wagenen, located three miles southwest of Billings. Mr. Van Wagenen is an experienced agriculturist, having been born on a farm and reared to follow that vocation, and during the past twenty years his operations have been confined to the vicinity in which he now lives, and where he bears an excellent reputation for upright citizenship. Mr. Van Wagenen was born in Ulster countv, New York, October 26, 1841, and is a son of Jonas and Sarah Ann (Wells) Van Wagenen, natives of New York state, who were there married. Jonas Van Wagenen followed agricultural pursuits all of his life, developing a farm from wild land in Ulster county and residing thereon until his death, at the age of eighty-two years, his wife having passed away when fifty-seven years of age. They were faithful members of the Reformed church, and in political matters Mr. Van Wagenen was a Whig until the year 1855, at which time he gave his allegiance to the Republican party. He and his wife had seven children, of whom two are living: Luther and Eli, the latter of whom resides at Omaha, Nebraska. Like other farmers' sons of his day and locality, Luther Van Wagenen secured his education in the district schools during the winter terms, when he could be spared from his share of the duties of the home farm. He continued to reside on the home place until a year after his marriage, when, his mother dying, he left the parental roof and started out to establish a home of his own, being engaged in farming in the east until 1869. In the spring of that year he moved to Adams county, Iowa, where he also engaged in cultivating the soil, but after a few years gave up farming to become a bridge builder in the employ of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad. Mr. Van Wagenen continued in the service of that company until the spring of 1891, when he became a resident of Billings, and the following year was spent in carpenter work about the city. He subsequently found a property that suited him, located about twelve miles west of Billings, and was there engaged in farming until 1905, when he moved to his present ranch, situated three miles southwest of the city. This Mr. Van Wagenen has devoted to alfalfa, wheat and oats, and his industry and good judgment have enabled him to take advantage of all natural opportunities for productive cultivation, and his crops are gratifying both in quality and abundance. The land is worth $150 an acre at the present time, and the improvements which Mr. Van Wagenen has made are at the same time valuable and handsome. A thoroughly practical farmer, he is an advocate of irrigation and rotation of crops, and the general appearance of his land proves him to be an able and industrious agriculturist. He has always kept good stock, and at this time has nine horses of superior breed. Politically Mr. Van Wagenen is a Republican, but he has preferred to give his entire attention to his farm and has never entered the political arena. He and his family attend the Methodist Episcopal church. On December 14, 1862, Mr. Van Wagenen was married to Miss Fannie Freer, who was born in Ulster county, New York, daughter of Josiah Freer, a cabinet maker who spent his entire life in the Empire state. Mrs. Van Wagenen, who died December 14, 1899, had two sisters: Josephine, the wife of J. C. Fitch, of Billings, Montana; and Sophia, wife of George Birdsall, of New York state. Eight children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Van Wagenen, of whom two died in infancy, the survivors being: Clarence, who married Mary Lauman; Jesse; Jennie; Harry, a half owner with his father in the ranch; Stella E., wife of L. W. Thorpe, living at Livingston, Montana; and Louise. [History of Montana, Volume 3, distributed by Barb Z., transcribed by C. Danielson]
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