History and Genealogy of Lee County Iowa
Lee County Biographies Mrs. Rachel J. Wilson Albright Rachel Wilson Albright, the grand-daughter of Betsy Ross who made the first United States flag, was born in Philadelphia, June 16, 1812, and died at her home in Ft. Madison, April 18, 1905, at the age of ninety-two years. Her daughter, Mrs. Kate Albright Robinson, the great-grand-daughter of Betsy Ross, still lives in Ft. Madison. Mrs. Albright, with her husband, came to Ft. Madison in the spring of 1841, bringing with them many family heirlooms, some of which are priceless. In the collection of furniture are two chairs, which were in Betsy Ross' parlor at 239 Arch St., Philadelphia, that morning in 1777, when George Washington and the committee appointed for the purpose, came to ask Betsy Ross to make the flag. We like to think that Geo. Washington sat on one of these chairs that memorable day. The design which George Washington brought had on it stars with six points. Betsy Ross, with her scissors, cut a five pointed star and suggested its use, which suggestion was accepted. Mrs. Robinson has also in her possession a work box made in 1837 for her aunt by Miss F. Key, an aunt of Francis Scott Key, who wrote "The Star Spangled Banner." Mrs. Albright, and later her daughter, made duplicates of the original flag made by Betsy Ross. Many of these flags are in the possession of Daughters of the American Revolution in Iowa and one is in the Historical Department in Des Moines. Mrs. Albright was very quaint and courtley in her manner, and seemed herself quite to belong to colonial times. [The Blue book of Iowa Women, by Winona Evans Reeves, Publ. 1914, Transcribed by Dana Kraft] Mrs. Joseph J. Ayres Helen Mar Allen was born, reared and educated in Keokuk, She is the younger of two children, her brother, Herbert Wells Allen, being a resident of Kansas City. Her parents, Charles Lee Allen and Adelia Talbot Allen, came to Keokuk in 1860 and were prominent in the social and civic life of the city. Their hospitality was unbounded and their home was the scene of many social gatherings. Charles Lee Allen was descended from the same Lee family of Virginia, from which Robert E. Lee came. He was born in New York state and died in Keokuk in 1882. He was one of a committee which planned Oakland Cemetery, and served several years on the city council. Her mother, Adelia Talbot, was a native of Western New York, where her parents had come as pioneers, while the way was yet unbroken. Their home was a log cabin at Pompey, N. Y., where the Talbot homestead still stands. Mrs. Allen was one of five women who made the silk flag which was carried through the Civil War by Co. A, 2nd Iowa Reg. The flag is now in the historical department of Iowa. Mrs. Allen died in 1893. In 1896 Helen Allen was married to Joseph James Ayres, youngest son of T. R. J. and Sarah Ann Smith Ayres, who were natives of Kentucky. T. R. J. Ayres, fifty-three years ago, founded the wholesale and retail jewelry house of T. R. J. Ayres & Sons, of which Joseph J. Ayres is now president. Mrs. T. R. J. Ayres, a woman of great culture, was the daughter of Prof. Smith, a linguist, who spoke seven languages with fluency. Their home for many years in Keokuk was "The Pavillion." It was built by a religious sect, known as "The Millerites," who believed that they would be translated to heaven. On more than one occasion they dressed themselves in flowing robes and ascending to the top of that building, prayed earnestly and waited for translation. Their prayers being unanswered, they would descend and take up their daily tasks. Many of their peculiar beliefs are a part of Keokuk's traditions. Mrs. J. J. Ayres is a charter member of the Civic League and is its president; it is an organization of two hundred members, with representatives from every ward in the city. She is one of the vice-presidents of the Benevolent Union, which maintains a home for old women and children. She is a member of the advisory board of the People's Institute, which does social settlement work among the colored people of the city. She is a member of the board of directors of the Visiting Nurse Association and chairman of its finance committee. She is a member of the Y. W. C. A., the Keokuk Country Club, and a number of social clubs. She was a charter member of the Keokuk Woman's Club, and chairman of one of its departments. Mr. and Mrs. Ayres are both members of St. John's Episcopal church, the former being a vestryman. Mrs. Ayres is a member of St. John's Guild, and of the Woman's Auxiliary, having held offices in both organizations. [The Blue book of Iowa Women, by Winona Evans Reeves, Publ. 1914, Transcribed by Dana Kraft] Mrs. Eugene S. Baker Mary Cochran Baker of Keokuk, is the daughter of Isaac K. and Elizabeth Stark Cochran, the father a native of Tennessee, and the mother of Kentucky. Mrs. Cochran was a great grand daughter of Col. Wm. Stark, brother of Gen. John Stark of Revolutionary fame. The family moved to Keokuk in Mrs. Baker's infancy. She received her education in Williams Seminary and in private schools before the public schools gained their present efficiency. She was married June 17, 1874, to Eugene S. Baker, the son of Dr. and Mrs. S. F. Baker. Three sons have been born to them, Eugene Ross, Jesse Edgar, and Myrle Fitch, all of whom are splendid young men, a joy and pride to their mother. Mr. Baker has large business interests; he is president of the Keokuk National Bank, the senior member of the firm of S. F. Baker & Co., a business established by his father, and has many other business interests. Mrs. Baker, since her childhood, has been a member of the First Baptist church of which she is a regular attendant and a constant worker. She has many charity interests; she was a charter member of the Benevolent Union and has held every office in the association. She is vice president of the Visiting Nurse Association, a director in the Civic League and a member of a number of prominent literary and social clubs. She has traveled all over America from Alaska to Cuba and Mexico and has visited almost every country in Europe. Her greatest pleasure is in her beautiful home, Cor. of 4th street and Orleans Ave., overlooking the Mississippi, one of the most scenic spots in Iowa. [The Blue book of Iowa Women, by Winona Evans Reeves, Publ. 1914, Transcribed by Sally Masteller] Miss Nann Clark Barr To an Iowa young woman belongs the honor of having received the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at the age of twenty-three, being the youngest person so far as the records show to earn that high scholastic degree. Miss Nann Clark Barr is the daughter of Dr. and Mrs. G. Walter Barr of Keokuk, her mother a college woman and her father an author and literary man of high attainment, she has always lived in an atmosphere which fostered her ambition,. As a child she showed unusual proficiency in literature and wrote a number of poems which appeared in well known magazines. She was graduated from the Keokuk high school in 1907, receiving the second Kilbourne prize. She spent four years at the Western College for Women at Oxford, Ohio, the alma mater of her mother. Here she was graduated in 1911 with the degree Bachelor of Arts. Her work at Western College won her the scholarship in philosophy at Wellesley, where she did post-graduate work for a year and won her scholarship in philosophy at Cornell University. At the end of one year's work at Cornell she won the degree of Master of Arts, and at the end of the second year, (1914) she had earned her doctor's degree in philosophy, beside winning the philosophy prize. Such a record of scholastic attainment is very unusual and the honors have not come without work, but a remarkable mind and a great ambition has made the work easier than it would have been for a less gifted person. Miss Barr, when but a child, read literature, much beyond her years and reasoned with the faculty of a mature mind. Those who knew her as a child expected great things of her and her work has justified that expectation. [The Blue book of Iowa Women, by Winona Evans Reeves, Publ. 1914, Transcribed by Dana Kraft] Miss Florence Brinkman Florence Brinkman, pianist, was born in Keokuk, July 17, 1888. She is the only daughter of Geo. A. and Alice C. Breitenstein. Her grand parents on both sides were natives of Germany and came to Keokuk in 1840. Her mother is descended from the von Breitensteins, the ruins of whose ancestral castle are still to be seen on the Rhine. Miss Brinkman graduated from the high school in 1906 and the following September entered the Chicago Musical College from which she graduated with honors. She took a post-graduate course, receiving honors in that, also. She as the degree B. M. She received the gold medal for excellence in theory. She studied theory under Adolph Brune and piano with Paul Stoye and Hans von Schiller. While in Chicago she appeared both as accompanist and soloist in concert with some of the leading singers and violinists of this country. In the autumn of 1913 she went to Berlin to continue her studies at the Stern's conservatory and will do further work in Vienna. She is a brilliant pianist with a remarkable knowledge of technique. She is intellectual in her playing and understands what she wishes to express. One critic says, "She puts poetry into her playing." She is a young woman of ambition and her home city is very proud of her, and some day we shall all say with pride, "Miss Brinkman is an Iowa girl," for she is certain to succeed in her ambitions. [The Blue book of Iowa Women, by Winona Evans Reeves, Publ. 1914, Transcribed by Sally Masteller] Miss Minnette Eleanor Brown Minnette Eleanor Brown is the daughter of Dr. Lafayette and Angeline Loretta King Brown. Her father's ancestors came from England in the early days of the country's history and settled in New York, and in later years came to Wisconsin where the family was prominent in a political educational way. Dr. Lafayette Brown who died in 1912, was a gentleman of the old school, a scholarly man along many lines. Mrs. Brown's parents came in pioneer days to Hamilton, Ill., where their influence was felt in a marked degree on Methodism. Miss Brown has had many advantages of education, travel and association with gifted people. She received her higher education in Drake University and in the Chicago University. She is an Episcopalian and an exemplary church woman. She is president of the Woman's Auxiliary of St. John's church and an associate editor of Church Life, the parish paper. She is talented to an unusual degree along many lines. She has a historical and technical knowledge of music, she lectures delightfully on literary topics, she reads and interprets literature as a professional, she has done a great deal of journalistic work and writes with a charming style. For ten years the family lived in Chicago where she belonged to the Every Wednesday Club. During her residence in Keokuk she has been interested in all that tends to civic and social betterment. She is a member of the Y. W. C. A. Directorate, an officer in the Monday Music Club, a member of the Civic League, the Mentor Reading Club and the Benevolent Union, a charity organization. She is eligible to the D. A. R. and to the Colonial Dames. [The Blue book of Iowa Women, by Winona Evans Reeves, Publ. 1914, Transcribed by Sally Masteller] Mrs. William A. Brownell Mary Higbie Brownell was born in Penfield, N. Y., March 15, 1841. She is the daughter of Silas Higbie, born in Duansbery, N. Y., Nov. 1, 1810, and of Hester A. Ross born at Penfield, May 13, 1820. Her father was of Holland ancestry, Aneke Jans, of Old Trinity church in New York was an ancestor. Her mother was of fine Scotch ancestry. Mrs. Brownell was educated in the Tracy Female Seminary at Rochester, N. Y. She was married in Penfield, February 13, 1861, to William Augustus Brownell who died in Keokuk, Feb. 20, 1901. They came to Muscatine, Iowa, to live, later moving to Keokuk where Mr. Brownell was associated with his brothers in the Keokuk National Bank. Seven children were born to them, four of whom lived to be grown. Ralph Brooks died at the age of 33 years; Edwin Higbie living in Beverly, Wash.; Francis Raymond and Marion Harold both living in Hailey, Idaho. These sons have been a great comfort and joy to their mother. At the age of 13 sue united with the Baptist church but after her marriage, with her husband united with the Congregational church of which she is a devoted member. She is a member of the Keokuk Chapter D. A. R., of which she has been regent. She was a charter member of the Woman's Club and treasurer for many years. She belongs to the Civic League, the Y. W. C. A., the Wednesday Reading Club, the Art Club and church societies, having a helpful interest in all of them. It was Emerson who said "The only way to have a friend is to be one." Mrs. Brownell has hosts of friends who are devoted to her. She is a patrician by birth and in all her tastes, she is fond of society and brings to it a gracious, charming presence. [The Blue book of Iowa Women, by Winona Evans Reeves, Publ. 1914, Transcribed by Sally Masteller] William A. Buchanan This gentleman is one of the well known and representative business men of Latah county and at the present time has the mammoth warehouse at Joel where he does a good business storing wheat for the farmers of the vicinity, while also he has a comfortable residence there. William A. Buchanan was born in Lee county, Iowa, on August 5, 1863, being the son of William H. and Phoebe (Short) Buchanan. His people removed to Newton county, Missouri, when our subject was a small boy, remaining there until he had reached the age of eight. At that time they removed to Oregon, settling east of Portland, where the family remained nine years. The father followed farming and after the residence at Portland, as mentioned above, he removed with the family to the Potlatch country and took a homestead, remaining there until the time of his death in 1886. Our subject operated the place at home for a number of years and then took a homestead in the same vicinity in 1889, remaining there for four years, and then he was appointed postmaster at Cornwall which he held for two years. Subsequent to that time he went to Moscow where he staid until the spring of 1898, being occupied in the grain warehouses. In 1898 he came to Joel and built the warehouse mentioned above. It is two hundred and seventy-six feet long and forty feet wide and is patronized in a generous measure. Mr. Buchanan is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America, Camp No. 9645, at Cornwall. Socially he is highly esteemed and is an affable and addable gentleman of worth and culture. The marriage of Mr. Buchanan and Miss Lettie Alderman was solemnized on July 4, 1887, at Moscow, and they have become the parents of one child, Otis. Mrs. Buchanan's parents are E. W. and Joanna (Ellis) Alderman and her father has been a farmer for years in Idaho and at the present time is living on the reservation in Nez Perces county. Mr. Buchanan has displayed in the time of his residence in this county an ability and energy and uprightness that commend him to the confidence, good will and respect of all. [An Illustrated History Of North Idaho Embracing Nez Perces, Idaho, Latah, Kootenai, Shoshone Counties, State Of Idaho, Western Historical Publishing Company, 1903, submitted by Barb Z.] Dr. Margaret V. Clark Dr. Margaret Vampel Clark of Waterloo, was born at Pleasant Ridge, Lee county, Iowa. She is the daughter of John Christian Vampel and Clara Sandganger. She received her early education in the public and private schools, receiving her classical education in the University of Wisconsin. Her professional education was received at the Woman's Medical College of New York Infirmary, and Hahnemann Medical College of Chicago. She took post-graduate work in London, Berlin and Vienna. She was ever an ambitious and conscientious student, and as a result is a woman of broad education, as well as having unusual professional knowledge and skill. In 1886 she was married at Humboldt, Ia., to Dr. G. Hardy Clark, who is a very successful practitioner She is a member of the American Medical Association, the Iowa State Medical Society, the Public Health Com. of the General Federation of Women's Clubs, the Public Health Com. of the I. F. W. C. She is medical director of the baby health contests and compiled the grade cards for the contests, which cards received the approval of the National Medical Association and are used in the contests in many states. She is a member of the Public Library Board of Waterloo, of the State Association of Charities and Correction, of the W. C. T. U., the Waterloo Political Equality Club, the Iowa Woman's Professional League, the Audubon Society, is chairman of the local Civic Club and is a devoted church woman, being on its Board of Trustees. Through the lives and by the efforts of such busy, able women as Dr. Clark, do the agencies for the betterment of society, the raising of health and moral standards of the race move toward accomplishment. [The Blue book of Iowa Women, by Winona Evans Reeves, Publ. 1914, Transcribed by Rhonda Hill] Samuel Mercer Clark Clark, Samuel Mercer, a Representative from Iowa; born near Keosauqua, Van Buren County, Iowa, October 11, 1842; attended the public schools and the Des Moines Valley College, West Point, Iowa; studied law; was admitted to the bar in 1864, but did not engage in extensive practice; editor of the Keokuk Daily Gate City for thirty-one years; delegate to the Republican National Conventions in 1872, 1876, and 1880; appointed commissioner of education to the Paris Exposition in 1889; postmaster of Keokuk from 1879-1885; member of the Keokuk Board of Education 1879-1894, serving as president 1882-1894; elected as a Republican to the Fifty-fourth and Fifty-fifth Congresses (March 4, 1895-March 3, 1899); was not a candidate for renomination in 1898 to the Fifty-sixth Congress; resumed editorial duties; died in Keokuk, Lee County, Iowa, on August 11, 1900; interment in Oakland Cemetery. [Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1774-Present; transcribed by A. N.] Mrs. John H Cole Mrs. Leulia Warner Cole was born July 29, 1854, at Meshoppen, Penn. She is the daughter of Riley and Rachel Dunlap Warner. Was married at Emporium, Penn., Dec. 23, 1873, to John H. Cole, and shortly afterward moved to Keokuk, where they still reside. Mr. Cole for thirty-three years has been superintendent of the Carnegie bridge which spans the Mississippi River at Keokuk. He is a civil engineer, an architect of ability and a man of unusual mental caliber. They have three daughters, Emma L., Ora Belle, and Iva Valentine. Emma graduated from the University of Illinois, has taken post-graduate in the University of Chicago and has traveled and studied in Europe. She is now a teacher in the Chicago High Schools. She was married to William Allin Spain who died in 1909. The second daughter, Ora, graduated from the University of Chicago with a high rank of scholarship. Iva graduated from the high school and shortly afterward was married to S. Chandler Carter and resides in Keokuk. Mrs. Cole has been a member of the First Westminster Presbyterian church for thirty-nine years, member of the Benevolent Union, was its president for six years. She is a charter member of the Travel Class and of the Wednesday Reading Club and belongs to prominent social clubs. Mr. and Mrs. Cole are both descended from Revolutionary ancestry. One of Mr. Cole's ancestors, Col. Phillip Cole, commanded the 4th Battalion of Northumberland Co. Associators, a Pennsylvania Regiment and was in the battle at Trenton, N. J., another was Gov. John Weber of Connecticut whose son was a Minute man. [The Blue book of Iowa Women, by Winona Evans Reeves, Publ. 1914, Transcribed by Renee Capitanio] Charles Cox Collier Collier, Charles Cox, cashier Union Station Bank; born, Keokuk, Ia., Jan. 14, 1876; son of Alexander and Mary (Wilson) Collier; educated in public schools of Keokuk; unmarried. Began in banking business at Keokuk as a messenger and became assistant cashier 1904; moved to St. Louis and was teller Missouri Trust Co., 1904-06; assistant treasurer, 1906-07; then with Mercantile Trust Co. six months; assistant cashier Union Station Bank, January, 1909-July, 1911, since cashier. Republican. Presbyterian. Office: Union Station Bank. Residence: 4058 Lindell Boul. [The Book of St. Louisans, Publ. 1912. Transcribed by Charlotte Slater] Mrs. D. A. Collier One of the homes of Keokuk which is a center of good cheer and hospitality and whose roof has sheltered at some time or another most of the people worth while who have come to that city, is that of Mr. and Mrs. D. A. Collier. Susie Chambers Smythe Collier was born in Keokuk and is the daughter of the late George B. Smythe and Martha M. Chambers. Mr. Smythe moved to Keokuk in 1848 and was for many years a central figure in the business and municipal life of that city; a pioneer to whom Keokuk owes much. He was mayor in 1863, during the exciting times of the Civil War. In the early 70's the city had a debt of $3,000,000 and he was appointed fiscal agent. He went to England in 1875, seeking capital with which to settle the debt. It seemed attempting the impossible, but the city eagerly agreed to let him try it and he achieved the impossible, and by his diplomacy, reduced the debt to a size which the city could handle. He was appointed by Pres. Hayes government director of the Union Pacific. He was on the same financial committee with Russell Sage and Jay Gould. He was a wholesale merchant and at one time owned a fortune. Mrs. Smythe was a woman of such fine character as is seldom seen. She was a pioneer in organizing the Women's Foreign Missionary Society in the Presbyterian church when the voice of women was seldom heard in that denomination. For twenty five years she was superintendent of the primary department of the Sunday school of the First Westminster church. Her whole life was a beautiful exhibition of Christian character. She lived for her family, her church and her God, and the trials and sorrows which came to her life but further refined the pure gold of her character. Susie Smythe was married on Jany. 14, 1886, to David Alexander Collier, the son of Mr. and Mrs. Alexander Collier, who were pioneers and prominent citizens of Keokuk. Mr. Collier is president of the firm of Blom, Collier Co., wholesale grocers and a director of the Keokuk National Bank. Mrs. Collier is devoted to her home city and to all its interest. She was a charter member of Keokuk Chapter D. A. R. and is State Vice Regent of Iowa. It was largely through her effort the handsome bronze statue of Chief Keokuk was erected. She is a member of the First Westminster Presbyterian church and of two of its societies. She was president of the first Audubon Society of the State of Iowa. She is president of the Benevolent Union and was a very influential factor in the establishment of the Birge Benevolent Union Home for old women and children. She is a director of the Civic League and for ten years was a director of the Country Club. She is a skillful and scientific whist player and has won trophies at the Whist Congresses. Mrs. Collier is fond of society and it is natural that she should be a leader there as in other things. [The Blue book of Iowa Women, by Winona Evans Reeves, Publ. 1914, Transcribed by Renee Capitanio] Mrs. Helen Mar Comstock "You might read her beautiful biography written in the hearts of her friends; and heart biographies are the only true ones we know." Certainly this is true of Mrs. Helen Mar Comstock, who long will live in the memory of all who knew her. She was descended from Virginia ancestry. Her great-great-great grandfather founded the second church in the valley of Virginia which was known as the Old Stone Church. Her grandfather lived in a settlement in Augusta county, Va., from which came President Harrison and other noted men. Her father was William Graham, whose lineage is traced from the Earl of Montrose and many of the family won distinction in the professions. Graham Hospital in Keokuk is a memorial to William Graham. Her mother was Martha M. Coyle, born at Lexington, Ky., of Scotch-Irish descent. Mrs. Comstock was born in Jasper, Ind., in 1837, and died in Pasadena on Easter morning, April 12, 1914. She moved with her parents to Keokuk in 1847. At the age of sixteen she was married to Gilbert Comstock who died several years ago. Mrs. Comstock always called Keokuk "home," although she spent many seasons in Washington; lived in the north in the summers and the last ten years of her life lived in California, and only visited "home." At her death she left many bequests to benevolences. She was a devoted Presbyterian and a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution. She was a woman of the greatest charm, an unusually beautiful woman physically, a woman cultivated by study and travel and above all a woman of the most devoted Christian character. [The Blue book of Iowa Women, by Winona Evans Reeves, Publ. 1914, Transcribed by Renee Capitanio] Mrs. Albert E. Connable Rose Florida Franklin, the daughter of Noah Arnold Franklin and Nancy Long, was born in Keokuk. The first home built by her parents in 1845 at 110 N. First st., still stands; as the town grew they moved to 319 Morgan St., later to 623 High St., which is still the home of the elder daughter, Mrs. J. C. Paradice. The Franklin family was a prominent one socially and in a business way. Mrs. Connable was educated in Miss Lawrence's private school and in the convent of the sisters of the Visitation; later she graduated from the Oakland Female Seminary at Hillsborough, Ohio. She was married Nov. 6, 1872, to Albert E. Connable. Their home for 35 years was at "Rose Dale," a beautiful home surrounded by 300 acres, a mile east of Hamilton, Ill. Here three children were born to them Saidee Perry, now the wife of Ira W. Wills, president of the Kellogg-Birge & Co. of Keokuk; Lucile Helen, the wife of Lewis C. Judd of Los Angeles, who is interested in the Imperial Valley and in Mexican Mines. Franklin Albert of Houston, Texas, is president of the Hot Well Co. Mrs. Connable is a member of the Unitarian church of which her father was a charter member and of which her father-in-law, A. C. Connable, was a pillar for many years. For years she was president of the Montibello Floral Society of Hamilton, and belongs to several prominent Keokuk Clubs. She has traveled all over America and in 1909-10 she and Mr. Connable made a journey around the world. She has given many delightful addresses and travel talks before clubs and societies and the written story of her journey furnishes material for an unusual book of travel, which she has been urged many times to have published. [The Blue book of Iowa Women, by Winona Evans Reeves, Publ. 1914, Transcribed by Renee Capitanio] Miss Anne B. Davis Anne Britton Davis is the daughter of Calab Forbes Davis and Caroline Thistle Cox who were married in Keokuk in 1856. Their home was continuously in that city, the remainder of their lives. Judge Davis was born in Clarksburg, W. Va., in 1829, died in Keokuk, Jany. 6,1898. Miss Davis' mother was a Virginian by birth, the daughter of Friend and Susan Cox. She was an unusually handsome woman of very strong character. After the death of Judge Davis she still kept the home, a large octagon stone house, in the center of a big lawn a picturesque place, one of the land marks of the city. Mrs. Davis died Feby. 9, 1913. Judge Davis was prominent in public life; for years he was special inspector of the public land service by appointment of Pres. Benj. Harrison. He was a man of literary ability and compiled twelve volumes of local history and biography which are of incomparable value as state history. He had an American Indian collection which experts say surpasses that of the Smithsonian Institute. He presented to the Keokuk High School a collection of mounted birds of several hundred varieties. Largely through his intervention with the Department of the Interior, the bones of Chief Keokuk were brought to that city and buried beneath a monument erected by popular subscription. This monument has since been surmounted by an incomparable statue of the old chief, Miss Anne B, Davis, Judge Davis' daughter, being one of the eight women of the Daughters of the American Revolution to bring about the completion of this work begun by her father so long ago. Five children were bom to Judge and Mrs. Davis, James Cox Davis of Des Moines, general council for the Chicago & North Western R. R., in Iowa. Frank Wells Davis, cashier of the Keokuk Savings Bank of which his father was one of the founders; Caleb Forbes Davis, of Seattle, Wash.; Caroline Thistle, the wife of Dr. Frank M. Fuller and Anne Britton. Miss Davis was bom in Keokuk, educated in the schools of that city and at Hosmer Hall in St. Louis. She is a woman of marked ability, interested in everything for the public good. She is a member of St. John's Episcopal church and devoted to all of its interests. She is a member of the Board of Directors of the Y. W. C. A. and its corresponding secretary. She is a director of the Benevolent Union, a charity organization, a director of the Civic League and is a member of the Mentor Reading Club. For ten years she was secretary of the Keokuk Country Club and is an expert golfer. She has won eight trophies: one loving cup represents the Trans-Mississippi Golf Championship, and other trophies were won in Southern California contests. She is a member of the Keokuk Chapter Daughters of the American Revolution, being a descendant of Isaac Cox, who fought in the Pennsylvania troops. He administered the oath of allegiance in 1877 to the people of Washington county, Penn., when they renounced fidelity to King George of Great Britain. Miss Davis is a daughter worthy of her father and mother, true to the traditions of her ancestry and her family, which is praise indeed. [The Blue book of Iowa Women, by Winona Evans Reeves, Publ. 1914, Transcribed by Renee Capitanio] Mrs. George W. Delaplaine In 1852 there came to Iowa from Ohio, the Collier family and the Wilson family of Scotch and Scotch-Irish lineage, and firm in the Presbyterian faith. They settled on adjoining farms in Van Buren county. The household goods were sent by boat down the Ohio and up the Mississippi to Keokuk. The families drove across the country or rode horseback. Mary Wilson rode her own saddle horse all the long journey. In 1855 Alexander Collier and Mary Wilson were married and in 1856 came to Keokuk to live. Mr. Collier was a wholesale merchant and four generations of his family have been prominent in the social and business life of that city. To Mr. and Mrs. Alexander Collier were born eight children, six of whom are living, John Wilson, David Alexander, George, Charles Cox, Mary Belle and Elizabeth Jean. Mary B. Collier was born at Keokuk and educated in the schools there. She was married Jany. 4, 1888, to George Walker Delaplaine, who died in 1894. He was the son of James W. Delaplaine, who was a prominent Keokuk pioneer. Mrs. Delaplaine enjoys society and her friends, loves travel, is a keen observer, a charming conversationalist and a constant student. She is a member of the Art Club, the Travel Class, the Mentor Reading Club, the Monday Music Club, the Country Club, and to the Fortnightly Whist Club. Margaret Collier Graham of literary fame is a cousin, their fathers being brothers. For more than thirty-five years, the Collier home at 1st and High St. on the bluff overlooking the Mississippi River was a center of hospitality and good cheer and only recently because the size of the house and the family were not commensurate did the old home pass into the possession of strangers. [The Blue book of Iowa Women, by Winona Evans Reeves, Publ. 1914, Transcribed by Renee Capitanio] Mrs. James B. Diver There is no more attractive spot in Iowa, than Port Sunshine, the home of Mr. and Mrs. James B. Diver, of Keokuk. It stands on the bluff overlooking the Mississippi River and is filled with treasures brought from many lands, and with family heirlooms, priceless in their association. When Port Sunshine was built, there were no river improvements on the rapids. Mr. and Mrs, Diver have seen from Port Sunshine the building of the Government canal and locks, the steel bridge which spans the river, the dam and power house, the greatest power plant in the world. Descriptive of this last great work, the power plant, Mrs. Diver has written a booklet, "Sound Waves," which gives a graphic picture of the great work, through the various sounds which accompanied the construction. The conception is unique, and it is charmingly written. Lorene Curtis Diver, the daughter of Julius C. Curtis and Eliza Skinner Curtis, was born in Lima, Ohio. The family arrived in Keokuk to make their home the day on which President Lincoln was assassinated in 1865, and her early memory of the nation's sorrow is very vivid. Mrs. Diver is a descendant from the Yale family of Wales. The first ancestor recorded in the direct male line in the pedigree, was Dominus Otho, nobleman, who came from Florence, Italy to England, in 1057, A. D. The ancestor of the maternal side of the house, was Cuneda, 415, A. D., the head of the long line of kings and princes from whom the Yales were descended. The name, date of, and place of birth, of the line from these two, down to Lorene Curtis Diver, is recorded and vouched for by historical records. In December, 1869, Lorene Curtis was married to James Brice Diver in Keokuk. Two children were born to them. Their first child died at birth. Helen Curtis Diver, born Thanksgiving day, 1875, lived fifteen short years, passing in the early springtime of young womanhood. Mr. Diver comes from a long line of honorable ancestry, prominent in Colonial affairs, and in the formation of the State of Maryland, Thomas Johnson and Thomas Brice, signers of the "Resolutions of the Committee of Observation," March 22, 1775, which antedates the Mecklenburg Resolutions and the Declaration of Independence. On July 4, 1900, a bronze tablet commemorating the signers was placed on the ground in Harford county Maryland. Mr. and Mrs. Diver accepted the committee's invitation and went to Harford county to witness the ceremonies. James Brice Diver is the son of Dr. Wm. Beck Diver and Lavina Brice. Dr. Diver after graduating as a surgeon, Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia, was sent by the American Board of Foreign Missions as a medical missionary to China, May, 1838, where he established dispensaries and hospitals in Canton, Macoa, and other coast cities. After his return to America he crossed the plains to California in 1849 as surgeon to the Cincinnati Mining and Trading Co. James Brice Diver, engineer in steel and iron construction, bridges, viaducts, etc., (now retired), among close friends he is called, "bureau of information," a veritable court of inquiry; courteous, generous, progressive, liberal and philanthropic in his views. Served in the Civil War, is a son of American Revolution, Shriner, Knights Templar, Royal Arch, Master Mason, Elk. A few years ago Mr. and Mrs. Diver made the tour around the world. While in Macoa, China, they visited one of the hospitals which Dr. Diver had established nearly seventy years before. When about to leave Madras, India, they incidentally learned from an Englishman of an interesting pagoda-like monument, erected in 1681, by Elihu Yale, then Governor of Madras, in memory of his son, David. For more than two hundred years this peculiar structure had stood alone on the open plain in full view from the sea, now within the compound and surrounded by the High Courts of Madras. Believing they were probably the only descendants of the Yale family who had ever seen this monument (from America at least), a young German officer who was with them took a picture of this old, old structure, with these two twentieth century tourists in evidence; while under surveillance of a native guard, suspicious of their harmless intentions. Later, while on the home stretch, circling the world, they went purposely to Wrexham, Wales, to the church, the grave of this Elihu Yale, Gov. of Madras, founder of Yale University 1701. In England they realized they were among their own, "The mother country," after more than a year among the dark races of the far east. They enjoyed the White Man's Country, and prowled about London by themselves, making discoveries of places read about, and found the locality, then the old building where Mrs. Diver's mother's forebears had manufactured ink. Printers Ink, an ink spot on her memory not to be effaced. Mr. and Mrs. Diver have traveled extensively through the States seeing the places of wonder and pleasure in their best seasons. In 1906-'07 they made the journey around the world. They took with them in their minds a wealth of information, and in their hearts, a love for travel, and so the journey meant vastly more to them, than the average traveler. They covered some 42,000 miles and visited 26 countries. Nothing could better illustrate Mrs. Diver's position in her home city than to give a list of clubs of which she is a charter member: Keokuk Book Club, 1883; Audubon Society of Iowa, 1886; Woman's Club, 1898; Keokuk Chapter D. A. R., 1898; The Benevolent Union, 1890; Monday Music Club, 1900; Wednesday Heading Club, 1895; Country Club; Humane Society; Sunshine Society; Civic League, 1912. Mrs. Diver was one of the organizers of the State Audubon Society in Iowa. She is devoted to the study of birds and loves nature in all its forms. The first meeting of the Keokuk Chapter, D. A. R., was held at "Port Sunshine," when the organization was effected. [The Blue book of Iowa Women, by Winona Evans Reeves, Publ. 1914, Transcribed by Dana Kraft] Miss Elizabeth Wilkins Dunlap Some one has said "He has achieved success who has lived well, who has gained the respect of intelligent men and the love of little children; who fills his niche and accomplishes his task; who has never lacked appreciation of earth's beauty or failed to express it; who looks for the best in others and gives the best he has." Measured by this standard, the life of Miss Elizabeth W. Dunlap is a success, for daily she does all these things. She was born in Zanesville, Ohio, the daughter of David Riddle Dunlap and Harriett Ann Wilkins. She came to Keokuk, September, 1879, which city has since been her home. She has one brother, John A. Dunlap, who is cashier of the Keokuk National Bank. She was educated in the schools of Zanesville and Keokuk, taking advanced work in the University of Chicago and in the Harvard summer school. For twenty-six years she has been a very successful teacher in the Keokuk schools, having been principal of the Garfield building for fourteen years. She is a member of St. John's Episcopal church. She has served the Keokuk Chapter Daughters of the American Revolution as its regent, being a descendant of James Newsmith, Jr., who fought in the War for Independence. She is fond of travel and has twice crossed this continent, beside other trips to points of interest. She has made two trips abroad and visited most of the countries of Europe. [The Blue book of Iowa Women, by Winona Evans Reeves, Publ. 1914, Transcribed by Renee Capitanio] Mrs. Susan Frances Nelson Ferree Journalist and reformer, born in Mount Pleasant, Ia., 14th January, 1844. She is a daughter of John S. Nelson, who was a lineal descendant of Thomas Nelson, the founder of Old York, Va., where his mansion still stands. His oldest son, William, was at one time president of the king's council. William's oldest son, Gen. Thomas Nelson, was the most illustrious of his race one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, the war governor of Virginia, and a very brilliant member of that body of great men who distinguished the country's early history. Mrs. Ferree is a fitting representative of her noble line of ancestors. Educated and refined, her influence is always on the side of kindness and right. At the age of one year she, with her parents removed to Keokuk, which was her home for many years. Her home at present is in Ottumwa, Ia., where she is the center of a large and interesting family of children. Her husband is a successful business man of that city. Mrs. Ferree is a great lover of poetry, of which she has written much, but she excels in journalism. Some of her newspaper correspondence from Washington, D. C., is exceptionally fine. She is an untiring worker for temperance and for the advancement of woman. She is a member of the Order of the Eastern Star, Woman's Relief Corps, the Iowa Woman's Suffrage Association, and the local Woman's Christian Temperance Union, and a communicant of St. Mary's Episcopal Church, of Ottumwa. (American Women, Frances Elizabeth Willard, Mary Ashton Rice Livermore, Volume 1 Copyright 1897. Transcribed by Marla Snow.) Miss Nannie Peairs Fulton Nannie P. Fulton was born in Keokuk, the daughter of Wm. Fulton and Elizabeth Dalzell, who were married in Keokuk, June 22, 1865. Mrs. Fulton died in 1898, and Mr. Fulton in 19088. Mr. and Mrs. Fulton were born in Pennsylvania, coming to Iowa in the early 60's. Miss Fulton has been the very efficient librarian of the Keokuk public library since 1896. The library is one of the oldest in the state, having been founded in 1863 and been a free library since 1894. James L. Rice gave the first $10,000 which made the library possible. Miss Fulton is a member of the Westminster Presbyterian church in which her father served as Deacon and Elder for forty-one years, and of which her mother was a devoted member for forty years. She is descended from an unusual lineage. The name Fulton was originally a Scotch-Ayreshire name, this line having crossed to Ireland and then to America. Her great-great-grandfather, Abraham Fulton, came to America, to Westmorland Co., Penn., in 1772. Her great grandfather, Robert Fulton, served in the War of the Revolution; her grandfather, William Fulton, served in the War of 1812. Her maternal grandfather, William Dalzell, came to America from Belfast, Ireland in 1824. He married Jane Dalzell, another branch of the same family. The origin of the name Dalzell, and the coat of arms is traced historically to the time of the reign of Kenneth II, King of Scotland in 853. The name originally was De Dalzell. meaning, "I dare," and many heroes of Scottish history bore the name. Miss Fulton has two brothers and a sister: Robert Dalzell Fulton, Portland, Ore.; James McQueen Fulton, Keokuk; Mrs. Elizabeth Fulton Patterson died June 13, 1908. [The Blue book of Iowa Women, by Winona Evans Reeves, Publ. 1914, Transcribed by Dana Kraft] Mrs. Edgar W. Gardner Mary A. Machin Gardner was born Oct. 30, 1883, on a farm in Illinois. She is the daughter of Miller Machin, D. O., M. D., and of Kate A. Lynn-Machin, M. D. Her father was the first osteopath to practice in Iowa, locating in Keokuk in 1893. He is a descendant of Capt. Thomas Machin who placed chains across the Hudson during the American Revolution, preventing the British ships from going up the river. Mrs. Machin is descended from the Carters and Lynns, two well known Virginia families. Mrs. Gardner was graduated from the Keokuk high school in 1902 and from Knox College A. B., 1895, A. M., 1909. So far as the Knox College records show she was the only pupil to complete the full work outlined for four years residential study, in two years. In addition to literary study, she was a pupil of Mrs. Mame Barbareaux Parry and of Mrs. Elsie Barbareaux-Conser in vocal music. For five years she studied piano, pipe organ and school music. On May 9, 1906, she was married at Keokuk to Dr. Edgar Winfield Gardner. Two children have been born to them, Edgar Machin Gardner, Edmar Lynn Gardner. Mrs. Gardner is a Presbyterian, a member at large of the Daughters of the American Revolution and one of the organizing regents of Iowa. She is a member of the P. E. O. sisterhood and was one of the group who helped organize the Keokuk Young Woman's Christian Association. Dr. and Mrs. Gardner live now at Webster, Iowa, where Mrs. Gardner is president of the Board of Education. She organized there a Boys' Club which has been a successful and very helpful Boys' organization. She is a young woman full of life and ambition and wherever she has lived she has had a vital interest in public welfare work. [The Blue book of Iowa Women, by Winona Evans Reeves, Publ. 1914, Transcribed by Dana Kraft] Mrs. Dell Phillips Glazier Mary Dell Phillips was born May 2, 1870, in Mercer county, Ill., coming to Iowa in 1872. She is the daughter of Silas Phillips and Sarah Ann Patterson, both natives of Greene county, Penn. Her mother is a descendant from Lieut. Wm. Sayers of the Pennsylvania troops who fought in the Revolutionary War. On Aug. 28, 1895, she was married to Albert Edward Glazier, of Ft. Madison, which city has since been her home. Mrs. Glazier is the guardian of her nephew, Albert Phillips, who lives with them as their own son. She is a devoted member of the Presbyterian church and for more than twenty years has been a teacher in the Sunday school. She is a charter member of Jean Espy, chapter Daughters of the American Revolution and has served as Regent for several years. She is a member of the P. E. O. sisterhood. Has served the local chapter as president and has been organizer, recording secretary, vice-president and president of the Iowa Grand Chapter and is now corresponding secretary of the Supreme Chapter. She has been a member of fifteen state conventions and three supreme conventions. She is a member of the Pythian Sisters and has served that organization in its highest office as Supreme Chief. She was thirty years old at that time and has the honor of having been the youngest woman elected to that office in the history of the order. Previous to being Supreme Chief she held a number of state offices, among them Grand Chief of Iowa. She is now chairman of the Committee on Written Laws in Iowa and in the Supreme Temple also. She is the only member of the order who attended the organization of the Grand Temple and every session since held in Iowa, twenty-four in all. She has attended nine sessions of the Supreme Temple. She was corresponding secretary of the National Council of Women; she is a member of the International Peace Committee of the International Council of Women. In the National Council of Women she had the honor to be associated with Mary Wright Sewall, Anna Howard Shaw, Susan B. Anthony, Carrie Chapman Catt and other women who have helped make history. Locally she is an influential woman. She has served as president of the Woman's Auxiliary to the Y. W. C. A. She was chairman of the committee through whose influence the monument in the form of a chimney was erected to mark the site of the old Fort Madison. This fort was built in 1808, under the supervision of Col. Zachary Taylor, who was sent by the government to build some forts along the upper Mississippi River. He built this one on the Iowa side about ten miles above the Des Moines Rapids, and named it Ft. Madison. This was in direct violation of a treaty with the Indians, who made bitter complaint and some time after under the leadership of Black Hawk they made an attempt to capture and destroy it. In 1813 the fort was burned, but for many years one lone chimney stood a land mark visible for miles. To replace this land mark Jean Espy Chapter, D. A. R., with Mrs. Glazier as chairman, was instrumental in erecting the new chimney of Bedford stone. She has traveled extensively in America, having been in fifty-one of the fifty-eight states, to Cuba and through Canada, and has visited some parts of the United States many times. She is a woman of strong character and remarkable executive ability. It is unusual to find a woman who has been so prominent and successful in a public way, to be domestic in her tastes and a good housekeeper; but in Mrs. Glazier is found that unusual combination. [The Blue book of Iowa Women, by Winona Evans Reeves, Publ. 1914, Transcribed by Dana Kraft] Mrs. Jennie T. Gray Gray, Mrs. Jennie T., temperance worker, born in Pilot Grove, Iowa, 16th September, 1857. Her father, Stephen Townsend, was of English descent. Her mother was of Welsh and English descent. She was reared in the faith of the Quaker Church. From her father she inherited literary taste and ability, and from her mother a fearless firmness for the right. She always showed an intense love for books and at an early age made herself acquainted with a large number of the best authors. From Iowa her father removed with his family in the spring of 1865 to Fountain City, Ind., near the place of his nativity, where the remainder of her childhood was spent. She and her older sisters identified themselves early in life with the temperance cause, and they are still active, enthusiastic workers in the Woman's Christian Temperance Union. She became the wife of Dr. C. F. Gray, of Winchester, Ind., 18th December, 1878. Her husband not only encourages her in every good word and work, but supplies with lavish hand all the financial assistance which she may feel called upon to bestow in any good cause. She consecrated herself wholly to Christian work in the spring of 1889, and since then she has been led into more active service in the line of temperance. At present she is president of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union of Randolph county, Ind. In all her travels from ocean to ocean and gulf to lakes she has tried to carry the strongest possible influence for temperance, often finding suitable occasions for advocating her theme in a modest but convincing way. [American Women by Frances Elizabeth Willard, Mary Ashton Rice Livermore, Vol. 1, 1897] Transcribed by Marla Snow Dr. Walter S. Hall A native of Pendleton County, Kentucky, was born August 02, 1846, a son of Jefferson Y. and Cynthia Hall. He was united in marriage to Emily F. Heryford, who died October 15, 1890. They had six children: Walter; Irene (now dead; she was Mrs. George Richardson); Edell (now dead, she was Mrs. Robert Burris); Maude, now Mrs. Pearl Catherton; Minnie, now Mrs. Olin MacGuire; Frank, single. He was again married June 09, 1909, to Mary E. Rodcay, who was accidentally burned to death March 1910. They had no children. Dr. Hall was born in Kentucky but moved to Knox County, Mo. with his parents in 1856. He was reared in that county, attending the public schools, and then studied medicine. He attended the College of Physicians and Surgeons at Keokuk, Iowa, graduating in 1877, then entered the practice in this county at Sublette. He remained there eight years, then went to Burlington junction, remaining two years, then went to Hugoton, Kansas for two years, back to Burlington Junction for about one and one-half years. He next went to Hurdland, then to Kirksville, remaining six years. In the meantime he studied Osteopathy. He practiced in various places, and finally went to Novinger in 1901, where he now resides and is engaged in practice. [History of Adair County Missouri by E.M. Violette, 1911, submitted by Desiree Burrell Rodcay] Mrs. David Brown Hamill Maria Louise Sullivan Hamill was born in Mt. Vernon, Ind., Dec. 12, 1849, the daughter of Richard Lamb Sullivan and Maria Nettleton Sullivan. Her father was a banker by profession. The beautiful home in which she was born stands unchanged in Mt. Vernon and is now the residence of Col. Manzies. Her childhood recollection of the Civil War is very vivid, their home being just across the Kentucky border and in the line of the famous Morgan's raid. As a child she helped make bandages and prepare supplies for the sick and wounded, as many battles were fought near by. The sudden death of her father was a tragedy in her life; on a trip to New Orleans he died very suddenly from cholera. She received her education in the public schools of Evansville and in a finishing school of that city. On June 2, 1870, she was married to Maj. David Brown Hamill, of Keokuk, which city has since been her home. Maj. Hamill is the oldest son of the late Smith Hamill, an Iowa pioneer and a man of splendid character, who founded the S. Hamill Co., wholesale grocers, of which firm Maj. Hamill is president. They have three children living: Mrs. Paul Dysart of Keokuk, Mrs. Frank R. Fry of St. Louis and Smith Hamill of Keokuk. Mrs. Hamill's father was a school-mate of Henry Ward Baacher and of Harriett Beecher Stowe. She is descended from General John Sullivan, one of Washington's trusted generals, whose sword is a family possesion. She is eligible to both the D. A. R's. and Colonial Dames. She is a member of the First Westminster Presbyterian church, a devoted church woman and an interested worker in charitable, civic and social organizations. [The Blue book of Iowa Women, by Winona Evans Reeves, Publ. 1914, Transcribed by Dana Kraft] H. S. Haseltine H. S. HASELTINE, overseer of Scholfield's mills, Scholfield. First located at Stevens Point in 1861, where he was employed three years as clerk in a drug store; from there he went to Lockport, where he remained two years in the same capacity, and from there came to Scholfield. He soon after went to Keokuk, Iowa, and had charge of a lumber yard for three years. Then he went to New Sharon, in Central Iowa, and retailed lumber on his own account, remaining one year. He finally returned to Scholfield. He was born in Canaseraga, N.Y., July 28, 1846. He was married in New Sharon, Iowa, November, 1875, to Laura C. Smith, who was born in Union Springs, N.Y., July 13, 1859. They have three children - Maria, Richard S. and Sarah. [The History of Northern Wisconsin (Marathon County, Wis.) 1881, page 561 - submitted by FoFG mz ] Mrs. A. S. Hazelton Mrs. Emma Higham Hazelton, daughter of Abel Highman and Anna Pierce Eaton, was born April 23, 1858, at Keokuk, Iowa. Abel Higham came from an English Quaker family and emigrated in an early day from Bolton, England. He settled first in Philadelphia where he married Anna Pierce Eaton, who descended from Francis Eaton of May Flower fame, Abraham Pierce of Plymouth Colony, the Rounsville and Howland families, and was connected with many of the most prominent families of Colonial times. In 1851 Mr. and Mrs. Higham located in Keokuk, where they made their home and both found their final resting place. Mrs. Hazelton's oldest brother, Richard Higham, was the only soldier killed at the battle of Fort Donaldson, in Co. A., Second Iowa Regiment. When a boy a lasting friendship was formed between Richard Higham and Mark Twain, which only ended with the former's death. In 1856, he with a number of the most prominent young men of Keokuk, formed the Gate City Literary Institute which founded the magnificent public library of that city. May 16, 1888, at Keokuk, she was married to Arthur Sargent Hazelton, a promising young lawyer of Council Bluffs, and has made her home in that city ever since. Two sons were born to them, Charles Sargent and Paul Higham. Mrs. Hazelton has never been inclined to public life, and while she was for some years a member of social and literary clubs, they have been rather an incident in her life than live issues. She is a member of the Council Bluffs Chapter of the D. A. R., and has traveled quite extensively in her own country, is deeply interested m public affairs, but is not an advocate of woman suffrage. [The Blue book of Iowa Women, by Winona Evans Reeves, Publ. 1914, Transcribed by Dana Kraft] Miss Ida Hinman Hinman, Miss Ida, litterateur and journalist, was born in Keokuk, Iowa. Sir Edward Hinman, the progenitor of the family in America, was an officer of the body-guard of Charles I. of England. After the king's death, having risked all for royalty, he came to America and settled in Connecticut. He was the father of two sons, from the oldest of whom Miss Hinman's family is descended. Her father, B. B. Hinman, was for years a successful merchant in Keokuk. Her mother, who before marriage was Miss Ellen E. Fithian, is a woman of rare strength of character. Ida, the fourth child, was the first to live to maturity. She has two younger sisters, Ella and Carrie. Miss Hinman is a graduate of the Iowa Wesleyan University, Mount Pleasant, and early in life she showed a decided tendency toward literary pursuits, which, when financial difficulties overtook the family, she utilized with profit and success. She has contributed for a number of years to many periodicals, including "Harper's Magazine," leading religious journals and prominent newspapers. For five seasons she had charge of the Washington, D. C., correspondence of a large New York paper, doing an incredible amount of work. She spent a part of the year 1891 in Europe, writing for a number of American periodicals. Among the questions that her editors desired her to investigate were the socialist movement in Germany, the principles of the sub-treasury system in England, and the impetus that the temperance movement has received in Germany. Though not strong, Miss Hinman can do a large amount of work in her profession. (Source: American Women, by Frances Elizabeth Willard, Mary Ashton Rice Livermore, Vol 1, 1897. Transcribed by Marla Snow) Mrs. Harold Rivers Howell Elizabeth Myra Brown Howell was born in Fon du Lac, Wis., the daughter of Henry Purchis Brown and Maria Kesiah Hall. Her father was a graduate of Bowdoin College, Maine, and a pioneer of Wisconsin. She received her preparatory education in the Misses Martin's school for girls, and was graduated from the Northwestern University in 1890 with honors. She was one of two women in the class elected to Phi Beta Kappa, being the first woman in the University to be given that honor. Her sorority is Kappa Kappa Gamma. On Jany. 12, 1892, she was married to Harold Rivers Howell, a prominent business man of Des Moines. They have two children, Dorothy Brown Howell and Henry Adam Howell. She is a member of the First M. E. church and for ten years was superintendent of the primary department of the Sunday school. She is a member of the Des Moines Woman's Club and has served on the directorate. She is a member of the Mayflower descendants, her ancestor being Gov. Bradford. She is a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution by the service of Capt. David Brown. She has served Abigail Adams Chapter as Regent, and was State Treasurer, and State Regent for two terms. She was the first chairman of the Early Iowa Trails Committee and in 1912 with an automobile party traced the Mormon trail from Council Bluffs to Keokuk and Montrose, verifying the old survey. She is chairman of The Children of the Republic Committee of Abigail Adams Chapter, which has done remarkable service in patriotic education. She is a member of the Board of The Roadside Settlement, and of the Votes for Women Association. [The Blue book of Iowa Women, by Winona Evans Reeves, Publ. 1914, Transcribed by Dana Kraft] Miss Elizabeth G. Ivins Eliazbeth Galland Ivins, musician, was born in Keokuk, Oct. 9, 1858, and died in Cincinnatti, Ohio, May 2, 1912. She was the daughter of William S. and Virginia Wilcox Ivins. She was not only a musician, but a linguist of ability, being proficient in Italian, French, German and Spanish. Her early training in music and in the languages began at Helmuth College, London, Ontario, when she was but fourteen years old. Here she won the medal for highest proficiency. Later she took an exhaustive course in the Cincinnati College of Music. She studied in New York, Chicago and Paris, under the most famous teachers of the times. In Cincinnati she was soprano soloist in a choir under the direction of Theodore Thomas. She appeared successfully in operas, oratorios, and concerts, and refused many flattering offers for a professional career. She was a member of the faculty of Canton College and head of the vocal department of the Conservatory at Quincy. She had charge of the choir of St. Stephen's Episcopal church in Terre Haute, and for years was soprano soloist in St. John's Episcopal and other Keokuk churches. Her home city had the greatest pride in her art, and love and admiration for her personally. She was generous in the gift of her voice and no musical program seemed complete without her. She was one of the organizers of the Monday Music Club, and its president for nine years. She was a charter member of the Woman's Club and for several years its president. She was its representative at many state meetings and at the General Federation in Los Angeles. She was modest of her own attainments, unspoiled by honors, generous of her art, a devoted daughter, one who lived true to her own high ideals. [The Blue book of Iowa Women, by Winona Evans Reeves, Publ. 1914, Transcribed by Dana Kraft] Mrs. William S. Ivins Mrs. Virginia Wilcox Ivins, author and pioneer, was born March 26, 1832, in Warsaw, Ill. She is the daughter of Major John Remele Wilcox, of the U, S. army, who after graduation from West Point was ordered on duty successively at Forts Snelling, Armstrong and Edwards. In the Black Hawk war he served as major in the state troops of Illinois. Her mother, Mary Williams Kenney, a descendant of Roger Williams, was a typical soldier's wife, brave in enduring the hardships and inconveniences of life in the army. Both parents died when Mrs. Ivins was very young, so she came to Keokuk in 1840, to the home of her uncle, Dr. Isaac Galland, who in 1837 platted and laid out the town of Keokuk, and named it. He laid it out a mile square, taking the plan of Philadelphia as a model. Her early education was received at Akron, Ohio. In 1845 her guardian, Benjamin F. Marsh, of Warsaw, sent her to Edgeworth Seminary in St. Louis, where she remained for three years. Returning to Keokuk she had a part in the society of that town, which had in it then many men and women who came to be national figures in the political world famous lawyers, financiers and military men of high rank. In 1849 she was married to William S. Ivins, whose parents, Mr. and Mrs. Charles Ivins, had come to Keokuk from New Jersey in 1845. When she was only twenty years of age, she and her husband and little son, Charlie, started in covered wagons drawn by ox teams on the long journey across the plains and over the mountains to California. The story of this journey is told in her book, "Pen Pictures of Early Western Days," published in 1905. The book gives a remarkable picture of the journey and the times, graphic in its description and full of heart interest from the first page to the last. It is authentic historically, which is more than can be said of many books written descriptive of the times. The experiences of the little band would grip the heart of any reader, but when one knows the author personally, a brave, noble woman, the story has an incomparable interest. Mrs. Ivins is a splendid type of women, one who rises to the occasion, whatever that may be. She is a very handsome woman of fine mind, gracious and charming in society, a woman of unusual interest. There were seven children born to Mr. and Mrs. Ivins: The oldest, Frank Herbert, died at the age of two years; Charles died at the age of four years; Sierra Nevada, now Mrs. Ralston Jones, of Cincinnati, was born on the journey across the plains, while they were in the Sierra Nevada mountains, hence her name. Mrs. Jones' husband has charge of the government work on the Ohio river. She has two children, Elizabeth Ivins Jones, an artist in New York, and Robert Ralston Jones, who is in school. Mrs. Ivins other children are: Harry, died at the age of five years; Elizabeth Galland Ivins, a musician, who died in 1912 (see page 254); Ivan Walton, who died in infancy, and William N. S. Ivins, who married Margaret Betcher Worthen, lives in St. Paul, is an attorney in one of the departments of the Great Northern Railroad. He is an artist of much merit, an author and a musical composer, having written the words and musical score for an opera which has been successfully presented in many cities, Mrs. Ivins' husband died May 18, 1889, leaving in her heart and life a great vacancy. She is at work on a second book, "Yesterdays," to be published later. [The Blue book of Iowa Women, by Winona Evans Reeves, Publ. 1914, Transcribed by Dana Kraft] Mrs. E. J. Keller Among the successful business women, as well as an efficient club woman, is Mrs. E. J. Keller of Salem. Emma Jane Lusk was born near Lancaster, Ohio, Feby. 2, 1853, the daughter of James Lusk and Nancy Ricketts Lusk, who came to Iowa in 1853, settling on a farm in Lee county. She received her education in the public schools and in the Denmark Academy, which was one of the first schools in that section of the state. It was a Congregational school and from its halls have gone many pupils who became successful in life above the average. She was married April 24, 1878, to D. S. Keller, of Bloomfield. They lived in Bloomfield until 1884, when they came to Salem. Mr. Keller died in 1908. For twenty-nine years Mrs. Keller has been a successful business woman. For twenty-three years she kept the books and did all the clerical work in connection with their furniture business, and since 1909 she has conducted a variety store, which has been a very successful enterprise. She is a member of the Congregational church and active in all of its branches. She was a charter member of the Salem Woman's Club, (1895) one of the oldest in the state, serving as its president and its representative at several meetings of the federation. This club founded a city library which has a splendid collection of books. Mrs. Keller has been a state officer in the auxiliary to the K. P. Lodge, the Rathbone Sisters, which was later merged in the Pythian Sisters. She enjoys travel and has visited nearly every place of interest in this country. She has a rare faculty for making friends and is a woman of the greatest kindness of heart and charity. [The Blue book of Iowa Women, by Winona Evans Reeves, Publ. 1914, Transcribed by Dana Kraft] Mrs. George Erskin Kilbourne Augusta Wells Kilbourne, was born in Newberg, N. Y., in 1835, the daughter of Albert Wells and Emma Louisa Hassert. Her father was head of a classical school in Westchester county. He was a graduate of Rutger's College. Her mother was a lineal descendant of Minna von Voorhies, who came from Holland and was the first settler of New Brunswick, N. J. Mrs. Kilbourne was educated by private teachers, at Kingston-on-the-Hudson and at the Pittsfield Young Ladies' Seminary. In 1854 she was married to George Erskine Kilbourne, of English descent, the son of David Wells Kilbourne, a New York commission merchant. In 1836 David Kilbourne was sent west by a New York company to locate land, and came to Keokuk, which was then only a straggling village of log houses. He bought large tracts of land. He and his brother, Edward Kilbourne, owned two hundred acres of land near Davenport, which they stocked with blooded sheep imported by them from the Island of Jersey, near the southeastern coast of England. It was before the days of pedigree cattle, but they appreciated the value of fine stock and gave many of these sheep away to the early Iowa settlers. In 1867 Mr. and Mrs. Geo. W. Kilbourne moved into the house on Third and High street in Keokuk, which is still the family home. Mr. Kilbourne was associated with his father in the railroad business, his father being president of the Des Moines Railroad, one of the first in the state. Four children were born to them: Harriett Erskine Kilbourne was educated at Pelham Priory, N. Y., married Hiram Barney, a New York lawyer, collector of ports at New York, by appointment of Abraham Lincoln, who was a personal friend. She is now the wife of Thomas Francis Brady. Augustus Wells Kilbourne, of Cleveland, Ohio, is a graduate of Williams College, and married Eleanor Hoyt, daughter of Geo. Hoyt, editor of The Plaindealer; Emma Louise Hassert Kilbourne, was educated at St. Gabriels, in New York, and married Robert Erskine Wright, an Episcopal clergyman of an old and prominent Philadelphia family; Georgia Wells Kilbourne, educated at Miss Reed's school in New York, married Gen. John McAllister Schofield, commanding general of the army in the United States. They resided in Washington until Gen. Schofield's death. She is now the wife of John H. Hewson, of New York. The education of all of Mrs. Kilbourn's children was supplemented by travel in Europe. Four generations of the family have belonged to St. John's Episcopal Church. Before the erection of the church the congregation met in Edward Kilbourn's parlor. David Kilbourne gave a town lot to every church in Keokuk in the days of the first establishment of the churches. In connection with the development in Iowa in 1913 of the greatest power plant in the world, it is an interesting bit of history to know that in 1848 the "Navigation & Hydraulic Co. of the Mississippi Rapids" was encorporated by the legislature of Iowa with a capital of $1,000,000, having for its object "the improvement of the rapids at Keokuk and the formation of a waterpower by means of an artificial channel with locks and dams." The encorporation papers were signed by Genl. Samuel R. Curtis, David W. Kilbourne, Edward Kilbourne, and Hugh W. Sample. A small bit of paper, about the size of an ordinary bank check, was all they thought needed to record one of the greatest enterprises in the history of country. In 1850, a board of directors having been chosen, they appointed David W. Kilbourne to go to Washington to get the necessary permission to enable them to go to work. In company with the Hon. Hiram Barney, of New York, they spent several weeks in Washington, working to get the franchise and looking for men willing to take the contract to do the work. Finally they secured the franchise and made a contract with the Barnes Co. of New York, who agreed to build the dam for $960,000. They arranged for the labor, common laborers to work from 7 a. m. to 6 p. m. for seventy-five cents a day, skilled laborers to receive $2.50 a day. They returned to Keokuk expecting the work to begin at once. In their absence, however, enemies to the enterprise had been at work, and convinced some of the influential men that the enterprise was visionary and too great an undertaking. Local support having thus been withdrawn, the enterprise was abandoned and only taken up again after a lapse of sixty years. Mrs. Kilbourne is a most interesting woman, having an inexhaustive fund of pioneer history, stories and anecdotes, which she tells delightfully, with quaint touches of humor, peculiarly her own. She is a brilliant woman, socially, and quite outshines the women of this generation, at social functions. Her home is filled with antique furniture and treasures of other days, and a visit with Mrs. Kilbourne in that old home is a memory long to be treasured. [The Blue book of Iowa Women, by Winona Evans Reeves, Publ. 1914, Transcribed by Dana Kraft] Hiram Knowles Hiram Knowles, United States District Judge for the District of Montana, was born in the year 1834 at Hamden, Maine, at the home of his grandfather, his father, who was a sea captain, being absent on a voyage at the time. When but two or three years of age his parents moved to Illinois, locating in Hancock (now Warren) County, where his father resumed the practice of medicine, for which he had been educated. In 1840 his parents moved to West Point, Iowa, at which time the Blackhawk Indians were as plentiful along the Mississippi as Indians have been in Montana for years past; In 1847 his parents moved to Keokuk, Iowa, where, during the war, Dr. Knowles had charge of one of the United States hospitals. In 1850 young Hiram, with his father, having survived the siege of cholera which raged with fury through Iowa in 1849, left for the Pacific coast, reaching Hangtown (now Placerville), California, July 22. His father purchased a stock of goods and opened a store about seven miles below Hangtown, and placed his son in charge, while he practiced his profession. The father's health failing, they started on the return trip to the States, going by way of Central America, in which country they spent two months, during which time they, with a party of Americans, circumnavigated Lake Nicaragua. They reached home in March, 1851. Hiram entered college at West Point, but was taken sick and compelled to stop; afterward entered the Denmark Academy, from which institution he graduated; also attended Antioch College, in Ohio, two years; went to Mississippi in 1857, where he taught for about six months in the Pine Land Academy ; entered the office of Messrs. Rankin & Miller as a law student of Judge Miller; was admitted to the bar at Keokuk in 1859, and in the fall of that same year entered Cambridge Law School, at Cambridge, Mass., graduating in 1860; returned to Keokuk, and commenced practicing, and in 1862 came to Montana; was appointed District Attorney for Humboldt County, Nevada, by Orrian Clemens, a brother of "Mark Twain," at that time Secretary and acting Governor ; was elected Probate Judge of that county; went to Idaho City in 1865, and with Frank Ganahl opened a law office, where they practiced until 1866, when Mr. Knowles again returned to Montana, being attracted by the reported gold discoveries at Elk Creek and Bear Gulch. Purchasing an interest in a mine at Deep Gulch, he worked all summer as windlassman. Having learned, about the time of leaving Idaho, that his mother was in poor health, and having received no news all summer, he sold out his interest in the mine and returned to his old home, but learned on the way that his mother had died. While in Iowa, undetermined as to his next move, he was appointed Associate Justice of Montana. He remained upon the Supreme Bench for eleven years and one month, resigning in 1879. Judge Knowles was married to Miss Mary L. Curtis, at Athens, Ohio, April 12, 1871, and moved at once to Deer Lodge, where they made their home until 1882. Six children, four of whom are living, have been born to them. In 1881 Judge Knowles associated with him John F. Forbis, and practiced law at Butte until appointed United States District Judge by President Harrison, in 1890; was a member of the Constitutional Convention in 1889, and was a prominent member of the Committee on Judiciary. [The Montana blue book: a biographical, historical and statistical book of reference by Journal Publishing Co., 1891] Transcribed by Therman Kellar Mrs. William Logan Mrs. Sarah J. Jackson Logan was born July 30, 1849, at Nauvoo, III. She is the daughter of Archibald Jackson and Katharine Little. Her father was a native of Scotland, born at Glasgow, and came to America in 1833 in a sailing vessel, the ocean voyage taking nine weeks. On Dec. 26, 1872, she was married to William Logan, a young man, who in later years has come to be a financier and a promoter of many great interests. One of the greatest works in which he had a part was in the Keokuk & Hamilton Water Power Co., through whose efforts the greatest power plant in the world, was developed at the Des Moines rapids in the Mississippi River at Keokuk. On July 6, 1899, the late Charles P. Birge called together twenty-five prominent men of Keokuk and Hamilton to organize a water power company. Seven men of the twenty-five were chosen as directors: C. P. Birge, Sam M. Clark, A. E. Johnstone, Judge William Logan, Edmund Yaeger, R. R. Wallace and S. R. Parker. The next day the Keokuk & Hamilton Water Power Co. was organized. C. P. Birge was chosen president and R. R. Wallace, secretary. With the aid of Senator W. B. Allison, Col. B. F. Marsh, Thomas Hedge and W. P. Hepburn, and many others of the U. S. Congress, the necessary legislation was passed in 1905, permitting the work to be done in the river. Judge Logan, John N. Irwin and A. E. Johnstone made a trip to Washington in January, 1905, and presented the case in person which was the means of securing the necessary legislation. On April 1, 1905, the stockholders of the company assigned all their stock to John N. Irwin, A. E. Johnstone, Wm. Logan and C. P. Dadant, giving them full authority to sell or dispose of it and the franchise in any way they saw fit. They issued a prospectus of 30 pages, telling of the possibilities of this power, which was given wide circulation. In September, 1905, Hugh L. Cooper, who was building a power plant at Niagara came to Keokuk, looked over the situation and decided he could build the dam, and accordingly a contract was made with him, Sept. 15, 1905. From that date until Jany. 10, 1910, when the first shovel full of earth was thrown beginning the work, Mr. Cooper sought capital to carry on the enormous enterprise. He finally secured capital and the great work was completed May 31, 1913, Judge Logan being interested in the project through all the years and is a director of the corporation. He is president of the State Central Savings Bank of Keokuk, and of the Iowa State Ins. Co. He owns banks at Glenwood, Queen City and Downing, Mo. He owns large tracts of land in Missouri and has many additional business interests. Two children were born to Judge and Mrs. Logan: William Archibald Logan, who died in 1905, and Eva Isabel, who is Mrs. James Huiskamp of Keokuk. Mrs. Logan is a member of the Congregational church and a faithful worker in all of its agencies. She was vice-president of the Keokuk Woman's Club, and is a director of the Civic League. She is interested in every measure for public good. [The Blue book of Iowa Women, by Winona Evans Reeves, Publ. 1914, Transcribed by Dana Kraft] John V. R. Lyman JOHN V. R. LYMAN, physician and surgeon, Eau Claire. Was born in North Pepin, Pepin Co., June 13, 1857; was reared in Ft. Madison, Lee Co., Iowa, and educated at Rush Medical College, Chicago, graduating in the Spring of 1880. He attended lectures at the St. Louis Medical College, and had eighteen months' practice in the hospital at Ft. Madison. He came to Eau Claire in February, 1880, and was married there, June 7, 1881, to Maud M. Kepler, who was born in Meadville, Penn. The doctor has been associated with Dr. W. T. Galloway, in practice, ever since he came here. He read medicine with Dr. August W. Hoffmiester, of Ft. Madison, the well-known and skillful physician and surgeon of that place. [History of Northern Wisconsin (Eau Claire County, Wis.) 1881, page 326; submitted by FoFG mz] Mrs. Elizabeh Martin I haven't the faintest idea where she was born, or when, but I know in what village she spent her long, useful life, and on what hillside she lies buried. She lived in West Point Ia., for many years, where she taught in the primary grade of the public schools and later in a private school. She was a Presbyterian and a Sunday school teacher for forty years. In June, 1903, when she died, Mrs. Max Evans Garretson, wrote this memorial which was published: "The death of Mrs. Elizabeth Martin, brings to a great many men and women, the memory of their first school days. Those lessons learned from books may have been forgotten, but the example of her sweet, pure life, the lessons taught us by her unselfishness and loving kindness have lived in our minds all these years, and I trust have borne fruit in the lives of every one of those little children. I have no doubt Grandmother's method of imparting knowledge would be laughed to scorn in these days of Froebel. I fancy the method of teaching fractions with the aid of apples and cookies for demonstration is not in use now. I am very sure no teacher today would permit the little children of her school to call her 'Grandmother.' Be that as it may, I know that in those days when she held a private school in the kitchen of her little brown house on the common, she laid as firm a foundation for an education as the most modern expert in child study. God, Himself, only knew the bitter sorrows of her life, but her countenance was always cheerful to her little friends. We who were taught by her may pay to her memory a daily tribute by living upright lives and by bearing life's ills with a brave spirit and a cheerful countenance." [The Blue book of Iowa Women, by Winona Evans Reeves, Publ. 1914, Transcribed by Dana Kraft] Miss S. Elizabeth Matheney The woman who holds the record in Iowa, if not in all the United States, in the length of tenure of a state office, is Miss Sarah Elizabeth Matheney of Keokuk, who has for twenty-three consecutive years been secretary of the Rebekah Assembly I. O. O. F. of Iowa. She was born near St. Francisville, Mo., March 8, 1861. Her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Andrew N. Matheney, came to Iowa in 1853. Her father was a shoe manufacturer and later in the retail business. Miss Matheney, after graduating from the high school and a business college, for many years aided her father in the store, and it was here she got the business training, which has made her the expert in keeping the records of the more than 41,000 members who comprise the Rebekah assembly of Iowa. When she was elected to this office in 1891 there were 74 lodges with a membership of 4,000; there are in 1914, in Iowa, 566 lodges with a membership of 41,000. She has done much to promote this remarkable advancement. Many of the laws and the improved methods in the state work are due to her insight and realization of the needs of the Degree. She is perhaps the best known woman in the organization and is a woman of great influence. The Journals of the State Proceedings which she issues annually are models of their kind. She is a devoted member of the M. E. church, and of the Bible school. She is a member of the Civic League of Keokuk and has served the organization as treasurer. Miss Matheney is appreciated, not only in her public service, but in her home, where she has ever been a most devoted daughter and sister, always ready to sacrifice her own interest and advancement for the love and care of those who were ill or needed her aid. [The Blue book of Iowa Women, by Winona Evans Reeves, Publ. 1914, Transcribed by Dana Kraft] Mrs. Leonard Matless Josephine Ingalls Matless was born in Keokuk, but in early childhood moved with her parents to Ft. Madison, where she lived until her marriage returning then to Keokuk which is her home. Her father, Charles John Ingalls, was descended from Edmund Ingalls, who came to Lynn, Mass., from Lincolnshire, Eng., in 1629. In early manhood Charles J. Ingalls was a professor of music in Boston where he was a director of choral societies and orchestras. Her mother was Lovinna Saxe, granddaughter of Jacob Saxe, of Saxe-Coburg, a hero of the Revolutionary war. Mrs. Matless received her early education in the schools of Ft. Madison. She studied vocal and instrumental music in Chicago and dramatic art from one of the leading teachers of Boston. For several years she taught school in Ft. Madison, at the same time keeping up her musical studies. On Jany. 9, 1894, she was married to Leonard Matless, of Keokuk, secretary of the Huiskamp Bros, Co. manufacturers of shoes. He is the son of Leonard and Matilda Gobel Matless, natives of England who came to Keokuk in 1853, and belongs to one of the oldest families in Keokuk. They have two children. Leonard Ingalls Matless and Ruth Ingalls Matless. Among Mrs. Matless' distinguished relatives are John J. Ingalls, the statesman and John G. Saxe the poet, lecturer and journalist, however, "Greatness is not an affair of station or birth or ability; its secret is service for the common good. The inventors, the statesmen, the thinkers, the discoverers, the writers whose names are among the immortals made their talents count for humanity's good." She fills a peculiar niche in Keokuk having a specially helpful influence in the club, social and religious life of the young people. For several years she was superintendent of the Girls' Missionary society of the First Westminster Presbyterian church, to which she belongs. She is one of the assistant superintendents of the Bible school and has charge of all the special programs given during the year in the school. She teaches a class of young girls and supervises the music of the school. For several years she has been sponsor of the student's auxiliary of the Monday Music club and has planned their yearly programs. When a committee was appointed by a mass meeting of citizens to plan for the establishment of supervised public playgrounds, Mrs. Matless was the only woman appointed on the committee, being the representative of the Civic League. She is deeply interested in the welfare of the public schools and is secretary of the Parent Teachers' Association. In 1913, when because of a ward feeling which had been aroused on the question of the erection of public school buildings in Keokuk, a school bond election failed to carry and it seemed impossible to secure public consent for the erection of much needed school buildings, Mrs. Matless with remarkable generalship secured the necessary petition signatures and organized and commanded the campaign that was conducted in support of the bond issue, which was successfully carried. Mrs. Matless sang in the Presbyterian choir for many years, was president of the Woman's Home Missionary society and has contributed to missionary magazines. She is a member of the board of directors of the Y. W. C. A., a member of the Civic League, Current Events Club, Country Club, and a director of the Monday Music club. She has written a number of cantatas and plays which have been presented in Keokuk and elsewhere to audiences appreciative of their excellence but unconscious of their origin. Among her most prized possessions is a Cremona violin made in 1690 by Andreas Amati, a violin which has been played by the great artists, in many capitals of Europe. It is one of the few violins of that period in this country. Another possession is a fine old English harp which is a family heirloom. [The Blue book of Iowa Women, by Winona Evans Reeves, Publ. 1914, Transcribed by Dana Kraft] Isaac McDaniel Isaac McDaniel, of Cedar Township, (Iowa) ranks among the honored pioneers of the Hawkeye State, coming here when the land was wild and unbroken, and when only here and there could be seen the humble cabin of the adventurous emigrant. His birth occurred in Orange County, N. C., on the 8th of January, 1802. His father, James McDaniel, was a native of the same county as his son, and his grandfather was born in the North of Ireland, of Scottish ancestry. He came to America before the Revolutionary War, in which he served as Colonel, and made for himself a gallant record. Prior to this he had settled in Orange County, N. C. He improved a farm there, and after the close of his military career retired to his estate and spent the remainder of his days. In early manhood, James McDaniel, the father of our subject, was married to Miss Charity, the daughter of Joseph Wells, of his own county and State. She was reared in the Society of Friends, and she and her husband are buried in the Quaker Cemetery near Rushville, Ind., whither they had removed. Isaac McDaniel of this sketch was reared on his father's farm in North Carolina, and removed with his parents to Indiana. He was married in this latter State on the 5th of November, 1828, to Miss Frances Edwards, also a native of North Carolina, born Jan. 26, 1811. After farming seven years in Indiana, he sold out, loaded his household goods into a wagon and started for Illinois. He located in Morgan County, where he remained until the spring of 1837, then gathered up his goods and started for Iowa. After two weeks of slow travel they landed in Henry County, camping near Salem. At this early day the land in this vicinity had not even been surveyed, and a white man was seldom seen. With the assistance of his wife Mr. McDaniel put up a cabin of small logs, during the building of which they lived in a tent. Their lonely and isolated condition and the uncertain prospect for the future would seem almost appalling to the citizens of to-day, surrounded by the comforts and luxuries which the old pioneers have assisted to provide. But Mr. McDaniel was made of stern stuff, and he possessed in his wife a help mate equal to every emergency. With heroic determination they persevered through every difficulty, and in due time reaped the reward of their labors. When the land in that vicinity came into the market Mr. McDaniel entered 160 acres in one body and located forty acres in another, and now, after a space of fifty years, still occupies his original purchase of 200 acres. Isaac McDaniel and his wife have become the parents of nine children, the record of whom is as follows: Richard lives in Norton County. Kan.; Junius died in Cedar Township; William lives in Missouri; Clarissa, Mrs. Heddlesen, is in Jewell County, Kan.; Nathan lives in Cedar Township, Iowa; Perry is in Jewell County, Kan.; Emily J., Mrs. Masden, is in Norton County, Kan.; Newton is on the old homestead; Catharine, Mrs. Stedman, is in Jewell County, Kan.; Mr. and Mrs. McD. of this sketch have forty-five grandchildren and twenty-six great-grandchildren. The wife of our subject is connected with the Christian Church, and during the fifty years that they have resided in this locality they have surrounded themselves with a large circle of warm friends, who, appreciating the dangers and the difficulties through which they have come to years of honor, render them the reverence and the homage due to the pioneers of half a century. [Portrait and biographical album of Lee County, Iowa, Chapman Brothers, 1887] Transcribed by K. Torp Albert C. Miner ALBERT C. MINER, druggist, came to Marshfield from Keokuk, Iowa, in March, 1880, and bought out a small drug stock from C. H. Clark. He was born in Harrison, Dec. 11, 1851, went to Keokuk in 1869, and engaged as clerk in a store. Was married Feb. 21, 1878, to Miss Louisa Tebelman, of Keokuk; have one child, Alice Louisa. In the Fall of 1878, went to Omaha; remained over one year; then returned to Keokuk, thence to Marshfield, Wis. His father, Henry Miter, was a dealer in hardware and cutlery in Cincinnati, Ohio. He died Oct. 17, 1871. His mother is still living at the old homestead. [History of Northern Wisconsin (Wood County, Wis.) 1881, pages 1211-1212 - submitted by FoFG mz] Mrs. Margaret Warner Morley One of the first settlements in Iowa was the village Montrose on the Mississippi river. It was here on Feby. 17, 1858, that Margaret Warner Morley was born. She is the daughter of Isaac and Sarah Robinson Warner, who were Iowa pioneers living in a cabin as did all their neighbors. Shortly after the birth of their daughter they returned to the East where she was educated for the profession of teaching, being graduated from the New York City Normal College in 1878. She taught in the Oswego, N. Y., Normal School, in the Milwaukee, Wis. Normal School and in the High School at Leavenworth, Kan. She also taught biology in Armour Institute, and in the free kindergarten association training class of Chicago. She has delivered lectures in many cities. Her specialty is biology and she has written many books and magazine articles on the beginnings of life, and how to teach children the simple laws of biology and nature study. In 1913 she contributed a series of articles on nature studies for the Outlook which received most favorable criticism. Many of her books are used as supplementary readers in the schools. They are attractively illustrated and the children love them. Among her books are "A Song of Life," "A Few Familiar Flowers," "Life and Love," "Flowers and Their Friends," "The Bee People," "Seed Babies," "The Honey Makers," "Little Wanderers," "Down North and Up Along," "The Insect Folk," "Little Mitchell," "Wasps and Their Ways," "The Renewal of Life," "Grasshopper Land," "Donkey John of the Toy Village" and "The Insect Folk." Mrs. Morley lives at Tryon, North Carolina. [The Blue book of Iowa Women, by Winona Evans Reeves, Publ. 1914, Transcribed by Sally Masteller] Mrs. J. B. Morrison Toma Espy Morrison, the wife of Col. Joseph Morrison, was born in Ft. Madison, June 11, 1849, the daughter of Stephen Barlow Espy and Rebecca Cutler. She received her education in Shelbyville, Ill., Seminary, Denmark Academy, Mt. Pleasant Seminary, and at Knox College. On May 3, 1868, she was married to Joseph Blacker Morrison at Ft. Madison. To them were born eleven children: Vincent Espy Morrison of Minneapolis, Dr. William Iverson Morrison of Aurora, II.., Genevive Marie, now Mrs. Walter G. Smith, of Chicago, Mabel Josephine, now Mrs. Robert N. Johnson, of Ft. Madison, Maria, now Madame Morrison, nun of the Sacred Heart, Omaha, Helen Louise, Sinia Lucile, Joseph Barlow Morrison of Chicago, Denis August Morrison of Chicago, Loras who died in infancy, and Virginia. Col. Joseph B. Morrison served with distinction through the Civil War, enlisting as a private at the age of nineteen in Co. D, 7th Ia. Vols. At the siege of Atlanta he was serving on the staff of Gen. E, W. Rice, Commander of the 1st Brigade, 2nd Div., 15th Army Corps. He was brevetted Lieut. Col. by a special act of Congress for gallant and meritorious service. At the time of his death, in 1904, he was president of the Morrison Mfg. Co. He was one of the most prominent citizens, and for many years was a leader in business, social and church life. His paternal ancestor, William Morrison, came from Scotland to Orange county, N. Y. just before the Revolutionary War and served as a private soldier. He married a daughter of Capt. Crane of New Jersey. Samuel D. Morrison, his son, and the father of J. B. Morrison, came to Iowa from Ohio in 1848 and died in Ft. Madison in 1881, honored and respected by all who knew him. The Morrisons are all devoted members of the Roman Catholic church. Mrs. Morrison's father, Capt. Stephen Espy, was born at Espyville, Pa., June 8, 1827, and came to Ft. Madison September, 1846, when he entered into mercantile business and married Rebecca Cutler, Sept. 11, 1848. In 1861 he entered the service of the Union as Captain of Co. G, 115 Ill. Vol. Infantry, at Shelbyville, Ill., where he was then in business. He was killed Sept. 20, 1863, at the battle of Chickamauga. Maj. Hicks said of him in a letter from the field to the N. Y. Tribune: "Capt. Espy, of Gen. Whitaker's staff, was a very lion that day. He was advised to remain with his trains but too noble spirited for that, he went on the field and fearless of danger did wonders in cheering and rallying the men under the destructive fire of the enemy. He was one of Illinois' noble sons and his loss is severely felt." He was the son of Patterson Espy, a man of education and a lawyer by profession, who married Mercy Freeman, a quaker. Patterson Espy was the son of George Espy who was a barefoot boy at Valley Forge and was captain of a company in the War of 1812. George Espy was the son of Josiah Espy, a member of the committee of safety in the State of Pennsylvania during the Revolutionary War. His father, George Espy, came to Pennsylvania from Scotland and married Jean Taylor. Jean Espy had nineteen descendants sons and grandsons, in the Revolutionary War, and for her the Jean Espy chapter, D. A. R. is named. Mrs. Morrison's mother, Rebecca Cutler, was the daughter of Judge Jacob Cutler, who came to Ft. Madison April 7, 1836, and her mother was a lineal descendant of Abraham Clark, signer of the Declaration of Independence. [The Blue book of Iowa Women, by Winona Evans Reeves, Publ. 1914, Transcribed by Dana Kraft] Guy Patten The junior member of the leading law firm of Vinita, that of Starr and Patten, has already won for himself an enviable reputation in legal circles, and is a splendid representative of the wide-awake, brainy young men that are doing so much towards promoting the rapid growth and prosperity of this part of Craig County. A son of Frank P. Patten, he was born, January 11, 1883, in Keokuk, Iowa. His grandfather. David Patten, was an early settler of Pike County, Illinois, and did much of the pioneer labor of clearing a part of the land. Frank P. Patten was born in 1853, in Bridgeville, Illinois, and was there reared to agricultural pursuits. Subsequently migrating to Iowa, he continued his fanning operations, meeting with fair success. He married Emma Richmond, who was born in 1859, in Quincy, Illinois, but was brought up and educated in Keokuk, Iowa. Three children blessed their union, as follows: Guy, the special subject of this sketch; Miss Jessie, successfully carrying on an abstract business in Grove, Oklahoma, and Henrietta, of Vinita. Completing the course of study in the high school at Barry, Guy Patten continued his studies at Grant University in Chattanooga, Tennessee. He subsequently made a thorough study of literature and law, and after spending a year in Yale University had, in 1904, attained the legal efficiency necessary for admission to the bar in Chattanooga. In 1905 Mr. Patton was admitted to the Oklahoma bar before Judge Gill at Vinita, and here tried his first law suit. Forming a partnership early in 1906 with J. Caleb Starr, of whom a brief sketch may be found elsewhere in this work, their office has come to be one of the busiest places in Vinita. This firm is chiefly concerned with land matters and citizenship cases and other lines of practice before the interior department. Among the more important cases handled by Starr & Patten was that against the Oil and Gas Company, resisting the attempt of the oil company to take the oil from under the land embraced in the lease without proper consideration. The plaintiff represented by the firm was a little Choctaw girl, whose allotment was taken in the rich oil field about Sapulpa. The tract was leased by the father, under improper influence and without proper protection of the child's interests. Starr & Patten became interested in the case, and after repeated trials and several years in the courts have finally ousted the defendants and obtained the court's decision in favor of their client. Mr. Patten is a man of resources, and is actively interested in various enterprises, more especially in oil and mineral companies, many of which are producing abundantly for their owners, among them being the Missouri Mining Company; the Willard Oil Company; the Olympus Oil and Gas Company; the Riley Oil and Gas Company; and the Equitable Investment Company. He is also extensively interested with Mr. Starr, in farm lands in Craig and other counties. Politically he is a Democrat, and was city attorney of Vinita from 1907 until 1909. On October 29, 1908, in Terre Haute. Indiana, Mr. Patten married Perle Baldwin, a daughter of Mrs. Ada Baldwin. Mrs. Patten was born in Bowling Green, Missouri, and is a woman of much culture and refinement. Fraternally Mr. Patten is identified with the Knights of Pythias. [Submitted by Dale Donlon] Mrs. Rebecca H. S. Pollard Rebecca Harrington Smith Pollard, author, was born in Allegheny City, PA, in 1831. She was educated by her father, Professor Nathaniel Ruggers Smith, a graduate of Harvard, who is said to have taught fifty years in advance of his time. Miss Smith, herself, adopted the pedagogical profession and also contributed frequently to literary periodicals. Mark Twain once stated that he remembered "setting up" some of her poems. George D. Prentice, editor of the Louisville Courier Journal, was interested in her career, and through him she met her first husband, Mr. Oliver I. Taylor. Mr. Taylor, a gifted poet and editor, died two years and six months after marriage, leaving his widow with a little daughter, who, also, passed away in 1869, on her tenth birthday. A poem, entitled "Maymie," written by her mother in memory of this child, was published in book form in 1870. It is a poem full of tender pathos, peculiarly comforting to bereaved mothers. Mrs. Taylor was afterwards married to James Pollard, an Iowa state senator. Four children were born to them, three of whom are still living. Mr. Pollard died in April, 1902. Lippincott & Co., of Philadelphia, published a volume of Mrs. Pollard's poems --- "Centennial and Other Poems" --- in 1876. She is also an author of a novel, dealing with conditions prevalent at the time of the Civil War, and called "Emma Bartlett or Prejudice and Fanaticism." "Full Surrender," one of Mrs. Pollard's hymns, ranks among the most popular consecration songs of the present century. One of her best poems is "The Legend of Indian Summer." In her eightieth year, although nearly blind, she composed a story in verse --- "Althea, or the Morning Glory" --- which was published by Sherman, French, & Co., of Boston, Mass. It tells the story of the summoning to service of a missionary and her friends, it is full of missionary spirit and inspiration. Mrs. Pollard's method of teaching beginners to read, known as the "Synthetic Sound System," with its teacher's manual, its series of spellers and readers and its stencil pictures, was the outcome of many years of practical experience in primary work. She, herself, when a child, had been carefully drilled, by her father, in phonics. She recognized the defects and limitations of the word method, and gradually originated and formulated a successful of teaching by sound and diacritical markings which unprejudiced students believe to the be the foundation of the new education now so wisely used by primary instructors. A letter, recently received, and signed by many Iowa school superintendents and teachers, gratefully acknowledges Mrs. Pollard's contribution to past and present generations. Mrs. Pollard has shared the fate of almost every genius who discovers new and better paths for humanity. She has been persecuted for the courage of her convictions, and her ideas and devices and illustrations have been appropriated, without permission, by imitators. Nevertheless, she says, "My greatest compensation is found in the thought of the benefit my method affords to the children themselves." Mrs. Pollard's home is in Ft. Madison. Her children are Miss Adelaide Pollard, New York; Mrs. Eleanor E. S. Ehart, and J. A. S. Pollard, Ft. Madison. [The Blue book of Iowa Women, by Winona Evans Reeves, Publ. 1914, Transcribed by Brenda Shaffer] Frank Rayburn The subject of this review has been intimately connected with the business world in Latah county for sometime, being allied with the mercantile branch in various capacities in Moscow, and having manifested both good ability and faithfulness that have given him a prestige among his fellows that is pleasant and a proper recognition of worth and integrity. Frank Rayburn was born in Keokuk, Iowa, on October 1, 1847, being the son of Stephenson and Rebecca J. Rayburn. The father was born in Frankfort, Kentucky, in 1819, moved to Illinois, thence to Iowa, and then to Salem, Oregon, across the plains with ox teams in 1852, that being the year of the cholera plague. He settled with his family at Maryville, now Corvallis, then the capital of Oregon. He wrought at the carpenter trade there until 1899, then came to Latah county, where he died in 1900. The mother had died in 1875. The immediate subject of this sketch came across the plains with his father, remaining with him in Oregon until 1878, when he set out on a traveling expedition that led him over the states of California. Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and Montana, but finally, in 1882, he came to Moscow, being m the employ of McConnell & Company, dry goods merchants. Four years he was engaged with them, then two years with Durnham & Koffman and one year with James Shields, all in the mercantile business. The marriage of Mr. Rayburn and Miss Lillian O., daughter of Charles V. and Lydia Vandenwalker, living near Moscow, was celebrated on September 25, 1887, and to them has been born one son, Charles Franklin, attending school. Mr. Rayburn was chief of police in Corvallis for two years and deputy sheriff of Benton county for eight years. He is a member of the K. of P. at Pendleton, Damon No. 4; of the United Artisans, Columbia 104; also of the Royal Arcanum. Mr. Rayburn has seen considerable Indian fighting, also much of their depredations. He was scout in the Modoc Indian war in California in 1872. All the families in the neighborhood where our subject's father lived were massacred, with the exception of Mr. Rayburn's family. [An Illustrated History Of North Idaho Embracing Nez Perces, Idaho, Latah, Kootenai, Shoshone Counties, State Of Idaho, Western Historical Publishing Company, 1903, submitted by Barb Z.] Henry M. Rogers One of Latah county's venerable and enterprising citizens whose career has been fraught with activities of a commendable nature in various portions of the country is mentioned at the head of this paragraph and he is today one of the representative agriculturists and substantial men of the county. Henry M. was born in Wales on November 25, 1827, being the son of Thomas and Elizabeth Rogers, natives of Wales, and the father was a merchant in that country. In 1832 they came to America, remaining in New York for six months then settling in Delaware county, Ohio, where they followed tilling of the soil until 1838. The father passed away in 1832. From Ohio they removed to Iowa, settling in Lee county, farming until 1847, then came to Oregon, later to California. The mother returned to Iowa from California and there died in 1889. Our subject came to Lane county, Oregon, in 1853, engaged in farming there until 1878, then he migrated to Idaho and homesteaded his present farm, which is two and one-half miles north from Moscow. He has bestowed his labors here since and he has a finely improved farm, with necessary and comfortable buildings and with one of the finest orchards that graces the county of Latah, all of which demonstrates the ability, skill, industry and wisdom of the gentleman who has wrought it out. Mr. Rogers married Miss Pauline, daughter of Ephriam and Elizabeth Whited, natives of Virginia, their daughter being born in Indiana, in March, 1852, the nuptials occurring in Des Moines county, Iowa, and eleven children have been born to them as follows: James E., Elizabeth, deceased; Marion, M. Eliza, Matilda J., deceased; Milwood, Lucinda, Thomas, Johnson and Minnie. On September 23, 1898, death came to the happy home of Mr. Rogers and took thence the beloved and life-long, faithful helpmate who had traveled with him for nearly one-half of a century. Her remains were interred in the Moscow cemetery. Mr. Rogers and his wife were both identified with the Christian church and they have manifested the virtues of their faith in a true Christian life, and today he is quietly spending the golden days of his lengthened pilgrimage in the retreat of the home which his wisely bestowed labor has builded and his son Thomas is carrying on the farm in a commendable manner under the supervision of his father. [An Illustrated History Of North Idaho Embracing Nez Perces, Idaho, Latah, Kootenai, Shoshone Counties, State Of Idaho, Western Historical Publishing Company, 1903, submitted by Barb Z.] Mrs. J. C. Sanders Laura Snider Sanders is doing a unique service for this state, in aiding her husband in his work of making men over, of changing the lives and the view-point of the hundreds of men whom the laws of Iowa give into his charge because they have violated those laws. She is the wife of the warden of the Iowa penitentiary at Ft. Madison who was the first man to try the honor system in a penitentiary. It had been tried to a limited degree in the reformatories and juvenile courts. That the plan has justified itself is proven by the prisoners who almost never break their faith with the warden; and by the records of the men who have left the prison by pardon or expiration of sentence; of these by far the larger per cent are leading straight and honorable lives. They have gone out with a different conception of duty and citizenship than they had before meeting warden Sanders and his wife. Prison experts from all parts of the U. S. and some from abroad come to study warden Sanders' methods, and so prisoners everywhere are benefiting from his ideas and ideals. He began by making the prison itself more sanitary. He asked his wife to look into the housekeeping and to the food given the prisoners. Under her supervision many changes were made, the men now eat supper in the dining room instead of a bite in their hand taken to the cell. All that soap and water can do for the place was ordered and now it is clean and wholesome. She planned meals of good and well-cooked food. The kitchen dietary daily will excel any we ever scanned for so large a number of persons. Fifty men were interviewed and found stolid and stupid and well-nigh forgetting how to speak and think; they were gloomy and had many of them lost their identity. He ordered the men called by their names. To reawaken the minds of many of the men, who were somewhat competent, he organized a debating and literary society which meets regularly each week and has proven a great factor in keeping up the mental life of the prisoners. A regular Lyceum lecture course was established, this Iowa prison being the first penal institution in the world to have a full lecture course of platform speakers and entertainers. Saturday afternoon after the labor hours of the week are over the men are allowed a game of base ball. This alone goes a long way in the matter of good discipline as only those who have a clean record for the week are entitled to the privilege of the yard games. Mrs. Sanders is a firm believer in the open policy, as it is called, at the Iowa prison. It came about in this way: One day the warden was in the hospital and said to an inmate there who had a pretty bad record, "What would you do, James, if I gave you a job outside the walls?" "I'd run like hell, warden," This was a disappointing reply, to the man who had wished for months that he dared try putting men on their honor outside the walls. At the end of the week the prisoner left the hospital, but asked the privilege of speaking to the warden, and said, "I have been thinking over the answer that I gave you a few days ago, warden; of course I know you did not mean to give me a job outside, but I want to tell you now, that if you trusted me enough to give me a job outside the walls, and without a guard, I'll cut off my right hand before I'll do you dirt, in trying to run away." So he experimented with this man, and let him take the cow to a pasture two miles away, everyday, and to care for the lawn around the warden's house. The man never for a moment broke faith. This led to the full persuasion to give other prisoners the same chance. Picking his men carefully he applied the honor system to one and another until now on many a day there are from 150 to 200 men working outside the walls with guards or overseers, who go unarmed. The prisoners cultivate 700 acres of land. All of this has been brought about in six years. The warden and his wife have thus earned the confidence of the State Board of Control, and of the thinking citizens of the state, and the respect and devotion of the prisoners in their care. Mrs. Sanders was born in Kilbourne City, Wis., near the dells of the Wisconsin river, the daughter of Henry Randolph and Eliza Christy Snider. Since her marriage she has lived in Iowa. In the church and social life of every city, where they have lived until coming to the warden's position, she has been a real factor and a great help. As a family they are church people, being communicants of the Presbyterian church in Ft. Madison. She is a prominent member of the P. E. O. sisterhood, and a past matron of the Eastern Star order; besides at other times identified with the Federated Woman's Clubs of the state. Her inspiration, encouragement and faith have entered into all the work which has been done by that very unusual man, her husband. [The Blue book of Iowa Women, by Winona Evans Reeves, Publ. 1914, Transcribed by Dana Kraft] Mrs. Hazen I. Sawyer "Life is not measured in years but in deeds." If this be true the measure of Mrs. Sawyer's life is far more than the forty years which marked its beginning and its close. Marcia Louisa Jenkins was the daughter of Dr. George F. Jenkins and Charlotte Van Waggenen and was born in Keokuk, July 16, 1873. She received her preparatory education in that city and after graduating from the High School, spent four years in study at Rockford College, being graduated from the musical department. Feby. 8, 1899, she was married to Hazen Irwin Sawyer, a prominent attorney, the son of Captain I. A. and Mary Irwin Sawyer. She was a devoted member of the First Westminster Presbyterian church and for many years played the organ for its services, in memory of which a bronze tablet has been placed on the pipe organ in the main auditorium. She was a musician of unusual talent, having a peculiar sympathetic ability as an accompanist. She was a charter member of the Monday Music Club and active in its interests. She was a charter member of the Young Women's Christian Association, for a number of years a director. She was a charter member of the Keokuk Chapter Daughters of the American Revolution, and twice its Regent. At the time of her death she was Vice Regent of the State Society of D. A. R. It was during her regency that the Keokuk statue was erected and her name on the bronze tablet at its base bears testimony to her part in the work. Her death occurred after a few weeks' illness at the home of her father, Dr. Jenkins, April 10, 1914. At the State Conference of D. A. R's. in 1914, a special memorial service was held in her memory. [The Blue book of Iowa Women, by Winona Evans Reeves, Publ. 1914, Transcribed by Renee Capitanio] Mrs. I. A. Sawyer Mrs. Annette Martin Sawyer, the daughter of Robert Hueston Martin and Mary Ann Meara Martin, is descended from a long line of educated, thinking people and has inherited a vigorous mind. Since girlhood she has been a student, allowing no day to pass without some study or reading. She received her early education in St. Vincent's Academy and was a graduate of the High School of Keokuk. For twenty-seven years she was a teacher in the public schools. She is a French scholar above the average and has a knowledge of English and its correct use which is truly technical. She has marked literary ability and is a regular contributor to one of the city papers, being on the staff. She is a devoted member of the Catholic church, although her paternal grandparents, Thomas Martin and Elizabeth Marshall Martin, were Presbyterians. Her mother's parents, Patrick Meara and Francis Cecilia Anderson, came from Ireland and settled in Cincinnati, Ohio, when it was a mere village. Her family has always stood very high in Keokuk, On June 5, 1905, she was married to Capt. I. A, Sawyer, who died May 12, 1909. He was a prominent business man, of splendid family. Mr. and Mrs. Sawyer traveled extensively during their married life, making a long sojourn in localities which particularly attracted them. Mrs. Sawyer was a charter member and the secretary of the Keokuk Woman's Club. She was a member of the Board of Directors and the recording secretary of the Visiting Nurse Association at the time of its organization and did efficient work for its success. She was one of the originators of the Ladies of Charity and is the secretary. She believes in equal suffrage and logically defends her position. [The Blue book of Iowa Women, by Winona Evans Reeves, Publ. 1914, Transcribed by Dana Kraft] Mrs. Clara Perdew Sheldon Mrs. Clara Idella Perdew Sheldon, was born in Keokuk, June 12, 1861, and that city has been her home all her life. She is the daughter of John and Maria Vrooman Perdew, who came to Iowa in 1851. Her mother was a direct descendant of the Vroomans who settled "behind Kinderhook" in 1670. She received her early education in the Keokuk schools, being a graduate of the high school, which has been supplemented by courses in summer schools, by constant reading of the best literature, classical and current, and by travel. June 17, 1886, she was married in Keokuk, to Claude Allen Sheldon, a native of New York state. Two sons were born to them: John Perdew Sheldon, in 1887, and George Alyn Sheldon, in 1888. Mrs. Sheldon is a member of the M. E. Church. She is a member of the Keokuk Chapter, D. A. R., joining on the service of Samuel Vrooman. She is one of the most faithful and efficient members of the chapter. She has served as treasurer and vice-regent, declining the regency because of other duties. For thirty-four years she has been an efficient teacher in the public schools of Keokuk, during nine years of which she was principal of the Carey School, and for the past eight years principal of the Tarrence building, which position she still holds. One of the most interesting subscription lists to the bronze statue of Chief Keokuk, erected through the efforts of the D. A. R.'s, was made up of gifts sent Mrs. Sheldon by one hundred of her former pupils who wished to aid in this public enterprise, in which she was deeply interested. Mrs. Sheldon stands very high in her profession, is a woman who loves her friends and society, but above all, loves her own fireside, and the companionship of her sons. [The Blue book of Iowa Women, by Winona Evans Reeves, Publ. 1914, Transcribed by Brenda Shaffer] Orson Smith Orson Smith, an honored pioneer and well known citizen of Logan, has devoted the better part of his life to farming but has also engaged in railroad contracting and building and in the manufacture of lumber and thus aided in the development of this section of the state. He was born near Keokuk, Iowa, July 4, 1853, a son of Thomas X. and Margaret (Gurney) Smith, both of whom were native of Eaton Bray, Bedfordshire, England, the former born December 25, 1829. They came to Utah in 1853, settling at Farmington, Davis county, where Mr. Smith joined his brother George. There he resided for seven years. Both Mr. and Mrs. Smith had learned the hatter's trade in early life but he did not follow it in Farmington, working there by the day at whatever he could get to do. In 1860 he came to Logan, Cache valley, with its first settlers and took up the occupation of farming, brining his family to the new home in 1861. He became prominently identified with the building of canals and promotion of various public projects leading to the development, settlement and upbuilding of this section of the state. He remained an active worker in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and for forty years was bishop of the Logan fourth ward. About 1878 he filled a mission to England, laboring there for two years. He was a man of peaceable nature and disposition and ever believed it wise to live at peace with the Indians. At one time he saved an Indian from being killed and this made him a favorite with the red men thereafter. He passed away in December, 1909. Orson Smith had but limited opportunity to obtain an education but in the school of experience has learned many valuable lessons. In early like he took up the occupation of farming, which he has since followed to a greater or less extent. At times his duties have called him elsewhere. When but fifteen years of age he filled a mission is the south, on which he was engaged for ten months. In early life he also took up the profession of school teaching and taught in the intermediate department of the first graded school in Logan. When twenty-two years of age he was appointed bishop of Paradise and filled the office for twelve years. He was then set apart as counselor to the president of the Cache stake, comprising all of Cache county, and continued thus to serve for seven years. He afterward for a similar period was president of the stake and later he made a trip to Alaska, traveling in that country for several years. For the past four years he has been active in business as a dealer in oil lands in central Texas. In 1875 Mr. Smith was married to Miss Carrie J. Carpenter, a native of Connecticut and a daughter of Ezra D. and Jane K. Carpenter, who came to Utah in 1872 and settled in Logan, where the father was employed by Zion's Cooperative Mercantile Institution. Mr. Smith has been three times married and has a family of twenty-seven children. His first wife died in 1894. Her youngest son, Gaylen C., was in the service in the World war as a member of the One Hundred and Forty-fifth Field Artillery. He sailed for France in 1917 and was on active overseas duty until the armistice was signed. Mr. Smith is well known in Logan, where business enterprise and churchly duties have brought to him prominence, the sterling worth of his character gaining him the high regard of all with whom he has come in contact. [Source: Utah since Statehood: Historical and Biographical Volume 2; By Noble Warrum; Publ. 1919; Transcribed by Maggie Coleman Miss Harriett Solomon "Let the soldier be abroad if he will, he can do nothing in this age. There is another personage abroad, a personage less imposing perhaps the school master, and I trust to him armed with his primer, against the soldier in full military array." Harriet Eliza Solomon of Keokuk was born in Oregon, Ill. Her father was Henry Christopher Solomon, born in Gustrow, Mecklenberg Schwerin, and served in the regular army of Mecklenberg. Her mother, Mary Louisa Burmeister, was born near Gustrow. They were married in 1849 and came to America in 1854, the sea voyage taking six weeks. They came overland to Oregon, Ill., and lived there until 1870, when they came to Iowa. Few women have had a wider influence in their home than Miss Solomon has had. For thirty-seven consecutive years she has taught in the Keokuk schools, twenty-one of which have been in the high school; and through those years she has left a lasting impression for good upon the lives of hundreds of young people. She is a charter member of the Iowa Association of mathematic teachers, is a prominent member of the Teachers' Club, secretary of the Art Club, leader of the Travel Class and a P. E. O. She is a member of the Board of Directors of the Y. W. C. A. and one of the most useful and efficient members of the association. She is president of the Parent-Teacher Association of Keokuk. She is a Presbyterian in religious faith and serves the church in many capacities. She is a woman of the greatest culture and educated along broad lines. While professionally her specialty is mathematics, she has a technical knowledge of art and of the many schools of painting and sculpture. She is a Bible scholar above the average and is widely read on other lines. [The Blue book of Iowa Women, by Winona Evans Reeves, Publ. 1914, Transcribed by Renee Capitanio] Mrs. Clara Robertson Titus For more than fifty-four years the Robertson home in Keokuk was a center of unbounded hospitality, unlimited kindness and good cheer. Clara Robertson Titus, the last of her father's family, is an apostle of that same good cheer. She was born in Keokuk, Oct. 22, 1859, the daughter of Hugh Robertson and Mary Sinton, both natives of Perth Shire, Scotland, in whose hearts lived always the love of the highlands and the heather. Annually they celebrated the birth of Bobbie Burns with a party which was one of the happiest events in the social calendar of Keokuk. The Robertson clan is one of the oldest in Scotland, and count their chiefs from Duncan, under whom they appear as a clan in support of Robert-the-Bruce. From first to last the clan is noted for its loyalty to the Stewarts. On the murder of James I at Perth, it was Robert the chief who captured his murderers for which act he had many honors conferred on him by King James' successor, and to further commemorate this, both father and son took the name Robertson, which the clan has retained. The Robertson tartan is red, crossed with bars of olive green and purple; the badge is fine leaved heather; the motto, Virtutis gloria merces, and the coat of arms one of the oldest in Scotland. They were a family of birth, rather than wealth, in Scotland. They were staunch Presbyterians and Alexander Campbell, who before coming to America to found the United Brethren church was a Presbyterian, preached in the Robertson home in the highlands. Mrs. Titus' father, Hugh Robertson, made frequent visits to Scotland. He was for many years secretary of the Iowa State Insurance Co. and was a gentleman of the old school, gracious and courteous always. Mrs. Titus was educated in the Keokuk schools, later attending a school for young women in Washington, D. C. She had one brother, William S. Robertson, who died, leaving a son, Hugh Robertson. She was married Oct. 10, 1882, to W. J. Ruddick, who died June 11, 1886, leaving one daughter, Charlotte, who is now Mrs. Earl Collins of Ft. Wayne, Indiana, and has a daughter, Janet Robertson Collins, born in 1913. On Oct. 3, 1901, she was married to W. H. Titus, who died July 24, 1908. She has three step sons: L. J. Titus, J. V. E. Titus and Horace L. Titus. Mrs. Titus has traveled this country over and made three trips to Europe, once spending a year and another time six months abroad. She enjoys society and belongs to a number of prominent clubs and charity organizations. Is a member of the board of directors of the Benevolent Union of the social department of the Y. W. C. A., a charter member of the Travel Class, a charter member of the Iowa Audubon Society, a charter member of the Woman's Club, and of the Wednesday Reading Club. She has a perfect genius for making friends and for keeping them. No day is ever dark for her, her optimism and good cheer sees always sunshine. [The Blue book of Iowa Women, by Winona Evans Reeves, Publ. 1914, Transcribed by Dana Kraft] Arthur Webster WEBSTER, Arthur, lawyer; born, Montrose, Ia., (Lee Co) Apr. 15, 1871; son of George and Cornelia M. (Allen) Webster; educated in public schools; Law Department, University of Michigan, degree of LL. B., 1892; unmarried. Has practiced in Detroit since the beginning of his professional career; served as assistant corporation counsel for five years and assistant prosecuting attorney for three years; member of firm of Chamberlain, May, Denby & Webster. Member Detroit Bar Association, Sigma Chi. Clubs: Detroit Boat, Detroit Racquet and Curling. Recreations: Rowing, baseball and tennis. Office: 416-417 Moffat Bldg. Residence: 363 Cass Av. [The Book of Detroiters by Albert Nelson Marquis 1908, submitted by Christine Walters] Annie Turner Wittenmyer One of the greatest heroines of the Civil War, of whom General Grant said "No soldier on the firing line gave more heroic service than she rendered," was an Iowa woman. Annie Turner Wittenmyer was born in Sandy Springs, Ohio, in 1827. Her husband was Wm. Wittenmyer, a merchant. They moved to Keokuk in 1850, where she conducted a free school at her own expense. In 1862 she was appointed by the Iowa legislature, State Sanitary Agent. Secretary Stanton issued a pass which admitted her and her supplies through all army lines. Over $150,000 in Iowa alone passed through her hands in money and supplies. Later she entered the service of the Christian Commission, having charge of the diet kitchen; the first one opened was in Nashville. She raised the hygienic excellence of these kitchens to a higher grade than had then been known in military life. Until the winter of 1865 she constantly cared for the sick and wounded on the field and in the hospitals. Through her influence the soldiers' Orphans Home in Davenport was established, the first of its kind in the United States. She was National President of the W. R. C. and practically wrote its code of laws. She was first national president of the W. C. T. U. She inaugurated the plan under which the Woman's Home Missionary Society of the M. E. church operates. Largely through her influence the federal law pensioning army nurses was passed. She was the author of "Under the Guns, a Woman's Reminiscences of the Civil War," and other books. President Lincoln, General and Mrs. Grant, were personal friends. She died Feb. 2, 1900, having in her life rendered public service of a very high order. [The Blue book of Iowa Women, by Winona Evans Reeves, Publ. 1914, Transcribed by Sally Masteller] Mrs. Samuel Younker A brave pioneer, au exemplary mother, and a woman of broad charity, was Mrs. Samuel Younker. When the womanly virtues are summed up, they are compassed in these three to face life, and its hardships bravely, to be a good mother and to "love thy neighbor as thyself." Mrs. Younker embodied them all She was born Nov. 17, 1839, in Kurnick, Prussia, and died in Chicago, April 16, 1909. Her father, Falk Cohen, was a Rabbi, a College Professor, an author, and a linguist of high standing and wide reputation. They were people rich in culture but poor in this world's goods; the memory of that poverty, in later years, added to her joy in giving from her abundance With her parents she came to America at the age of fifteen, taking up her residence in New York in 1854. In 1863 she was married to Samuel Younker, a dry goods merchant of Keokuk. Six children were born to them Aaron, Nettie, Falk. Isaac, Gertrude and Marcus who died in childhood. Mr. Younker was a very successful busines man. He was one of the organizers of the B'Nai Israel church at Keokuk, the oldest Jewish church in Iowa. He died in 1879. The oldest son having moved to Des Moines in 1883, Mrs. Younker and her family moved to that city which was her home until her death. Her sons with two uncles, Marcus and Herman Younker, established the Younker store of Des Moines, which is one of the best known stores in the middle west. Mrs. Younker was a woman of great charity a humanitarian in every impulse. She gave comfort to the sorrowing, lifted the fallen and gave courage to the disheartened. She was not one who sent her gifts by a messenger, but with the gift went her own gracious personality. [The Blue book of Iowa Women, by Winona Evans Reeves, Publ. 1914, Transcribed by Dana Kraft] HOME Copyright © Genealogy Trails All data on this website is Copyright by Genealogy Trails with full rights reserved for original submitters.