What follows are accounts of the lives, taken principally from obituaries, of some of the men and women who have shaped St. Andrew's Episcopal Church over the years. By its nature, something like this cannot be comprehensive. Keep in mind that this is an ongoing project.
Short Sketch of the Life of Lucas County’s Prominent Citizen.
A Man Who will be Greatly Missed.
The Chariton Herald, Thursday, April 2, 1903, Page 1
The death of Hon. S. H. Malory last Thursday was not unexpected by the citizens of this community, and yet it was a shock that could not be realized, and is not yet realized, by them. Mr. Mallory was so much a part of Chariton that it does not seem possible that he is gone. He was so closely identified with every progressive movement in Chariton that his absence will be a sorrowful remembrance times without number in the years to come. And close as Mr. Mallory was connected with the best interests of Chariton, he did not belong to our city alone, nor to Lucas county alone. Nor indeed to Iowa alone. He was a man who was known and respected from east to west.
The HERALD editor has known him personally but two years, but we knew of him long before, and can say — what can not often be said of successful business men — that a personal acquaintance with him only increased our respect and admiration for him.
Tremendous in energy, tireless in activity, and very successful in business, he yet took time to enjoy his quiet home life at “Ilion,” the work of the church of his choice. Mr. Mallory was a railroad builder on a large scale. He was a leader among leaders, a man who could think on vast lines and see far in advance of his times, and yet at his home city he was quiet and unostentatious, never boastful or even proud of his accomplishments, and always seeking how he could aid his home community in that truest form of philanthropy — by teaching and helping it to aid itself. Branch railroads to aid Chariton were promoted by him, and at the time of his death he was organizing a company to give electric connection to Knoxville and farther east. With his aid the great coal mines near Chariton have become a reality. Largely through his influence Chariton has become noted for beautiful architecture. The first thoroughbred cattle and draft horses were brought to Lucas county by him, and his fruit farm has always been a model for the other farmers of this section and a stimulus to do better in their works. The beautiful Episcopal church stands as a monument to his devotion to religious work. In these and hundreds of other things, Mr. Mallory’s great influence will be missed, and when the town clock — a gift from him — was stopped last Thursday at the moment of his death, it was a true signification of how constantly he will be missed by everyone in his home city.
No tribute can do justice to the life of such a man. No obituary can give a proper idea of the accomplishments of his life. But the facts recorded below will give the friends of Mr. Mallory, who are located from ocean to ocean, some small conception of the great work which he crowded into his sixty-seven years. And we hope that what he has done, in rising from the life of a poor lad to a commanding position in the world of wealth and influence, by sheer force of will and energy, and entirely without the aid of special education or influential friends, will be an inspiration to everyone who has known him, or who will read these words. Mr. Mallory’s life was the life of a real man — self-reliant, zealous, ambitious, and tirelessly energentic; and then after success came, still liberal in heart and hand, and striving always to help those around him, as well as himself, to fulfill their truest and best mission in life.
Died, at his home, Ilion, on the morning of March 26th, 1903, of pernicious aenemia, caused by cancer of the stomach, Smith Henderson Mallory, aged sixty-seven years and three months.
At 9:30 o’clock on Saturday morning Rev. F. W. Henry, rector of St. Andrews Episcopal church, of which the deceased was a member, conducted a brief service at the home, after which the remains were conveyed to the church, where they lay in state until 1:30 o’clock. At two o’clock the public services were held, conducted by Rector Henry and Rev. Joseph Russell, rector emeritus. A more beautiful or impressive service could not be imagined. The prayer book ritual was used, the choir rendering appropriate selections. The offerings of flowers were very profuse and very beautiful. Large banks and handsome designs of them surrounded the casket, expressing at once the sorrow and respect of the givers and the love of the deceased for God’s handiwork. During the service the business houses of Chariton were closed, by proclamation from the mayor, and flags were displayed at half mast. A long procession of sorrowing friends followed the remains to their last resting place in the Chariton cemetery. The honorary pall bearers were Messers. E. A. Temple of Des Moines, S. L. Bestow, Joseph Braden, J. A. McKlveen, Elijah Lewis and J. A. Brown. The active pall bearers were Messrs. F. R. Crocker, W. P. Beem, B. R. VanDyke, S. Oppenheimer, C. R. Kirk and J. A. Penick.
Smith Henderson Mallory, son of Smith L. and Jane Henderson Mallory, was born December 2, 1835, at Croton Mills about four miles east of Penn Yan, Yates County, New Yourk. His grandfather Meredith Mallory, a lieutenant in the war of 1812, was one of the earliest settlers of that county, Mr. Mallory received a common school education at Penn Yan and from there attended the academy of John W. Irwin at Danbury, Conn.
In 1850, at the age of fifteen, he left the old homestead in New York for Batavia, Illinois, where at that time his grandfather and uncle, John VanNortwick, chief engineer in the construction of the Galena & Chicago Union Railroad from Elgin west, resided, and in December of the same year he secured his first business position in the store of P. J. Burchell, of St. Charles, Ill. This occupation as clerk in a country store, while it trained him in the formation of business habits, and afforded him an opportunity to earn his own living, was too monotonous and circumscribed for one possessing his ambition and capabilities, and he looked around for a widee field. He stayed in this position until the following June, when he secured a place more in accordance with his tastes, in the engineer corps of the Galena & Chicago Union Railway. When the surveys for the Aurora branch extension, from Aurora to Mendota, were begun in August, 1851, Mr. Mallory was promoted to rodman, and during the construction in 1853, was again promoted, and before the completion of the tracks to Mendota, he was offered and accepted the position of engineer in charge. Upon the completion of the Central Military Tract Railroad, from Mendota to Galesburg, Col. J. M. Berrian was made chief engineer of the whole line, the road now known as the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy, which was completed to Burlington, Iowa, in 1855, and Mr. Mallory remained with him until the spring of 1857, when, noting the rapid advances made in the value of real estate, he resigned his position and engaged in the real estate business at Fairfield, just at the time the real estate boom of 1856 was collapsing.
On March 22, 1858, he was married to Annie Louise Ogden, daughter of Mordecai Ogden, of Penn Yan, N.Y.
Soon after h is marriage he returned to Fairfield, where he received the appointment of resident engineer of the Fairfield division of the Burlington & Missouri River Road, which was then being constructed between xxxx and Ottumwa. On the completion of the track across the Fairfield division, December 1, 1858, he was appointed roadmaster with headquarters in Burlington. In the spring of 1861, he resigned the position of roadmaster to take charge of the location and construction of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railway, between Aurora and Chicago. When this work was completed, he, like many others, at that time, was stricken with the oil fever and went to Pennsylvania to engage in the oil business. His stay there was short, for in the fall of 1865, he returned again to Iowa, taking the contract for the construction of the bridges from Ottumwa west on the B. & M. Ry. After brief residences in Ottumwa and Albia, Mr. Mallory came to Chariton in the spring of 1857, buying property and building a home. The bridge contracts to the Missouri river were completed in the fall of 1869, and Mr. Mallory then became division superintendent of the road, with headquarters at Creston, afterwards changed to Chariton. In the year 1870, he organized and established the First National Bank of Chariton, an institution which he, as president, had just cause to view with gratification. In the year 1871 he was appointed chief engineer of the B. & M. Ry., which position he held until 1873, when he resigned to engage in general contracting business. In conjunction with John Fitzgerald and Martin Flynn, under the firm name of Fitzgerald, Mallory & Flynn, he constructed some very heavy work on the Cincinnati Southern R.R., the A.T. & S. F. in Colorado, and the B. & M. R. R. in Nebraska.
In the year 1875, Mr. Mallory was elected president of the Iowa Centennial Commission, but owing to the pressure of his private business, with many important contracts on hand, he resigned the office.
In 1877, notwithstanding his political faith (he being a staunch democrat, affiliating with a party vastly in the minority in Lucas county,) and his public and long continued connection with railroads, the people marking the public spirit shown by him during his residence among them, and having confidence in his integrity and business qualifications, elected him to represent them in the legislature of the state, and the record he there made fully substantiated the good judgment and wisdom of the electors.
In 1878 he was president of the Chariton, Des Moines & Southern R.R., and in 1881 was elected Vice President and General Manager of the Fulton Co. Narrow Guage R.R. In 1888 he was elected President of this road, which position he retained until his death.
During the year 1881 he organized the First National Bank of Creston, Iowa, and in April, 1886, the Fitzgerald & Mallory Construction Co., of which he was elected President. This company constructed about six hundred miles of railroad in Kanasa and Colorado (now a part of the Missouri Pacific system) accomplishing the entire work in the brief period of eighteen months.
Mr. Mallory spent much time in the direction and furnishing of the Iowa building at the Columbian Exhibition at Chicago in 1893, Governor Boles having appointed him commissioner and the commission having elected him chairman of the executive committee.
He was made a Mason at Batavia, Ill., about the year 1856; a Royal Arch Mason at St. Charles in 1864; a Knight Templar at Osceola, September, 1875. In May, 1878, he joined the Chariton Lodge, I.O.O.F., No. 64, and was also a member of the M.W.A. Camp No. 272.
Amid all the cares of an engrossing business life, Mr. Mallory always found time and thought for sincere devotion to the service of his Master, Jesus Christ, and the religious services of the church. He united with the Episcopal church in Chariton, April, 1868, being one of the first confirmation class ever formed in this place. From that time until the day of his death he was a faithful and consistent communicant, never permitting his worldly affairs to detain him from attendance at the services of the church, which he gave freely of his time and money whenever either were needed for the upbuilding of his faith.
He was largely interested in the erection of the magnificent church building of St. Andrew’s parish, and the last work which he planned and executed in his life time was the rebuilding of the rectory property. Mr. Mallory was warden of St. Andrews parish since 1871, a member of the standing committee of the Dicese of Iowa for many years, and a delegate to the general convention of the Episcopal church at many of its triennial sessions.
While Mr. Mallory was generally looked upon as what is termed a “railroad man,” having been actively engaged so much of his life in railroad enterprises, building, equipping andd superintending, yet ever since his location in Lucas Co., he has been comparatively as largely interested in agriculture and might as justly be called a farmer. His home farm, on which his residence, “Ilion,” is built, comprises about one thousand acres.
He brought the first blooded cattle and draft horses to Lucas Co., and mainly through his enterprises in this direction, this county stands today at the front in the blue grass region for the superiority of the horses raised in its borders.
During the years that Mr. Mallory has resided in Lucas Co., it is safe to assert that there has been no public enterprise organized in this community for its benefit that he has not been prominently identified with. Energetic, far seeing, with indomitable will-power; independent in tought, yet cosmopolitan in his views, he has well earned a place in the memory of the people of Iowa. He recognized himself as one of the public, and thoroughly understood that whatever stood for public interests also stood for his individual interests, and yet in his success he was never selfish. To those who met with reverses his ear was always open, and not only his ear but his hand also.
Had Chariton more such men within its borders as S.H. Mallory has proved himself to be, it would soon grow to be a city in fact as it is now in name.
Relatives attending the funeral were Mr. and Mrs. Allen Mallory, Misses Josie and Ruth Mallory, Creston, Iowa; Mr. and Mrs. J. H. Harvey, Chicago, Ill.; Mr. A.D. Mallory, Batavia, Ill.; Mr. E.M. Smith, Batavia, Ill. Among the friends who came were Mr. Daniel Baum, Omaha, Nebraska; Mr. Edw. A. Temple, Des Moines; Col. H.B. Scott, Burlington, Iowa, representing Mr. C. E. Perkins, formerly President of the C.B.&Q. Ry., who is in California at present; Mrs. Leonard and Mrs. Stanchfield, of Creston, Iowa; Col. And Mrs. W. P. Hepburn, Clarinda, Iowa; Mr. D. A. Baum, Omaha; Nebraska and several others.
The HERALD editor has known him personally but two years, but we knew of him long before, and can say — what can not often be said of successful business men — that a personal acquaintance with him only increased our respect and admiration for him.
Tremendous in energy, tireless in activity, and very successful in business, he yet took time to enjoy his quiet home life at “Ilion,” the work of the church of his choice. Mr. Mallory was a railroad builder on a large scale. He was a leader among leaders, a man who could think on vast lines and see far in advance of his times, and yet at his home city he was quiet and unostentatious, never boastful or even proud of his accomplishments, and always seeking how he could aid his home community in that truest form of philanthropy — by teaching and helping it to aid itself. Branch railroads to aid Chariton were promoted by him, and at the time of his death he was organizing a company to give electric connection to Knoxville and farther east. With his aid the great coal mines near Chariton have become a reality. Largely through his influence Chariton has become noted for beautiful architecture. The first thoroughbred cattle and draft horses were brought to Lucas county by him, and his fruit farm has always been a model for the other farmers of this section and a stimulus to do better in their works. The beautiful Episcopal church stands as a monument to his devotion to religious work. In these and hundreds of other things, Mr. Mallory’s great influence will be missed, and when the town clock — a gift from him — was stopped last Thursday at the moment of his death, it was a true signification of how constantly he will be missed by everyone in his home city.
No tribute can do justice to the life of such a man. No obituary can give a proper idea of the accomplishments of his life. But the facts recorded below will give the friends of Mr. Mallory, who are located from ocean to ocean, some small conception of the great work which he crowded into his sixty-seven years. And we hope that what he has done, in rising from the life of a poor lad to a commanding position in the world of wealth and influence, by sheer force of will and energy, and entirely without the aid of special education or influential friends, will be an inspiration to everyone who has known him, or who will read these words. Mr. Mallory’s life was the life of a real man — self-reliant, zealous, ambitious, and tirelessly energentic; and then after success came, still liberal in heart and hand, and striving always to help those around him, as well as himself, to fulfill their truest and best mission in life.
Died, at his home, Ilion, on the morning of March 26th, 1903, of pernicious aenemia, caused by cancer of the stomach, Smith Henderson Mallory, aged sixty-seven years and three months.
At 9:30 o’clock on Saturday morning Rev. F. W. Henry, rector of St. Andrews Episcopal church, of which the deceased was a member, conducted a brief service at the home, after which the remains were conveyed to the church, where they lay in state until 1:30 o’clock. At two o’clock the public services were held, conducted by Rector Henry and Rev. Joseph Russell, rector emeritus. A more beautiful or impressive service could not be imagined. The prayer book ritual was used, the choir rendering appropriate selections. The offerings of flowers were very profuse and very beautiful. Large banks and handsome designs of them surrounded the casket, expressing at once the sorrow and respect of the givers and the love of the deceased for God’s handiwork. During the service the business houses of Chariton were closed, by proclamation from the mayor, and flags were displayed at half mast. A long procession of sorrowing friends followed the remains to their last resting place in the Chariton cemetery. The honorary pall bearers were Messers. E. A. Temple of Des Moines, S. L. Bestow, Joseph Braden, J. A. McKlveen, Elijah Lewis and J. A. Brown. The active pall bearers were Messrs. F. R. Crocker, W. P. Beem, B. R. VanDyke, S. Oppenheimer, C. R. Kirk and J. A. Penick.
Smith Henderson Mallory, son of Smith L. and Jane Henderson Mallory, was born December 2, 1835, at Croton Mills about four miles east of Penn Yan, Yates County, New Yourk. His grandfather Meredith Mallory, a lieutenant in the war of 1812, was one of the earliest settlers of that county, Mr. Mallory received a common school education at Penn Yan and from there attended the academy of John W. Irwin at Danbury, Conn.
In 1850, at the age of fifteen, he left the old homestead in New York for Batavia, Illinois, where at that time his grandfather and uncle, John VanNortwick, chief engineer in the construction of the Galena & Chicago Union Railroad from Elgin west, resided, and in December of the same year he secured his first business position in the store of P. J. Burchell, of St. Charles, Ill. This occupation as clerk in a country store, while it trained him in the formation of business habits, and afforded him an opportunity to earn his own living, was too monotonous and circumscribed for one possessing his ambition and capabilities, and he looked around for a widee field. He stayed in this position until the following June, when he secured a place more in accordance with his tastes, in the engineer corps of the Galena & Chicago Union Railway. When the surveys for the Aurora branch extension, from Aurora to Mendota, were begun in August, 1851, Mr. Mallory was promoted to rodman, and during the construction in 1853, was again promoted, and before the completion of the tracks to Mendota, he was offered and accepted the position of engineer in charge. Upon the completion of the Central Military Tract Railroad, from Mendota to Galesburg, Col. J. M. Berrian was made chief engineer of the whole line, the road now known as the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy, which was completed to Burlington, Iowa, in 1855, and Mr. Mallory remained with him until the spring of 1857, when, noting the rapid advances made in the value of real estate, he resigned his position and engaged in the real estate business at Fairfield, just at the time the real estate boom of 1856 was collapsing.
On March 22, 1858, he was married to Annie Louise Ogden, daughter of Mordecai Ogden, of Penn Yan, N.Y.
Soon after h is marriage he returned to Fairfield, where he received the appointment of resident engineer of the Fairfield division of the Burlington & Missouri River Road, which was then being constructed between xxxx and Ottumwa. On the completion of the track across the Fairfield division, December 1, 1858, he was appointed roadmaster with headquarters in Burlington. In the spring of 1861, he resigned the position of roadmaster to take charge of the location and construction of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railway, between Aurora and Chicago. When this work was completed, he, like many others, at that time, was stricken with the oil fever and went to Pennsylvania to engage in the oil business. His stay there was short, for in the fall of 1865, he returned again to Iowa, taking the contract for the construction of the bridges from Ottumwa west on the B. & M. Ry. After brief residences in Ottumwa and Albia, Mr. Mallory came to Chariton in the spring of 1857, buying property and building a home. The bridge contracts to the Missouri river were completed in the fall of 1869, and Mr. Mallory then became division superintendent of the road, with headquarters at Creston, afterwards changed to Chariton. In the year 1870, he organized and established the First National Bank of Chariton, an institution which he, as president, had just cause to view with gratification. In the year 1871 he was appointed chief engineer of the B. & M. Ry., which position he held until 1873, when he resigned to engage in general contracting business. In conjunction with John Fitzgerald and Martin Flynn, under the firm name of Fitzgerald, Mallory & Flynn, he constructed some very heavy work on the Cincinnati Southern R.R., the A.T. & S. F. in Colorado, and the B. & M. R. R. in Nebraska.
In the year 1875, Mr. Mallory was elected president of the Iowa Centennial Commission, but owing to the pressure of his private business, with many important contracts on hand, he resigned the office.
In 1877, notwithstanding his political faith (he being a staunch democrat, affiliating with a party vastly in the minority in Lucas county,) and his public and long continued connection with railroads, the people marking the public spirit shown by him during his residence among them, and having confidence in his integrity and business qualifications, elected him to represent them in the legislature of the state, and the record he there made fully substantiated the good judgment and wisdom of the electors.
In 1878 he was president of the Chariton, Des Moines & Southern R.R., and in 1881 was elected Vice President and General Manager of the Fulton Co. Narrow Guage R.R. In 1888 he was elected President of this road, which position he retained until his death.
During the year 1881 he organized the First National Bank of Creston, Iowa, and in April, 1886, the Fitzgerald & Mallory Construction Co., of which he was elected President. This company constructed about six hundred miles of railroad in Kanasa and Colorado (now a part of the Missouri Pacific system) accomplishing the entire work in the brief period of eighteen months.
Mr. Mallory spent much time in the direction and furnishing of the Iowa building at the Columbian Exhibition at Chicago in 1893, Governor Boles having appointed him commissioner and the commission having elected him chairman of the executive committee.
He was made a Mason at Batavia, Ill., about the year 1856; a Royal Arch Mason at St. Charles in 1864; a Knight Templar at Osceola, September, 1875. In May, 1878, he joined the Chariton Lodge, I.O.O.F., No. 64, and was also a member of the M.W.A. Camp No. 272.
Amid all the cares of an engrossing business life, Mr. Mallory always found time and thought for sincere devotion to the service of his Master, Jesus Christ, and the religious services of the church. He united with the Episcopal church in Chariton, April, 1868, being one of the first confirmation class ever formed in this place. From that time until the day of his death he was a faithful and consistent communicant, never permitting his worldly affairs to detain him from attendance at the services of the church, which he gave freely of his time and money whenever either were needed for the upbuilding of his faith.
He was largely interested in the erection of the magnificent church building of St. Andrew’s parish, and the last work which he planned and executed in his life time was the rebuilding of the rectory property. Mr. Mallory was warden of St. Andrews parish since 1871, a member of the standing committee of the Dicese of Iowa for many years, and a delegate to the general convention of the Episcopal church at many of its triennial sessions.
While Mr. Mallory was generally looked upon as what is termed a “railroad man,” having been actively engaged so much of his life in railroad enterprises, building, equipping andd superintending, yet ever since his location in Lucas Co., he has been comparatively as largely interested in agriculture and might as justly be called a farmer. His home farm, on which his residence, “Ilion,” is built, comprises about one thousand acres.
He brought the first blooded cattle and draft horses to Lucas Co., and mainly through his enterprises in this direction, this county stands today at the front in the blue grass region for the superiority of the horses raised in its borders.
During the years that Mr. Mallory has resided in Lucas Co., it is safe to assert that there has been no public enterprise organized in this community for its benefit that he has not been prominently identified with. Energetic, far seeing, with indomitable will-power; independent in tought, yet cosmopolitan in his views, he has well earned a place in the memory of the people of Iowa. He recognized himself as one of the public, and thoroughly understood that whatever stood for public interests also stood for his individual interests, and yet in his success he was never selfish. To those who met with reverses his ear was always open, and not only his ear but his hand also.
Had Chariton more such men within its borders as S.H. Mallory has proved himself to be, it would soon grow to be a city in fact as it is now in name.
Relatives attending the funeral were Mr. and Mrs. Allen Mallory, Misses Josie and Ruth Mallory, Creston, Iowa; Mr. and Mrs. J. H. Harvey, Chicago, Ill.; Mr. A.D. Mallory, Batavia, Ill.; Mr. E.M. Smith, Batavia, Ill. Among the friends who came were Mr. Daniel Baum, Omaha, Nebraska; Mr. Edw. A. Temple, Des Moines; Col. H.B. Scott, Burlington, Iowa, representing Mr. C. E. Perkins, formerly President of the C.B.&Q. Ry., who is in California at present; Mrs. Leonard and Mrs. Stanchfield, of Creston, Iowa; Col. And Mrs. W. P. Hepburn, Clarinda, Iowa; Mr. D. A. Baum, Omaha; Nebraska and several others.
The Chariton Leader, Thursday, 30 May 1907
Josephine Millan, fifth daughter of Henry and Caroline Millan, was born in Fairfax County, Virginia, near the District of Columbia, and died at her home in Chariton Sunday after a short illness with paralysis. In early childhood she moved with her parents to Palmyra, Mo., where she received her education. After the civil war the family came to Chariton, where she has since resided.
Josephine was widely known, having been in the millinery business in this city for twenty-five years, retiring from business a few years since. She was a member of the Episcopal Church and a true Christian woman. By her many deeds of kindness and gentle manner she had endeared herself to a large circle of friends, by whom she will be sadly missed. She leaves three sisters, Mrs. Susanna Custer, Miss Maggie Millan and Mrs. Pocahontas Hooper, and one brother, Henry F. Millan, to mourn the loss of a loved and loving sister.
Funeral services, conducted by Rev. Hakes, of the Episcopal Church, and Rev. Evans of the Methodist Church, were held at the home on, Tuesday afternoon, at 2:00 o'clock, and the remains laid to rest in the Chariton Cemetery. The sympathy of the community is extended to the bereaved ones.
Josephine was widely known, having been in the millinery business in this city for twenty-five years, retiring from business a few years since. She was a member of the Episcopal Church and a true Christian woman. By her many deeds of kindness and gentle manner she had endeared herself to a large circle of friends, by whom she will be sadly missed. She leaves three sisters, Mrs. Susanna Custer, Miss Maggie Millan and Mrs. Pocahontas Hooper, and one brother, Henry F. Millan, to mourn the loss of a loved and loving sister.
Funeral services, conducted by Rev. Hakes, of the Episcopal Church, and Rev. Evans of the Methodist Church, were held at the home on, Tuesday afternoon, at 2:00 o'clock, and the remains laid to rest in the Chariton Cemetery. The sympathy of the community is extended to the bereaved ones.
Death Notice and Obituary
Chariton Herald Patriots of 13 and 20 October 1927
Relatives and friends in this vicinity were greatly shocked and saddened by the news of the sudden death of Mrs. Ella Miller of this city, which occurred at the hospital in Des Moines on Wednesday afternoon, October 12, 1927, at 1:30 o'clock.
Last Sunday Mrs. Miller went to Des Moines to visit her sister-in-law, Mrs. Ira Brown, formerly of this place. On Tuesday morning as she was coming down the stairs, and when near the bottom step, she fell and in some manner fractured her hip. She was removed to the hospital and was thought to be getting along nicely but on Wednesday she suffered a hemorrhage of the brain and death ensued in a short time.
The remains were brought to Chariton on Wednesday night and taken to the home of her sister, Mrs. E.D. Veirs, and on Saturday afternoon at 2 o'clock funeral services will be held at St. Andrews Episcopal church followed by interment in Chariton Cemetery. The deceased was formerly Miss Ella Brown, daughter of the late William Brown.
She is survived by one son Harold Miller, of near Chariton, and by one grandson, also by one sister Mrs. E.D. Veirs of this place. To these grief stricken ones the sympathy of the community will be extended.
Last Sunday Mrs. Miller went to Des Moines to visit her sister-in-law, Mrs. Ira Brown, formerly of this place. On Tuesday morning as she was coming down the stairs, and when near the bottom step, she fell and in some manner fractured her hip. She was removed to the hospital and was thought to be getting along nicely but on Wednesday she suffered a hemorrhage of the brain and death ensued in a short time.
The remains were brought to Chariton on Wednesday night and taken to the home of her sister, Mrs. E.D. Veirs, and on Saturday afternoon at 2 o'clock funeral services will be held at St. Andrews Episcopal church followed by interment in Chariton Cemetery. The deceased was formerly Miss Ella Brown, daughter of the late William Brown.
She is survived by one son Harold Miller, of near Chariton, and by one grandson, also by one sister Mrs. E.D. Veirs of this place. To these grief stricken ones the sympathy of the community will be extended.
In our community life there are constant transitions and these changes in our social relations remind us of our human attributes and frailty, generations are born into the world, remain but a little while according to the predestined plan of mortality and then pass on to be succeeded by other generations in whatever performances providence wills. Such is the routine of our existence. And this leads us to the belief in a higher future state, else our bereavements are in vain.
And so the heavy hand is ever present and again it has laid, this time upon one who had passed beyond the youthful years, but accustomed as we become to the visitations it is never without its pangs, but we humbly bow in submission to a Higher Will. The circumstances surrounding this recent death is as follows. Mrs. Ella B. Miller had gone to Des Moines to visit in the home of her sister-in-law, Mrs. Ira Brown. This was on last Sunday. On Monday evening as she was coming down the stairway, and when near the bottom step, she fell and in some manner fractured her hip. She was removed to the hospital and was thought to be getting along well until Wednesday she suffered a hemorrhage of the brain, and death resulted in a short time. Her remains were brought to the home of her sister, Mrs. E.D. Veirs, in Chariton and the funeral was held at St. Andrews Episcopal church in Chariton, on Saturday afternoon at 2:00 o'clock, after which her body was consigned to the tomb in Chariton Cemetery. The services were conducted by her pastor, the Rev. George Brown, and were impressive, he speaking eloquently in commemoration of her qualities and the pathos in the manner of her departure from the activities --- and associations of family and friends. The altar service and vocal selections were reflections of that faith in a triumphant eternity.
Mrs. Miller was the daughter of a sturdy and resolute ancestry who were strong in the principles of self reliance, which traits have been the strength of the commonwealth and the communities, and of these she inherited in measure, her immediate ancestors being the late William C. and Esther A. Brown, pioneer citizens of Whitebreast township, where they wrought together and founded a competency, reared the family and more noteworthy than all else, entailing the offspring with that trait of character which is founded upon personal integrity --- and is enduring. A brief sketch of her life is here appended:
Ella Brown Miller, daughter of William C. and Esther A. Brown, was born in Whitebreast township, Lucas county, Iowa, on February 14, 1877. She died at the Iowa Methodist hospital in Des Moines, Iowa on Wednesday, Oct. 12, 1927. Her age was 50 years, 7 months and 28 days.
She was the sixth child in a family of eight, all of them being deceased, together with the parents except Mrs. Effie L. Veirs, of Chariton. The names of these in order of their birth are: Ira W. Brown, Mary M. Tharp, David Brown, Myrta Brown, Ella B. Miller, Effie L. Veirs, and two sisters, who died in infancy.
She was married early in life and is survived by her son, H. Harold Miller, of Whitebreast township, and grandson, Master Jack E. Miller. And truly it may be said she was a devoted mother as well as a true friend, and there is sorrow in the carrying out of this edict which has brought the separation, but consolation in the knowledge that all is well, because in her methodical way she had not neglected the future and builded upon that faith which endureth. Thus she leaves a living encomium, and has earned the tribute extended, and as an important part of her life record the final duty has been cited. Early in life she became a member of St. Andrews Episcopal church and her greatest delight was in serving the church in any way she could. She was a member of St. Andrews Guild and she will be greatly missed by her many friends and associates. She also served for many years as Choir Mother and many who have worked in the choir of St. Andrews will be grieved at the passing of one who was so interested in their welfare.
And so the finale has been reached, and another life chapter ended.
And so the heavy hand is ever present and again it has laid, this time upon one who had passed beyond the youthful years, but accustomed as we become to the visitations it is never without its pangs, but we humbly bow in submission to a Higher Will. The circumstances surrounding this recent death is as follows. Mrs. Ella B. Miller had gone to Des Moines to visit in the home of her sister-in-law, Mrs. Ira Brown. This was on last Sunday. On Monday evening as she was coming down the stairway, and when near the bottom step, she fell and in some manner fractured her hip. She was removed to the hospital and was thought to be getting along well until Wednesday she suffered a hemorrhage of the brain, and death resulted in a short time. Her remains were brought to the home of her sister, Mrs. E.D. Veirs, in Chariton and the funeral was held at St. Andrews Episcopal church in Chariton, on Saturday afternoon at 2:00 o'clock, after which her body was consigned to the tomb in Chariton Cemetery. The services were conducted by her pastor, the Rev. George Brown, and were impressive, he speaking eloquently in commemoration of her qualities and the pathos in the manner of her departure from the activities --- and associations of family and friends. The altar service and vocal selections were reflections of that faith in a triumphant eternity.
Mrs. Miller was the daughter of a sturdy and resolute ancestry who were strong in the principles of self reliance, which traits have been the strength of the commonwealth and the communities, and of these she inherited in measure, her immediate ancestors being the late William C. and Esther A. Brown, pioneer citizens of Whitebreast township, where they wrought together and founded a competency, reared the family and more noteworthy than all else, entailing the offspring with that trait of character which is founded upon personal integrity --- and is enduring. A brief sketch of her life is here appended:
Ella Brown Miller, daughter of William C. and Esther A. Brown, was born in Whitebreast township, Lucas county, Iowa, on February 14, 1877. She died at the Iowa Methodist hospital in Des Moines, Iowa on Wednesday, Oct. 12, 1927. Her age was 50 years, 7 months and 28 days.
She was the sixth child in a family of eight, all of them being deceased, together with the parents except Mrs. Effie L. Veirs, of Chariton. The names of these in order of their birth are: Ira W. Brown, Mary M. Tharp, David Brown, Myrta Brown, Ella B. Miller, Effie L. Veirs, and two sisters, who died in infancy.
She was married early in life and is survived by her son, H. Harold Miller, of Whitebreast township, and grandson, Master Jack E. Miller. And truly it may be said she was a devoted mother as well as a true friend, and there is sorrow in the carrying out of this edict which has brought the separation, but consolation in the knowledge that all is well, because in her methodical way she had not neglected the future and builded upon that faith which endureth. Thus she leaves a living encomium, and has earned the tribute extended, and as an important part of her life record the final duty has been cited. Early in life she became a member of St. Andrews Episcopal church and her greatest delight was in serving the church in any way she could. She was a member of St. Andrews Guild and she will be greatly missed by her many friends and associates. She also served for many years as Choir Mother and many who have worked in the choir of St. Andrews will be grieved at the passing of one who was so interested in their welfare.
And so the finale has been reached, and another life chapter ended.
The Chariton Leader, Thursday, 20 July 1905
Mr. John Newsome, one of Chariton's most respected residents, passed to the Great Beyond on Saturday morning, July 15, 1905, at the age of 70 years, 8 months and 7 days, from an illness of several years with kidney trouble. For over a year he had been confined to his bed but bore his intense sufferings uncomplainingly. Largely attended funeral services conducted by Rev. Webster Hakes, Rector of St. Andrew's Episcopal Church, were held at the family home on East Linden Avenue on Sunday afternoon at three o'clock. A quartette comprised of Messrs. H.E. Caughlan, Will Trost, S.M. Greene and S.C. Hickman sang several beautiful selections. On Monday morning the remains were taken to Last chance where brief services conducted by Rev. Hakes, were held at 10:30 at the church, after which interment took place in the cemetery at that place, the ceremonies at the grave being conducted by Iseminger Post, G.A.R., of which he had been a respected member.
John Newsome, son of James and Rebecca Newsome, was born in the West Riding of Yorkshire, England, on November 13, 1834. On March 21, 1854, at the age of nineteen years, he embarked from Liverpool for America, the "land of his dreams" from childhood, reaching Philadelphia on May 10th. Near this point he engaged in a cotton mill, being a weaver by occupation. He was soon afterward employed in a woolen mill at Rockford, Pa. So great was his love for his adopted country that two days after President Lincoln's first call for volunteers he offered himself in her defense, and enlisted in the Anderson Guards on April 16, 1861. They were eventually mustered into the United States service on May 25th in Company B, 28th Pennsylvania Volunteers. At the battle of Chancelorsville he was wounded in the right thigh and taken prisoner. He was soon exchanged and after he recovered from his injury again enlisted in the service. He was made sergeant of his company and afterward was prromoted to the office of lieutenant. Through the long conflict he did his duty as a man and a soldier and was honorably discharged on June 18, 1864. While off on a furlough, he was married on March 10, 1864, to Miss Elizabeth Murphy of Philadelphia, Pa., who survives him.
To this union were given five children, one of whom died in infancy. Those who are living are: Frank and Ross Newsome of this city; Mrs. Bertha Crist and Mrs. Mabel Crist of Woodburn. Besides his immediate family, Mr. Newsome also leaves three brothers in Pennsylvania and one brother, Wright Newsome, in Union Township, this county. In early manhood he became a member of the Protestant Episcopal Church and has lived a life honest in the sight of God and man. To his family and friends he has left a heritage far better than gold, a pure and blameless character.
In 1886 he removed his family from Delaware County, Pennsylvania, to Clarke County, Iowa and there he resided until in 1890 on account of failing health he left his farm and came to Chariton, and from his home here he quietly passed away to the Heavenly Home where dear ones awaited him. His death is lamented by a host of friends who will extend heartfelt sympathy to the sorrowing relatives.
John Newsome, son of James and Rebecca Newsome, was born in the West Riding of Yorkshire, England, on November 13, 1834. On March 21, 1854, at the age of nineteen years, he embarked from Liverpool for America, the "land of his dreams" from childhood, reaching Philadelphia on May 10th. Near this point he engaged in a cotton mill, being a weaver by occupation. He was soon afterward employed in a woolen mill at Rockford, Pa. So great was his love for his adopted country that two days after President Lincoln's first call for volunteers he offered himself in her defense, and enlisted in the Anderson Guards on April 16, 1861. They were eventually mustered into the United States service on May 25th in Company B, 28th Pennsylvania Volunteers. At the battle of Chancelorsville he was wounded in the right thigh and taken prisoner. He was soon exchanged and after he recovered from his injury again enlisted in the service. He was made sergeant of his company and afterward was prromoted to the office of lieutenant. Through the long conflict he did his duty as a man and a soldier and was honorably discharged on June 18, 1864. While off on a furlough, he was married on March 10, 1864, to Miss Elizabeth Murphy of Philadelphia, Pa., who survives him.
To this union were given five children, one of whom died in infancy. Those who are living are: Frank and Ross Newsome of this city; Mrs. Bertha Crist and Mrs. Mabel Crist of Woodburn. Besides his immediate family, Mr. Newsome also leaves three brothers in Pennsylvania and one brother, Wright Newsome, in Union Township, this county. In early manhood he became a member of the Protestant Episcopal Church and has lived a life honest in the sight of God and man. To his family and friends he has left a heritage far better than gold, a pure and blameless character.
In 1886 he removed his family from Delaware County, Pennsylvania, to Clarke County, Iowa and there he resided until in 1890 on account of failing health he left his farm and came to Chariton, and from his home here he quietly passed away to the Heavenly Home where dear ones awaited him. His death is lamented by a host of friends who will extend heartfelt sympathy to the sorrowing relatives.
Tribute to the Memory of Rev. Jos. A. Russell, Written by His Son Howard
The Chariton Patriot, 13 April 1911
Note: The Rev. Joseph A. Russell was the seventh rector of St. Andrew’s, serving from June 15, 1876, until December 15, 1879. He was recalled to service from April 1886 until April 1887 and on April 14, 1897, he was named rector emeritus, a position he filled until death. For most of his active years in Chariton, the Rev. Mr. Russell also taught or served as superintendent in the Chariton public schools. He is the only St. Andrew’s clergyman to make Chariton his retirement home. His grave and that of his second wife, Jennie, and their two children, Charles and Florence, are located in the Chariton Cemetery, marked by very small stones many years after their deaths. The birth year on his stone is in accurate.
The following tribute to the memory of Rev. Joseph A. Russell, who died at his home in this city (Chariton) last Thursday evening (April 6, 1911) at 6:20 o’clock and was buried in Chariton cemetery on Sunday afternoon with services at St. Andrew’s church at two o’clock, was written by his son Howard, for The American Issue, the national organ of the Anti-Saloon League, of which Howard Russell is one of the national superintendents.
The funeral services were very largely attended, and were conducted by Rev. Chambers, rector of St. Andrews. The pall bearers were G.J. Stewart, Dr. J.H. Stanton, O.A. Hougland, J.C. Copeland, Geo. A. Israel, and W.F. Hatcher. The tribute follows:
My brother’s telegram read: “Our father went to his rest at seven tonight. Come.”
It was a night message from Chariton, Iowa, dated April 6th, and it was received at my room in the Young Men’s Christian Association at Binghampton, New York. When the messenger’s knock awakened me at day light I knew what the tidings would be. For the night before a preliminary telegram, repeated from Westerville, had said: “Father is very low.” And I wired in return my last greeting of filial love, to be whispered to him if conscious. But even then he had passed too far to hear the tender call of human love.
The last time I saw him I had talked to him of Death, the visitor sure some day to call, and he had assured me once again, he was calmly awaiting God’s summons. “I’m glad to live, but ready to depart,” he said, and he quoted the words of the precious psalm: “Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I wll fear no evil.” Surely there was no need to fear. In sending telegrams to relatives, I said to one who knew and loved him well: “So ends the life journey of an honest man, skillful teacher, faithful husband, father, friend.” He “died the death of the righteous.” Nothing to fear!
Our father was named Joseph Alexander Russell after his father’s friend. He was born in Philadelphia in (Nov. 25) 1822, soon after his parents immigrated from Staffordshire, England. For forty years thereafter, his father, James Russell, who was an expert gun maker, was employed by our Government at the Arsenals of Harper’s Ferry, and Springfield (Massachusetts).
The spirit of independence in the lad Joseph spurred him out to make his own way, beginning at the unusually early age of nine years after asking his father’s consent he found a place to work upon a farm and from that time on he was never “out of a job.” Later our father’s education was secured by his own efforts and for that time it was a thorough training.
After graduation at Wilbraham (Academy, Wilbraham, Massachusetts), and some time was spent as a teacher at Harper’s Ferry, he wedded a Berkshire Hills’ girl, a daughter of the Revolution, Sarah E. Parker, of Dalton, Massachusetts. The thought of both turned toward and they went to the (Virginia Theolological) Seminary at Alexandria, Virginia, where in due time at Christ Episcopal Church, in which both Washington and Lee had in their day been worshippers, he was ordained an Episcopal minister.
His parishes were in King George County, Virginia; on the frontier of Minnesota, where he was a missionary to the Indians; at Stillwater, Minnesota; at Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania, and in later life at Chariton, Iowa. Those who have been blessed by his ministry say he was a plain, practical preacher, and a very sympathetic pastor. With unusual good taste he rendered the service from the old Book of Common Prayer. He “read distinctly and gave the sense.” The Sunday after he was four score years of age, I heard him preach a vigorous sermon urging that all take part in the services of the church, and in the activities of the Christian life. The text was: “And let all the people say Amen.”
Early, however, the clear call came to him to devote the talents of his life to the service of a Teacher. This proved to be his real life work. In Private Schools at Glens Falls and Clinton, New York; in Church Schools at Davenport and Topeka, and in the Public Schools at Galva, Illinois, Corning, and Chariton, Iowa, and elsewhere for half a century, behind the teacher’s desk, and as a superintendent, he is remembered and esteemed by thousands of pupils and patrons.
As a teacher --- and my brothers and I may speak as his pupils --- our father had the pedagogic instinct and power amounting to rare genius. Under his guidance bright minds reached high excellence, and even the dull were compelled to learn. He excelled greatly also in executive tact. He always brought order out of chaos. His methods demanded and insured system and good discipline. Above all, his personal qualities were an inspiration, steady and strong, to every pupil. He was a gentleman of the ancient and genuine type. His qualities of considerateness, sympathy, impartiality, patience, unselfishness and of innate and high bred courtesy of soul and manner, so impossible to counterfeit, so valuable in the instructor of youth --- all these had been bestowed upon him in lavish measure by his mother, who in turn had received her benison of al true gentleness as an inheritance from a noble English family. At his eighty-fifth birthday, his friends agreed to surprise him with at least eighty-five letters. More than an hundred were received, and read upon November 25th, 1907. Most of these letters came from former pupils, unrelated except as a pupil, and from business men of high standing, like Howard H. Gross, of Chicago. The common sentiment of each and all was: Above other teachers you opened before me the way of learning, and the grace of your true Christian character has ever been a permanent inspiration to my personal life.
In his home companionships our father was richly blessed. The mother who gave life to the surviving sons, Howard, Calvin, and Lee, and who died in 1862 was during her brief pilgrimage, a most congenial Christian wife. Later on he wedded Miss Jennie E. Cushing, a teacher in his academy at Glens Falls, New York. In feeble health, she survives him. The two children she bore, Charles, a talented son who died at twenty-two, and the daughter Florence, who died in infancy, thus have preceded them to the heavenly country. The sons she did not bear, but whom she mothered with the most loyal and loving ministry, “rise up to call her blessed.”
When our father was eighty years of age, a purse was placed in his hand which contained eighty dollars in gold. His pupils and parishioners were still mindful of their silver haired teacher and pastor, for what he had done for them in the days of his vigorous service.
During his slowly ripening age our father has continued to reside here at Chariton where for so many years he was the honored superintendent of Public Schools and where he was at other periods Rector of St. Andrews. In April 1897 he was made Rector Emeritus. Here it has been a quiet and constant joy to him to live to his eighty-ninth year, respected and loved by the many he has christened and married, by the multitude whose education he has faithfully directed and by the whole populace who have cherished and revered him as patriarch, neighbor and friend.
And so in the fullness of time, upon Palm Sunday, 1911, amid tokens of general sorrow, this faithful pastor, efficient teacher, knightly gentleman, loyal husband, father, friend, and Christian conqueror was gently laid to rest, to await his Savior’s summons at the final Easter dawn.
The following tribute to the memory of Rev. Joseph A. Russell, who died at his home in this city (Chariton) last Thursday evening (April 6, 1911) at 6:20 o’clock and was buried in Chariton cemetery on Sunday afternoon with services at St. Andrew’s church at two o’clock, was written by his son Howard, for The American Issue, the national organ of the Anti-Saloon League, of which Howard Russell is one of the national superintendents.
The funeral services were very largely attended, and were conducted by Rev. Chambers, rector of St. Andrews. The pall bearers were G.J. Stewart, Dr. J.H. Stanton, O.A. Hougland, J.C. Copeland, Geo. A. Israel, and W.F. Hatcher. The tribute follows:
My brother’s telegram read: “Our father went to his rest at seven tonight. Come.”
It was a night message from Chariton, Iowa, dated April 6th, and it was received at my room in the Young Men’s Christian Association at Binghampton, New York. When the messenger’s knock awakened me at day light I knew what the tidings would be. For the night before a preliminary telegram, repeated from Westerville, had said: “Father is very low.” And I wired in return my last greeting of filial love, to be whispered to him if conscious. But even then he had passed too far to hear the tender call of human love.
The last time I saw him I had talked to him of Death, the visitor sure some day to call, and he had assured me once again, he was calmly awaiting God’s summons. “I’m glad to live, but ready to depart,” he said, and he quoted the words of the precious psalm: “Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I wll fear no evil.” Surely there was no need to fear. In sending telegrams to relatives, I said to one who knew and loved him well: “So ends the life journey of an honest man, skillful teacher, faithful husband, father, friend.” He “died the death of the righteous.” Nothing to fear!
Our father was named Joseph Alexander Russell after his father’s friend. He was born in Philadelphia in (Nov. 25) 1822, soon after his parents immigrated from Staffordshire, England. For forty years thereafter, his father, James Russell, who was an expert gun maker, was employed by our Government at the Arsenals of Harper’s Ferry, and Springfield (Massachusetts).
The spirit of independence in the lad Joseph spurred him out to make his own way, beginning at the unusually early age of nine years after asking his father’s consent he found a place to work upon a farm and from that time on he was never “out of a job.” Later our father’s education was secured by his own efforts and for that time it was a thorough training.
After graduation at Wilbraham (Academy, Wilbraham, Massachusetts), and some time was spent as a teacher at Harper’s Ferry, he wedded a Berkshire Hills’ girl, a daughter of the Revolution, Sarah E. Parker, of Dalton, Massachusetts. The thought of both turned toward and they went to the (Virginia Theolological) Seminary at Alexandria, Virginia, where in due time at Christ Episcopal Church, in which both Washington and Lee had in their day been worshippers, he was ordained an Episcopal minister.
His parishes were in King George County, Virginia; on the frontier of Minnesota, where he was a missionary to the Indians; at Stillwater, Minnesota; at Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania, and in later life at Chariton, Iowa. Those who have been blessed by his ministry say he was a plain, practical preacher, and a very sympathetic pastor. With unusual good taste he rendered the service from the old Book of Common Prayer. He “read distinctly and gave the sense.” The Sunday after he was four score years of age, I heard him preach a vigorous sermon urging that all take part in the services of the church, and in the activities of the Christian life. The text was: “And let all the people say Amen.”
Early, however, the clear call came to him to devote the talents of his life to the service of a Teacher. This proved to be his real life work. In Private Schools at Glens Falls and Clinton, New York; in Church Schools at Davenport and Topeka, and in the Public Schools at Galva, Illinois, Corning, and Chariton, Iowa, and elsewhere for half a century, behind the teacher’s desk, and as a superintendent, he is remembered and esteemed by thousands of pupils and patrons.
As a teacher --- and my brothers and I may speak as his pupils --- our father had the pedagogic instinct and power amounting to rare genius. Under his guidance bright minds reached high excellence, and even the dull were compelled to learn. He excelled greatly also in executive tact. He always brought order out of chaos. His methods demanded and insured system and good discipline. Above all, his personal qualities were an inspiration, steady and strong, to every pupil. He was a gentleman of the ancient and genuine type. His qualities of considerateness, sympathy, impartiality, patience, unselfishness and of innate and high bred courtesy of soul and manner, so impossible to counterfeit, so valuable in the instructor of youth --- all these had been bestowed upon him in lavish measure by his mother, who in turn had received her benison of al true gentleness as an inheritance from a noble English family. At his eighty-fifth birthday, his friends agreed to surprise him with at least eighty-five letters. More than an hundred were received, and read upon November 25th, 1907. Most of these letters came from former pupils, unrelated except as a pupil, and from business men of high standing, like Howard H. Gross, of Chicago. The common sentiment of each and all was: Above other teachers you opened before me the way of learning, and the grace of your true Christian character has ever been a permanent inspiration to my personal life.
In his home companionships our father was richly blessed. The mother who gave life to the surviving sons, Howard, Calvin, and Lee, and who died in 1862 was during her brief pilgrimage, a most congenial Christian wife. Later on he wedded Miss Jennie E. Cushing, a teacher in his academy at Glens Falls, New York. In feeble health, she survives him. The two children she bore, Charles, a talented son who died at twenty-two, and the daughter Florence, who died in infancy, thus have preceded them to the heavenly country. The sons she did not bear, but whom she mothered with the most loyal and loving ministry, “rise up to call her blessed.”
When our father was eighty years of age, a purse was placed in his hand which contained eighty dollars in gold. His pupils and parishioners were still mindful of their silver haired teacher and pastor, for what he had done for them in the days of his vigorous service.
During his slowly ripening age our father has continued to reside here at Chariton where for so many years he was the honored superintendent of Public Schools and where he was at other periods Rector of St. Andrews. In April 1897 he was made Rector Emeritus. Here it has been a quiet and constant joy to him to live to his eighty-ninth year, respected and loved by the many he has christened and married, by the multitude whose education he has faithfully directed and by the whole populace who have cherished and revered him as patriarch, neighbor and friend.
And so in the fullness of time, upon Palm Sunday, 1911, amid tokens of general sorrow, this faithful pastor, efficient teacher, knightly gentleman, loyal husband, father, friend, and Christian conqueror was gently laid to rest, to await his Savior’s summons at the final Easter dawn.
ROLLIN QUARTUS TENNEY
Founding vestry member, June 13, 1867
By Frank D. Myers
Rollin Q. Tenney’s stay in Chariton was brief. Relatively young and unattached at 28, he was among Civil War veterans who moved west in search of opportunity once the fighting was done.
By his own account, Tenney arrived in Chariton to engage in mercantile business during August of 1866 and left after about two years, in December of 1868, for Dixon, Illinois, where he married during early 1871 and then set out for Colorado, which became his permanent home.
He left few traces behind in Lucas County other than the fact that on June 13, 1867, he joined Edward T. Edginton, Charles W. Kittredge, Harmon Heed, Smith H. Mallory and Emmet B. Woodward to form the organizing vestry of St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church.
Tenney also traced his lifelong involvement in the Grand Army of the Republic to Chariton and June 22, 1867, when, he said, he was mustered into the predecessor of Iseminger Post No. 18, officially chartered by the G.A.R. of Iowa during 1879.
Born March 18, 1838, in Lebanon, New Hampshire, to Andrew and Eliza “Betsy” Tenney, he had worked six years for the Vermont Central Railroad before enlisting during August of 1862 in Co. C, 15th Vermont Infantry, where he served as commissary sergeant for the regiment. Discharged honorably, he spent most of the Civil war as a civilian employee of the Union Quartermaster’s Department, in the East until after Lee’s surrender on April 9, 1865; and then in the Rio Grande valley near Brownsville, Texas, until May of 1866. He arrived in Iowa after spending a couple of months at home in New England with his family.
Tenney married Isabella Duff Robertson on Feb. 27, 1871, at Dixon, Ill., and then during June of that year set out for Colorado where the couple settled on 80 acres just northwest of Fort Collins and established a dairy farm. He is credited with importing the first Jersey dairy cattle into Colorado, planting the first sugar beets in Colorado (to feed his dairy cattle) and establishing the state’s first dairy business, Victory Dairy in Fort Collins, which manufactured butter packed into 4-pound bags.
After leaving the dairy business, he was extensively involved as a civil engineer/surveyor in development of irrigation projects in the Fort Collins region; developed a substantial livestock operation with his brother, Melvin, in the Box Elder valley; and after moving into Fort Collins in 1890 became involved in coal mining. He also was instrumental in organizing Colorado’s Grange movement and continued until death participation in G.A.R. activities.
Isabella died during 1915 at Fort Collins but Rollin survived until 1932, when he was in his 90s. Both are buried in Grandview Cemetery at Fort Collins. They were the parents of two daughters, Helen E. and Fanny.
MARIA LOUISA (COCK) WILKERSON
J.W., Vestry member 1867; both among the first baptized and confirmed
in the newly organized St. Andrew's Parish
By Frank D. Myers
Joseph Wade Wilkerson may have been present at the organizational meeting of St. Andrew’s Parish on Aug. 13, 1867, when a six-member vestry was elected. He was added to that vestry on Sept. 2, 1867, perhaps as a replacement (Edward T. Edginton, by then in considerable disgrace in Lucas County, may have resigned).
On March 28, 1868, J.W. and his wife, Maria Louisa, were baptized by the Rev. Isaac P. Labagh, founding rector of St. Andrew’s, along with Margaret M. McCormick, Emmet B. Woodward and Smith H. and Annie L. Mallory.
The Rt. Rev. Henry Washington Lee, first bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Iowa, confirmed all those baptized as well as Mrs. Woodward, Laura Elizabeth, during services in the old brick Lucas County Courthouse on Thursday evening, April 2, 1868.
J.W., in his mid-30s during 1867, was a rising young Chariton attorney then in partnership with Napoleon Bonaparte Branner as Wilkerson and Branner, Attorneys at Law and Land Agents. Their office was in the courthouse, too, then Chariton’s principal public building.
Census records 1850-1860 of Jo Daviess County, Illinois, and Lucas County, Iowa, 1860-1870, show that he was born in Indiana. His parents, James and Margaret A. Wilkerson, who were farmers, brought their family west soon after J.W.’s birth and they lived briefly in Illinois and then in Scott County, Iowa, before settling down in Jo Daviess County, perhaps during 1850, the birth locations for their children given in census records suggest. His obituary (Chariton Patriot, Dec. 25, 1872) gives his birth date as Dec. 23, 1833.
J.W. had arrived in Chariton by June 11, 1860, when he was enumerated in the federal census of that year as an attorney boarding in the home of James Baker, also an attorney, and Baker’s family. His assets were modest, $200 in real estate and $200 in personal property, suggesting he had not been in the profession long. His obituary states that he had studied law in Galena, Ill., located in Jo Daviess County. James Baker may have been his first partner.
According to Wilkerson’s obituary, his health had been badly impaired at age 19 by an attack of the measles that affected his lungs. The result was tuberculosis (then called “consumption”). Because of his impaired health, he did not serve during the Civil War but continued a solo practice in Chariton. His 1867 partner, N.B. Branner, had recently returned to Chariton from service in the Confederate army. He reportedly had studied law at Dandridge in Jefferson County, Tennessee, his birthplace, prior to the war. Branner had come first to Chariton in 1853 with his father, John, who had made one of Lucas County’s first fortunes by buying up military land warrants in Tennessee and then using them to enter large tracts of land in Iowa when it opened for settlement, selling that land in turn to emigrants. John Branner had remained in Lucas County during the Civil War, but his wife, Jane Cowan Branner, had never moved from Tennessee.
J.W. married during the early 1860s, probably at Burlington, Maria Louisa Cock. Maria’s father, Oliver Cock, of Burlington, was a brother of Robert Coles, who had changed his name from “Cock” to “Coles” by act of the Iowa Legislature in 1853, the year he settled with his family in Chariton. It may have been that family connection with Lucas County that provided the opportunity for J.W. and Maria to meet.
J.W. and Maria probably had three children during the 1860s, two of whom died as infants. A badly weathered tombstone in the Chariton Cemetery marks the graves of “Our Babes,” children of J.W. and M.L. Wilkerson. The surviving child, Joseph A., was born about 1867 in Chariton, but died at age 23, on June 20, 1889, in Chariton, like his father of consumption.
Maria died at Chariton in the late 1860s “suddenly of heart disease,” according to J.W’s obituary. Although her death is cited in published accounts as the first in St. Andrew’s Parish, no year is cited. Her body was taken to Aspen Grove Cemetery in Burlington for burial beside her father, who had died in 1861.
When the 1870 census was taken on Sept. 1 of that year, the widowed J.W. and his son, age 3, were living with several of his siblings, perhaps on the farm adjoining Chariton to the east called Cottage Grove that he and Maria had developed into something of a showplace. Those siblings were his sister, Maria (actually, Emeriah), age 26; and brothers John V., 24, Eugene, 22, and Willard, 17. Although all of the younger Wilkerson males were enumerated as farmers, Eugene had studied law, too, and reportedly practiced with his brother for a time.
Although J.W.’s assets had increased substantially between 1860 and 1870 ($12,000 in real estate and $10,500 in personal property according to the census entry) his health had declined. He attempted to recover in California during 1872, but returned home in the fall of that year and died in Chariton on Dec. 23, 1872. After funeral services in Chariton, his body was taken to Burlington by train and buried in Aspen Grove beside Maria.
Joseph A. Wilkerson, age 5 at the time of his father’s death, was raised in Chariton by his aunt, Emeriah, who never married and remained a Lucas County resident until after 1900 when she moved to California. Although his health apparently had been impaired since childhood, Joseph A. was working as a printer by the time of his death in 1889.
During 1887-1888, Joseph sought relief in California and in the mountains of Arizona Territory and thought for a time that he had found it, but the remission was temporary and he returned to Chariton, where he died.
The Chariton Patriot of June 26, 1889, characterizes him thus: “His natural intellectual endowments were of high order, and with adequate health would have gained him distinguished position. His sense of humor was quick and incisive, and he perceived intuitively the weakness and shams of human nature. He had a wise head for one so young and many a quiet smile will come at the memory of his quaint and pungent wit.”
Lucas County death records show that Joseph was buried in the Chariton Cemetery, most likely beside his infant siblings.
On March 28, 1868, J.W. and his wife, Maria Louisa, were baptized by the Rev. Isaac P. Labagh, founding rector of St. Andrew’s, along with Margaret M. McCormick, Emmet B. Woodward and Smith H. and Annie L. Mallory.
The Rt. Rev. Henry Washington Lee, first bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Iowa, confirmed all those baptized as well as Mrs. Woodward, Laura Elizabeth, during services in the old brick Lucas County Courthouse on Thursday evening, April 2, 1868.
J.W., in his mid-30s during 1867, was a rising young Chariton attorney then in partnership with Napoleon Bonaparte Branner as Wilkerson and Branner, Attorneys at Law and Land Agents. Their office was in the courthouse, too, then Chariton’s principal public building.
Census records 1850-1860 of Jo Daviess County, Illinois, and Lucas County, Iowa, 1860-1870, show that he was born in Indiana. His parents, James and Margaret A. Wilkerson, who were farmers, brought their family west soon after J.W.’s birth and they lived briefly in Illinois and then in Scott County, Iowa, before settling down in Jo Daviess County, perhaps during 1850, the birth locations for their children given in census records suggest. His obituary (Chariton Patriot, Dec. 25, 1872) gives his birth date as Dec. 23, 1833.
J.W. had arrived in Chariton by June 11, 1860, when he was enumerated in the federal census of that year as an attorney boarding in the home of James Baker, also an attorney, and Baker’s family. His assets were modest, $200 in real estate and $200 in personal property, suggesting he had not been in the profession long. His obituary states that he had studied law in Galena, Ill., located in Jo Daviess County. James Baker may have been his first partner.
According to Wilkerson’s obituary, his health had been badly impaired at age 19 by an attack of the measles that affected his lungs. The result was tuberculosis (then called “consumption”). Because of his impaired health, he did not serve during the Civil War but continued a solo practice in Chariton. His 1867 partner, N.B. Branner, had recently returned to Chariton from service in the Confederate army. He reportedly had studied law at Dandridge in Jefferson County, Tennessee, his birthplace, prior to the war. Branner had come first to Chariton in 1853 with his father, John, who had made one of Lucas County’s first fortunes by buying up military land warrants in Tennessee and then using them to enter large tracts of land in Iowa when it opened for settlement, selling that land in turn to emigrants. John Branner had remained in Lucas County during the Civil War, but his wife, Jane Cowan Branner, had never moved from Tennessee.
J.W. married during the early 1860s, probably at Burlington, Maria Louisa Cock. Maria’s father, Oliver Cock, of Burlington, was a brother of Robert Coles, who had changed his name from “Cock” to “Coles” by act of the Iowa Legislature in 1853, the year he settled with his family in Chariton. It may have been that family connection with Lucas County that provided the opportunity for J.W. and Maria to meet.
J.W. and Maria probably had three children during the 1860s, two of whom died as infants. A badly weathered tombstone in the Chariton Cemetery marks the graves of “Our Babes,” children of J.W. and M.L. Wilkerson. The surviving child, Joseph A., was born about 1867 in Chariton, but died at age 23, on June 20, 1889, in Chariton, like his father of consumption.
Maria died at Chariton in the late 1860s “suddenly of heart disease,” according to J.W’s obituary. Although her death is cited in published accounts as the first in St. Andrew’s Parish, no year is cited. Her body was taken to Aspen Grove Cemetery in Burlington for burial beside her father, who had died in 1861.
When the 1870 census was taken on Sept. 1 of that year, the widowed J.W. and his son, age 3, were living with several of his siblings, perhaps on the farm adjoining Chariton to the east called Cottage Grove that he and Maria had developed into something of a showplace. Those siblings were his sister, Maria (actually, Emeriah), age 26; and brothers John V., 24, Eugene, 22, and Willard, 17. Although all of the younger Wilkerson males were enumerated as farmers, Eugene had studied law, too, and reportedly practiced with his brother for a time.
Although J.W.’s assets had increased substantially between 1860 and 1870 ($12,000 in real estate and $10,500 in personal property according to the census entry) his health had declined. He attempted to recover in California during 1872, but returned home in the fall of that year and died in Chariton on Dec. 23, 1872. After funeral services in Chariton, his body was taken to Burlington by train and buried in Aspen Grove beside Maria.
Joseph A. Wilkerson, age 5 at the time of his father’s death, was raised in Chariton by his aunt, Emeriah, who never married and remained a Lucas County resident until after 1900 when she moved to California. Although his health apparently had been impaired since childhood, Joseph A. was working as a printer by the time of his death in 1889.
During 1887-1888, Joseph sought relief in California and in the mountains of Arizona Territory and thought for a time that he had found it, but the remission was temporary and he returned to Chariton, where he died.
The Chariton Patriot of June 26, 1889, characterizes him thus: “His natural intellectual endowments were of high order, and with adequate health would have gained him distinguished position. His sense of humor was quick and incisive, and he perceived intuitively the weakness and shams of human nature. He had a wise head for one so young and many a quiet smile will come at the memory of his quaint and pungent wit.”
Lucas County death records show that Joseph was buried in the Chariton Cemetery, most likely beside his infant siblings.
The Chariton Leader, Thursday, 25 June 1908
Daisy Hougland, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. O.A. Hougland, was born in Chariton, July 3, 1882, and died at the home of her parents, Thursday morning, June 18,1908, at 5 o'clock, after an illness of several months with lung trouble.
She was united in marriage to George Wishart, in January, 1906. She was a member of the High School graduating class of 1900. She was a member of St. Andrews Episcopal Church, being confirmed under Rev. Whitten, who conducted funeral services at the church Sunday afternoon, at 3 o'clock, assisted by Rev. Hakes, pastor of the church, and the remains interred in the Chariton Cemetery. The sorrowing relatives have the sympathy of the community in their sad bereavement.
She was united in marriage to George Wishart, in January, 1906. She was a member of the High School graduating class of 1900. She was a member of St. Andrews Episcopal Church, being confirmed under Rev. Whitten, who conducted funeral services at the church Sunday afternoon, at 3 o'clock, assisted by Rev. Hakes, pastor of the church, and the remains interred in the Chariton Cemetery. The sorrowing relatives have the sympathy of the community in their sad bereavement.
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