Biographies

~ Van Epps, Hermon V. ~

A man of sterling worth and character is Harmon V. Van Epps. Fearless and uncompromising where principle is involved, he is one of the sturdy spirits so valuable to any community, and yet he is unassuming and cares little for the admiring plaudits of the world, merely striving to do his full duty as a citizen at all times. Although now well along in years, he is keen and alert in every faculty and can look serenely backward over a life well spent, with no compunction for wrongdoing, and forward with no fear. He is one of the substantial citizens of Jasper County. He probably owes his thrift and sterling qualities to characteristics inherited from a long line of Dutch ancestors, which traces back to the coming of the Pilgrim Fathers. This new republic of ours can boast of few families who can trace their ancestors back so far. The first of the family to immigrate to our shores was Dirk Van Epps (or Eppn, as it was then spelled). He was one of the Pilgrims who came from Holland in 1620.

He first settled in the City of New York and later in Albany, New York. Johanas, his son, was the first settler in Schenectady County, New York. His estate was on the north side of the Mohawk River, near Huffman's Ferry. He was captured by the Indians and held a prisoner by them for about three years, when he was rescued. During the time he was a captive he learned their language and customs and he was later appointed ambassador to the Five Nations by the government. The third in line of descent was Jan Baptist (John the Baptist), son of Johanas. The fourth in line was Johanas, who was born May 5, 1700, the son of Jan Baptist. He was a slaveholder and kept a tavern at Hoffman's Ferry in Schenectady County. The windows in the building were supplied with thick wooden shutters, which were always carefully closed at night, and often in the morning Indian arrows would be found sticking in them. His son, Jan Baptist, fifth in line, was the grandfather of the subject. Charles, his son, sixth in line, and father of the subject, was born April 12, 1783, in the State of New York, near Huffman's Ferry.

He was twice married, his second wife. Angelina Vedder, being the mother of the subject. She was born September 17, 1804, in the State of New York. By the father's first marriage four children were born, namely: Annie M., deceased, married George Johnson; Simon, deceased; Susan, who remained single, is deceased; John C., born in 1821, came west with his parents; he was a member of the famous Gray Beard Regiment of Iowa in the Civil War; his death occurred in Davenport, Iowa.

The other three children all died in New York. By the second marriage of Charles Van Epps the following children were born: Charles Henry, born November 25, 1825, lived in Cedar County, Iowa, a number of years, then moved to California, where he died; Elias Vedder, born September 10, 1828, was a sharpshooter in an Illinois Regiment during the Civil War and was in many an important engagement: he was in the grocery business in Davenport, Iowa, but was living retired at the time of his death; Sebastian Gonsaulus, born April 19, 1830, died September 25, 1847; he was in the Mexican War; Albert C., born December 21, 1831, was a member of Company D, Twentieth Iowa Volunteer Infantry, during the Civil War; he was a resident of Newton up to three years ago, when he moved to California, in which state his death occurred; Agnes, born September 7, 1833, is the wife of S. V. Stacy, a retired farmer living in Davenport, Iowa; Harmon V., subject of this sketch, was born October 30, 1835, in Albany County, New York; Cornelius, born April 16, 1838, resides at Sheldon, O'Brien County, Iowa; he came here during the first settlement of the county, entered a claim and has continued to reside here; during the Civil War he was a member of the Mississippi Marine Brigade; Mary Angelica, born July 4, 1840, died when six years old; William Henry Harrison, born April 21, 1841, who went to Nebraska in 1870, is still living there; during the Civil War he served four years in Company D, Twentieth Iowa Volunteer Infantry; Rebecca V., born January 22, 1843, is now the widow of Herman Block, formerly a prominent lawyer of Davenport; a son, Lewis, is in partnership with Judge Bollinger, of that place; Sarah Eliza, born July 17, 1845, married Price Cunningham, a brother of the wife of the subject; they are now living at Spokane, Washington; Theodore C., born February 15, 1847, who was formerly engaged in the real estate business at Olympia, Washington, is now living in California.

In May 1852, Charles Van Epps, father of the subject, moved with his family to Iowa, locating near Davenport, in Scott County, where he engaged in farming, later bought three hundred and twenty acres in Clinton County. He became fairly well to do and was highly respected. His death occurred on October 16, 1855. His widow survived until October 8, 1886, when she died at Davenport.

Harmon V. Van Epps, of this review, began working for himself on a farm when he reached his majority. A few years later, in 1860, he bought forty acres of land in Muscatine County, later bought forty acres more, and a few years later an eighty-acre tract. Selling his holdings in 1884, he came to Jasper County and bought a half section of land in Buena Vista Township, just south of Kellogg. This he held for twelve years, then sold it and purchased a place southeast of Newton, just outside the city limits. A few years later he sold this and bought property on East Main street in Newton. This he still owns. In 1910 he bought twenty-one acres adjoining the city on the east, on which he erected a modern, spacious and beautifully located home. Here he has a fine young orchard, comprising two hundred cherry trees and two hundred peach and apple trees, this attractive home being known as Cherry Grove Place.

On November 29, 1860, Mr. Van Epps was united in marriage with Amanda M. Cunningham, who was born in Noble County, Indiana, on October 29, 1840, the daughter of Levi and Fidelia (Schoonover) Cunningham. Her father was born near Cleveland, Ohio, February 13, 1813, and died September 22, 1883. Her mother was born in Genesee County, New York, May 29, 1814, and died in December 1899. The father of Mrs. Van Epps was a blacksmith by trade, also engaged in farming in Noble County, Indiana. He came to Muscatine County, Iowa, in 1846 and bought land. He was one of the courageous adventurers who crossed the great western plains to the California gold fields in 1849. He was fairly successful and returned to Iowa, but made a second trip to the Eldorado on the Pacific coast in 1852, on the same mission, being in the same company with Horace Greeley, the famous editor and politician. In 1873 he came to Jasper County and bought forty acres of land in Newton Township, and here he lived until shortly before his death, which occurred while on a visit to his daughter in Missouri. After his death his widow married Jacob Lambert, and they are both now deceased.

Mrs. Van Epps is one of a family of seven children, namely: Esther married Aretus Schoonover, now deceased, and she is living at Lake Park, Oregon; Price, now living at Spokane, Washington, was a soldier during the Civil War in the Twentieth Iowa Volunteer Infantry; he accompanied his father to California on his quest for gold; Dorleska married David Daly and she died in Colorado; Olive R. married Albert Van Epps and lives at San Diego, California; Mary married David Coyl and died in Missouri; Wallace is living on a farm in South Dakota, which he homesteaded in 1910, near Edgemont. He also owns one hundred and sixty acres in Canada, which he homesteaded.

To Mr. and Mrs. Van Epps four children have been born, two of whom are now living, namely: Harry, born October 6, 1861, a machinist, living at Newton, married Ida Reynolds, who died, leaving two children, Percy R., who makes his home with his grandparents, and Nellie Grace, who died in infancy. Harry Van Epps later married Ada Baugh, and they have one child, Arthur E. Edwin P. Van Epps was born September 1, 1865, farmed in Buena Vista Township and died in February 1911, leaving a widow and two children, Bertha and Merl E., Fannie R., born October 17, 1873, died January 15, 1896. Wilmont Stacy, born January 14, 1877, lives in Kansas City, Missouri, where he is an optician; he married Jennie Rowland.

Both Mr. and Mrs. Van Epps are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, of which he has served as steward and superintendent of the Sunday school. He is a Republican, and has long been interested in the general progress of his locality in all lines. Page 946.

~ Van Kampen, Jacob Jr. ~

Notwithstanding the fact that the kingdom of Holland is one of the smallest countries of the world, it has sent a large number of settlers to the United States. They began coming in the colonial days and while they have been content to remain along the Atlantic seaboard for the most part, they have branched out into almost all sections of the Union, to which they have been ever loyal, supporting our institutions and reverencing our flag; in fact, they have shown a perfect willingness to follow it on the battlefields of every war from the Revolution to the Spanish-American, and since the independence which they helped to secure they have done their share in the up building of their communities, for, appreciating the blessings of liberty, they have never been slow to recognize the possibilities that opened out in splendid perspective before all emigrants who should locate in this country. Accordingly large numbers of Hollanders have emigrated and now constitute some of our best and most moral communities. Of this thrifty and freedom-loving people came the subject of this sketch.

Jacob Van Kampen, Jr., one of the younger generation of farmers of Richland Township, Jasper County, was born in Holland, on May 19, 1880, the son of Jacob and Nellie (Van Holland) Van Kampen, both born in Holland, the father in 1842 and the mother in 1837, and there they grew to maturity and were married and began life for themselves on the farm, also carried on dairying, and in 1892 they emigrated with their family to the United States and located at Pella, Iowa, where they lived a year and farmed, then moved to Jasper County and rented land for six years, during which time they got a good start and then the elder Van Kampen bought one hundred and sixty acres in Richland Township, which he farmed successfully and in the summer of 1911 he retired from the farm and moved to Sully, a village in Lynn Grove Township, where he is now spending his declining years in quiet. He and his good wife, after long years of hard toil, now find themselves very comfortably established, owning a pleasant residence as well as their farm, the management of which they have turned over to their sons: Jacob, Jr., of this review, and Averd, each operating eighty acres. This arrangement had been made back in 1901, but the parents still lived on the place until this year, the old folks living with the subject the meanwhile, but the father did little active work. Besides these sons, there is a daughter, Mrs. Fannie Bruxfeert. Averd married, in 1901, Nellie Rykhoek and they have two sons, Jacob and Benjamin.

Jacob Van Kampen was twelve years of age when he came with the family to America. He attended school in Pella, Iowa, and in Richland Township, this county. He was married in 1909 to Myrtle Bayls, who was born in Iowa. This union has been without issue.

Young Jacob Van Kampen has devoted his attention to farming since he was a boy, began renting when twenty-one years of age, and he has kept the home place well improved and well tilled. He is thoroughly American in his methods and is an intelligent and industrious young man, bearing, like all of his family, an untarnished reputation. Page 1283.

~ Vance, Gershom ~

Living in section 2, Palo Alto Township, adjoining Newton Township, is Gershom Vance. There is not a finer or nobler character in all of Jasper County than this old man, now rounding into his seventy-fifth year. A man to whom the word friendship means everything that the term implies, he is a man in truth, a friend in need and a friend indeed, a man whom any one may feel proud to call friend. Steadfast and loyal in his friendships, although they have oftentimes entailed sacrifice on his part, kindly in his judgments and charitable withal, the world is a better place because Gershom Vance has lived in it. Although well advanced in years, he is hardy and active and still retains much of the buoyancy and enthusiasm of youth, and has a wonderfully retentive memory. He springs from a hardy race, his mother living to the ripe old age of ninety-two years; his father's people were also long-lived and hardy. He does not now wear glasses and he can crack a hickory nut with his teeth. His grandfather, Robert Vance, was a captain in the War of 1812. By birth an Englishman, he came to this country in his early manhood and located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Here he engaged in the coal business and was one of a company who first developed the second vein of coal. He married an Irish lassie and to them were born four sons: Andrew, John, William and Samuel. Andrew was a prosperous dry goods merchant in Pittsburgh and a large land owner; John and Samuel were prosperous farmers near Pittsburgh and William, the third son, who was the father of the subject, came west in the early pioneer days and located where Muscatine now stands. When a boy he learned the cooper trade and followed that business until he came west. He married Rachel Vanata, of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, daughter of James and Elizabeth Vanata. She was one of twelve children and was born in 1813. To them were born eight children, six being born in Pennsylvania. In 1836 the family came west, induced thereto by the representations of a brother of Mrs. Vance, John Vanata, who had come to the west about two years previous. He left home at the age of fifteen years, and enlisted as a soldier at Pittsburgh, the company being sent to the frontier. They went to Cincinnati, took a boat up the Mississippi and landed at Oquawka, at a blockhouse there.

When the Vance family came west they built a log house twenty-four feet long and sixteen feet wide, with a partition across the middle, and here the family lived for a good many years with John Vanata, who, with William Vance, carried on trade with the Indians, trading beads for valuable furs, etc. They also had a wood yard, and part of the time worked on one side of the great Mississippi, and part of the time on the other. They had built a temporary shack on the Illinois side of the river for shelter, and here it was, being detained longer than they had reckoned on, that Gershom, the subject of our sketch, was born, on November 4, 1836, at what is now Andalusia, Rock Island County, Illinois, and being a stranger in a strange land, they called him Gershom. He was the seventh child in the order of birth, those who preceded him being as follows: Andrew, who lived and farmed in Mercer County, Illinois, and died there in his eightieth year, was born in 1820. In 1851 he went to California to seek for gold, going overland by teams. Being well impressed with the country, he remained there until 1871, when he returned to Mercer County, Illinois; James, born in 1822, lived and farmed in Mercer County, Illinois, dying at the age of seventy-eight; Eliza, born in 1824, died at the age of thirty-two. She was the wife of Anthony Nash, a farmer of Davis County, Illinois; Robert, now in his eighty-fifth year, is living in Oklahoma. For many years he carried on farming in Davis County, Iowa. He also went to California to seek his fortune in the year 1850, going by water via New York, but returned in 1853; Mary, born 1829, was married to a man by the name of Hudson, and departed this life at the age of eighty, in Mercer County, Illinois; Catherine, born 1832, became the wife of Frank Fryant, a farmer of Mercer County, Illinois; Gershom, the subject of this review; Sarah Ellen died in infancy.

The mother of the subject died December 12, 1805, and his father died in 1865, at the age of seventy-four. For the last five years of his life William Vance walked in darkness, having lost the sight of both eyes. Gershom Vance received his early educational training in the country schools, three terms in Davis County, in a log cabin school house in Soap Creek Township, and at the age of eighteen he started forth to do for himself, going with a party who were doing government surveying in what is now Plymouth, Woodbury, Monona and Cherokee Counties in the western part of Iowa. They were away on the trip three months, and on his return he went to Mercer County, Illinois, and hired out on farms by the month, attending the country schools in the winter months and thus continued for four years. On June 30, 1863, he was united in marriage with Emma Kiddoo, daughter of James and Margaret (Steel) Kiddoo, both natives of Pennsylvania, the mother being born near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on October 8, 1844. She was the fourth child born in a family of eleven, six of whom besides Mrs. Vance survive, their names as follows: John, Howard and Martha, all living in Kansas; Richard, in St. Paul; Amos, living in Arkansas; and Harvey.

The Kiddoo family came west and located in Mercer County, Illinois, in the year 1848, and in 1864 they removed to Jasper County, Iowa, settling near Baxter. Here, in the same year, the mother died, at the age of forty-four. In 1867 the father went to Johnson County, Missouri, and became the owner of a large tract of land. He also owned a flour mill at Warrensburg in Johnson County, dying there in 1889, at the age of seventy-four. After his marriage the subject brought his wife to Jasper County, and purchased forty acres of land, where the Parsons creamery is located, paying nine hundred dollars for the tract. A short time later he sold this land to an advantage and purchased eighty acres in Independence Township, for eighteen hundred dollars, ten days later selling the same for twenty-one hundred dollars. For several years he speculated in land, buying and selling farms. He has been the owner of many nice farms in different Townships in Jasper County. At the present time he is living on a farm of sixty-five acres in Palo Alto Township, close to Newton. He was formerly a heavy stock raiser.

To Mr. and Mrs. Vance have been born nine children: James, born April 4, 1864, living on a farm in Palo Alto Township; Margaret Eliza, born July 9, 1865, married Elsworth Ashley, lives in Palo Alto Township; Olive K., born March 26, 1868, married T. E. Deacon, now deceased, lived in Union County, Iowa; Arminta, born March 26, 1870, died at the age of eight; William, born October 18, 1872, died at the age of six; Florence Bell, born in July 1874, died at the age of four; all three little ones died in one week of diphtheria; Eva, born July 31, 1880, married E. M. Herron, lives in Newton Township; Harvey Earl, born in October 1883, lives in Kellogg Township; Paul Raymond, born September 7, 1885, now employed as special agent in the census department, at Washington, D. C. He is a graduate of the Newton high school, also of Monmouth College, and of Yale.

Mr. Vance is independent in politics, having been a Prohibitionist for a number of years. He is a member of the United Presbyterian Church at Newton, as is also Mrs. Vance. Mr. Vance and the author of this work were boyhood friends. He is a hale and healthy old man, and at the age of seventy retains much of his youthful vigor. Page 916.

~ Vandermast, John ~

Although born under another flag, in a country of widely different customs and surrounded by environments to such as we of America are unused. John Vandermast, the well-known, popular and enterprising publisher of the Monroe Mirror, has been true to the duties of citizenship, faithful to every trust reposed in him and well worthy of the high regard in which he is held. A plain, straightforward, unassuming gentleman who, as a newspaper man, has sought to make his paper one of the most reliable, newsy, instructive and readable in this section of the Hawkeye State, and one would judge from the ever increasing circulation, the steady growth of his business in a general way and from the many laudatory statements of his hundreds of patrons that he has succeeded admirably well. He seems to have ever had the good of this locality at heart and has advocated and supported every movement calculated to benefit the same in a material, civic or moral way, and he therefore enjoys the good will and esteem of all classes.

Mr. John Vandermast was born in the Netherlands on October 13, 1848, and he is the son of Walter and Joanna Hermina (Ieselaai) Vandermast, both born in Holland. The family traces its lineage back for seven hundred years. On the walls of the ancient walled city of Gouda may be seen to this day the name Vandermast. Certain chronicles of the twelfth century tell of a Vandermast, a great magician, who was able to materialize the departed.

Back in Holland the father of the subject was proprietor of a supply house. He brought his family to America in 1855 when his son John, of this review, was seven years old; the trip was made in a sailing vessel, Ocean Home, making her first voyage. On her second voyage she sank with all on board. Landing at New Orleans, the family ascended the Mississippi River by steamboat to Keokuk, and from there they journeyed by wagon to Pella, the father walking all the way. He could not speak a word of English. Arriving in Pella, the elder Vandermast began gardening. His death occurred when the subject was sixteen years old, leaving him with the entire care of the mother and four children beside himself, he being the eldest of the five. He assumed his responsibilities manfully and although the experience was hard for one of such tender years it fostered in him such principles and qualities as made for large success in subsequent life. By selling papers, gardening and working at anything he could find to do he kept the family from want. When he was twenty-one years of age his mother married again, and then the subject secured employment with the two newspapers at Pella. Proving apt to learn and taking a deep interest in this line of endeavor, he soon advanced and in due course of time became local editor of the Blade, which position he held with satisfaction for three years. Of his brothers and sisters, Joanna and Jane are deceased; Elisha is a farmer in the state of Washington, and Asa is a merchant in Santa Ana, California.

On the day of President Garfield's election, Mr. Vandermast moved into Monroe, Jasper County, having purchased the Mirror, which he has owned and edited ever since. It is one of the best-equipped offices in the County for job printing and a large amount of work is done in this department. He has a modern and thoroughly equipped plant and only high-grade service is recognized here. The Mirror, conducted as a Republican paper, is one of the oldest in the county and for years has been one of the influential molders of public opinion in this section of the state.

On October 2, 1872, Mr. Vandermast was united in marriage with Martha Champion, of Allegheny, Pennsylvania, the daughter of Joseph and Mary Champion, both now deceased. This union has resulted in the birth of three children, namely: John Q. is connected with his father's paper; Joseph Walter lives in Buffalo, New York; Leon died in infancy.

Both Mr. and Mrs. Vandermast are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church at Monroe. He has been either a teacher or superintendent in the Sunday school here for the past thirty years. He is a trustee in the church. He has been a member of the town council and was formerly town recorder also. Under Harrison's administration he served four years as postmaster. He takes a keen interest in politics and has been a member of the Republican County Committee several times and he has frequently served as a delegate to county and state conventions. He never loses an opportunity to make his influence felt for the good of his party. Fraternally, he belongs to Fairview Lodge No. 194, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, and both he and Mrs. Vandermast are members of Fairview Chapter, Order of the Eastern Star, at Monroe, of which he is past worthy patron. For a number of years he has been prominent in local fraternal circles. Page 966.

~ Vandike, W. R. ~

All honor is due the courageous pioneers who were willing to leave their ancestral homes in the East and come to the new State of Iowa when it was little known to civilization, when the wild beasts of various types and scarcely less wilder tribes of red men here held the balance of power. They were truly hardy spirits, but they braved the dangers, underwent the hardships always incident to pioneer life and in due course of time became well established, making the wild plains blossom and bring forth abundant harvests and now their homes and those of the latter generation are seen on every hand, all pleasant and inviting. Of this worthy band of early settlers the name of W. R. Vandike is inseparably linked with the early history of the locality of which this volume treats. He was born in Delaware County, Ohio, October 1, 1835, and there he spent his early childhood, leaving his native hills on August 26, 1856, and came by team in a tedious overland journey to Jasper County, Iowa, and he has been a continuous resident here ever since. His first settlement was made in Clear Creek Township and his life has been, for the most part, spent in agricultural and educational pursuits, in which he has met with very satisfactory results. In the spring of 1891 he with his estimable helpmate retired from the active duties of the farm and moved to their cozy home in the town of Baxter, where they are enjoying the fruits of their former years of endeavor.

Mr. Vandike is the son of John and Elizabeth (Aultman) Vandike, the father a native of Saline County, New Jersey, and the mother was born in Pennsylvania, grew to womanhood in Ohio and died in 1851. The father of John Vandike having died when the latter was quite young, he was reared by his grandfather near Philadelphia, and his death occurred in Benton County, Iowa, in 1880. His family consisted of seven children, namely: Henry W., ex-mayor of Belle Plaine, Iowa, died there in August 1899, at the age of eighty years; Jane B. Crawford died when twenty-five years old; Hanna A. Ridgeway died in California in June 1909, at the age of seventy-seven years; W. R., of this review; J. P. lives near Elberon, Iowa; S. P., who was County Auditor of Benton County, Iowa, for five years, lives at Belle Plaine, this state; Mary E. Walton lives in Custer County, Nebraska.

W. R. Vandike grew up on the home farm and worked hard when a boy. He was married in Independence Township, this county, on November 1, 1860, to Sarah F. Cushatt, who was born in Hart County, Kentucky, September 4, 1842. Her father, Aquilla Cushatt, was born in Alabama in 1816. He migrated to North Carolina, thence to Kentucky, later to Jasper County, Iowa, as a pioneer. When the Civil War came on he enlisted for service in the Union Army in Company I, Tenth Iowa Volunteer Infantry, and served four years, receiving an honorable discharge, after which he returned to agricultural pursuits; his death occurred in Independence Township, this county, on April 14, 1889. He married Osee Logsdon, who was born in Hart County, Kentucky, and died in Baxter, Iowa, February 3, 1889. They settled in Jasper County in 1848, when the country was wild and there were few settlers. There were eleven children in their family, all but four dying when quite young; those who grew to maturity were Sarah F., wife of Mr. Vandike, of this review; Andrew, born March 19, 1844, is living in Colorado; Robert W. was born July 30, 1852, and he lives in Jasper County, Iowa; Isabelle Thompson, born July 14, 1855, died at Rocky Ford, Colorado, February 14, 1909.

To Mr. and Mrs. Vandike seven children have been born, four of whom died in infancy; those living are John Aquilla, born in Jasper County July 29, 1861, who, after completing the common school work, entered the University of Iowa, from which he was graduated, later taking up teaching as a profession, at which he has been very successful and was formerly superintendent of schools at Plainview, Wabasha, Fergus Falls, Minnesota, and he is at present superintendent of schools at Coleraine, that state. H. Walter Vandike was born November 6, 1868, was graduated from the common schools, later attended college at Iowa City and Mt. Vernon; he became an actor and has met with a large degree of success. Austa Jane Bair, born December 11, 1874, is residing in Newton, Iowa.

These children were all reared in Independence Township. Their father gave them every advantage of education and was of much assistance to them personally in this, for he was for a long period one of the leading educators of this locality, having taught twenty-four terms, during which time his services were in great demand and he was universally popular with both pupils and patrons. He has always been a student, has kept well abreast of the times on all current questions. He has all his life manifested an abiding interest in public school work and has been a director for many terms. Perhaps few have done so much for local educational affairs as he. He was president of the board of education at Baxter for a period of twenty years, and still holds that office, and was secretary of Independence Township for an equal period. He has been justice of the peace for ten years, and assessor of the town for the same length of time. He has filled all public trusts in a manner that has reflected much credit to himself and satisfaction to all concerned.

This worthy and highly esteemed pioneer couple moved to Baxter in 1891, where they own nine acres of valuable land besides a commodious and neatly furnished home. Here they celebrated their golden wedding on November 1, 1910. Mr. Vandike is a member of Unit Lodge No. 520, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, at Baxter and he has been master of the same for two years. ersonally, he is well informed, public-spirited, broad and liberal-minded, charitable and advocates the simple life. Politically, he is a Democrat and belongs to the Congregational Church. It is doubtful if any couple in Jasper County can claim a broader acquaintance or more friends than they. It is interesting to hear them recall reminiscences of pioneer days and of the subsequent work in bringing this favored section up to a level of any in the great Hawkeye Commonwealth. Page 1232.

~ Vanscoy, Milton ~

Milton Vanscoy, who is a prosperous farmer living near the little station of Murphy, in Buena Vista Township, is a fine example of what a man can accomplish by industry and thrift. He was born in Randolph County, West Virginia, in the year 1849, and is the son of John and Emily (Slagel) Vanscoy, both natives of West Virginia, and of Randolph County. In 1870 John Vanscoy and his wife came to Iowa, where their son Milton had preceded them a couple of years. They did not locate here permanently, but proceeded on to Kansas, and established a home in Coffey County, that state. It was not long until the home was broken up, by the death of John Vanscoy, which occurred in 1871 in the little town of Leroy. He was sixty-five years of age at the time of his death, and was the last of the surviving members of a family of ten children. The mother, Emily Vanscoy, who died in 1880, was the daughter of Jacob and Susan Slagel, and was one of thirteen children, three of whom still survive. Two of them, Ely Slagel, eighty-two years old, and Elizabeth Slagel, eighty-four, neither of whom ever married, make their home with their nephew, the subject of this review. Jacob Slagel, another brother, lives in Hayworth, Illinois, and is eighty years old.

Milton Vanscoy was one of ten children, six of whom are now living, namely: Isaiah, born in 1848, lives in Rockville, Nebraska; Perry, born in 1856, lived in Revenna, Nebraska, but is now dead; Jacob L., born in 1864 and who makes his home in St. Louis, is a railroad carpenter and travels a great deal; W. A., born in 1868, lives in Jasper County, Iowa: Lucy. J., born in 1870, married Daniel Jackson, and lives in Killduff, Jasper County, Iowa; Noah D. died at the age of forty years at Tacoma, Washington; Elizabeth died in infancy; and Jasper, who died at Van Cleve, Marshall County, Iowa, in 1909, at the age of sixty-eight years.

Milton Vanscoy came to Iowa in 1868 and was employed as a farm hand and at other labor. He saved a little money and in 1870 went to Coffey County, Kansas, but was there defrauded and swindled out of his savings. He managed to obtain enough money to pay his way back to Iowa, and returned here in 1871. In a short time after his return to Jasper County, he commenced buying land. He bought in small tracts, the first being eight acres, and has from time to time since added to it until he now owns one hundred and thirty-five acres of fine land. He also owns a tract of six acres in the city of Newton.

In 1882 Mr. Vanscoy was united in marriage to Mary C. Davis, who was born in 1846 and is the daughter of John and Elizabeth (Fleece) Davis. Her mother died near North Salem, Indiana, when the daughter Mary was a small child. Her father a few years later married Mary Zimmerman.

To Mr. and Mrs. Vanscoy have been born two children: Nora, born in 1884, who married A. K. Miller, a street car motorman, now living in Los Angeles, California; they have two children, Ralph and Harold; Pearl, born in 1886, married Wildman M. Woods, a machinist, living in Jasper County; they have two children, Meryl and Francis. Both of Mr. Vanscoy's daughters are accomplished musicians.

Mr. Vanscoy was at one time director of the schools of his district. He and his wife are both members of the Methodist Protestant Church, to which they give an earnest support. Public spirited, enterprising and honorable in business, genial in social intercourse, and stanch in his friendships, Mr. Vanscoy has won and retains the good will and esteem of all who know him. Page 1015.

~ Vansice, John M. ~

One of the leading live stock dealers and farm owners in Jasper County is John M. Vansice, of Independence Township. His valuable property has been acquired through his own efforts-his persistency of purpose and his determination-and the prosperity which is the legitimate reward of all earnest effort is today his, while at the same time he has been careful of his personal habits and has won and retained the undivided respect of all with whom he has come into contact. He is one of the best - known stockmen in the county.

Mr. Vansice was born in Bradford County, Pennsylvania, May 12, 1855. He is the son of Joseph and Clarinda (Brewer) Vansice, the father born in the State of New York and the mother in New York. She is now living in Bradford County, Pennsylvania, the father having died in Jasper County, Iowa, whither he had come with his parents in the year 1868 and here spent the rest of his life, becoming very well established on the farm. They were the parents of three children, namely: Josephine, who died when thirteen years of age; Mrs. Alice Rose; John M., of this sketch, who is the youngest.

John M. Vansice was thirteen years old when he left his boyhood home in the Keystone state and emigrated with his parents to Jasper County, Iowa, in 1868 and here he grew to manhood, received his education in the public schools and has continued to reside to the present time. He engaged in farming until August 26, 1891, when he moved to a very comfortable and commodious home in Baxter where he has since resided, having been engaged in buying and selling all kinds of live stock except horses, being regarded as one of the best judges of live stock in this locality. He is the owner of one hundred and sixty acres of as fine land as Independence can boast, also one hundred and seventeen acres in another farm in this township. His land has been placed under modern improvements and is very productive. He owns another dwelling house in Baxter besides his home residence. By his individual efforts, good management and honest dealings he has acquired a competency.

Mr. Vansice was married on September 3, 1875, to Malinda Richmond, who was born in Jasper County, Iowa, January 11, 1860. She is the daughter of Sims and Susannah (Maggard) Richmond, the father born in Tennessee, June 28, 1820, and the mother in Indiana, March 28, 1819. The father's death occurred in Kansas and the mother died in Jasper County, Iowa. There were six children in the Richmond family, namely: Mrs. Sarah Walker, born September 23, 1849, is deceased; Andrew Jackson, born September 2, 1851, lives in Iowa; Mrs. Martha Ann Deeter, born November 1, 1852, lives in Baxter, Iowa; Mrs. Mary White, born May 16, 1855, lives in St. Clair County, Missouri; Mrs. Elinor Millard, born December 4, 1857, lives in Newton; Malinda, wife of Mr. Vansice of this review, is the youngest.

To Mr. and Mrs. Vansice five children have been born, three of whom are living, namely: Mrs. Ella Gibson, born June 18, 1877, lives on the home farm in Independence Township; Fred, born July 28, 1883, lives and farms in Oklahoma; he married Erla Orr and they have two children, Georgia Catherine, born March 3, 1904, and Ida May, born November 11, 1909; William, born May 3, 1893, lives with his parents in Baxter; two children died in infancy. They were all born in Jasper County.

Politically, Mr. Vansice is an independent voter, preferring to cast his ballot for the man best qualified, in his estimation, for the office sought rather than for the party. In his fraternal relations he belongs to Unity Lodge No. 520, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, of Baxter. They are both popular with a wide circle of friends. Page 1272.

~ Varenkamp, John M. ~

If there is one thing which distinguishes the American businessman over those of any other country, it is the faculty with which any and all occupations are readily taken up by him and made successful. In the older countries it is customary for sons to follow the father's pursuit. "Follow your father, my son, and do as your father has done," was a maxim, which all sons were expected to adopt. It is in such countries as the United States that full swing can be given to the energies of the individual. A man may choose any business or profession he desires, and he is limited only by competition. He must meet the skill of others and give as good service as they or he will not get the positions. Such adaptations to any work or business is well shown in the career of John M. Varenkamp, a successful merchant at the village of Sully, Jasper County, who is of foreign descent. He has turned his hand to various things and proved that farming was not the only occupation which he could make successful.

Mr. Varenkamp was born in Marion County, Iowa, March 3, 1872, the son of Edward C. and Gertrude (Boat) Varenkamp, the father born in the Netherlands and the mother in Marion County, Iowa. The father is at present editor of the Pella Weekblade, printed in the Holland language. He came to Iowa when about twenty-four years old and worked on a farm for some time, then bought land and up to five years ago devoted his life to agricultural pursuits, since which time he has been managing in a very able, manner the newspaper referred to above; he has lived in Pella for the past twenty-one years. Early in his career in this country he spent three years in Nebraska and Dakota. He is a man of influence, general education and praiseworthy characteristics in general. He belongs to the Second Reform Church at Pella. His family consists of the following children: Mrs. Hattie Louder, Mrs. Anna Roten, Mrs. Lydia Renaud, Mrs. Mary Wise, Mrs. Emma Stratton, Nella, Fred and John M.

The maternal grandmother, Henriett Boat, came to Pella, Iowa, in the early forties with a colony of one thousand two hundred Hollanders, early settlers there. John M. Varenkamp of this review attended school at Pella, Iowa, and after leaving school he worked on a farm for about seven years. He went to Nebraska and herded cattle and sheep for some time, then worked in a flouring mill fourteen months in Pella. Desiring to learn the mercantile business, he clerked seven years, during which time he mastered the ins and outs of the same, and in January 1899, he bought out Cornelius Boat, a half interest in the Boat Brothers general store in Sully, Jasper County, and he and A. C. Boat have since carried on the business in a most successful manner, enjoying a wide and every growing patronage with the surrounding country. They carry a large, well-assorted, carefully selected stock of general merchandise and their prices are always right, according to their many customers. They have a neat and well-arranged store building. Theirs is the oldest store in Sully.

Mr. Varenkamp has taken considerable interest in local affairs and has ever manifested a desire to do what he could in behalf of the community's welfare. He was appointed postmaster at Sully on December 22, 1902, and has served in this capacity continuously to the present time in a manner that has reflected much credit upon himself and to the department and the people. He is a member of the Reform Church at Sully, and, politically, he is a Republican.

Mr. Varenkamp was married on March 23, 1898, to Nettie Vanderkrol, who was born in Mahaska County, Iowa, the daughter of G. Vanderkrol, a substantial farmer of that county. To this union one child was born, Gertrude H. The wife and mother was called to her rest on July 8, 1909, in a hospital at Des Moines. Page 1044.

~ Veach, James T. ~

While the record of James T. Veach is, in the main, like that of many other men, a general mingling of life's joys and sorrows, triumphs and defeats, yet upon close scrutiny we find that he has been the exponent of right living all along the line and that success has not come to him undeserving, for he has been willing to put forth the proper effort and "hew true to the line," and while he is not one of our largest farmers, his little place in Independence Township is a model and ranks well with the best of Jasper County farms in point of productiveness and improvement.

Mr. Veach was born in Hendricks County, Indiana, July 26, 1851, but practically all his life has been spent in Iowa, whither he came with his parents in the fall of the year in which he was born, the family settling in Linn County. In 1852 they came on to Jasper County and here they have resided ever since, having seen and taken part in its development from the first stages of its progress to the present.

The father, Samuel Veach, was born in Virginia, August 17, 1828. He came to Indiana early in life and married Maria Jane Parks, who was born in the last named state on November 1, 1831. There they began life on a farm, but emigrated overland to the newer State of Iowa, as before indicated, and they spent their last days in Jasper County, the father's death occurring here on September 30, 1910, and the mother's death occurred on January 13, 1911. They were the parents of the following children: James T., of this review, is the eldest: Mrs. Mary J. Hitchler, born September 1, 1855, died in this County, on September 12, 1885; John William, born November 13, 1857, is living near Colfax, Iowa; Mrs. Nancy A. Dales, born August 14, 1860, died in Jasper County; Samuel H., born September 19, 1862, died May 8, 1893; Flora E., born April 16, 1865, died January 20, 1880, when fifteen years of age; Mariah C., born October 6, 1868, died March 13, 1889; Charles C., born October 14, 1870, is living on the old homestead near Newton. These children were all reared in Jasper County.

James T. Veach grew up on his father's farm and when but a boy he assisted with the general work on the same; being the oldest child, he was compelled to lend a helping hand in rearing the smaller children, and, also, the farm being new it required a great deal of hard work by somebody to develop it; but all this training was good for him in later life, if it was somewhat trying on his young spirit. On February 19, 1874, he was united in marriage with Martha J. Callison, who was born in Jasper County, December 6, 1858, and here she grew to womanhood. Her father, Andrew P. Callison, was born in Tennessee June 20, 1835, and early in life he came to Jasper County, Iowa, and when the Civil War broke out he enlisted at Newton in Company K, Fourteenth Iowa Volunteer Infantry, and was killed at the Battle of Champion's Hill, May 18, 1863. His widow, known in her maidenhood as Amelia Draper, was born November 22, 1838, and is living in Baxter, Iowa. Their family consisted of five children, named as follows: James E., born March 7, 1856, is living at Newton and he owns the old homestead; George H., born May 21, 1859, lives in Des Moines; Martha J., wife of Mr. Veach of this sketch; Anderson L., born February 6, 1860, lives at Mt. Pleasant; Andrew P., born November 6, 1862, died February 9, 1863.

To Mr. and Mrs. Veach four children have been born as follows: Shelby C., born June 26, 1876, lives at Gering, Nebraska; Mrs. Clara O. Hampton, born February 23, 1878, lives in Jasper County; James H., born November 30, 1880, died May 23, 1906; Charles S., born October 5, 1882, lives at Gering, Nebraska.

Mr. Veach has devoted his life to farming and he is now the owner of forty-three and one-half acres in Independence Township, and on this he is making a very comfortable living, and he has a neat home and has laid by something for the rainy days ahead. He and his wife are members of the Reorganized Church of Latter Day Saints. He has been a member of the local board of education and has been road supervisor. Page 1218.