Biography of Clement Smith, Dr.

Dr. Clement Smith. The undaunted, inquiring attitude of the Twentieth Century is nowhere more definitely perceptible than among the exponents of medical science. The labor of the scientist and specialist of today is destroying ancicnt delusions and thereby placing the health of the nation in the hands of reasoners and independent thinkers. To this class of rational thinkers belones Dr. Clement Smith. of Topeka, whose opportunities along the lines of his specialty have been exceptional and whose use of the same had made him an important factor in connection with the treatment and cure of hernia for many years. Doctor … Read more

Biography of Garrison G. Gray

To the prominent and esteemed citizen of Malheur County whose name appears above we grant a representation in the history of the County, since he is today one of the leading men domiciled here, has always labored for the up building of the County, is a man of integrity and uprightness, and receives the commendation of his fellows. Mr. Gray’s grandfather, John Gray, was said to be the last living soldier from the Revolution. He was a drummer boy at Bunker Hill and saw his father fall, then seized his sire’s musket and fought until the struggle closed. He worked … Read more

Biography of Alexander McCrary

Alexander McCrary was born in Ross County, Ohio, in 1825, son of Alexander and Mary (Summers) McCrary. His father was a native of South Carolina and his mother of Kentucky. Mr. McCrary spent his youth upon a farm, receiving such an education as the common schools afforded and was early inured to the hard labor of pioneer farming. His natural mechanical tastes and ideas prompted his taking up a trade, and at the age of twenty-one years he started out in life as a carpenter, and later as a bridge builder and millwright. In 1856 he moved to Iowa and … Read more

Biography of Freeman E. Nipps

Freeman E. Nipps is one of the veteran railroad men of Kansas. Like many who have found success in that army of industrial workers, he began at a country station and as a telegraph operator. For more than a quarter of a century he has been the agent of the Missouri Pacific Railway at Topeka. Unlike many railway men, he has at the same time identified himself closely with local affairs, and at the present time his name is familiarly known throughout Shawnee County as chairman of the board of commissioners. Though most of his life has been spent within … Read more

Biography of Samuel Kinney

SAMUEL KINNEY. – Samuel Kinney, a brother of Robert C. Kinney, was one of the founders of our early society in Oregon, and a man of unusual force and of marked worth. He was born in 1810 in the State of Illinois. He was brought up on a farm, acquiring nerve and muscle and an intrepid spirit, and gained the education of the times in his native district. He was early married to Miss Ann Maria Porter, who was also a native of Illinois, where she was born in 1814. Soon after his marriage, about 1832, he removed to Iowa, … Read more

Biography of Elwin Elbert Parmenter

The life of a good and just man, and the memory of his noble, kindly deeds, are in themselves his true biography. In the life of such an individual the observer of human character may find both precept and example. He may find in such a life sermons that speak more eloquently and leave a deeper impression upon the heart than any human words. The simple goodness and unconscious influence of such a man is a benediction to all with whom he comes in daily contact. Such were the attributes of the late Judge Elwin E. Parmenter, a man highly … Read more

Callaway, Roy D. – Obituary

Keating, Baker County, Oregon Roy D. Callaway, 84, Keating Star Route, an employee of the Oregon Lumber Co. in Baker for more than four decades, died Saturday, August 14, 1982, at St. Elizabeth Community Hospital. His funeral will be at 2 p.m. Wednesday at Grays West & Co. Pioneer Chapel. The Rev. Ralph Holcomb of the First Christian Church will officiate. Interment will follow at Mt. Hope Cemetery. Mr. Calloway was born may 13, 1898 in Muscatine, Iowa, the son of George and Mary Jane Allen Callaway. He moved as a young man to Baker County, where he and his … Read more

WPA Iowa Graves Registration Survey

WPA – Work Projects Administration – 1930’s Iowa Graves Registration Survey Adair County Iowa – WPA Grave Registration Adams County Iowa – WPA Grave Registration Allamakee County Iowa – WPA Grave Registration Audubon County Iowa – WPA Grave Registration Black Hawk County Iowa – WPA Grave Registration Boone County Iowa – WPA Grave Registration Bremer County Iowa – WPA Grave Registration Buchanan County Iowa – WPA Grave Registration Buena Vista County Iowa – WPA Grave Registration Butler County Iowa – WPA Grave Registration Calhoun County Iowa – WPA Grave Registration Carroll County Iowa – WPA Grave Registration Cass County Iowa … Read more

Iowa Death Records by County

Many experts recommend starting your research with the death records first. The death record is the most recent record, so it will more likely be available to you. Death records are kept in the state where your ancestor died, not where they were buried. However these records can provide a burial location. Death records are especially helpful because they may provide important information on a person’s birth, spouse, and parents. Some researchers look first for death records because there are often death records for persons who have no birth or marriage records. Early death records, like cemetery records, generally give … Read more

Biographical Sketch of Oliver Farrar Emerson

Emerson, Oliver Farrar; university professor; born, Traer, Ia., May 24, 1860; son of Oliver and Maria Farrar Emerson; A. B., Iowa College, 1882, A. M., 1885; Ph. D., Cornell University, 1891; married, Annie L. Logan, of St. Louis, Sept. 24, 1891; supt. schools, Grinnell, Ia., 1882-1884, Muscatine, Ia., 1884-1885; prin. Academy of Iowa College, 1885-1888; Goldwin Smith fellow in English, 1888-1889, instru. in English, 1889-1891; asst. prof. rhetoric and English philology, 1892-1896, Cornell University; prof. English, Western Reserve University, since 1896; member Modern Language Ass’n America, American Dialect Society (pres., 1905). Author: History of the English Language, 1894; A Brief … Read more

Biographical Sketch of C. C. Van Houten

C. C. Van Houten lived on a farm near Battle Creek, in Maple Township, Ida County, Iowa, and was identified with the agricultural interests of this place since 1882. Mr. Van Houten was born in Clarion County, Pa., April 24, 1856. John Van Houten, his father, a native of the Keystone State, served during the Civil War as a member of Company K, One Hundred and Forty-eighth Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry. He then resided near Cushing, Iowa. John married Miss Mary Ann Boyles, a native of Pennsylvania. They had seven children, 3 sons and 4 daughters. C. C. Van Houten was … Read more

Biography of Theodore C. Van Epps

THEODORE C. VAN EPPS. – Mr. Van Epps, a portrait of whom is placed among the illustrations of this work, is one of the best known men in Washington’s capital city. He was born in New Scotland, eight miles west of Albany, New York, February 15, 1847, and is the son of Charles and Angelica (Vedder) Van Epps, both of whom were born in New York of Holland parentage, his mother being a cousin of ex-President Martin Van Buren. His great-grandfather was from Holland, and founded the town of Amsterdam in New York State. At the age of six Theodore … Read more

Biography of Franklin P. Ake

The historian Bancroft has said. “Taken altogether Idaho is the most grand, wonderful, romantic and mysterious part of the domain enclosed within the federal Union;” and no one who has ever looked upon its beautiful and off times sublime scenery will doubt that it rightly deserves to be called “The Gem of the Mountains.” Its natural resources are probably more diversified than any other state can show, for in the midst of its high hills, rich in their mineral de-posits, are fertile valleys affording ample opportunity to the agriculturist, horticulturist and stock farmer. The owner of one of the finest … Read more

Biography of John E. Brooks

JOHN E. BROOKS. – John E. Brooks was born October 29,1822, at Canton, St. Lawrence county, State of New York. His father Cooper Brooks, and his mother, Sophia Brooks (formerly Tuttle), moved from Cheshire, New Haven, Connecticut, and settled at an early day in St. Lawrence county, making the trip with an ox-sled drawn by a yoke of cattle from state to state. To them were born six children, four boys and two girls. The entire family is now dead, except J.E. Brooks, the fifth, and Aniasa Brooks, the youngest of the family, who now live at McMinnville, Oregon. His … Read more

Biography of John Kimberland Scott

The subject of this sketch the present States Attorney of Rock Island County, was born in Muscatine, Iowa, on November 26, 1870. His parents were William W. Scott, now deceased, and Margaret (Hickey) Scott, the former of sturdy Scotch, and the later of keen, energetic Irish ancestry. Mr. Scott’s father served three years during the Civil War as a member of Company M, Eighth Iowa Volunteer Cavalry, and was for almost forty years a locomotive engineer on the Rock Island Railway, and for one term an alderman from the Seventh Ward of Rock Island. John K. Scott came to Rock … Read more

Biography of John C. Lardner, M. D.

Dr. John C. Lardner, born April 1, 1869, in Muscatine, Iowa, was a prominent physician and surgeon in Fort Scott, Kansas. His parents, John and Mary (Butler) Lardner, were Irish immigrants from County Galway who settled in Bourbon County, Kansas, in 1879. After working as a schoolteacher, Dr. Lardner earned his medical degree from Kansas Medical College in 1902 and established his practice in Fort Scott. He married Marie W. Germain in 1899, and they had one son, John Germain Lardner. Dr. Lardner was a Democrat and a member of the Catholic Church.

Biography of V. W. Sander

Success is not always the result of fortunate circumstances, but is the outcome of labor and business ability, and the one who achieves success along industrial or commercial lines must be possessed of energy, strong determination and executive force. Such are the qualities which have won for Mr. Sander a leading position among the merchants of Idaho and gained for him the presidency of the Idaho Mercantile Company, Limited, of Coeur d’Alene. A native of Germany, he was born February 4, 1857, and is a son of Henry and Henrietta (Othmer) Sander, also natives of the same country. In 1860 … Read more

Biography of Robert Couch Kinney

ROBERT COUCH KINNEY. – Oregon will always treasure with respect and admiration the memory of the men and women who came in the days when the Pacific Northwest was the home of savage tribes, mountain men and a few traders, to plant homes and lay the foundation of an empire on the waters of the Columbia. They dared much when they accepted the roll of pioneers to the Pacific. Some became notable for success, and developed character that gave standing to the new state; for the constitution and early legislation of Oregon showed statesmanship seldom equaled in the erection of … Read more