Compiled
by Bob Krepps
Patrick
J. Sheridan – (1830 – 1895) Emigrated to U. S. in May 1855. He was born
in
Easky, county Sligo, Ireland, March 30, 1830, and died in April 20, 1895, in
Rutland Township, Humboldt County, Iowa.
The following obituaries appeared in the April 30, 1895, Humboldt
Republican Newspaper:
First Resident of
Rutland, Iowa - Patrick Sheridan - by S.H.Taft[1]
By the death of Patrick Sheridan, which occurred on Monday, April 20, Humboldt
County has lost one of its most worthy citizens and the Christian church a
conscientious and devoted member. Mr.
Sheridan was one of a large family, eight of whom, five brothers and three
sisters, survive him. Two of his brothers are Baptist ministers. He was born in
Eskey county, Ireland, on March 23, 1830, where he lived until twenty-five years
ago, when he came to the United States and settled in Cascade, Iowa, in 1855,
from which place he came to Humboldt county in 1857 and took up a prairie farm
on section twenty in what is now known as Rutland township, where he has since
resided. He put up a small log house and proceeded alone to break up and
cultivate his farm. When I came to Iowa in 1862 I found him the only resident of
what is now the village of Rutland. The wild unbroken prairie extended on every
side of his lonely dwelling with nothing to break the monotony of the scene
except one deserted log house not far off and the old dragoon trail which passed
near his farm over which the general government had marched its soldiers and
sent its supplies to its forts in the far west. The larger game, elk and
buffaloes, had, with the Indians, gone farther west, but muskrats, minks, foxes,
and wolves were numerous and the furs of these animals which bore a high price
during the war, helped keep hunger from many a pioneer's humble home during
those early days. Besides which wild ducks, geese and cranes were to be seen in
countless numbers. In the midst of this solitude I found Mr. Sheridan full of
hope and cheer, the secret of which I soon learned, for on remarking to him one
day that he was in as much need of a companion as was Adam in the Garden of
Eden, he replied, "I know that well, and am soon to go back to Dubuque
county for a wife." In 1863 he married Miss Margaret L. Barton, of Cascade,
Iowa, and brought her to transform his lonely house into a loving home.
Eight children, four sons and four daughters, were born to them, all but
one of whom are living; Maggie when but fifteen years old, passed on to the
spirit world. Mr. Sheridan did well his part as a pioneer and will ever be held
in kindly and grateful remembrance by all who have known him. He was a man of
sterling integrity, with strong moral and religious convictions to which he ever
sought to be true. He took a deep interest in those questions, which pertain to
the social and moral well being of society.
He took an active part in the organization of the Free Will Baptist
church in Rutland, and in the building of its house of worship. While a devoted
member of that church, his Christian sympathy and fellowship were not bounded by
theological lines but went out freely to all, of what ever name, who possessed
the spirit of love and sought to bring in God's kingdom of righteousness and
peace. The light of the Heavenly Father's love as revealed by Jesus of Nazareth
gave to our brother strength and peace to the last.
His funeral was held in the Free Will Baptist church and was largely
attended by old settlers from all parts of the county.
Very few of the pioneers who came to Humboldt County, prior to1860, are
now living. Soon the last one will have passed away, but the influence for good
of a truly Christian life like Mr. Sheridan's will never pass away.[2]
DIED SHERIDAN-At his
home in the village of Rutland, Humboldt County, Iowa, on Monday April 20th,
1896 of complication of diseases, Mr. Sheridan aged 66 years - 27 days.
The funeral took place Wednesday afternoon April 22nd and the remains
were laid away in Union Cemetery at Humboldt.
Mr. Sheridan came to Humboldt in 1857 and took up 160 acres of Rutland
township and his home has been upon the same land ever since.
He was at the time of his death the oldest resident of his township as
well as one of the very few remaining oldest settlers of the county. He has seen
the county grow from a thinly settled strip along its three beautiful streams to
its present populous and prosperous state. He was the soul of honor and in all
his business transactions and public duties in which he bad been called to
serve, he was conscientious in the extreme.
It is the life of the likes of himself that in a new country makes a
broad and deep foundation of good citizenship. He was born in Sligo parish of
County Esaky, Ireland. In May 1855,
he came to America and after living in Minnesota and Cascade Iowa; he came here
in the year
above noted. He was married to
Margaret L. Barton, June lst 1868 at Cascade and together they have reared a
large family who are a credit to them and to the town and county they call home.
Mr. Sheridan was for many years an important factor in the township of
Rutland and held the office of trustee fifteen years, was Justice of the Peace
five years, was township clerk at various times and a member of the school
board, in all of which positions he honored the office. The funeral service was
held at the Free Will Baptist Church, of which he was a member, in Rutland, and
a large concourse, of old settlers and friends accompanied the funeral cortege
to the place of interment yesterday.
William H. Davenport (1843 – 1928) – William Davenport was born on September 9, 1843 in Westchester County, New York. He was the son of William A. and Harriet (Losse) Davenport. During the Civil War he was a Corporal in Company E, 105th Illinois Volunteers.[3] He married Sarah Jane Dodd in 1866 in DeKalb, IL. William and Sarah had five children. Sarah died on December 30, 1876. On October 14, 1885, he married Mary Alice DeGroote Oxborow, the widow of James Oxborrow. William died on December 16, 1928, in Humboldt County, Iowa[4]. Mary Alice died on January 31, 1935.[5]
Wesley T. Davenport (1867 – 1950) – Obituary
from the Humboldt Republican Newspaper reads as follows:
Wesley
T. Davenport, the son of William H. and Sara Dodd Davenport, was born July 24,
1867, in DeKalb County, Ill., and passed away after an illness of only a few
days, March 27, at his home in Fort Dodge.
He had attained the age of 82 years, eight months and three days.
His
boyhood years were spent in the community of his birth in Il., coming in 1881 at
the age of 14 to Humboldt County. March
27, 1889, he was united in marriage to Miss Mary Esther Sheridan by Rev. John
Frith. This union was blessed by
the birth of 10 children, six of whom are still living.
Wesley
Davenport was held in high esteem by his many friends who recall his years in
our midst, not only as a neighbor, but also as a farmer, carpenter and rural
mail carrier for 15 years. He was
for many years a member of the Modern Woodman of America. His wife passed away, Feb. 21, 1935, and a short time
afterward he has since made his home with the exception of a few years in
Webster City.
He is survived by five sons and a daughter: Clifford William, Raymond Sheridan, Earl Wesley, Fay Milton, Floyd Arthur and Mrs. Margaret Esther Thayer. Also morning his departure are three step-brothers, six grandchildren, two great-grandchildren and other more distant relatives. A host of friends express deepest sympathy to the bereaved family.
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[1] Rev. S. H. Taft in 1863, the Rev. Stephen H. Taft led a colony of his Christian Union church members from Martionsburg, New York to found a town and a college on the frontier of Iowa. That town is Humboldt, Iowa. The college no longer exists. (Some of our family members attended the college.) He left in 1895 to join his son Judge Fredrick H. Taft in California. Rev. Taft died in 1917 after founding the town of Sawtelle, California.
[2] Humboldt Republican Newspaper, April 30, 1895
[3] Pension Records, William H. Davenport, National Archives
[4] Death Certificate, William H. Davenport
[5] Death Certificate, Mary A. Davenport