Mosier / Moser Iowa Biographical Sketches
J. P. Mosher, Asa Mosher and Stephen Mosher, Includes names of other Moshers living in the area. From Warren County, Iowa, containing A History of the County, its Cities, Towns, Etc. Des Moines: Union Historical Company. 1879. Pages 623 & 638.
Liberty Township
J. P. Mosher, farmer lives on Sec. 22; P.O. Liberty Center; he was born October 5, 1836, in Morgan County, Ohio; parents moved to this county, in the spring of 1853; he was educated in common schools; in 1858 he settled on his present farm, where he has 120 acres of fine land, and a pleasant home; he was married November 8, 1858, to Angeline, daughter of Samuel James, of Warren County; has had no children; he has held every office in the township except assessor, and has been continually in office since 1858.
E. Mosher, farmer, Sec. 22; P.O. Liberty Center.
Asa Mosher, farmer, Sec.22; P.O. Liberty Center, born March 22, 1802, in Washington county, New Jersey; parents moved to Deleware county, Ohio, in 1818; he came to Iowa, and settled where he now lives in 1853; owns a beautiful farm of one hundred and sixty acres, well improved; was one of the first settlers of the township; helped to organize the township Government, and voted at the first election held, at which time he was elected one of three township trustees, and has held the same office several times since; was always a strong partisan of the Old Free Soil Party; he was married July 6, 1825, to Sarah P., daughter of Jonathan Bunker, a native of Nantucket Island; they had nine children: Stephen, Jonathan B., Hannah, Thomas T., Susan B., Elijah P., Sarah A., Mary A., Obediah A.; Thomas and Hannah are dead.
O.A. Mosher, farmer Sec. 21; P.O. Liberty Center.
Asa W. Mosher, farmer, Sec. 11; P.O. Liberty Center.
Stephen Mosher, farmer Sec12; P.O. Liberty Center.
Belmont Township
Stephen Mosher, farmer, Sec. 2; P.O. Felix; born August 6, 1826, in Marion County, Ohio; came to this county in 1856, and lived in Liberty township until the spring of 1879, when he came to this township and settled on his present farm, where he owns 210 acre of land; was school treasurer for eight years in succession when the whole town was one district for eight years in succession; has been town clerk; is leading member of the Society of Friends, holding all the leading offices of the Society; came to Iowa a poor man and has made all his property since by honesty and hard work; married September 1, 1852, to Mary, daughter of Moses Farington, of Crawford county, Ohio; they have had seven children: Lemuel, Asa, William, Sarah A., Mary B., Joseph S., and Ella (twins), Stephen G., all living.
Fred Moser. From Biographical History of Montgomery and Adams Counties, Iowa, The Lewis Publishing Company, Chicago 1892. Pages 371-372
Fred Moser, deceased, late a farmer of Nodaway township, was born in Canton Berne, Switzerland, in February, 1837, a son of Christ and Frederika Moser. After attending school until he was fourteen years of age he was employed on a farm. Emigrating to America when a young man, he settled in Monroe county, Ohio, where he went to school again. He was afterward married, and lived in that county till 1877?, when he came to Adams county, purchasing the place where he now lives. At present it contains 293? acres, a good frame house, barn, granary, cribs, etc., besides beautiful shade trees and every feature for making a good home.
Mr. Moser was married in Monroe county, Ohio, October 25, 1860, to Rosina Bruny, a native of that county and a daughter of John and Anna (Mary) Bruny, natives of Switzerland, who came to America before their marriage- the father at twenty-five years of age and the mother at twelve-settling in that county. Mr. Moser, had thirteen children as follows: John Albert, Henry Fred, Lesetta Basela, Alfred, married and living in Nodaway township; David Rinehart, Charley, Mary Ida, Fred William, Herman, Joseph, Emma Louise, William Grover and Edward, who died when ten days old.
Mr. Moser died November 19, 1887. He was a Democrat in political faith, a church member and an honest, respected citizen and a kind father and husband.
Joseph P. Mosher. From the Book titled "History of Warren County, Iowa" From its Earliest Settlement to 1908. By Rev. W. C. Martin, D. D. Illustrated with Portraits and Views. With Biographical Sketches of some Prominent Citizens of the County.Chicago: The S. J. Clarke Publishing Co. 1908. Pages 915-916
Joseph P. Mosher, who is now living retired on his farm of one hundred and forty acres on section 22, Liberty township, was born in Morrow county, Ohio, October 5, 1836, his parents being Asa and Sarah P. (Bunker) Mosher. The father was born in Washington county, New York, in 1802, and when about sixteen years of age accompanied his parents on their removal to Ohio, both his father and mother passing away in the state. He was reared in the Buckeye state and throughout his entire life followed agricultural pursuits. He owned a farm in Morrow county, which he sold on his removal to Iowa in June, 1853, locating in Liberty township, one mile south of what is now Liberty Center, where he made his home until his death. He entered seven hundred acres of land from the government, improved his home place and divided the remainder among his children. His was the seventh family to locate here, but the first to operate and improve a farm on the prairie. Many wolves and deer roamed at will and wild game of all kinds was plentiful. Groceries and provisions were hauled from the Mississippi river, and in the winter of 1853-54 Me. Mosher bought corn at ten cents per bushel, hauling it from beyond Palmyra. Hay was easily procurable on the prairie.
Mr. Mosher was one of the first trustees when the township was organized and served in various other township offices. He was originally a Quaker and in the early days religious services were often held at his home, but later he joined the New Light Church. In political allegiance he was an old-line abolitionist. He passed away December 20, 1886, when almost eighty-four years of age, and Warren county mourned the loss of one of its most worthy and honored pioneer settlers. His wife, who was born on Nantucket island in 1804, passed away here in 1887. She was also identified with the New Light church. They were the parents of the following children, seven of whom accompanied them to Iowa: Stephen, who makes his home near Motor in Belmont township; Jonathan, a resident of Cloud county, Kansas; Susan B., the wife of Enos Crumerine, living at Jewell, Kansas; Joseph P., of this review; Elijah, of Cromanton, Florida; Angeline, the wife of Jesse Johnson, who resides south of Liberty Center on a part of the old home; Mary Ann, wife of Lemuel Briggs, who makes his home near Grimes, Dallas county, Iowa; and Obadiah, a resident of Liberty township, who passed away in 1904.
Joseph P. Mosher accompanied his parents on their removal to this county in June, 1853. He had begun his education in the schools of his native state and after coming to this county attended a subscription school which was erected by his father and some of the neighbors and of which his sister Susan, was the first teacher. He remained under the parental roof until twenty-two years of age, when he was married and settled on his present farm on section 22, Liberty township, the land having been entered by his father. When our subject took possession of the tract it was all wild prairie but as the years have passed he has brought it under a high state of cultivation. The many fine improvements which are now seen on the place were all made by him and he likewise planted and set out all the trees. In addition to this farm, which comprises one hundred and forty acres, he also owns pasture and timber land along Otter Creek. Having gained a comfortable competence through the careful management of his agricultural interests, he is now living retired, enjoying in well earned ease the fruits of his former toil.
Mr. Mosher was united in marriage to Miss Angeline James, who was born in Guernsey county, Ohio, December 25, 1841, a daughter of Samuel and Phoebe (Hartley) James. The parents came to eastern Iowa in 1849 and the following year came to Warren county, locating on Otter Creek in what is now Liberty township. Both the Hartley and the James families were old settlers in Ohio. Mrs. Mosher was one of the family of ten children. Those still living are as follows: Mrs. Mosher, who was the oldest; Rachel, the wife of Foster Griffith, of Buena Vista county, Iowa; Libbie, the wife of Rev. W. A. Shannon, living in Minneapolis, Minnesota; John, who wedded Lucretia Bird and resides in Harrison county, Iowa; Phoebe, the wife of George Phillips, living at Lewiston, Idaho; Amy, who became the wife of Reed Randalman and makes her home in Missouri, and Samuel, who lives near Carlisle, this county.
In his political views Mr. Mosher is a stanch republican and has served in all township offices except that of assessor. Fraternally he is connected with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows of Liberty Center, while his wife is a member of the Rebekahs. She is a Quaker in religious belief and is identified with the Friends church at Liberty Center. She and her husband will celebrate their golden wedding on the 7th of November, 1908. They are highly esteemed pioneer settlers of this county, receiving the veneration and respect which should ever be accorded those who have traveled thus far on life's journey.
Lemuel L. Mosher. From the Book titled "A Memorial And Biographical Record Of Iowa", Illustrated. Chicago The Lewis Publishing Company 1896. Pages 761-762 with additional photo page.
LEMUEL L. MOSHER, Prosecuting Attorney of Warren county, Iowa, was born in Morrow county, Ohio, on the 9th of June, 1853, and is a son of Stephen and Mary (Farrington) Mosher. The father was born in the same county August 6, I 826, and the mother's birth occurred in Craw ford county, Ohio, February 14, 1828. They were married in Morrow county, September I, 1852, and became the parents of seven children, our subject being the eldest. Asa W. was also born in Morrow county, September 25, 1855, but the others are all natives of Warren county. Iowa. Sarah A., who was born in March, 1861, has for fifteen years engaged in teaching in Warren county. Mary B., born in May, 1863, is the wife of Clark W. Smith, a resident farmer of Warren county. Joseph S. and Ella A., twins, were born in 1867. The former follows farming in this county, and Ella is the wife of William T. Dunn, also ari agriculturist. Stephen Gurney, born in November, 1870, also successfully follows the teacher's profession.
In 1856 the parents left the Buckeye State and emigrating westward took up their residence upon a farm in Liberty township, Warren county, Iowa. The grandfather also came to the same neighborhood in 1853 and entered land from the Government, which during his lifetime he divided among his children. A large part of Liberty township was settled by the Moshers and for many years was known as the Mosher settlement. The grandfather, Asa Mosher, traveled by team to this county from
Ohio, and here spent his remaining days, his death occurring in 1887, while his wife passed away the following year. They were connected with the Society of Friends, and their children were reared in that faith. The parents of our subject are now residents of Ackworth, Iowa, where the father and mother are now living retired.
The gentleman whose name heads this record, acquired his education in the public schools of Warren county, and in Ackworth Academy, and in 1875 and 1876 attended college in Philadelphia. He was graduated in law at Des Moines in 1880, and during the succeeding year engaged in teaching. On the 1st of November, 1881, he came to Indianola, Iowa, and entered the law office of H. McNeil, with the view to perfecting himself in the details of the profession, remaining there for eighteen months. In March, 1883, he was elected Mayor of Indianola, and established an office of his own. On the expiration of his official term he was elected Justice of the Peace, serving one term, after which he resumed the private practice of law. He is today recognized as one of the leading attorneys of Indianola, and his skill and ability in the legal profession are attested by the liberal patronage which he receives. In June, 1894, he was named as the Republican candidate for the office of Prosecuting Attorney of the county, and the election of November showed that he was the people's choice for that position. The term opened with a docket full of criminal cases, including one murder case, and thus far all who have been indicted and tried have been convicted.
Mr. Mosher was married in August, 1878, to Miss Elizabeth Jones, who died in 1887, leaving four children, namely: Everett E., born in August, 1879; Maggie M., born April 30, 1881; Arthur Asa, born July 27, 1884; and. Gertrude G., who died April 3, 1887. The others are all living ,and attending school. Mr. Mosher was a second time married in 1888, when Miss Maud Young became his wife. She was born in Beaver, Beaver county, Pennsylvania, and there grew to womanhood, and acquired her education in its public schools. Her parents were John B. and Anna Young, her father being an attorney of Beaver, who served as Prosecuting Attorney of Beaver county. "He was also a soldier during the Civil war. Four children graced the second union of Mr. Mosher: Lemuel Leigh, born February 19, 1890; Wendell W., born December 12, 1892; Ruth R., who was born July 4, 1893, and died September 8, 1894; and Maud M., born June 23, 1894, and died on the 1st of September of the same year.
Mr. Mosher is prominently connected with several social orders, being a Royal Arch Mason and a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, of which he is a Past Grand. He also served as District Deputy Grand Master. He is connected with the Knights of Pythias, and is State Counselor of the American Mechanics. His wife is a member of the Woman's Relief Corps, in which she takes a prominent part, and is a lady of superior social qualities, beloved by all who know her. The family are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and the Mosher household is noted for its hospitality.
(C) 1997-2000 Robin Mosier
