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from Past and Present of Mahaska County, Iowa by Manoah Hedge The S. J. Clarke Publishing Co. 1906
H. Frank Harbour, a prominent mason and contractor of Beacon, well deserving of repre- sentation in this volume by reason of his per- sonal worth and the fact that he is connected with one of the prominent and esteemed fami- lies of the county, was born in Oskaloosa, March 25, 1853, which indicates a connection of the family with this part of the state from pioneer times. His father, Richard R. Har- bour, was a native of Patrick county, Virginia, and came to Iowa soon after Mahaska county was thrown open for settlement. He was a mason and bricklayer by trade and he manu- factured the first brick ever made in Oskaloosa and erected the first brick building of the city. He did the masonry work for the Iowa Central Railroad and for the Union Pacific Railroad in this town and was prominent and active in in- dustrial affairs, contributing in large measure to the substantial improvement of this city. He was at one time editor and proprietor of the Oskaloosa Times, and was an active factor in political circles. His fellow townsmen, recog- nizing his worth and ability and his fitness for leadership, called him to represent his district in the lower house of the legislature and after- ward in the state senate. He went west during the mining excitement in 1860 and while liv- ing in Colorado was elected a member of the territorial legislature. At the time of the Civil war he espoused the cause of the Union and joined Company A, Second Colorado Regi- ment, which was raised in Summit county. He was chosen to the captaincy of the company and his valor and meritorious conduct on the field of battle led to his promotion to the rank of colonel. A splendid painting in water colors in his uniform of colonel is now in possession of his son, H. Frank Harbour, and is a picture of which the son has every reason to be proud. He died in April, 1888, and a life of usefulness and honor was thus terminated-a life that had been of benefit to his fellowmen along many lines of progress and improvement. His wife bore the maiden name of Mary C. Roop and was a native of Ohio. She still survives her husband and is now living in Oskaloosa. The sons of the family are: Benton S., a resident of Oskaloosa; J. L., of Boston, Massachusetts, lecturer and author, who was for seventeen years associate editor of the Youth's Compan- ion, the leading juvenile journal of the coun- try; Benjamin A., who is a mason and con- tractor living in Los Angeles, California, and who was prominent in labor circles in Colorado and the west. He was elected to the Utah leg- lislature but resigned and volunteered for serv- ice in the Philippines. He was wounded in the first engagement with the insurgents and was for four months in the army hospital in the Philippines and for four months in the military hospital at San Francisco. The daughters of the family are: Mrs. Iona Virginia Woodbury, the wife of A. J. Woodbury, of Denver, Colo- rado; Mary Frances, the wife of A. A. Whitte- more, of Ogden, Utah; Nellie, the wife of A. E. Sciple, a newspaper man of Council Bluffs connected with the Iowa Register. H. Frank Harbour, the other member of the family, is indebted to the district-school system of Mahaska county for the educational privi- leges he enjoyed. He continued his studies until twenty years of age, when he began learn- ing the trade of brick-laying and masonry. He has erected many of the buildings of Oskaloosa and in conjunction with his brother, Benjamin, did the masonry work on the Rock Island de- pot, also the old power house plant and the building occupied by the Huber-Kalbach Company. He built the McMillen block and has also done considerable work in this county, Grinnell, Eddyville and Albia. He had charge of the masonry work on the Central Methodist Episcopal church in Oskaloosa and was in charge of the masonry work on the Carnegie library building erected in the county seat. In 1889 he went to Denver, Colorado, where he remained until 1893. Mr. Harbour has been married twice. On the 23d of December, 1875 he wedded Mary S. Pugh, and unto them were born two children: Myrtle M., now the wife of Herman Harris, of Garfield township, living about five miles west of Oskaloosa, and who was a successful teacher in the district schools prior to her marriage; and Ralph Frederick, who is associated with his father in contract work and who married Miss Cora Woodward. The first wife of Mr. Harbour passed away November 21, 1893, and on the 15th of March, 1895, he wedded Mrs. Ella Carson, the widow of Isaac Carson, of Albia. By her former marriage she had three children: Walter, Henrietta and Ethel. In politics Mr. Harbour is a democrat. He was elected assessor for two terms and for one term served as township clerk. He has frequent- ly been sent as a delegate to the county conven- tions and is one of the stalwart advocates of democracy in this locality. Mrs. Harbour and the family are members of the Presbyterian church. The family residence is pleasantly lo- cated about a half mile southwest of the vil- lage of Beacon in Garfield township and is an attractive country home, justly celebrated for its warm-hearted and cordial hospitality. Mr. Harbour made by hand all the brick used in the construction of the fine home which he oc- cupies at present, surrounded by fifty-five acres of good land. He has been a prominent fac- tor of business interests in his native county for many years and a large number of substantial structures stand as monuments to his enter- prise, skill and ability in the line of his chosen occupation.
Past and Present of Mahaska County, Iowa
Mahaska County, Iowa Genealogy