Asa W. S. Rix.

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Asa W. S. Rix.

Birth:1841, Marblehead, Massachusetts..
Death: Nov. 26, 1919.

Parents: James A, Sally Rix.
Married 1872.
Merchant.

Age 79 years.

Wife: Julia O'Brien Rix (____ - 1925).

Burial: Greenridge Cemetery, Saratoga Springs, Saratoga County, New York.

Civil War Veteran

Fifth Massachusetts Infantry Co. A.

Rix, Asa W. S. —Priv.— Res. Salem; 20; enl. April 16, 1861; must. May 1, 1861; must. out, July 31, 1861.

Eldred Huff.

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Captain Eldred Huff, Fremont Co. Enl. Oct. 2, 1861; app. 3d Serg. on muster-in; prom. 1st Serg. Sep. 1, 1862; Capt. Feb. 3, 1863. Remained with the Co. on Vet. reenlistment. Captured in action Dec. 14, 1864, White's Station, Tenn. Dismissed by S. O. 27, War Dep., A. G. O., Jan. 18, 1865, upon charges of neglect of duty and mismanagement in the affair in which he was captured; dismissal revoked by order of the President, S. O. 453, war Dep., A. G. O., Aug. 23, 1865, upon a report of the Judge Advocate General, and honorably discharged as of the date of the order of dismissal. Prisoner from time of capture to end of the war. Served with the regt. in the field until captured.

How Captain Eldred Huff Was Captured

Huff's advance-guard (a corporal and four men) had just reached the top of a small hill when they ware observed to fire a few shots and disappear down the road on the other side. Huff hastily assumed that there were rebels in front, and he hurried his men forward at a run. The stranger troops did the same, but when they reached the open space they rode across it at great speed, toward the Iowa men.

Huff says ,he thought they meant to get his road and reach the scene of the firing before him. Instead of turning up the road, however, upon this idea, they wheeled to the left, poured a volley into the Fourth Iowa, and charged.
Huff tried bravely to get his little command into position for defense, and did return the fire and kept the rebels off for a few moments ; but they were too near and much too strong for him. And a portion of them  quickly outflanked him.

His command was broken to pieces, with a loss of three killed, eight wounded, and twenty captured, himself being among the prisoners. The remainder escaped and rode back to Memphis. A larger detachment was then sent out, which brought in the killed and a few wounded who had not been taken away, but found no enemy. Captain Huff and his fellow prisoners were confined at Andersonville, the survivors remaining captive till the end of the war.

Eldred Huff.

Birth: Unknown
Death: April: 21,1911.

Parents: Eldred Huff (1804 - 1883), Susan Huff (1811 - 1866).

Wife: Susan J Huff (____ - 1921).

Siblings: Eldred Huff (____ - 1911), Anna Huff Shannon (1832 - 1861), Samuel Huff (1837 - 1863), Abraham H Huff (1841 - 1863).

Note: aged 71.

Burial: Bayview Cemetery, Bellingham, Whatcom County, Washington.

CAPT. CHARLES G. OLMSTEAD.

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CAPT. CHARLES G. OLMSTEAD.

Charles G. Olmstead, was born in Vanderburg county, Indiana, November 1, 1823, and entered the U. S. service as 1st lieutenant of Company A, 42d Regiment, with its organization, at the age of 38 years and 9 months. Before
entering the army he was engaged in the saw-mill and lumber business in Evansville, Indiana.

Captain Olmstead was promoted to this rank soon after  the organization of the command, his captain (Atchison) being made chaplain.

Captain Olmstead was one of the most painstaking officers. realizing from the beginning the importance of efficiency and proficiency in drill, and he at once became one of the closest students in tactics.

He was killed at the battle of Perryville, Ky., while urging on his men in the fight. No braver nor better soldier ever belonged to the regiment.

His body was removed from the bloody field of Perryville, Ky., to his former home, where it found a last resting-place, on what would have been his 39th birthday.

Captain Olmstead was known as a christian soldier, and although he was denied the celebration of his 39th birth-day here on earth, let us hope and believe he celebrated it in heaven, hard by the throne of God, for he was a Soldier of the Cross, as well as for the Union.

He left a wife, three sons and one daughter, all living except the second son. By all who knew him, Captain Olmstead was loved.

Death of Chas. G. Olmstead.

On October 8th, 1862, Captain Chas. G. Olmstead, Company A, fell, shot dead, the ball entering near the center of the forehead. He was urging, encouraging and cheering his men and had just said to them : " This is as good a place to die as any other," and the words had scarcely died on his
lips when he fell, killed outright. He was one of the best drill-masters of the line, and  was loved by all. He fell at his post of duty.

Burial: Salem Cemetery, Evansville, Vanderburgh County, Indiana,

John Harris Baker.

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John Harris Baker.

Birth: Aug. 7, 1824.
Death: Apr. 7, 1905.

Wife: Louisa A Trice Baker (1829 - 1885).

Children: Edgar Harvey Baker (1855 - 1951).

Burial: Eastview Cemetery, Zebulon, Pike County Georgia.

From Muster Roll of Company A, 13th Regiment Georgia Volunteer Infantry Evans' Brigade, Gordon's Division Army of Northern Virginia C. S. A. Pike County, Georgia "Confederate Guards:" Baker, John H. - Captain July 8, 1861. Wounded at Sewell's Mountain, Va. September 25, 1861. Elected Major February 1, 1862. Wounded at Cold Harbor, Va. June 27, 1862; Malvern Hill, Va. July 1, 1862. Elected Lieutenant Colonel September 17, 1862. Cap tured at Gettysburg, Pa. July 4, 1863. Elected Colonel December 14, 1863. Exchanged May 4, 1864. Wounded at Monocacy, Md. July 9, 1864; Winchester, Va. September 19, 1864; Fort Steadman, Va. March 25, 1865. Paroled April 21 ,1865. Served in Mexican War. Died in Pike County, Ga.

Col. Baker was a veteran of two wars, having served with distinction in the Mexican as well as the civil war. When the civil war broke out he raised Co. A of the Confederate Guards in Zebulon and was made its captain. He soon became a major of the 18th Georgia Regiment, then lieutenant colonel and later colonel of that famous regiment. For the last nine months of the war, he was in command of Gen. Evans old brigade, when Evans was promoted to be a major general, and he had been chosen as a brigadier general, but as no commissions were sent out for several months previous to the close of the war, he never received his as a general though he had been selected as a brigadier and had been serving in that capacity for several months.

He served several terms in the general assembly of Georgia both as representative and senator, being nominated each time without his solicitation and elected without opposition. He made an able and conscientious legislator.

Soliders and Sheriffs of Georgia

These Men were first soldiers and later elected Sheriffs while in service of the Confederate army of Georgia.
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Robinson, Christopher C.—Private Mar. 18, 1861. Mustered out  at Augusta, Ga. Mar. 18, 1862. Appointed 1st Sergeant of Co. C, 34th Regt. Ga. Inf. May 13, 1862. Discharged, having been elected sheriff of Coweta County, Ga., Apr.3,1864.

Teague, William D.—Private Apr. 30, 1861. Appears last on roll for Sept. 3, 1862. No record of transfer or discharge found. Enlisted as a private in Co. F. 6th Regt. Ga. Cavalry in 1862. Discharged, having been elected Sheriff of Union County, Ga.

Pittman, James—2d Corporal Apr. 26, 1861. Discharged, having  been sheriff of Wilkinson County, Ga. Feb. 20,1864.

Nash, Linton A.—2d Sergeant Apr. 25, 1861. Elected Jr. 2d Lieutenant Aug. 26, 1861; 2d Lieutenant May 21, 1862. Wounded at Chancellorsville, Va. May 2, 1863. Elected Captain July 1, 1863. Resigned, having been elected sheriff of Twiggs County, Ga., Feb. 13,1864.

Young, W. T.—Private May 15, 1861. Wounded and disabled, date and place not given. Elected sheriff of Oglethorpe County,  Ga. and discharged Jan. 6,1864.

Hendricks, James—2d Corporal June 10, 1861. Appointed 1st Sergeant June 16, 1862. Elected 1st Lieutenant Dec. 20, 1863. Elected Sheriff of Bulloch County, Ga. and resigned Oct. 1864.

Williams, James T.—Private Oct. 2, 1863. Elected sheriff of Bryan County, Ga. Jan. 1864. Discharged July 15,1864. Private, 21st., Co. K.

Coffee, William R.—Private Aug. 24, 1861. Elected Sheriff of  Rabun County, Ga. and discharged in 1863. Private, 24th. Co.. E.

Henderson, John J.—4th Sergeant Aug. 26, 1861. Elected sheriff of Pierce County, Ga. in 1864. Discharged Feb. 9, 1864.

Daniel, Moses—Private May 8, 1862. Discharged, having been elected sheriff of Coffee County, Ga., Feb. 26, 1864.

Morton, Thomas Hardy—Private Mar. 5, 1862. Discharged, having been elected sheriff of Ware County, Ga., Feb. 20, 1864.

Brady, John W.—3d Corporal Sept. 25, 1861. Discharged, having been elected deputy sheriff of Butts County, Ga., July 15, 1862. Reenlisted as a private. Wounded at Jackson, Miss. July 16, 1863.

Parham, John T.—2d Corporal Nov. 10, 1861. Elected Jr. 2d Lieutenant Sept. 23, 1862. Elected Sheriff of his county and resigned Feb. 23, 1864.

Robinson, Christopher C.—Enlisted as a private in Co. A, 1st Regt. Ga. Inf. (Ramsey's), Mch. 18, 1861. Mustered out at Augusta, Ga. Mch. 18, 1862. Appointed 1st Sergeant of Co. C, 34th Regt. Ga. Inf. May 13, 1862. Discharged, having been elected sheriff of Coweta County, Ga., Apr. 3, 1864.

Lewis, Joshua K.—Private Oct. 1, 1861. Appointed 4th Sergeant in 1862. Pension records show he was elected Sheriff of Emanuel County, Ga. and discharged Oct. 21, 1863. (Born in Ga. in 1839.)

Kelly, John—Private May 6, 1862. Roll dated Nov. 7, 1864, last on file, shows him "Absent without leave since Aug. 1863, Deputy Sheriff, Dawson County, Ga."

Brittain, John C.—Enlisted as a private in Co. A, Phillips' Legion Ga. Cavalry Sept. 25, 1861. Transferred to Co. L, 38th Regt. Ga. Inf. Apr. 30, 1863. Roll dated Aug. 31, 1863. shows him sick in camp. No later record. Pension records show he was wounded near Richmond, Va. and furloughed home Sept. 1863. Elected Sheriff while on furlough. (Died at Gainesville, Ga. in 1912.)

McClain, Newton C.—2d Lieutenant Mar. 10, 1862. Elected 1st Lieutenant May 25, 1863. Roll dated Feb. 1864, last on file, shows him present. Pension records show he was furloughed for 30 days Feb. 1865. Elected sheriff while on furlough. (Born in Ga. in 1829.)

Powell, Washington—Private Mch. 4, 1862. Captured at Charleston, S. C. Oct. 16, 1862. Paroled at Fort McHenry, Md., sent to Aiken's Landing, Va., and exchanged, Nov. 1862. Elected Sheriff of Telfair County, Ga. and discharged July 1, 1864. (Born in 1831.)

Luke, James—Private Mch. 4, 1862. Elected Sheriff of Wilcox County, Ga.

Peters, Isham H.—5th Sergeant Mch. 4, 1862. Appointed 4th Sergeant Oct. 1862. Elected Sheriff of Lowndes County, Ga. and discharged. (Born in 1830.)

Ledford, Elbert Coleman—3d Corporal Mch. 4, 1862. Captured at Vicksburg, Miss. July 4, 1863, and paroled there July 7, 1863. Elected Sheriff of White County, Ga. and discharged in 1863.

Baxley, Mitchell—1st Corporal Apr. 21, 1862. Elected Sheriff of Appling County and discharged Mch. 1, 1864. (Born in Appling County, Ga. Jan.14, 1830.)

Martin, James Blanchard—Elected Captain of Co. D, 3d Regt. Ga. State Troops Oct. 13, 1861. Mustered out at Savannah, Ga. Apr. 20, 1862.Elected Captain of Co. B, 56th Regt. Ga. Inf. May 5, 1862. Wounded at Baker's Creek, Miss. May 16, 1863. Captured at Vicksburg, Miss. July 4, 1863, and paroled there July 5, 1863. Resigned, having been elected Sheriff, Mar. 31, 1864. Died at Newnan, Ga. Mar. 23, 1914.

ROBERT F. RIVES.

ROBERT F. RIVES was born on the line between Kentucky and Tennessee, on the 7th of December, 1837 ; his father, Robert Rives, is a native of Warren County, N. C, born December 16, 1803 ; he is a farmer and resides in Lafayette Precinct, Christian Co., Ky. ; he is of Scotch descent. His wife, subject's mother, Rebecca (Vaughan) Rives, was born in Granville County, N. C, and died March 8, 1870, aged sixty-six years. She was the mother of six children, of whom four are now living, Robert F. being the youngest child. He was reared on a farm and received a common school education. At nineteen years of age he engaged as manager of his father's farm in Montgomery County, Tenn. In 1861 he enlisted in the late Civil war, in Company L, Fourteenth Tennessee Cavalry, served through the war, and participated in many cavalry fights.

After Lee's surrender he was captured at Paris, Tenn., but was immediately paroled. After the war he resumed farming in Montgomery County, and in 1874 removed to his present residence, where he has since remained engaged in agricultural pursuits. His farm, " Jordon," contains 600 acres, upon which he makes the raising of wheat and tobacco a specialty.

In 1868 he married Isabella V. Pollard, who died October 19, 1875, leaving four children : Robert Henry, Franklin, Florence Neal and George Pollard. On the 25th of October, 1876, he married Sally E. Moore, a native of Dixon County, Tenn., a daughter of Jordon and Sarah D. (Viser) Moore, be a native of Montgomery County, Tenn., born in 1811, a member of the Tennessee Methodist Conference ; and she a native of Alabama, born in 1818. By this union there are two children: Mary Belle and Jordon Moore. Mr. and Mrs. Rives are members of the Methodist Church ; he is a member of the Casky Grange, and is a Democrat in politics.

Walden E. Purdy.

Walden E. Purdy.

Birth: Aug., 1840, Wayne County, Pennsylvania.
Death: Jan., 1921, Wall Lake, Sac County, Iowa.

Wife: Sarah Ann Pelton Purdy (1842 - 1920).

Burial: Oakland Cemetery, Sac City, Sac County, Iowa.

Walden E. Purdy and Family History.


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The pioneer settlers of Sac county enjoyed one advantage which will never come to the future settlers of this county, and that is cheap land. In the seventies there was plenty of five and ten-dollar land for sale in this county and today there are few. farms which could be bought for less than one hundred and fifty dollars an acre. While the early settlers enjoyed this one advantage they suffered a number of disadvantages, and it is probably true that a farmer today can pay for his land in almost the same length of time which the farmer of thirty years ago could pay for the land at the price at which it was then purchased. The Purdy family were among the early settlers of this county, and is one of the few families in the county who are able to trace their ancestry back through three generations.

The Purdys have traced their family history in the United States back  to the year 1656, when three brothers of the family came from Norway to  America and settled in Vermont. One member of the family, Reverend
William Purdy, settled in Pennsylvania. He became the progenitor of the Purdys who came to Sac county, Iowa. The family have been prominent in many states from the earliest history of the country. Members of the family
fought in the Revolutionary War and also in the War of 1812, while a
number of them were in the Civil War. Rev. William Purdy. a Baptist minister of Pennsylvania, had a son by the name of Peter, who in tum was the father of Marshall. the father of Walden E., whose history is here delineated.

 Walden E. Purdy was born August 14. 1840, in Wayne county. Pennsylvania. and is the son of Marshall and Sally Ann (Rude) Purdy, both of whom are natives of Pennsylvania. Peter Purdy, the father of Rev.  William  Purdy, migrated from Connecticut to Wayne county, Pennsylvania, in 17
92.

Marshall Purdy lived and died in Pennsylvania, dying in Wayne county in
1872. Mr. and Mrs. Marshall Purdy were the parents of nine children:
Newman D., Walden E., Elmer N., Mahlon D., Chester, Emeline, Lucinda,
Celeste and Melissa.

Walden E. Purdy was educated in Abbington Academy in Pennsylvania
and in 1861 came to Floyd county, Iowa, from his native state. The next
year he bought eighty acres in this county of his father-in-law, and lived on
it for the next ten years. In 1873 he came to Sac county, where he purchased
ninety-seven acres at five dollars and a half an acre. This land had never
been broken, and, as Mr. Purdy says, “there was nothing but prairie grass and mosquitoes” to be found on the farm. Since purchasing this farm he has
added to his land holdings from time to time, until he now owns one hundred and ninety-four acres in Wall Lake township. His son has forty acres in Jackson township and eighty-seven acres in W all Lake township, making a total of three hundred and forty-one acres in this county.

Mr. Purdy was married March 1 7, 1854, to Sarah A. Pelton, who was born October 23, 1842, in Lake county, Illinois. She is the daughter of Thomas and Lovilla (Graves) Pelton. natives of Tompkins and E Washington
counties, New York, respectively. Thomas Pelton pre-empted his land in
Lake county, Illinois, and at one time had an opportunity to buy land at
Chicago, but refused the opportunity. He did not realize at that time that the
land would become very valuable.

 In 1850 the Pelton family moved to Floyd county, Iowa, where they lived the remainder of their days. Thomas Pelton was born in 1811 and died in 1873. Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Pelton were the parents of two children, Susan and Sarah, the wife of Mr. Purdy. They also reared one adopted son, Frank. M r. and Mrs. Purdy are the parents of nine children: Mrs. Carrie Platt, of Minnesota; Mrs. May Della Stanzel, of Wall Lake township; Mrs. Nettie Benson, who lives in Texas, near Galveston; Frank. at home; Mrs. Cora McClintock, of South Dakota; Mrs. Grace Jennett, deceased; Clarence, at home; Mrs. Ada Thaw, deceased, and Mrs. Vernie Ellwanger, of Wall Lake, Iowa.

Mr. Purdy is a stanch Democrat and a firm believer in the principles of his party. He and his family are all members of the Baptist church and contribute of their means to its support. Mr. Purdy is a musician of ability
and has reared a family of musicians. At one time the family organized an
orchestra. which was known as the Purdy orchestra. Mr. Purdy has taught
a singing school since coming to this county. He is a vocal teacher of merit
and because of his musical ability has taught vocal music in the Methodist
church. The family has long been recognized as one which is interested in
the development of their community along such lines as would make a community a better place in which to live.