Chapter 1 of “Some Jasper County Pioneers”

Loren and Iris (Kenyon) Milligan Richard L. Kenyon

This chapter is one of a series if 18 chapters which cover the ancestors and descendants of jasper county pioneer settlers, all of who are related in various ways.

Chapter Number Chapter name

1. Loren and Iris (Kenyon) Milligan

2. A Milligan Album

3. Josephine “Josie” (Scott) Schmidt/Chinn

4. William H. and Estella (Beals) Milligan/Gibson

5. John and Mary (Carey) Scott

6. Jacob and Maria (Hopton) Milligan

7. David and Chelley (Herring) Beals

8. David and Sophia (Torrance) Scott

9. William T. and Anne (Dawson) Carey

10. Jacob and Mary Herring

11. Benjamin Franklin Bleakney

12 A Bleakney Album

13. Madison S. Kinyon

14. Vallejo Kinyon

15. Ira Kinyon

16. Francis/Frank Vallejo Kinyon

17. Don and Jean Kenyon

18. Ruth (Kinyon) Deer

Chapter 1

Iris (Kenyon) Milligan Daughter of Ira Kinyon

Richard L. Kenyon 32 Almond Tree Ln, Irvine CA 92612-2230

rlkenyon@cox.net Jun 19, 2008, revised Aug 25, 2012

Introduction Vallejo Kinyon’s son Ira married Clementine Bleakney and raised a family of three as described in the separate chapter on Ira Kinyon. But before this marriage, Ira had a child Vera Iris Kenyon (known as Iris) by Josephine “Josie” Scott. They did not marry. Iris married Loren Milligan at her grandmother Mary Scott’s home. Except for a year after their marriage, they lived the rest of their life on the farm in Jasper County established in 1870 by Iris’ Scott grandparents. Iris was well known in the community as a musician, performing at parades, dances, and church gatherings. Loren was noted for his willingness to help others.

Iris and Loren Milligan on the occasion of their marriage

Collection of Teresa Schweinebart

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Birth of Iris Vera Iris Kenyon (known as Iris) was the daughter of Ira Kinyon and Josephine “Josie” Scott. Iris was born November 15, 1902, in the home of her grandmother Mary Scott, located southeast of Baxter in Independence Township, Jasper County, Iowa. Josie was 17.

Iris’ father was Ira Kinyon, who lived nearby on the farm of his father, Vallejo Kinyon. According to Josie’s granddaughter Teresa Schweinebart:

It is a long story but Ira and his father were helping a family named Mills build a new barn after a big storm. That is where Ira met Josie Scott and one thing lead to another and she was going to have a baby. By the time she knew she was going to have a baby Ira was gone so I don't think he ever knew he was going to be a dad.

Ira went on long cattle drives during that period, which probably explains his absence. Josie and Ira did not marry. The father of Iris is recorded as Ira Kenyon in the Jasper County birth records.

Ira Kenyon later married Clementine Bleakney. This family, and both Ira’s and Clementine’s ancestors, are the subjects of separate chapters.

Iris and Loren Milligan on the occasion of their marriage

—Collection of Debbie Yslava via Teresa Schweinebart

Youth and marriage Iris was raised by her grandmother Mary Scott. She was always known as Iris Kenyon. Iris attended country school #4 through the 8th grade. At a young age she started playing the piano and was soon playing with her mother Josie at dances.

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Loren Milligan met Iris when his parents moved to a farm about a half-mile south of the home of Iris’ grandmother Mary Scott. On June 26, 1918, Loren and Iris were married at Mary Scott’s home.

Loren Arthur Milligan was born December 22, 1893, in Metz, Jasper County, Iowa. He was the son of William H. and Estella (Beals) Milligan. He attended Metz country school, helped his father on the farm, and helped cut timber and haul wood for other people.

After their marriage, Loren and Iris rented a farm in St. Marys, Warren County, Iowa. They farmed there for almost a year, and then returned to Jasper County to the farm owned by Iris’ grandmother Mary Scott. They bought this farm in 1926, and lived there the rest of their lives.

They had five children: Bill, Ike, Max, Marvin, and Larry. They are covered in a following section.

Iris and Loren on Pat and Mike Their son Max recalled that Iris was a better horseback rider than most men that he knew.

—Collection of Debbie Yslava via Teresa Schweinebart

Life on the farm With 5 boys, life was not dull. Iris always said “What one didn’t think of, the other ones did.”

One day Iris and Loren were gone for a day and left Bill, Ike, and Max alone at home. They found Loren’s gunpowder. They put it on the back of the old cook stove and it blew up, putting a large hole in the wall. They hung a sheet over the hole in the futile hope that no one would notice it. They were in trouble for quite some time.

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Another time they put younger brother Marvin in a little wagon and hooked the billy goat up to the wagon so Marvin could go for a ride. The goat would not move, so someone slapped the goat on the rump and he took off down the hill over the well and through the raspberries. Marvin was cut up and bruised, so they tried hiding him in the barn so their parents would not see him. When Loren found him, the boys were in trouble again.

One time Larry took Max’s daughter Teresa down to their pond to go fishing. She cast out the line and it went up on the pond’s dam, where some little pigs were standing, and hooked a pig. It took Loren most of the day to run the pig down and get the hook out. Larry never took Teresa fishing again.

Loren loved to watch boxing on TV. He fought right along with them. He could get pretty wild at it. He always made a large metal dishpan full of popcorn and sat it on a tray next to his chair. Teresa was staying all night with them, so she was in the front room with Loren. The boxing started. Loren was fighting too, waving his arms, throwing punches, when his arm hit the metal pan sending it flying up in the air. Popcorn flew all over the place just like snow. But when the metal pan hit the floor, the sound it made was something else. There they sat, popcorn all over the place and in their hair, when Iris came into the room. Loren looked at her and said “Think it’ll snow?” She just turned around and left the room.

Loren Milligan

Collection of Mark Milligan, scanned by Lois J. Hinshaw

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Loren In the spring of 1930 Loren had an accident where a tractor backfired and sent a piece of hot carbon into his eye. His eye could not be saved, and a glass eye was fitted. He endured months of intense pain during his treatment by Dr. S. E. Hinshaw, and the lengthy convalescence. Loren was unable to work on the farm during this period. His brothers Carl, Harold and Earl Milligan helped run the farm, as well as some great neighbors including George Smith, Leo Luthey, Tuffy Hostclaw, and Gussy Wintermeyer. They made sure the farm chores were done and Iris had whatever she needed. By the fall of the year, Loren was able to resume work.

Loren did not let the loss of an eye stop him from farming or driving. He bought a new pickup truck shortly before his death. He was very proud of this. It is still in the family—his son Larry has it.

If anyone needed help, Loren was always there. When storms destroyed barns or homes, Loren was the first person there ready to help rebuild.

After a number of years of poor health, Loren died at age 64 on November 10, 1958. Taken ill in July, he was a patient at the University Hospital in Iowa City for the three weeks prior to his death.

Music Iris never missed a chance to play the piano. She spent many hours entertaining people. She always knew any song they called for. She belonged to the Baxter Kitchen Band, which played at every event in the county. She loved going to play at the Iowa State Fair each year. The band was in many parades and county fairs. She also played with her son Larry and his wife Rita in the Ashton Chapel. Lois Hinshaw, whose husband was the pastor, recalled:

Iris used to play the piano at church for us. She always played by ear and it was great. At one time, we had a group called "The Good Gospel Singers" from our church and we went all over singing at churches. Larry Milligan (son of Iris) played the guitar and his wife, Rita, was in the singing group also.

Every Saturday night there was a dance in the Legion Hall in Baxter. Iris played there until the hall was torn down. Then she started playing at the Grange in Ira, near Baxter.

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. Iris playing the piano with the Baxter Kitchen Band, in a parade in Kellogg, Iowa, about 1978. —Kellogg Museum, gift of Mabel Holmdahl Veber Doane, Scanned by Lois J. Hinshaw

Iris playing the piano with the Baxter Kitchen Band, in a parade in Kellogg, Iowa, 1976. —Kellogg Museum, gift of Mabel Holmdahl Veber Doane, Scanned by Lois J. Hinshaw

The instruments in the Baxter Kitchen Band included the kazoo, jug, fiddle and balloon as melody instruments, and the washboard, triangle, pie pan and others as percussion instruments. I asked Teresa Schweinebart what it sounded like:

I can tell you first hand for I went to many of their shows. It was awesome!!!! They

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used junk and made the neatest sounds. They also would sing while others played. One would blow across the mouth of a jug. One would let air out of a balloon and it sounded good. They always had a good time. And believe me they took it very seriously. They would get together and practice twice a week. They did this for almost 10 years till bad health started to catch up with them. Everywhere they played people would stand up and clap and cheer. They always ended with the same song:

Show me the way to go home I'm tired and I wanna go to bed I had a little drink about a hour ago And it went right to my head . . .

I wish you could have heard the band. No wonder Grandma Iris loved doing it. They all did. The last member of the kitchen band, Gladys Breer, died last July. She was 103. She was a very neat lady. I went to her funeral. They buried her with her kazoo! It was in her hand.

The family farm

Map of the Milligan Century Farm The red lines show the borders of the farm, located in Section 25 in Independence Township, Jasper County, Iowa. The upper 160 acres is called the “home place.” The top 120 acres of the home place was purchased in 1870 by Iris’ grandfather William T. Carey. The lower 80 acres is called the “south place.”

The sign, shown at right, was awarded by the State of Iowa in 1979.

Iris’ great grandfather William T. Carey came to Jasper County, Iowa, in the late 1850’s. On his death in 1904 he owned 360 acres of land in Independence and Malaka Townships. The 120 acres of land in Section 25 of Independence

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Township went to his daughter Mary (Carey) Scott. Mary and her husband, John, farmed this land, and Mary continued after John’s death. In February 1926, Mary sold the land to her granddaughter Iris (Kenyon) Milligan. Most of the land was timber and had to be cleared before the Milligan’s could farm it. Later, Iris and Loren bought more land, called the “south place,” located to the southwest of the “home place.”

The family farm is an important part of the heritage of Iowa. The State’s Century Farms Program recognizes and honors those families who have owned the farmland for 100 years or more. Iris received a Century Farm award in 1979 at the Iowa State Fair. She was very proud of this honor.

When Loren died, Iris stayed on the farm and her son Max, and his wife Ruby, took over. Today, after 138 years of ownership by the same family, the farm is owned by Iris’ grandson Mark Milligan, who lives on the south place. Max Milligan continues to live on the home place. Although officially retired, he still works on the farm—he says “once a farmer, always a farmer.”

Mark

Bill Iris

Ashley Brandon Four generations: Iris Milligan with son Bill, Bill’s son Mark, and Mark’s children Ashley and Brandon. Picture taken about 1986.

—Mark Milligan collection, scanned by Lois J. Hinshaw.

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Iris as a widow Iris spent 30 years as a widow. She lived next door to her son Max, who ran the farm. For many years she remained active in music performance and the church.

Finally she reached the point where she needed more help than Max and Ruby could give. In 1987, she decided on her own that she would go into the Colonial Manor nursing home in Baxter. This was so hard for her, for she had been on her own for many years, but she knew it was for the best.

Granddaughter Teresa Schweinebart recalled that: Iris never lost her sense of humor. She was so much fun to be around—always a smile on her face. After finding out that she had breast cancer, and going through surgery, she still played piano every Sunday at the Nursing home for church services. I was with her the day that she had her stroke. Things were not good from that time on. She was not able to get up any more, but she never gave up.

On June 18, 1989, Father’s Day, at 11:38 a.m., Iris passed away.

She was buried beside Loren in Restland Cemetery, at Baxter.

Gravestone of Iris and Loren Milligan, Restland Cemetery, Baxter, Iowa

—Photo by Lois J. Hinshaw

After the funeral, Pastor Bob Hinshaw said something to Teresa that she will always remember:

“One of God’s angels is the best piano player he ever had the honor of knowing.”

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Children of Loren and Iris Milligan 1. William Lester “Bill” Milligan was born January 24, 1920, in Baxter, Jasper

County, Iowa. He married Margie C. Dodd on May 9, 1944 in Newton Iowa. She was born December 16, 1925 in Maxwell, Iowa, to Carl and Minnie Dodd. Bill and Margie made their home on the family farm in Baxter. Bill was a farmer, but he also worked in the Maytag Company factory in Newton, retiring in 1982. He loved music, and loved playing his guitar and having jam sessions with his friends and fellow musicians. Margie died at age 56 on December 4, 1982 in Marshalltown, Iowa. Bill died at age 84 on January 9, 2005 at Skiff Medical Center in Newton. They are buried in Restland Cemetery in Baxter. They have two children: Linda and Mark.

2. Arthur Eldon “Ike” Milligan was born December 20, 1921 in Baxter. He married Klara Kienle on November 25, 1945, in Baxter. Klara was born in Altbulach, Germany on May 25, 1921. Ike was a Baxter businessman for 46 years, the founder of Milligan Oil and Propane Company, and owner of Baxter Food Center. He was a World War II veteran, serving in Europe 1942-1945. Ike died at age 76 on November 15, 1991 in Newton, Iowa. Klara died at age 78 July 30, 2000, in Newton, Iowa. Ike and Klara are buried at Bethany Cemetery in Baxter. They have three children: Sidney, Loren (Pat) and Barbara.

3. Ira Max Milligan (known as Max) was born October 8, 1925 in Baxter. On September 5, 1944, he married Ruby Porter, the daughter of Virgil and Lorraine Porter. Aside from working 3 years for Maytag in Newton, Max has worked on the family farm all of his life. They have a daughter, Teresa.

4. Marvin J. Milligan was born April 14, 1928, in Baxter. He attended Council Bluffs School for the Deaf. He was married on May 22, 1955 to Betty Jean Barcus, the daughter of Virgil and Florence Barcus. They lived northeast of Indianola, Warren County, Iowa. Marvin farmed all of his life, and also worked at the Maytag Corporation for 31 years, retiring in 1981. He died at age 76 on September 16, 2004, at the Mercy Hospice in Johnston and is buried in the I.O.O.F. Cemetery in Indianola, Iowa. They have two sons, Craig and Steven.

5. Larry Elvin Milligan was born September 20, 1943. He married Rita Maggard on July 10, 1964. She is the daughter of Robert and June Maggard. They have three children: John, Jill and Jeff.

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Acknowledgements There would not be any biography of Iris without the work of Iris’ granddaughter Teresa Schweinebart of Baxter, Iowa. She initially contacted me seeking to learn more bout Iris’ father Ira Kinyon. She searched extensively for photos and documents, and contributed family stories based on her own personal knowledge, and that of her father. Lois J. Hinshaw of Kellogg, Iowa was very helpful and resourceful, searching for usable photos in the Kellogg Museum, in her own collection, and in the collections of Larry and Rita Milligan, and Mark and Christie Milligan, and then expertly scanning what she found. She also took the gravestone photo.

Sources Biographical detail and family stories: Most biographical detail and all of the stories are from Teresa (Milligan) Schweinebart. She was raised on the same farm as Iris. She also has had access to information from all of Iris and Loren’s children. Thus, she has a definitive personal knowledge of the subject. Birth of Iris: Jasper Co Record of Births, v. 3, p. 65, Iris Kenyon, b. Nov 15, 1903 [sic], Independence Twp, mother Josie Scott, father Ira Kenyon. The year 1903 appears to be a clerical error for Iris’ family Bible record says 1902. The cause of the error was probably delayed recording of the birth on a page where most of the entries were from 1903. The correct spelling of Iris’ father’s name is Kinyon, but the clerk thought it should be spelled “Kenyon” and so recorded it. Iris Milligan Bible: Collection of Teresa Schweinebart. Lists birth, marriages and deaths of family members. Loss of eye: Teresa Schweinebart, from an interview with her father Max Milligan, Loren’s son. According to Lois J. Hinshaw, there is a family connection between Loren and Doctor S. E. Hinshaw as follows: S. E. Hinshaw was the son of William Ezra Hinshaw, the brother of Calvin Wasson Hinshaw. Calvin married Mary Rachel “Molly” Beals, daughter of Caleb Beals, who was Loren Milligan’s grandfather. Musical Talents: Teresa Schweinebart and Lois J. Hinshaw. Century farm: 1) Century farm application of Iris Milligan, a notarized document signed May 3, 1977. 2) Teresa Schweinebart, who was raised on the farm and whose father still lives there. 3) Map from Iowa State Department of Transportation showing roads and Public Land Survey section numbers. Death of Loren Milligan: Obituary, Baxter New Era, Nov 12, 1958, p 1, funeral leaflet (Teresa Schweinebart collection), cemetery record, and tombstone photo. Death of Iris Milligan: Obituary online at Jasper Co. Genweb (date and paper not given), funeral leaflet (Teresa Schweinebart collection), cemetery record, and tombstone photo. Family of Loren and Iris in the census: IA, Jasper Co., Independence Twp 1920, 1925 (State census), 1930. Children of Loren and Iris: Birth and marriage from Iris’ Bible. All other information from Teresa Schweinebart.