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Below is a family biography included in History of Union County, Iowa published by S. J. Clarke Publishing Co., in 1908.  These biographies are valuable for genealogy research in discovering missing ancestors or filling in the details of a family tree. Family biographies often include far more information than can be found in a census record or obituary.  Details will vary with each biography but will often include the date and place of birth, parent names including mothers' maiden name, name of wife including maiden name, her parents' names, name of children (including spouses if married), former places of residence, occupation details, military service, church and social organization affiliations, and more.  There are often ancestry details included that cannot be found in any other type of genealogical record.

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Lloyd T. Deaver, although now living retired in Creston, was in former years identified with educational interests and with farming. He was born in Perry county, Ohio, June 18, 1837. His father, Jonah Deaver, was born January 2, 1786, in Anne Arundel county, Maryland. The Deavers were dissenting English and went to Holland in the seventeenth century to escape persecution inflicted upon them because of their religious views. Two brothers of the name came from Holland about the time of the early settlement of the New Netherlands (New York). One of these brothers, Abraham Deaver, established his home in New York, while John Deaver settled at Loudoun county, Virginia. They were planters and long lived in their respective communities. Misael Deaver, the grandfather of our subject, was with General Washington at Valley Forge and served in the Continental army throughout the Revolutionary war. Others of the family also aided in the struggle for independence and it is a matter of family tradition that Misael Deaver’s father was with Wolfe before Quebec in the French and Indian war. Jonah Deaver served as a loyal defender of American interests in the war of 1812, enlisting in Muskingum county, Ohio, and was with General William Henry Harrison at the time of the death of the celebrated Indian chief, Tecumseh, on the river Raisin.

As a life work during the days of peace Jonah Deaver engaged in the tilling of the soil. He was born in Anne Arundel county, Maryland, where he remained until 1810, when he went to Ohio, locating near Zanesville. There for the Indians he ground tomahawks, which were eventually turned against the white settlers. As a pioneer he experienced the hardships and privations of life on the frontier. He lived in Muskingum county until 1830, when he removed to Perry county, owning large tracts of land in each county. He was an energetic man and became prosperous in his undertakings. Moreover, he held membership with the Methodist church,, was one of its class-leaders for fifty years and did much to further the cause of Christianity by his active cooperation in its work. In politics he was an old line whig and later a republican, casting his first presidential ballot for John C. Fremont. He held minor offices but had no political aspirations. He believed, however, in progression and aimed to give his children the best advantages of the schools of the early days. His death occurred July 4, 1870, when he was in his eighty-fifth year.

His wife, Mrs. Susanna Hoover Deaver, was born in Greenbrier county Virginia, in 1794 and died May 24, 1857. She was of German ancestry and was a daughter of Henry Hoover, a planter who belonged to a family that settled near Lancaster, Ohio, in 1805 and finally removed to Muskingum county. There they entered land and became prosperous in the development of their agricultural interests. Mrs. Deaver was a member of the Methodist church and a lady of many excellent traits of character. By her marriage she became the mother of fifteen children, of whom Lloyd T. Deaver is the youngest and the only one now living. There were ten sons and five daughters, and one of the sons beside our subject served in the Civil war, Wesley F. being a member of Company A, Sixty-seventh Ohio Volunteer Infantry. He enlisted in the fall of 1861 and served for one year, after which he was discharged because of disability. He then re-en listed in Company I of the First Ohio Heavy Artillery on the 18th of July, 1863, and served until the close of the war, being promoted from the ranks to the position of sergeant. He participated in a number of hotly contested engagements and was a brave and loyal soldier, never wavering in his support of the old flag or the cause it represented.

Lloyd T. Deaver was reared on the home farm, no event of special importance occurring to vary the routine of farm life for him in his boyhood and youth. He attended the country schools and also the graded school at Deavertown, which place was named in honor of his father. During the dark days of the Rebellion, he joined Company I, First Ohio Heavy Artillery as a private, being mustered into the United States service at Cincinnati, July 18, 1863. He participated in but few engagements and was mustered out at Camp Denison, Ohio, July 25, 1865. For two months he was ill in the hospital at Nashville, Tennessee, and now receives a pension of seventeen dollars per month.

In October, 1866, Mr. Deaver came to Iowa and settled in Jones township, Union county, on land which he had previously purchased and upon which he remained until 1893. He brought the fields under a high state of cultivation and made the farm a valuable property. He also engaged in teaching school while in Jones township for twenty years. Retiring from active business life in 1893, he came to Creston, where he has since resided, enjoying a well earned rest. He now owns and occupies a pleasant home on North Elm street, where he enjoys many of the comforts and luxuries of life.

On the 20th of October, 1859, Mr. Deaver was married to Miss Margaret A. Rusk, who was born in Perry county, Ohio, August 19, 1841, a daughter of John and Mary (Hearing) Rusk, her father being the eldest brother of Jeremiah M. Rusk, three times governor of Wisconsin, also member of congress and secretary of agriculture. The home of Mr. and Mrs. Deaver was blessed with four children. Wilmot Dayton, born in Perry county, Ohio, December 3, 1860, is married and has one child. They reside in Portland, Oregon, where he is secretary and treasurer for the Pacific Coast Elevator Company. Charles Fremont, born in Perry county, Ohio, November 13, 1862, is now in Minneapolis, carrying on business as a member of the F. H Peavey Elevator Company. He is married and has two children. Edwin G. Deaver, born in Perry county, Ohio, May 8, 1866, is engaged with a wholesale grocery concern at Minneapolis. Blanche M., born in Jones township, June 25, 1871, is teaching type-writing and shorthand in the McCartney Institute at Omaha, Nebraska.

The parents are devoted and faithful members of the Methodist Episcopal church and are greatly esteemed by all who know them. Mr. Deaver is a Mason and an Odd Fellow and belongs to T. J. Potter Post, No. 440, G A. R., of which he is a past commander.. In politics he has always been a loyal advocate of the republican party since it became the defense of the Union during the dark days of the Civil war. He cast his first presidential vote for Abraham Lincoln in 1860 and has ever been interested m those things which tend to benefit the community. He filled a number of township offices in Jones township and in Creston was appointed a member of the board of registration, with which he is still identified, having sat upon that board for twelve years. In 1905 he was appointed superintendent of the poor and is still acting in that capacity. His fidelity to the interests of the community has been an important element in general progress, and along educational lines particularly he has done much for the community.

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This family biography is one of 247 biographies included in The History of Union County, Iowa published in 1908.  For the complete description, click here: Union County, Iowa History and Genealogy

View additional Union County, Iowa family biographies: Union County, Iowa Biographies

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