Mrs. M.W. (Laura) Stover

Mrs. M.W. (Laura) Stover became a trustee member for the Marengo Public Library in June 1903, at the age of 59.  She was born Laura Ricord on November 19, 1844.[1]  Her parents names were Edward and Jane Ricord.  Edward Ricord was the first white settler in Iowa County, and Laura was the first white child born there.[2]  Laura attended college at the University of Iowa.[3]  She married Mathias W. Stover on February 19, 1866.  Together they had six children.[4]  Her husband was an active business man in Marengo and in 1876, he had a large Opera House built, when Laura would have been 32 years old.[5]  M.W. Stover passed away on October 21, 1892.[6]  Laura was a widow for 39 years.  She passed away on November 29, 1931.

-Hannah Hacker

Mr. M. W. Stover

Mr. Matthias W. Stover was a prominent businessman in Marengo, Iowa.  As a young man, Mr. Stover entered Western College, an agricultural college, in Linn County, Iowa in 1859, graduating in 1861 or 1862.  He then enlisted in Co K, Second IA Volunteer Infantry during the early part of the Civil War.  He served until he received a gunshot wound at Vicksburg, losing his right arm.  He was then discharged on June 9, 1864. [1]

After his discharge, Mr. Stover returned to Iowa County to farm and ship stock.  He taught school until 1868.  In 1868, he was elected County Recorder and was reelected twice.  Mr. Stover also entered the abstract, real estate, loan, and insurance business as well as farming.[2]  In 1880 he organized the Marengo Savings Bank, serving as a director, vice-president, and president.  He was later employed as an Emigration Agent for the Iowa Central Route and Kansas City, Pittsburg and Gulf Railway.  Mr. Stover was also the proprietor of the Stover Opera House in Marengo, Iowa.  The Opera House was used to host public events, such as high school graduations, as well as plays and operas.[3]

Matthias Walter Stover was born on February 19, 1844, in Knox County, Ohio.  His parents were George Washington Stover and Catherine Wimer. The family moved to Iowa in 1856.[4]

On February 19, 1866, he married Laura Ricord, daughter of Edward and Jane (Gillian) Ricord.  They reared six children in Marengo, Iowa.[5]  Mr. Stover died on October 16, 1902 in Marengo, Iowa, and is buried in the IOOF Cemetery in Marengo, Iowa.[6]

-Jeanne St. Christian

Mrs. M.W. Stover footnotes

[1] Her death record claims that she was born in 1844, but her tombstone says 1846. Sources: Ancestry.com, U.S., Find A Grave Index, 1600-Current [database on-line], Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012.

[2] Williams, Stephen David. “Iowa County Was First Settled By Edward R. Ricord In 1842.” Iowa
County IAGenWeb: Records – Newspaper Articles, IAGenWeb, 2005.

[3] It was not possible to determine what she studied at the University of Iowa. All that was said in regard to her schooling was that she was given “excellent educational advantages.” Source: James C. Dinwiddie, History of Iowa County, Iowa, and Its People, vol. 2, (Chicago, IL: S.J. Clarke Publishing, 1915), Index.

[4] Their names were Edward Lee, Bruce H., Albert H., Roy Walter, Ada Laura, and Ralph Emerson. Source: The History of Iowa County, Iowa, Containing a History of the County, Its Cities, Towns, &c., Biographical Sketches of Its Citizens, War Record of Its Volunteers in the Late Rebellion, General and Local Statistics … History of the Northwest, History of Iowa .., Union Historical Company, Birdsall, Williams & Co., 1881, p. 539.

[5] It was not possible to find any information on how active Laura was with the Opera House.

[6] Dinwiddie, James. “Biography of Mathias W. Stover Iowa County, IA Biographies.”
OnlineBiographies.

[7] Source: Ancestry.com, U.S., Find A Grave Index, 1600-Current [database on-line], Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012.

Mr. M.W. Stover footnotes

[1] James C. Dinwiddie, History of Iowa County, Iowa, and Its People, vol. 2, (Chicago, IL: S.J. Clarke Publishing, 1915).

[2] 1882-1883 Iowa Gazeteer & Business Directory, Des Moines, IA, 1881.

[3] James C. Dinwiddie, History of Iowa County, Iowa, and Its People, vol. 2, (Chicago, IL: S.J. Clarke Publishing, 1915).

[4] Ancestry.com, U.S., Find A Grave Index, 1600-Current [database on-line], Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012.

[5] Ibid.

[6] Ibid.