BIOS: Des Moines Biographies Christy thru Fritz; Polk County, Iowa ************************************************************************ USGENWEB ARCHIVES PROJECT NOTICE: These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by any other organization or persons. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material, must obtain the written consent of the contributor, or the legal representative of the submitter, and contact the listed USGenWeb archivist with proof of this consent. The submitter has given permission to the USGenWeb Archives to store the file permanently for free access. http://www.usgwarchives.net/ ************************************************************************ Permissions and Restrictions I have a copyright to these files and give permission for these files to be posted to any site that offers free access to all. Copying to any medium for the purpose of profit is strictly prohibited. This prohibition pertains to all photographs, text files, and graphics. I hope you find this information of value in your genealogy research. Marion John Rice, mjrice@dakotacom.net ___________________________________________________________________________ NOTE: For more information on Polk County, Iowa Please visit the Polk County, IAGenWeb page at http://iagenweb.org/polk/ ____________________________________________________________________________ "The History of Polk County, Iowa" published by the Union Historical Company, Birdsall, Williams & Co. 1880. Des Moines Biographies BIOGRAPHICAL. DES MOINES CHRISTY, WM.-Contractor and builder. Born October 16, 1832, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,. and there learned the trade of a carpenter. He resided in that city until 1857, when he came to Iowa and located in East Des Moines. Since residing in the city he has been largely engaged in contracting and building, having done probably more in that line than any other mechanic now a resident of the city. During the war he served as a member of the Twenty-third Iowa infantry, company C, enlisting in September, 1862, and serving until September, 1865, participating in all the battles in which his regiment was engaged. The fall of 1874 he was elected a member of the Board of Supervisors for Lee township, serving one term, and being re-elected in the fall of 1877 to a second. He was united in marriage in 1856 to Miss May Deal. also a native of Philadelphia. CHRISTY, W. D.-City Clerk. Was born in New Lisbon, Ohio, on the 23d. day of May, 1841, and when two years of age was taken by his parents to Brownsville, Pennsylvania, where he lived until 1856. He came to Iowa in 1856, and until the outbreak of the war he was attending school. He enlisted under the first call for 75,000, in the Second Iowa infantry, and served until July, 1865. He took part in the battle of Fort Donelson, where the Second Iowa, for gallant services, achieved such a reputation. He acted as Quartermaster- Sergeant, and since he was mustered out has held the position of chief clerk of the insurance department of the State Insurance Company. He was elected to his present office in the spring of 1880: He married Miss Elizabeth Lunnon in 1870. She was a native of Maryland, and died April 25, 1879, leaving three children: Fred, John, acid Lillian. CHRISTY, A.-Mail-carrier. Was born in Philadelphia, July 31,1831, and resided there until 1856, when he came here. He is a carpenter and builder by trade. Was married in Philadelphia, in October, 1852, to Miss Martha A. Crawshaw, a native of that city. They have a family of three sons: James, George L., and Frank P. Lost six sons. Mr. Christy has been longer engaged in this business than any one in the city. CLAPP, ED. R.-Among the daring and enterprising pioneers who were borne westward on the advanced wave of civilization were two brothers, by the name of Clapp. W. W. Clapp was one of the most energetic business men in the early history of the county. He afterward removed to California, where he died. The subject of this sketch, E. R. Clapp, though yet a comparatively young man is still actively engaged in the business affairs of the city he assisted in founding. He was born in Madison county, New York, May 30, 1827. He afterward, while yet a youth, DES MOINES. 785 removed to Ohio, and when ten years of age located in Keokuk county, of this State, and, in 1846, again removed to Polk county, Iowa. Thus far Mr. Clapp was chiefly engaged in the occupation of farming and stock raising and as such was successful in accumulating considerable property. Possessed of more than an average amount of business foresight and sagacity, he readily perceived, at an early time, that Des Moines was destined to become the leading business center of the State. He laid his plans accordingly and at the present time he is the owner of one of the best business locations and one of the most prominent business buildings in the capital city. In 1867 Mr. Clapp was appointed stock agent of the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad, which position he still occupies, he having discharged the difficult duties of that office for a period of thirteen years. He is one of the most trusted employees of the railroad and is a universal favorite among the stock men and shippers of the State. He was married in 1849 to Miss Emily J. Baughton, a native of New York; she died in 1869. By this marriage there are three children living: Ella (now Mrs. White), Ida (now Mrs. Smith), and John W. His second marriage occurred in 1871 to Mrs. S. A. Mills, a native of Rush county, Indiana. By this union they have one daughter: Bertha. Mrs. C. has two children by former marriage: Pleasant Jacob and Minnie (now Mrs. Harry Elliott). CLARK, CAPT. J. S.-Of the firm of Clark & Connor, attorneys. Is a native of Johnson county, Indiana, and was born in October, 1841, and resided in his native place until fifteen years of age, when be then removed to Warren county, Iowa. He was there engaged in agricultural pursuits and acquiring an education until the outbreak of the rebellion. He enlisted first in the First Iowa and afterward in the Thirty-fourth Iowa, and after passing the various grades of promotion from private, he was mustered out as captain. Deciding to study law he attended the State University at Iowa City, and graduated from the law department of that institution. In 1874 he formed a business connection with Wm. Connor, the present State Attorney for this district. He was married to Miss Laura C. Hutchinson, of Iowa City, November 30, 1870. She died in September, 1871. He married for his second wife Miss Fannie M. Page. They have one daughter: Laura Osgood. CLARK, CHARLES J.-Of the firm of Geo. C. Baker & Co., hardware dealers, and manufacturers and jobbers of tinware. Was born in Onondaga county, New York, November 15, 1835, where he lived until 1852. He received all the advantages of a common school education, supplemented by two years of academic study. In 1852 he came west with his parents, and located in McHenry county, Ills., and four years later removed to Fountain county, Ind., where he continued to reside until 1859. He then came to Polk county. In September, 1860, he was married to Miss Calista Kellison, a native of Indiana. Their family consists of three sons and one daughter: John F., Charles J., George Ward, and Clara L. On the breaking out of the rebellion Mr. Clark entered the service as first lieutenant of company A, Tenth Iowa infantry, in August, 1861, and was with that regiment until January, 1862, when he was obliged to resign on account of ill health. Soon afterward, having regained his health, he recruited a company for the Twenty-third Iowa infantry, in August, 1862, and was elected their captain. The following December he was promoted major, and lieutenant-colonel in June, 1863, and remained with the regiment in that capacity until the close of the war. He participated in the following bat- 786 BIOGRAPHICAL. tles: Port Gibson, Champion's Hill, Black River Bridge, Milliken's Bend, siege of Vicksburg, Fort Esperanza, Texas, and siege of Mobile. Such is the brief outline of the life of one whose career has been marked by enterprise, energy, pure motives and honest effort. He has made himself what he is, a worthy type of independent manhood. CLARK, AUSTIN-Proprietor of livery stable. Was born in Oneida. county, New York, October 16, 1839, and in 1859 came to this State, settling in Adair county, where he resided for two years, and then, moved on the farm known as the Frank Allen farm, where he remained for seven years. After that he removed upon the land lying near the South 'Coon: river; has been engaged in the livery business since April, 1877; owns a farm of 96 acres. He was married in Polk county to Miss Jennie Goodhue, a native of Massachusetts. They have one son and two daughters: Alice, Hallett and Mabel. CLARKE, R. W.-Justice of the Peace. Was born in Westmoreland county, Pa., February 5, 1816, and when about 17 years of age, he went to Blairsville, Indiana county, to attend school. About two years later his parents moved to that place. He is a civil engineer by profession, having followed the same in Pennsylvania for 21 years. In 1855 he came to Iowa, locating in this place. In 1868 he helped to locate the C., R. I. & P. R. R. for 100 miles this side of Council Bluffs, and since that time he has been identified with a number of surveys in this place. In the fall of 1878 he was elected justice of' the peace, which office he now holds. He was married in Erie, Pa., December 9, 1840 to Miss Caroline King, a native of that place. They have three sons and three daughters: Mary A., James P., Jane M., Thomas K., R. W. and Sarah. Mr. Clark was a member of the city council in 1867. CLARKSON, HON. COKER F.-The agricultural editor of The Iowa State Register. Father Clarkson was born in the grand old State of Maine, in the year 1810. In the year 1819 his father made a visit to Indiana in search of a home in the then Far West, and in the year following moved his family. The subject of this sketch, then but ten years of age, drove the team all the way through the vast wilderness that then intervened between the old and new home, and remained upon his father's farm until his seventeenth year, when he entered the printing office of the Lawrenceburg Statesman as an apprentice, and before he reached his twentieth year lead the management of the office, as the proprietor had been elected to an office demanding the greater portion of his time. At the end of four years he purchased the paper, and soon afterward started the Brookville American, and continued the publication of the same until 1854. During this time and the year following he was more or less engaged in the building of railroads. In 1855 he removed to the then new but growing State of Iowa, and located in Grundy county. He selected a choice location, and from the wilds of the prairie succeeded in making the now famous "Melrose farm," and by the faithful co-operation of his sons, the exercise of sound judgment, the intelligent adaptation of means to ends, amassed considerable fortune. He was elected to the Iowa Senate from the 39th district in 1863, and served the State faithfully and well. Has been connected with the Iowa State Register since 1870-the first eighteen months as one of the: proprietors, and since that time principally as the editor of the agricultural department, for which position he is peculiarly adapted, on account of his thorough knowledge of all the practical, branches of agriculture, and is pre- DES MOINES. 787 eminently the peer of all the agricultural writers of the West. He removed to Des Moines in 1878, and has since been identified with all the great movements for the public interests in general, and the conduct of his department of the Register, especially. He was married in 1832 to Miss Elizabeth Gowdy, a native of Uniontown, Fayette county, Pennsylvania, who died in 1848, leaving four children: Mrs. Pemela Coe, of Ft. Atkinson, Mrs. Frank E. Macey, of Marshalltown, Richard P. and Jas. S., of the Iowa State Register. In 1849 he married Miss Elizabeth Coldscott, of Brookville, Indiana. Mr. Clarkson is a man of positive character, and when his opinions are once formed they remain. He is a warm friend and a most vigorous opponent. His social qualities are admirable and his moral character is irreproachable. CLARKSON, RICHARD P.-Or "Dick," as he is familiarly and better known, was born in Brookville, Indiana, April 16, 1840. He was literally raised in the printing office of his father. He came to Iowa with his father in 1855 and remained with him in the arduous work of taming a wild prairie until 1861, when be came to Des Moines and entered the office of the State Register as a compositor. October 8, 1861, he enlisted as a private in company A, Twelfth Iowa infantry. He was captured at the battle of Shiloh, April 6, 1862, and for seven months received the murderous hospitality of rebel prison pens, when he was exchanged and returned to his, regiment and served through his term with a valor and heroism which fairly entitled him to shoulder-straps. When mustered out of the service her returned to Grundy county and engaged in agriculture until 1870, when he became connected with the Register, and at once assumed the position of business manager, devoting his time so assiduously to his post, from eleven o'clock in the morning until midnight, as to become especially noticeable. He is emphatically a man who "minds his own business." At a recent reunion of the Twelfth regiment he was present, which was the only time he has been absent from his desk for nearly nine years. He is cautious, firm in purpose, honorable and strictly methodical in all his transactions. To his excellent business qualifications is the establishment largely due for its remarkable financial success. He is reserved in manner, of few words, yet has in reserve those, qualities of mind which enable him to write well on any topic he may select. He is popular with those who know him best. Like his father, he is a firm friend and a disagreeable enemy. He is generous where generosity is deserving. In business circles he stands high for his unswerving integrity and stability. Though not a boisterous politician, he began political life at a very early date in a boisterous manner. In the summer of 1840 his mother was selected to present a flag to the Harrison Guards, of Brookville and make the presentation speech. That was in the log cabin campaign of Old Tippecanoe. Dick was in swaddling clothes, and, when the hour came for the presentation, he was turned over to the tender care of a friend. Dick set up a rebellion instanter, pugnis et calcibus, and made more noise than all the people on the ground, whereupon his mother took him, and, holding him on one arm, delivered her address anal presented the flag, like the Spartan mother 'she was. He was married in September, 1866 to Miss Aggie Green, a native of Illinois. They have four children: Elizabeth, John, Frank and Bertha. CLARKSON, JAMES S.- Mr. Clarkson, or "Ret," as he is better known to nearly every one acquainted with him, was born at Brookville, Indiana, May 17, 1842, and was a graduate from the printing office of his 788 BIOGRAPHICAL. father, beginning his trade when so young that a pile of boxes were necessary to raise him to a level with the "space box." He came to Iowa with his father and worked on the farm in Grundy county until the tocsin of war sounded, when he offered his services, with his brother, to the Union army, but was rejected for physical disability, from over work in a steam saw mill the prior winter. He continued his labor on the farm, and while his father was a member of the State Senate was the sole manager thereof. His natural inclinations were averse to agricultural life and toward journalism. He thought he saw a good investment in the Eldora Ledger, and consulted his father about it. His father squelched his ambitions dream with the remark that if he had no higher aspiration than that he had better stick to the farm and wait for a better opportunity. He came to Des Moines in May 18, 1866, and took a "case" on the Register. Six weeks after he was promoted to assistant foreman of the composing room, and three months after to the foremanship. About this time J. M. Dixon, who was the city editor of the Register, retired. Mr. Palmer, the editor, started east to find a successor to Mr. Dixon, leaving the paper in charge of Col. J. N. Dewey, and "Ret" as his assistant. While en route Mr. Palmer found a copy of his paper, and scanning its local page, was satisfied, returned home, and "Ret" was retained as assistant editor, which position he occupied until Palmer was nominated for Congress, when "Ret" became sole editor. When visiting his father in 1869 he suggested to him the purchase of the Register establishment. The suggestion was promptly acted upon. The purchase was made for thirty-thousand dollars cash, and the establishment passed into the hands of the father and sons December 4, 1870, under the firm name of the Clarkson Company. In 1871 the father retired from the firm and assumed editorial control of the agricultural department. "Ret" from the outset has been the managing editor, and has become one of the best in the West, as well as one of the most popular. He possesses a versatile, well-stored mind, thinks and puts his ideas on paper with great rapidity in a style of chirography most execrable, and the horror of compositors. He writes on soft print paper with pages about seven by nine inches square, beginning at the northwest corner, each line growing shorter to the right until at the bottom of the page the line will be about three inches long, inclining to the northeast corner at an angle of thirty degrees. There is a jubilee in the news-room when a fresh compositor tackles a "take" of his copy. He will retire to his case with visions of a "fat take" and thick "leads," industriously interviews it about five minutes, when the silence of the quiet night is broken with "Here! See here, foreman; what the h- is this? Looks like an inscription from the Egyptian obelisk!" With the help of the old stagers he worries through one or two lines and is ready to trade it off. He is a diligent student, and possessing one of the most valuable and extensive libraries in the State, he has eminently fitted himself for his vocation. He is of nervous, lymphatic temperament, genial and social, but not loquacious. He is decidedly positive in character and possesses indomitable will, which never yields, even to the most adverse circumstances. He is a warm, tenacious friend, and a hard hater. An enemy he may forgive-but forget, never. He is naturally inclined to combativeness, and woe to the person who becomes a target for his trenchant pen when dipped in gall. He is a firm, fast friend of his adopted city, and loses no opportunity to advance her interests and prosperity. He has filled several public trusts with great fidelity and success. He was appointed postmaster of Des Moines two DES MOINES. 789 terms, and resigned on account of impaired health, caused by over work. He is at present an active and influential member of the West Side board of school directors. He has an abiding faith in railroads as a means of developing a city, and so believing, he took hold of the Des Moines, Knoxville & Albia road when it was practically a dead letter, and by persistent individual effort secured its completion. He inaugurated the Milwaukee, Marion, Marshalltown & Des Moines railroad project, was made president of the company, and spent several months in the field to secure its success, furnishing the means from his own pocket to survey and locate the route, and to him alone will be due the credit of acquiring so valuable and important an addition to the railroad facilities possessed by the city. His familiar soubriquet. "Ret," was a signature assumed by him in newspaper correspondence. The compositors adopted it and soon it became universal among his friends. He was married December 26, 1867, to Miss Anna Howell, of Pella, daughter of Dr. J. G. Howell, a most estimable woman, possessing those graces of mind and heart which endear her to a wide extended circle of friends. Two children have blessed this union: Hallie and Coker F. CONRAD, CAPT. W. F.-Of the firm of Phillips & Conrad, attorneys at law. Was born in Ithica, New York, November 7, 1826, and when young his parents moved to Oswego, and afterward to Hinsdale, Cattaraugus county. When 15 years of age he removed to Brantford, Canada West. He graduated from the Wesleyan University, at Middletown, Conn;, in 1853, and afterward moved south to Port Gibson, where he taught school for about two years, studying law in the meantime. He was there admitted to practice in 1855, and soon after removed to this State, settling in Burlington, and at once commenced the practice of his profession. In August, 1862, he enlisted as a private in company G, Twenty-fifth Iowa. Before the command moved from Burlington he was commissioned sergeant-major, and on the 1st of January, 1863, was elected captain of company May 24, 1863, he was taken prisoner at Raymond, Miss., and was held 11 months in Libby Prison; was then taken to Macon, Ga.; remained there in the hands of the enemy for nearly 3 months, and about the same length of time in Charleston, S. C. He was then removed to Columbia; was detained two months and on the 29th of November, 1864, managed to escape. He made his way to Knoxville, Tenn., reaching there January 8, 1865. He saw some pretty hard times, since then unequalled. Then returned home, and soon after was sent on detached service to Fort Snelling, Minn., remaining there until July, 1865, when he was mustered out. He went to Canton, MO., where he commenced to practice, and remained there until his coming here, in the fall of 1876, and since 1878 has been engaged in business with Mr. Phillips. January 22, 1853, he was married in Aurora, New York, to Miss Harriet S. Pierce, a native of Maine. They have one son and one daughter: William F. and Hattie L. CREIGHTON, HUGH R.-One of Des Moines representative business men and most successful financiers, is a native of Starke county, Ohio, and enjoyed good educational advantages in his youth. At the outbreak of the war he early tendered his services to his country and enlisted on the nineteenth day of August, 1861, in company A, Third Illinois cavalry, as a private. He served with his regiment through the Missouri and Mississippi campaign until 1863, when he was detailed for staff duty, and for several months was provost- marshal at Holly Springs, and while occupying this 790 BIOGRAPHICAL. position paroled over seven thousand rebels. He was mustered out of the United States service on the twentieth day of August, 1865. Forming a taste for the profession of law, after a thorough course at the Albany Law School, was graduated from that institution and admitted to the bar. In 1872 he removed to this State and. settled at Indianola, Warren county, and established the firm of H. R. Creighton & Co., which firm was succeeded by Creighton & Creighton, a brother of the above. In 1876 Mr. Creighton came to this city and took charge of the Union Loan Association, and has since become proprietor of the same, arid in the management of which, he has been eminently successful. COGGESHALL, J. M.-Real estate dealer. Was born in Guilford county, North Carolina, on the 10th day of June, 1829, and in 1832 removed with his parents to Rush county, Indiana, where he was principally raised. He learned the trade of saddle and harness-maker, and worked at the business from 1848 to 1852, and from 1852. to 1860 was engaged in various pursuits. The following four years was in general merchandise. He came to this .city in 1865 and engaged in the clothing business for a short time, and for four years was in the manufacture of pottery ware, and has had a large experience in grain and real estate, in which he has been fairly successful. He has served as a member of the city council, and is one of the prominent men in his business in the city. He was married in 1857 to .Miss Mary J. Whitely, a native of Fayette county, Indiana.. Their family consists of four children: Georga W., Carl C., Harry, and Corrinne. COLE, HON. C. C.-Late Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Iowa, and a man with few peers in the legal profession in the State. Sprang from a very early New England family. He was born in Oxford, Chenango .county, New York, June 4, 1824. Was fitted for college at the Oxford Academy, and at eighteen was prepared to enter the junior class of Union College, .but protracted ill health prevented, and. at twenty-two he entered the law school of Harvard University, where he received a thorough training under the best legal instructors in the country,. and graduated in about two years. Mr. Cole went immediately to Frankfort, Kentucky, and took .charge for a short time of the legislative department of the Commonwealth, a daily paper of that place. He then located at Marion, Kentucky, where .he was admitted to the bar, and commenced what has proven to be a very brilliant career in the legal profession. It was brilliant from the start. .Success marked his first case at the bar, and won for him enviable reputation in that district. His uniform success was all the more remarkable from the fact that he had to contend with the ablest lawyers in the State. In May, 1857, Mr. Cole settled in Des Moines, which has since been his home, and his success here as an attorney has been second to none in Iowa. When in the spring of 1861 the American flag was stricken down at Fort Sumter he was among the first to protest against the infamous deed, and to raise his voice for the marshaling of Union troops. In February, 1864, he was appointed one of the judges of the Supreme Court. The next autumn he was elected to the same office by an unprecedented majority, and reelected in 1870 by an equally flattering vote. In 1865 he was associated with Judge G. G. Wright in organizing a law school at Des Moines, since made a part of the State University at Iowa City. In 1869 Judge Cole became Chief Justice, and served in that capacity until the expiration of that term. He was re-elected but resigned the office on the 1st of January, 1876, and returned to, the practice of his profession. His judicial DES MOINES. 791 work has been distinguished for a display of the highest qualities which are demanded by the bench, and as a judicial writer he has eloquence, clearness, and force. Judge Cole has been for several years the editor of the Western Jurist, a periodical published at Des Moines, and conducted with marked ability. The wife of Mr. Cole was Miss Amanda M. Bennett, an associate of his youth, to whom he was married June 25, 1848. They have had seven children, five of whom are still living: Will W. (now associated with his father in the practice of law), Gertrude (wife of A. C. Atherton), Mary, Frank, and Carrie. COOPER, ISAAC-One of the most worthy citizens that has made his home in Des Moines is the subject of this sketch, who was born in Otsego county, New York, on the 8th day of February, 1813. His father was a brother of the celebrated author and novelist, J. Fennimore. His boyhood and youth were spent in his native place, and his early life was that of a farmer boy. At the age of twenty he emigrated west, and arriving at Toledo, Ohio, found it a small town, containing only one store. He engaged in various occupations, at one time on the lakes, then a contractor on. the Wabash and Erie canal, then in mercantile pursuits, in the latter of which he experienced serious losses. He decided to move west and recuperate his waning fortunes, and in company with a brother reached Fort Des Moines in 1845. He first settled in Delaware township, and made the first improvements in the township, and at that time there was but one house west of him (that of John Saylor), to the Pacific Ocean occupied by a civilized being, or north to the British possessions. He dug the first well in the township, and the first threshing machine in the county was brought in by Mr. Cooper, who did the threshing for this and the adjoining counties. The first reaping and mowing machine was owned by himself, Daniel Justice, :and Peter Newcomer. In 1853 he moved from his farm and made his home in Des Moines until 1875, when, owing to impaired health, he went to California, and since that time has divided his residence between the two places. He was one of the first justices of the peace in Delaware township. On the 7th day of June, 1853, he was appointed chief clerk in the Register Department of the United States Land Office, an important position in those days, as the receipts were frequently twenty-five thousand dollars per day in gold. He is a good illustration of what economy and perseverance :can accomplish. He came here with small means and has always been prudent in his expenditures and richly merits the success which has attended his career. He has been twice married; first to Miss Caroline Armstrong, on the 26th of November, 1839, a native of Pennsylvania. She .died on the 23d day of July, 1871 leaving four children: Frances E. (now Mrs. Hubbell), Caroline F. (now Mrs. Grinn), Alice (now Mrs. Thompson), and Fennimore C. Mr. Cooper married for his second wife Miss Charlotte M. Mann, in 1872. She is a native of Massachusetts. COOK, IRA-Is a native of the Empire State, having been born in Union, Broome county, New York, October 6, 1821; during his minority he spent the most of his time in attending school, and in 1836 he came with his father and family to Iowa and settled at Davenport, Scott county and improved a farm now within the city limits, and a part of which has been laid out in city lots. Here Mr. Cook found employment on the farm until twenty- eight years old when he engaged in merchandising. During a part of this period, in 1851-2, he was deputy U. S. Surveyor, engaged in townshiping and subdividing in the northern part of Wisconsin, 792 BIOGRAPHICAL. a work in which he did good service as an expert and prompt official. In 1855 he closed his merchandising interests in Davenport and moved to Des Moines, where he entered into the banking business with the firm of "Cook, Sargent & Cook," which was continued until 1860, at which time he engaged in the real estate and insurance business in company with C. C. Dawson. In 1864 Mr. Cook became sole proprietor and since that time has followed that business with the exception of two years. During 1862-3 he spent nearly all his time in Washington, D. C., in the post-office department, but resigned during the latter year. He has filled several places of trust in the gift of the people. In 1861 he was elected mayor of Des Moines and did good service in that capacity; served two years in the city council; was deputy revenue collector under Horace Everett in 1864, and in 1868 was one of the trustees of Des Moines township. In every position in which he has been placed he has been true and loyal to his convictions of duty, He was married in 1854 to Miss Mary C. Owen, a native of Ohio, by whom he has one child, Rachel. Has one adopted daughter, Carrie. COOLEY, N. B.-Brick manufacturer, was born September 2, 1820, near Salem, Indiana, and when seven years of age his parents removed to Butler county, Ohio, where he was raised and resided until he removed to Iowa, locating in Des Moines in October, 1855, where he has since resided and been engaged in his present business. He has furnished the brick for a great many of the principal buildings of the city, and burns annually from six hundred thousand to one million brick. He was united in marriage in 1846 to Martha Wray, a native of Butler county, Ohio. CORMAC, JAMES-Secretary of the Eureka Coal Company, is a native of Scotland, and was born on the twenty-fourth day of October, 1829. In 1833 he was brought by his parents to the United States and settled in New York where he was raised and educated. He selected dentistry as a profession and followed it as an avocation. For years during this time he also gave attention to medicine and attended one course of lectures. Owing to impaired health he was compelled to abandon his business, and in 1868 came to Iowa and settled in Atlantic, Cass county, and engaged in the lumber and merchandise business. In 1874 he came to this county and engaged in coal mining. He was married in 1854 to Miss Julia A. Ballou. She was born in Tomkins county, New York. They have two children William D. and Hattie M. COX, HENRY, M. D.-Physician and surgeon. Prominent among the men of his profession is the one whose name heads this sketch. He was born in Butler county, Ohio, September 21, 1821; and when five years of age emigrated to Indiana, and shortly afterward his parents died. Then he returned to Ohio where he remained three years and then went again to Indiana. His early education was received in the schools of Ohio and the latter State. This he supplemented with a medical course as he had made choice of medicine as his profession, and after graduating from the Ohio Medical College at Cincinnati, in March, 1853, he began to practice in Indiana. This he continued until 1866 when, on account of his health, he came to this city, and engaged in the drug business, following the same until 1873. He than engaged in the practice of his chosen calling which he has since followed. In 1849 Dr. Cox made a trip overland, to California, and was five months on the way. He practiced in California, and after his return, in November, 1851, went to Cincinnati and graduated. He DES MOINES. 793 was married in Highland county, Ohio, October 15, 1846, to Miss Catherine H. Batie of Ohio. They have three sons and two daughters living . Mary I., Eliza, James E., Cassius C. and Elmer E:; lost one son, Frank E. As early as 1843 the Doctor engaged in the drug business and continued the same until 1849. CRAWSHAW, J. R.-Was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, July 4, 1834. He learned the trade of carpenter in that city, and resided there until 1856, when he came to Iowa and located in Des Moines. During the rebellion he served in the Twenty-third Iowa infantry, company C, as fife major of the regiment, enlisting in July, 1862, and serving until March following, when he was discharged on account of disabilities. He has been engaged in working at his trade since residing in the city, having had charge of the carpenter work on the post-office building, beside other important buildings in the city. When work first began on the new capitol he assumed his present position as superintendent of the carpenter work, and has since had charge of the same. Besides this, he also has charge of the centering iron work, and has made all the drawings for the numerous patterns used. He was united in marriage, in 1855, to Mrs. Ann Volmer, also a native of Philadelphia. Have one child living, Effie H. Have one buried, Henrietta D. CRESSEY, CAPT. F. J.-Frederick J. Cressey was born at Columbus, Ohio, March 3, 1840. He is one of a pair of twins, his twin brother being Rev. Frank B. Cressey, a Baptist minister of prominence, now located at Detroit, Michigan. In 1846 his father, Rev. Timothy R. Cressey, who, for thirty years, was one of the most noted Baptist ministers in the West, removed to Indianapolis, Indiana, from whence, six years later, he removed his family to St. Paul, Minnesota, then a mere town of three thousand inhabitants, a third of whom were half-breed Sioux Indians. In this place and the adjoining towns of Hastings and Minneapolis (the site of the latter place having been seen by Mr. Cressey when it was simply a wild prairie and patch of hazel brush, with not a house in sight anywhere), the subject of this sketch spent eight years of his youth. At the age of twenty years he added to his somewhat limited education the advantages of a freshman and a sophomore year at Dennison University, Granville, Ohio. It was at this time that the roar of cannon, sighted on Fort Sumter, reverberated from the shores of South Carolina throughout the land, and the greatest rebellion the world ever saw was inaugurated. Mr. Cressey at once threw down his Latin grammar, shouldered a musket and joined the noble army of patriots to defend the flag of our nation. He enlisted in company B,. Seventeenth Ohio infantry, going to the field in twelve days after the fall of Sumter. Upon the expiration of his three months he enlisted for three years in company D, One Hundred and Thirteenth Ohio infantry, serving faithfully till December 15, 1863, when, as the result of a competitive examination, and for special bravery at the terrible battle of Chickamauga, Mr. Cressey was promoted to the position of captain, company G, Fourteenth regiment, United States volunteer infantry, receiving his commission direct from the Secretary of War. After over four years active military service, during which time he braved death in eleven different engagements, and received frequent mention by superior officers for personal daring and cool bravery, Capt. Cressey was honorably discharged at Nashville, Tennessee, March 26, 1866, and with his young wife, Ella Graves, 794 BIOGRAPHICAL. came at once to Des Moines, Iowa, where he has since resided. Patriotism runs in the blood of the Cressey family. The father and five sons were in the Union army during the great rebellion, and served with personal distinction. Since the war Capt. Cressey has given his entire time to the insurance business, for which he seems peculiarly fitted. For three years he was special agent and adjuster of losses for the Pacific Insurance Co. of San Francisco. Also for four years in a similar position with the Continental Insurance Co. of N. Y. He is now manager for Kansas of the Provident Savings Life Assurance Society of N. Y., a position his energy, self-reliance, genial manners and courteous bearing eminently fit him to occupy. Possessing a nervous sanguine temperament, he is active, vivacious and popular in social circles. The teachings of his eminent and truly good father, who died at Des Moines, August 30, 1870, after a gospel ministry of over forty-two years, are evidenced in the fact that four of his sons are Baptist ministers, of which denomination the subject of this sketch has for twenty-five years been a member. His mother, now living in Des Moines, is the eldest daughter of the late Jonathan Going, D. D., who died in 1844 while president of Granville College, Ohio. Capt. Cressey was first married .February 21, 1865, at Granville, Ohio, to Miss Ella Graves, youngest daughter of Ashley Graves, Esq., a young lady of rare personal piety and beauty of character. She died at Des Moines, February 21, 1869, having been four years a wife, leaving one son, Frank Graves, who lives to honor the name of his dead mother. November 26, 1871 the subject of our sketch married Miss Nora Hall, eldest daughter of Hon. Henry Hall at Walworth, Wisconsin. She was a woman of energy, warm friendship and Christian zeal. She died very suddenly at Des Moines on the first anniversary of her marriage, just one year a bride. Her nameless infant was buried, with her. Capt. Cressey's third marriage occurred September 1, 1875, at Anamosa, Iowa, when he was united to his present wife, Miss Imogene Alderman, daughter of Capt. E. B. Alderman, now living at Marion, Iowa. Two daughters, Stella Alderman and Lena Imogene, have come to them as the result of that union. Capt. Cressey is a man of fine personal appearance, courteous and affable, energetic and persevering He is positive in his nature, and therefore strong in his likes and dislikes. He readily reads character, fully appreciates true friendship, and as cordially hates hypocrisy in all forms. He is a self-made man and a good type of Western character. CROCKER, GEN. M. M.-Deceased, was born in Johnson county, Indiana, in 1830. In 1844 he removed, with his father, to Fairfield, Jefferson county, Iowa, and shortly after to Keokuk county, where a claim was taken and improved in the most beautiful part of the county, about two miles northwest of Lancaster. In 1846 young Crocker was called from the plow to accept a situation tendered him by Congressman Leffer, to the United States military academy at West Point. At the expiration of two years he was called back to the farm by the death of his father. In 1850 he entered upon the study of law, and the following year was admitted to practice and opened an office at Lancaster. Here he followed the practice of law until 1854, when he removed to Des Moines, and soon became recognized as one of the leading lawyers of the State. Upon the declaration of war in 1861 he immediately responded to the call for volunteers, and raised the first company organized in Central Iowa. This company was incorporated in the Second Iowa infantry, of which Mr. Crocker first became major. Shortly after he was promoted to the office of lieutenant-colonel and given DES MOINES, 795 command of the Thirteenth infantry. At the battle of Shiloh he commanded a brigade, the commander having been wounded early in the engagement. He afterward was promoted to the rank of brigadier-general, which rank he held at the time of his death. His health failing toward the close of the war, he was sent to New Mexico. His health improving while there, he was, at his own request, transferred, and again became connected with the Army of the Cumberland. In August, 1865, he started for Washington, his health again having failed. Here he rapidly grew worse, and on the 26th of that month died. CRYSTAL, J. A.-Was born August 4th, 1840, in Park county, Indiana, and in 1847 his parents removed to this county, settling in Des Moines, where the subject of this sketch was raised. His father, Richard S. Crystal was one of the early settlers of the city, and opened out the first blackSmith shop on the East Side. He also built the first frame house erected in what is now called Scott's addition. Young Crystal worked at his father's trade with him until he was twenty-six years of age. In the fall of 1861 he enlisted in company D, Second Iowa infantry, serving a little over two years, when he was veteranized and served until the close of the war. In the fall of 1864 he was taken prisoner near Macon, Georgia, and confined for seven months in the prison pen at Andersonville, when he, with several others, made good their escape. He was united in marriage, in 1865, to Louisa Shannon, a native of Indiana. Have two children: Ellie and Mildred. CUMMINS, A. B.-Attorney, one of the more recent acquisitions to the bar of Des Moines, is the subject of this sketch, who was born in Greene county, Pennsylvania, on the 15th day of February, 1850, and resided in his native place until nineteen years of age. He was educated at Waynesburg College. He removed to Chicago in 1869, and, making choice of law as a profession, he entered the office of McClelland & Hodges, and was admitted to the bar in 1875. He came to this county in 1878, and has already take. a prominent place and commands the respect of his brother practitioners, He was united in marriage with Miss Ida L. Gallery in 1874. She is a native of Eaton county, Michigan. They have one daughter, Kate. CUMMINS, J. C.-Was born in the Keystone State, which has given many men of worth to the younger West. The place of birth was Greene county, and the time January 15, 1852. His early education was at the academy at Carmichaels, and was concluded, in due time, at the Washington and Jefferson College. He removed to Michigan in 1871, where he was engaged in the engineer corps of the Northern Central, now Janesville branch of the Michigan Southern Railroad. He pushed west again the next year, and stopped in Chicago. Here, for a short time, he was engaged in a wholesale stationery house, but in 1874 he began the study of law in the office of Frederick Ullman, where he remained until 1875. He then entered the office of Finneys, Flower & Abercrombie and continued to read law until January 1, 1877, when he was admitted to the bar at Springfield, Illinois. In October of the same year he came to Des Moines and became associated with his brother in the practice of his profession. He was united in marriage to Miss Cora, daughter of O. S. Cook, Esq., of Chicago, December 17, 1878. They have one son, Frank. DAUGHERTY, JOHN-Of the firm of Morris & Daugherty, brick manufacturers. Was born Dec. 25,1822, in Perry Co., Ohio, where he resided until 1843, when he removed to Cincinnati, Ohio. He was 796 BIOGRAPHICAL. engaged in brick-making there until 1856, when he came West and located in Des Moines. During his residence in this city he has been principally engaged in brick-making; 1874-5 he served on the police force of the city. He has been largely engaged in the brick business, having burned the principal part of the brick of which the business part of Des Moines is constructed, and is now furnishing annually something over one million brick. He was united in marriage in 1845 to Miss Margaret Ann Ross They have six children living: Albert J., Belle, Frank, P., Annie and Leroy. Have buried one child. DAY, JOHN M.-Attorney and broker. Numbered among the successful men in this county may be mentioned the person named in this sketch. He was born in 1831, in Washington county, Pennsylvania, where he grew to manhood upon the same fields from which, in the early part of this century, his father had removed the original forests of oak. He attended school at Waynesburg College, Pennsylvania, for three years, then studied law, and in the year 1859 entered upon the practice of his profession at Davenport, this State, where he continued to practice until his change of residence to Des Moines in the year 1868. Mr. Day's habits of great industry and rigid economy, combined with his known foresight and sagacity in all matters of business, have placed him in the front rank of men of enterprise and capital in this State. The D. & M. R. R. project was resurrected by him, in the year 1873, and through his energy and perseverance largely the same was pushed forward to success. He was married in 1861 to Miss Jennie Rogers, of Davenport, Iowa, and they have two sons: Hersehel P. and Robert H. DE VOTIE, DUANE-Was born June 30, 1819, in Oneida county; New York, where he was raised to manhood. He removed from there to Ohio about 1843, and resided in that State some nine years, the last six years in Tuscarawas county, where he lost his wife and two children. His wife's maiden name was Emily A. Scott, to whom he was married in 1842: After settling up his business he spent the greater part of the year 1853 in traveling, and in May of the year following he came to Des Moines. His first three years' residence in Polk county was spent in entering and selling land, after which he opened out a farm of 700 acres in Jasper county, remaining on the same for some six years. In 1862 he disposed of his real estate in that county and came back to Des Moines, where he has since resided. In 1877 he erected a fine brick block on the east side. Since his return to the city he has been mainly engaged in dealing in real estate, in both this and other portions of the State. In March, 1875, he was elected a member of the City Council from the Fifth ward, which position he held for two years. DICKINSON, DR. W. H.-Was born at Stanstead, Province of Quebec, Canada, on the 19th day of September, 1829. His father was of English descent and his mother of Welsh parentage. He received an academic education in his native village. After leaving school he went South, and was engaged in teaching for four years, the first half of that time as principal of the Louisville (Georgia) Female Seminary, and the latter half in the preparatory school of Mercer University, Penfield, Georgia. Having always had a taste for the medical profession, he commenced reading, first with Dr. Hunter, of Louisville, and afterward with Dr. Jones, of Penfield. From Georgia he proceeded to Cleveland, Ohio, where he attended lectures at the Homoeopathic College, from which institution he graduated in 1858. DES MOINES. 797 After graduating he located in this city, where he has since resided, excepting during the years 1863-4, when he visited New York and attended lectures at the Homoeopathic College on Twentieth street and Third Avenue, from which institution he graduated for the second time in the spring of 1865. He then immediately returned to Des Moines and resumed his practice, which has now become large and lucrative. In 1870 he was elected President of the Iowa State Medical Society. In 1877 Dr. D. was elected to the chair of Theory and Practice of Homoeopathy in the Iowa State University, which position he has filled since. In Apri1, 1880, he was appointed a member of the State Board of Health, and was subsequently elected Vice-President. He married Miss Sarah A. Butin on the 24th day of December, 1853. She is a native of Rensselaer county, New York. Their family consists of three children: Wilmot D., Robert and Warren. DIPPERT, WILLIAM-Dealer in and manufacturer of harness, saddlery, etc. Was born in Baden, Germany, in 1823, where he grew to manhood and learned the trade of a harness maker. He resided in his native land until 1818, when he emigrated to the United States and located in Fairview, Erie county, Penn., where he engaged in business, and there .remained until 1855, when he removed to Des Moines. Here he has since resided, and with the exception of two years has been continuously in business. He was married in 1847 to Miss Josephine Ambs, also a native of Baden. They have a family of eight children: William, Robert, Albert, Joseph, Charles, Frederick, Louie and Josephine. Mr. D. enjoys a large trade in his line, having a large acquaintance and being genial in his disposition. DRAKE, J. F. N.-Clerk of the Watson Coal Company. Was born March 20, 1846, in Easton, Mass., where he was raised, and resided until he was twenty years of age, when he went to Taunton, same State. There he was employed as a clerk until 1869, when he came West in the employ of the Central Coal and Mining Company, locating in Macon county, Missouri, where he remained until February, 1873. He then came to ,Des Moines, and has since been in the employ of the Watson Coal Company. He is at present one of the Directors of the East Side School Board, being President of the board. He was married in the fall of 1870 to Miss Nannie Tompkins, a native of Illinois. They have three children: J. W., Francis O. and Mabel T. DUDLEY, C. A.-Attorney. Is a native of Ohio, and was born on the 14th day of November, 1839. His early life was divided between attending school and teaching. He was educated at the State University of Michigan, at Ann Arbor, and selecting law as his chosen occupation, he has pursued it with untiring zeal and energy. He came to this county in 1867, and formed a partnership with L. J. Brown, and the firm have been associated together without change longer than any law firm in the city. He is governed by the most rigid principles of honesty and integrity, and as a practitioner his forte is in being thoroughly prepared and never taken by surprise. He was married in 1871 to Miss Sarah E. Washburne, a native of Vermont. Their family consists of two children: Cora and Frank. DUNKLE, A. J.-Grocer. Was born in Athens county, Ohio, September 28, 1830, and there was raised on a farm and educated. In 1855 he came to this city and opened a dry goods and grocery house, remaining in that business until 1864. He then sold out and engaged in the shipping 798 BIOGRAPHICAL. of stock, which he followed about five years, and then bought a farm in Bloomfield township. For several years he was engaged in farming, and in 1874 he bought the stock of groceries of George Bros. This he has continued to keep, and has been successful in his trade. In 1872 he made a trip to California with a view of speculating, and took with him a lot of hogs, which he sold, making money out of them. He was married in February, 1854, to Miss Susan E. Will, a native of Ohio. They have seven children: Alice, Linnie, Talbott, J., Daniel, Lizzie, and Mattie, living, and one, Edith, deceased. EASON, G. L.-Was born in Windham county, Vt., May 15, 1843. At the age of fourteen he was apprenticed to Mr. C. A. Tripp, a jeweler, in Brattleboro, Vermont, where he remained till he arrived at the age of twenty-one years. He immigrated to Iowa in 1864 and located in Des Moines, opening a workshop, where he repaired watches and Jewelry, for one year. Soon following this he invented the celebrated Eason watch spring, which he manufactured nearly two years in Canada then selling his patent for thirty thousand dollars. Mr. Eason received the greater part of the consideration in cash. Some time after this the parties purchasing it were burnt out and failed in business whereupon Mr. Eason purchased the interest he had disposed of, and is now the sole proprietor and owner of this valuable invention. In 1876 he engaged in business with Mr. Rogg from which partnership he withdrew in 1878, and once more commenced business for himself. Mr. Eason is one of the most ingenious and skillful mechanics in the city, and his reputation as a watchmaker is unrivaled. ELLIOTT, S. M.-Clerk in State Insurance company's office, was born July 20, 1830, in Columbiana county, Pennsylvania, where he resided until he was eighteen years of age, when he removed to Wisconsin, where he resided some five years. In 1858 he returned East and entered the employ of the Pennsylvania Central Railroad company as an engineer, remaining in that position until 1860, when he came to Iowa on a visit. He remained until the following year when he enlisted in Company K, Twenty-seventh Iowa infantry, as second lieutenant. He remained in the service some eighteen months. Upon account of disabilities he was compelled to resign. He then returned to Pennsylvania, where he remained until 1867, when he again came West locating in Mitchell county, this State; he lived here until 1870 when he came to Des Moines and engaged in the drug business on the East Side; in which business he remained until July 1877; from that date he has been mostly in the employ of the State Insurance Company. He was married in 1862 to Miss Adalade M. Jones of Mitchell county, this State. ELLIOTT, JOHN A-Was born on the twenty-fourth of September 1824, in Armagh, Indiana county, Pennsylvania, and remained there until, thirteen years of age, when he engaged as clerk in the store of an uncle, with whom he served two years. He received an academic education in his native county, and concluded to come West, and went to Ohio and engaged in school teaching, continuing that for a short time and then returned to Pennsylvania. He was engaged in the mercantile business until 1853 when he removed to Wisconsin, engaged in merchandising four years, and in 1857 moved to Mitchell county, Iowa. There he followed farming for one year, and in 1858 was elected County Treasurer and Recorder, which offices he held until he was elected Auditor of State in 1864. In 1866 was renominated by acclamation, and also in 1868. During his term of office DES MOINES. 799 the finances were managed in a manner that insured the prompt payment of every warrant on presentation, and in this prosperous and satisfactory condition he turned the portfolio of office over to his successor. In 1870, Mr. Elliott was engaged as land commissioner by the Des Moines Valley Railroad Company, and entered at once upon the discharge of his duty and remained in this position three years. He was one of the organizers of the. Citizens' National Bank, and held the offices of vice-president and cashier. Polk county is largely indebted to him for the interest taken in blooded stock, and his efforts in this direction have been a success. He is president of the State Insurance Company, mention of which is made in another part of this work. He married Miss Martha J. Henderson in 1849. She is a native of Lancaster county, Pennsylvania. Their family consists of three children: James H., Harry A. and Nellie H. (now Mrs. C. Wright). ENGLEBERT, J. LEE-Was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania February 5, 1843, being the second son of Cornelius Joseph Michael Englebert, before deceased a prominent merchant of Philadelphia. He emigrated to this country in 1820 from Laon, in France, and was of Spanish-French extraction, and on the male side descended from the French nobility; his ancestry dating back to the fifteenth century. His mother was a German lady, whose parents emigrated to this country from the German Empire, therefore the son is of Spanish-French-German extraction. He was educated in the public schools of this city (Philadelphia) and was pursuing a mercantile training in the manufacturing establishment of Jules Hand & Co., when the rebellion of 1861 occurred. In July of that year he enlisted as a private in a company of Young's Kentucky Light Cavalry, which was, merged into the Third regiment of Pennsylvania cavalry, the favorite regiment of generals McClellan and Meade, and on account of its severe disciplines being commanded by a regular army officer, Colonel Wm. W. Averill, and brigaded with regulars, comprised of the Second dragoons, Fifth and Sixth U. S. cavalry and Tidball's flying battery of U. S. artillery, was very often selected for hazardous undertakings. He rose from the ranks, through non-commissioned grades, to captaincy, November 28, 1862. In cavalry action at Hartwood church, Virginia, with Wade Hampton's cavalry; he was captured and incarcerated in Libby prison. Exchanged, February 22, 1863. He received several wounds in action, and was left on the field for dead, and so reported on two occasions, and for gallantry and meritorious conduct was thrice breveted, to the full rank of colonel of volunteers upon .recommendation of President Lincoln and the Secretary of War, Stanton. He was frequently placed in responsible positions where wise discrimination and judgment, were necessary, and invariably discharged his duties faithfully. After the battle of Antietam, September 19, 1862, under McClellan, when Lee's army crossed the Potomac, General Pleasanton's cavalry pursued them. Lieutenant Englebert led and conducted the advance upon the enemy's rear-guard. After supporting a battery during the battle of the Wilderness, May 6, 1864, he again led the advance of the Army of the Potomac, with Meade and Grant at its head, through the enemy's country to the James river, where a junction was formed with General Ben. F. Butler's Army of the James before Petersburg. After a marked career for one so young, he was honorably discharged from the army. Colonel Englebert, for a few years, engaged in the oil business in Pennsylvania. He returned to Chester county where he married Miss Fanny H. Davis. He found his district politically in a state of turmoil, 800 BIOGRAPHICAL and resolved to take a hand in politics. Having been solicited by prominent men including Governor Geary, he applied for appointment as assessor of internal revenue for the Seventh district of Pennsylvania, one of the wealthiest in the State. At that period the district was distracted by partisanship, and it required military influence especially, added to other friendship at court, to obtain an appointment from the President to an office with which there were connected forty-three subordinates, but he was equal to the occasion, and was appointed and confirmed by the Senate, and discharged his onerous duties to the satisfaction of the numerous manufacturing and other interest, and to taxpayers generally, receiving the commendation of Commissioner of Internal Revenue, Hon. E. S. Rollins, who said " his district was the second best assessed in the United States," which was highly complimentary, considering that millions of money were assessed yearly in this district. In 1869, he was superseded, for political reasons. About one year following was commissioned by the Secretary of the Interior as United States Indian agent for different bands of hostile Sioux at the Cheyenne river agency, Dakota Territory, on the recommendations of the Board of Home and Foreign Missions of the Protestant Episcopal Church of Pennsylvania and New York, and was the first Indian agent selected by the Hon. Win. Welsh, the originator of President Grant's Indian peace policy. Colonel Englebert discharged his duties with honor to himself, the department at Washington, and enjoys the credit at the Indian Department of accomplishing great innovations at his agency, and merited the thanks of General Yarker, the Indian Commissioner, and Mr. Welsh the President of the Church Board of Commissioners, for recalling two Indian war parties who had gone out on a scalping expedition, and by mere force of character and will-power, compelling them to send out their own warriors to effect this, and by his timely interposition averted an Indian war at that time. In May, 1871, he was recalled, having taken issue with the authorities, and after visiting his home in Pennsylvania, for several months, he emigrated with his wife and one child, a boy, to Omaha, Nebraska, where he was engaged in and was one of the original incorporators of the Willow Spring Distilling Company, which is in successful operation at this time. In January, 1874, Colonel Englebert disposed of his interest, and with his family removed to Des Moines, where he purchased an interest in the Eclipse Coal and Mining Company of which he is still a member. ENSIGN, C. W.-Livery and sale stable. The pioneer in this line of business in Des Moines is the subject of this sketch, who was born in Saratoga county, New York, on the 23d day of December, 1813, and was raised in this and Essex county. His father was a merchant and lumber manufacturer of considerable prominence and the son assisted his father in. the store as well as in the more laborious duties pertaining to lumber manufacturing and marketing the same. After attaining his majority he continued to reside in Essex county and during his residence was elected High Sheriff of the county and served nine-years. He became impressed with the favorable opportunities offered in the West for business, and, in 1859, emigrated to Iowa and settled in Des Moines and engaged in his present business, in which he has been eminently successful. He was married in December, 1837, to Miss Harriet Tarbell, a native of Vermont. Their family consists of three children: Edgar T., a promising attorney of Colorado, and prominently identified in mining interests; Frances, now Mrs. John Lynde; and George F., associated with his father in business. DES MOINES 801 ERWIN, W. A.-Grocer and confectioner, was born February 15,1840, in Morgan county, Indiana, and when eleven years of age his parents removed to Illinois, where they resided some four years, and then removed to Iowa, locating in Warren county in 1852. After coming to Iowa, the subject of this sketch returned to Galesburg, Illinois, where he learned the trade of miller. During the war be served in company K, Nineteenth Iowa infantry, enlisting in July, 1862, and serving until the 18th of March, 1863, when he was discharged on account of wounds received at the battle of Prairie Grove, Arkansas, receiving no less than three wounds in that battle, being disabled in the right arm, a ball passing through his right side and another going through his cap and grazing the top of his head. After leaving the service, he located at Mt. Pleasant, where he resided until 1867, when he came to Des Moines. He was married March 17, 1861, to Miss Margaret McCoy, of Mt. Pleasant. Have three children: Joseph, Elnora and Ada. ETHERIDGE, S. S.-Deputy U. S. Marshal,- was born in Sandwich, Carroll county, New Hampshire, on the first day of March, 1838, and was raised there. He was educated at Newbury, Vermont and at Middletown, Connecticut. He came to this State in 1863 and settled in Des Moines. He served his country during the rebellion in the Forty-seventh Iowa infantry. He had previously commenced the study of law, and in 1865 was admitted to the bar. In February, 1874, was appointed Deputy U. S. Marshal and served in that capacity for one and one-half years, and again; in 1877, was appointed to the same position and has filled the office to the entire satisfaction of those with whom he has business transactions. Mr.. E. has large coal interests in the city and is president of the Eclipse Coal Company, and their mines are among the best in the county. He was married to Miss Mattie La Bosquet in 1874. She is a native of West Virginia. They have one child, Charles A. FAIRALL, E. J.-Of the firm of Williams & Fairall, real estate agents. Mr. F. was born near Zanesville, Ohio, Aug. 8,1833, and was raised and resided on a farm until he was seventeen years of age. In 1863 he came to Iowa, locating on a farm in Washington township, this county, where he resided until the following year, when he removed to Des Moines and engaged in contracting and building he being a carpenter by trade which business he followed until 1879. During this time he had the contract for building the Jones House, superintended the work on the Fifth Ward School and Lewis' Opera Block, also built many of the finer buildings both on the east and west sides of the river; and in addition to these had the contract for and built the principal school-house at Council Bluffs. He engaged in the real estate business. in 1878 with his present partner. In December, 1852, he was married to Miss Jane Finleoats. She died in 1866, leaving five children: Mary (now Mrs. C. M. Cook), William H., Howard, Edgar and Belle. In November, 1868, he married his present wife, her maiden name being Anna J. Adams, a native of Indiana. Froth this union he has three children: Nellie M., John A. and Robert C. FERREE, J. M.-General agent for the Domestic sewing, machines: Was born April 2, 1846, in Wabash county, Indiana, where he resided until he entered the army in 1863, when he enlisted in the One Hundred and Thirtieth Indiana infantry, and served until the close of the war. After being discharged in December, 1865, he returned to Indiana, where he remained until 1872, when he came to Des Moines and for the past six years 802 BIOGRAPHICAL. has been engaged in his present business. In March, 1880, he was elected for a term of two years to represent the Fifth ward in the city council. Was united in marriage to Miss Mary Pollock in 1868. They have, by this union, one child, Roy E. FINCH, DANIEL O.-The subject of this sketch was born in Unadilla, Otsego county, New York, on the 6th of June, 1829. At the early age of eleven Mr. Finch was deprived of the care and counsel of his father by death. Prior to this event he had attended the common school in his neighborhood, but shortly afterward was sent by his mother to the Delaware Literary Institute at Franklin, Delaware county. He remained four years and after attending the Oxford Academy, Chenango county, was qualified to enter the sophomore class in college. He then commenced the study of law and for two years remained in the office of Judge C. C. Noble at his native place, when he entered the Fowler Law School, then at Cherry Valley. In November, 1848, he came West, locating in Monroe, Green county, Wisconsin. The following spring he was admitted to the practice of his profession, being then nineteen years of age. Mr. Finch remained there for two years, diligently engaged in his profession. In the spring of 1851 he came to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where, in addition to the duties of his profession, he edited a paper. He was for three years a member of the banking firm of Ware, Finch & Co., of which company Judge George Greene was a member. This latter gentleman was the author of "Greene's Reports," the first law book published in Iowa. In the spring of 1853 Mr. F. closed his business affairs in Cedar Rapids and the following summer removed to Des Moines, then a place of two hundred and fifty inhabitants. He at once engaged in the practice of law, being associated with Judge Curtis Bates, and was also interested in the banking business. In addition to the arduous labors these pursuits gave him he found time to write many articles and for some time was editor of the Iowa Star. In 1855 Judge Bates left the firm and was succeeded by General M. M. Crocker. Since that time Mr. Finch has been associated with Judge Mitchell, Hon. J. A. Kasson, present U. S. Minister to Austria; George Clark, Esq., now of St. Louis; Byron Rice and John D. Rivers and others. He has always been one of the foremost Democrats of the State and for four times has been a delegate to the National Convention in the years 1860, 1864, 1868, and in 1876 was chairman of the Iowa delegation; was president of the State convention in 1877. Mr. Finch is one of the oldest law practitioners in Iowa, having been engaged in his profession some twenty-eight years. His practice, both civil and criminal, has been large and he has been very successful. To his excellent oratory and earnest application much of this is due. He attended the earliest courts in more than fifteen counties, some of which have since become the most populous and wealthy in the State. On the 16th of September, 1851, he was married to Miss Ellen Maria Calder, daughter of Joseph Calder, formerly of New York. Her parents were natives of England, but were married after coming to America. They have had five children, of whom four are living: Joseph Calder (born on the 8th of January, 1855), Daniel Mallory (born on the 17th of May, 1858), Edward Douglas (born on the 15th of October, 1861), and the youngest, Charles Marcus (born on the 8th of February, 1864). Lost one child, Willie, who died at the age of four years. FISHBLATT, A. S.-Physician and surgeon, is a native of New York, DES MOINES. 803 and is the son of a physician of prominence. He was educated at Columbia College, and early forming a taste for the practice of medicine, an having, as it may be said, a natural qualification for the healing art by his familiarity with medicine from his boyhood, through the experience of his father, with the father as preceptor, and after the most thorough preparation and large experience in the routine of hospital practice, in which special attention was given to chronic and nervous diseases, he was graduated an M. D., and in casting about for a location, he was led to follow an inward inclination to settle in Des Moines. He came here in the spring of 1880 and opened an office for the treatment of chronic and nervous diseases, and from the first has done a large and lucrative business, and, if testimonial are a criterion, with flattering results. FLEMING, DAVID D.-Of the firm of Soules & Fleming, proprietor of the Utica Clothing Store, was born on the 28th of March, 1838, in New York City, where he grew to manhood and was educated in the common schools. At the age of nineteen years he went to learn the machinist trade, with Joseph A. Sterling, of that city, and worked at it while there. In 1868 he came to this city and engaged in working for Loughran & Hillis with whom he remained until May, 1875. He then discontinued his trade and was employed as clerk in the clothing house of H. Monroe, continuing with him until July, 1876. In March, 1877, he entered the clothing house of Soules & Tinsley, for whom he clerked until February 23, 1880, when he bought the interest of Tinsley and the firm name was changed to Soules & Fleming. They carry a large and fine stock of clothing and their sales compare very favorably with that of any like house in the city. He was married February 11, 1873, to Miss Mary A. Cannon, a native of Orleans county, New York. They have one child living, William B. FORSTER, A. M.-Contractor and builder, is a native of Vigo county, Indiana, born April 5, 1843. Was raised there, and in 1854 came to this State, locating in Madison county. He was educated partly in his native State and partly in this city at the commercial college. In 1863, under the call for 300,000 men, he enlisted in company H, Twenty-third Iowa, and participated in the siege of Vicksburg, siege of Spanish Fort, battles of Kern's River, Missouri, Port Gibson, Champion's Hill, Black River Bridge and Grand Gulf. He came to Des Moines in 1865 and was here married on the 30th of September, 1869, to Miss Ellen M., daughter of E. R. Clapp, Esq,. She died December 21, 1878, leaving one child, Edwin W. FORD, E. M.-Among the reliable men of business who have contributed most toward the wealth and good name of Des Moines, there are none more deserving of credit than Mr. E. M. Ford. He was born in Columbus, Ohio, August 6, 1837. In 1847 he removed, with his parents, to Peoria, Illinois, were he passed the days of youth. At the early age of fifteen years he entered a wholesale notion establishment at a salary of six dollars and fifty cents a month, boarding himself. He remained in that establishment till 1857, when he removed with his parents to Princeton, Illinois, where he resided till 1860, at which time he removed to Newton, Iowa, where his career as a merchant properly began. In 1865 he established a line of four-horse wagons, whereby he carried merchandise to the very doors of his customers. This business he continued for several years, with an average sale of forty thousand dollars per year. In 1871 he opened a wholesale business in Des Moines, which he has conducted with success ever since. Whoever has remained long in Des Moines or any part of Central 804 BIOGRAPHICAL. Iowa, cannot fail to have heard of E. M. Ford, the notion man. Some idea of the extent of his business at the present time may be gathered from the fact that he employs constantly from eight to ten clerks. He was married April 15, 1856, to Miss Rachel M., daughter of Lewis D. Hodges, of Chillicothe, Ohio. They have one daughter living, named Wrighta. FORD, J. C.-Was born in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, January 31, 1852. He left the parental roof when ten years of age and since that time has been the architect of his own fortune. Six years he was engaged in various pursuits, and at the age of sixteen years began an apprenticeship in a boot and shoe manufactory in Winchester, Virginia. He went to Williamsport, Pennsylvania, in 1870, where he had thorough instruction and valuable experience in the manufacture of fine goods. In 1873 he went to Washington and was in the employ of George Wagner two years. From there he went to Chicago and was with J. T. Jewett three years. He came to Des Moines in 1878, where he has established a business second to none in the State for its reputation in the manufacture of gentlemen's and ladies' fine boots and shoes. He was married September 24, 1879, to Miss Hattie E. Jones, of Chicago. She was born in Canada. FOSTER, WILLIAM-Architect, was born in New York, July 21,1842. After finishing his education he entered the employ of Upjohn, in New York, a noted architect, to learn the business. He availed himself of every opportunity to perfect himself in his profession, and in 1867 came West with a view of finding a place to locate. After reaching Des Moines he was induced to remain here, and after passing the starving process incident to beginners, he at last succeeded in bringing his talent and knowledge of his business before the public. From that time until the present his business has been constantly increasing, and he has planned many of the best buildings of Iowa and Nebraska, among which we may mention most of the prominent buildings of Des Moines, school-houses in Albia, Carroll, Montezuma, Dunlap, etc., State penitentiary, Lincoln, Nebraska, State penitentiary at Anamosa and the insane asylum at Lincoln, Nebraska. He married Miss Louisa Corbin, a native of England, in 1868. FOSTER, A. P.-Secretary of the Capital City Gas Light Company. Was born January 29, 1852, in New York City, where he was raised and educated. He came from that city to Des Moines in 1868 for the purpose of accepting his present position. He was united in marriage in 1878 to Miss J. S. Wright, daughter of Mr. John R. Wright, a prominent citizen of Cincinnati, Ohio. FRANTZ, L.--Proprietor of the Given House. Was born in Maryland, March 9,1819, and was there raised and educated. He engaged in agricultural pursuits, and followed that business as an occupation until 1854, when he came to Wapello county, Iowa. For one year he continued farming there, and then engaged in the hotel business, and in 1861 removed to Prairie City. There he continued the hotel business, and in 1863 he came to this city, and has since resided here, being proprietor of the Given House. The hotel is a brick structure, three stories in height, and comfortably furnished. Mr. Frantz is a genial landlord and well liked by his customers. He was married in Pennsylvania, October 4, 1840, to Miss Caroline Miller. They had eight children, four of whom are living: Leon, Mary E., Frank F. and Kate. Lost four: Wallace C., William, Hiram and Milton. FREBERG, J. 0.-Of the firm of Freberg, Allmart & Co., merchant DES MOINES. tailors. Was born in Sweden, April 19, 1843, and was raised in that country. At fourteen years of age he began the tailor's trade, and worked on the bench until he became about eighteen years old, and then he began practical cutting. In 1866 he came to America, and located first at New Windsor, Mercer county, Illinois, and afterward went to Rock Island. From there he went back to Indiana, came from there to this city in March of 1878, and engaged at his trade of cutting, which he followed up to the time he began in his present business, in the spring of 1880. He was married in Sweden in 1865 to Miss Annie Engberg, a native of that country. By this union they have a family of one son and three daughters living : Annie M. E., Hannah C. W., Frank E. and Clara D. FRITZ, LOUIS-Saloon. The subject of this sketch was born in Rhine, Bavaria, on the 11th day of October, 1844, and in 1845 his father left his family in that country and came to America and joined the regular army at West Point, and served in behalf of this country for five years. About the time of the expiration of his enlistment he sent for his family, who came over to the State of New York, where they lived till 1867, when he came to Iowa and located a homestead near Iowa City, with a warrant which he received from this government for services rendered in the Mexican War. Afterward he sold this claim, and is now living near Sigourney, Keokuk county, this State. The subject of this sketch was only five years of age when he came with his mother to America, so his education was received in this country, in the English language, but at the same time be has educated himself in his mother tongue, the German language. and now speaks and writes both with fluency. He began the trade of cigar making when only fourteen years of age, which he followed as his principal occupation up to 1876, when he engaged in his present business. He carried on the manufacture of cigars in this city under the firm name of Fritz, Conradi & Co. till 1873, employing as high as seventeen workmen. After the dissolution of this partnership he still carried on the business till 1876. In 1865 he married, in New York City, Miss Magdalena Fritz, a native of Rhine, Bavaria. By this union they have a family of one son and one daughter living, Matilda and Herman; have one son deceased, Louis. Mr. Fritz is a good business man, and possesses social qualities that make for him many friends.