USA > Iowa > Wapello County > History of Wapello County, Iowa, Volume II > Part 1
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Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43
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HISTORY OF WAPELLO COUNTY IOWA
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VOLUME II
CHICAGO THE S. J. CLARKE PUBLISHING COMPANY 1914
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BIOGRAPHICAL
HON. AUGUSTUS HARVEY HAMILTON.
On the list of leading citizens of Ottumwa the name of Augustus Harvey Hamilton is written high. His prominent connection with journalism, his loyal advocacy and support of measures for the public good and his individual worth have combined to make him a highly respected and honored resident of the community in which he has so long made his home. He was born January 19, 1827, upon a farm within the present limits of Cleveland, Ohio, and there he was wont to follow the plow upon tracts that are now factory sites, situated in the midst of a densely populated district of that city. His father, Justus Hamilton, born in Massachusetts, March 17, 1792, made the journey westward from Massachusetts to Cleveland on horse- back with his father in 1801. Establishing his home there, he became closely identified with agricultural interests. He mar- ried Salinda Brainard, who was born on the Connecticut river, near Middletown, Connecticut, on the 16th of March, 1791. The children of that family were Augustus Harvey; Delia, deceased ; Edwin T., who was a judge upon the bench at Cleve- land, Ohio, for twenty years, but has now passed away; and Albert Justus, also deceased. There is also a half sister, Rachel Burke, who is now living in Cleveland at the remarkable old age of ninety-four years.
Augustus H. Hamilton pursued his early education in the common schools of Newburg, Ohio, just out of Cleveland, and afterward entered Alleghany College at Meadville, Pennsyl- vania, in 1849, becoming a member of the senior class. He did not complete the course, however, for an attractive business offer caused him to put aside his text-books and enter business life. When about twenty-four years of age he began reading law and was admitted to the bar at Painesville, Ohio, in May, 1854. Immediately he made his way westward to Iowa, where he arrived in June. He saw the surveyors laying out the town
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of Omaha, on the site of which there then stood but two houses. and those of logs. Returning to lowa City, Iowa, while the supreme court was in session, he was admitted to practice in this state. In the following month he removed to Ottumwa, then a little village containing a population of about four hun- dred. In 1856 he purchased a forty acre tract of land, upon a part of which his home now stands. He paid thirty dollars per acre for the tract, of which he remained the owner until after the war. He also bought an additional tract of twenty- five acres and the entire place is now thickly covered with buildings, save about ten acres, which has been maintained as a fine residence section. After coming to Ottumwa Mr. Hamil- ton engaged successfully in the practice of law until he entered the army. In the meantime he had been an active factor in the public life of the growing town and in 1858 was elected mayor. He was forced to abandon an extensive law practice when, in 1862, he responded to the country's call for troops and went to the front in defense of the Union, joining the Thirty- sixth Iowa Infantry. He entered the service as first lieutenant and adjutant of the regiment and served for three years. It was in September, 1862, that he went to the front and in October, 1865, he was honorably discharged. In 1863 he was promoted to the rank of major. His service was nearly all west of the Mississippi and the first conflict in which he participated was at Helena, Arkansas, on the 4th of July, 1863. However, he had taken part in the Yazoo Pass expedition in March, twenty thousand men advancing into that district, the expedition em- ploying thirty steamboats and ten gunboats. They were forty days and nights in the wilderness. Later the command was sent into Arkansas and on the roth of September, 1863, Mr. Hamilton participated in the capture of Little Rock. A strate- gic movement was planned and but few men were lost. They remained there through the winter and the following March proceeded to capture Camden, at the head of navigation on the Ouchita river. They were successful in this. Later the Union troops were attacked by a combined force of two Confederate armies and met with disastrous defeat, suffering a great loss of life. There Major Hamilton surrendered to a Confederate major and was taken to the prison at Camp Ford, four miles from Tyler, Texas. He was obliged to march nearly four .hun- dred miles to that prison and was there incarcerated until he managed to make his escape. He traveled perhaps six or seven
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hundred miles before he reached the Union lines at Pine Bluff, Arkansas. He was accompanied by Captain Allen W. Miller, of Company C, and Captain John Lambert, of Company K, Thirty-sixth Iowa Infantry, and they were thirty-three days in reaching the Union lines, Major Hamilton forging a pass whereby Captain Miller, Captain Lambert and Private Hamil- ton managed to make their escape. They went out on the 23d of July, 1864, and did not return, reaching the Union forces on the 24th of August, 1864, after living on berries, green corn and watermelons. They were also obliged to sleep out of doors, not infrequently in the rain, but they managed to keep well and safe. On the last day of their tramping they reached the Arkan- sas river and there separated. Mr. Hamilton managed to make his way in camp at noon and the other two at night. He then obtained a leave of absence for thirty days and returned home, but his two companions died soon afterward.
When the war was over and Major Hamilton was honorably discharged, he again took up his abode in Ottumwa and to some extent resumed professional activity, but his practice was gone and, thinking he might have better business opportunities in other fields than by waiting to build up another practice, he purchased an interest in the Courier, becoming a partner of General John M. Hedrick in the ownership of that paper in 1869. In ten years he became sole proprietor and conducted it alone for another decade. At all times he held to the highest standards of journalism and made his paper well worthy of patronage. In 1890 he sold out and retired from active business life.
It was in 1856 that Mr. Hamilton was married to Miss Elma Coffin, who was born in Springfield, Ohio, May 18, 1836, a daughter of Thomas C. and Mary (Harvey) Coffin, the former a representative of an old North Carolina family, while the Harveys were from Indiana, and on both the paternal and mater. nal sides Mrs. Hamilton is of Quaker descent. By her marriage she became the mother of four sons, of whom two died in in- fancy, while one son was drowned at the age of nine years, and the fourth son, Justus Albert, died in Idaho. The two daughters of the family, Mary E. and Emma Salinda, are at home caring for their father and mother.
Mr. Hamilton has always been a stanch republican since the organization of the party and was present when Abraham Lincoln was nominated in May, 1860. He has done much to
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shape the policy of the party in this state and was twice elected to represent his district in the Iowa senate in the latter part of the '6os but resigned in order to accept the position of post- master of Ottumwa, in which office he continued for twelve years, his official service commending him to the confidence and regard of all. Possibly no man in the city of Ottumwa has contributed more of his energy, time, and money, to the up-building of this city. He is one of the few men now living who laid the foundation that has made this one of the best towns in the State. He has always taken an active interest in politics, but more especially in the cause of prohibition, and he has lived to see the principles he worked for put into practice, as for some time past there have been no saloons in Ottumwa. He is a Unitarian in religious belief, and his life has ever been actuated by high and honorable principles, so that there is no occasion for him to look back over the past with regret. He is now one of Ottumwa's most venerable citizens, having reached the age of eighty-seven years, and the record of few has been more faultless in honor, fearless in conduct and stainless in reputation.
MURDOCH BANNISTER, M. D.
Dr. Murdoch Bannister, who began the practice of medicine as a hospital interne in Philadelphia in 1894, is one of the most able and successful physicians of Ottumwa, where he located in 1895. He was born in Detroit, Michigan, December 25, 1868. His father, Dwight Bannister, who was born in Ontario county, New York, February 3, 1833, prepared for and engaged in the practice of law as a life work save for the period which he devoted to military service. He came of a family in which the military spirit has always been strong. His grandfather, Lemuel Bannister, was a captain of New York volunteers during the lat- ter years of the Revolutionary war. His father, Asahel Bannis- ter, was a colonel of New York troops in the War of 1812, and Dwight Bannister joined the United States army in 1861, serving for ten years, winning the brevet rank of lieutenant colonel. It was sulssequent to that date that he established his home in Ottumwa, where he became president of the Ottumwa Gas Com- pany and thus continued in active business connections with the city until his life's labors were ended in death on the 30th
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of January, 1899. He married Lavinia M. Murdoch, who was born in Springfield, Ohio, November 30, 1839, and survives him at the advanced age of seventy-four years.
With the removal of the family to Iowa Dr. Bannister became a pupil in the schools of Ottumwa, from which he was graduated with the class of 1886. He next entered the Iowa State Univer- sity, in which he won the Bachelor of Science degree with the class of 1891. He then took up the study of medicine in prepara- tion for a professional career and won his M. D. degree at the University of Pennsylvania in 1894. He was then appointed an interne in the Polyclinic Hospital at Philadelphia, in which he spent about a year, and in 1895 he returned to Ottumwa to enter upon the private practice of medicine. Some time afterward he became connected with the gas business, with which he was associated for a few years, at the end of which period he sold the gas plant in 1899 and resumed the practice of medicine. He was medical examiner of the Burlington Voluntary Relief in 1896-7. For eight years he was a member of the examining board of the United States pension department and has also been a member of the Board of Control of State Institutions. His knowledge of the science of medicine is comprehensive and exact and continuous reading and investigation keep him in touch with the advanced work of the profession. He is a member of the Wapello County Medical Society, the Des Moines Valley Medical Society and the American Medical Association, and of the first two he has been honored with the presidency, indicating his high profes- sional standing among those most familiar with his career. He is the author of the chapter in this work dealing with the history of the medical profession in Wapello county.
On the 7th of September, 1904, Dr. Bannister was married, in Ottumwa, to Miss Keota W. Williams, youngest daughter of the late Morris J. Williams, judge of the district court. He was one of the pioneer attorneys of Wapello county and was recognized not only as an able and learned lawyer but also as a man of high character. Dr. and Mrs. Bannister are parents of two sons, Dwight Morris and Burn Williams. The family attend the Con- gregational church, to which Dr. and Mrs. Bannister belong. He is also a member of the Country Club, and his fraternal rela- tions are with the Masons, the Ancient Order of United Work- men, the Royal Arcanum and the Homesteaders. His political allegiance is given to the republican party, but he has never had inclination for office, preferring to concentrate his energies upon
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his professional interests, which are making increasingly heavy demands upon his attention. His professional standards are high, and he is most conscientious in the performance of his duties.
JAMES J. SMITH.
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James J. Smith, a leader among the able lawyers of the Ottumwa bar, has been continuously engaged in practice in this city since August, 1879, and throughout the intervening years has been accorded a large and distinctly representative clientage. He was born February 12, 1854, in Iowa City, Iowa, a son of Andrew and Mary ( Donohoe) Smith, who were natives of Ire- land and came to the United States in 1850, first settling in Ohio. In 1852 they removed to Iowa, taking up their abode in Iowa City, where they remained for fourteen years. Later the father turned his attention to farming, settling in Johnson county, where he remained until 1885, when he brought his family to Ottumwa. Here he and his wife continued to reside until called to the home beyond.
Liberal educational advantages were accorded James J. Smith, who supplemented his early training by study in the Iowa State University, where he pursued his professional course, being graduated from the law school in June, 1879. He began practice in Ottumwa in the month of August, of that year, and has since been a representative of the bar-well known and prominent in his profession for many years. He has been retained on many important cases and has been very successful in presenting his cause before the courts, the records showing that he has won a large percentage of his cases. He has ever been careful and thorough in preparation, is strong and force- ful in argument and his deductions follow with logical sequence. While his attention has been confined almost exclu- sively to his practice, he is now one of the stockholders and directors of the First National Bank.
On the 29th of September, 1885, in Ottumwa, Mr. Smith was united in marriage to Miss Mary T. Shields, a niece of General James Shields, a hero of the Mexican and Civil wars and a distinguished statesman, who had the remarkable record of representing three states in the United States senate, and whose
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Smith
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HISTORY OF WAPELLO COUNTY
statue has been placed in the Hall of Fame in Washington as that of one of the two representatives of Illinois. Mrs. Smith passed away February 26, 1897. On the 30th of August, 1900, Mr. Smith was united in marriage to Miss Dollie Healy, a daughter of Thomas Healy, a pioneer resident of Wapello county, and for many years one of the prominent merchants of Ottumwa. Mr. Smith's children are: Lytton J., who is a clerk in the N. Friedman store; Lillian, who resides with her parents; and Lucile, who is the wife of Clement L. Mikesh, a prominent young business man of Ottumwa. Mr. and Mrs. Smith have traveled quite extensively. In 1906 they made a tour through the eastern and New England states and in 1908 took a trip to the Pacific coast, covering a large part of Cali- fornia, Oregon and Washington. They then proceeded north- ward into Canada, visiting Vancouver and other points and returning over the scenic Canadian Pacific route. In 1910 Mrs. Smith, in company with her daughter Miss Lillian, who had completed her studies at the Iowa State University, made an extended tour of Europe, visiting many countries. While abroad they visited Rome and had an audience with Pope Pius X. They also witnessed the Passion Play at Ober-Ammergau and spent six months in travel amid the beautiful and historic scenes of the old world. Mrs. Smith has taken quite an active part in social affairs in the city of Ottumwa and is also deeply interested in educational matters and in charity. She is a member of the Daughters of Isabella and for a number of years has been connected with the Ottumwa Hospital Association as well as with other benevolent and social organizations.
The religious faith of the family is that of the Catholic church, their membership being in St. Mary's. Mr. Smith belongs to Ottumwa Lodge, No. 347, B. P. O. E., of which he is one of the trustees, and he is a charter member of General Shields Council, K. C., of which he was the first grand knight, holding the office for two years. His political allegiance has always been given the democratic party, and his opinions carry weight in its councils, while his activity has largely strength- ened the cause in this district. He was chosen to represent his district in the twenty-third general assembly and was afterward elected as senator of the twenty-fourth assembly, where he aided in framing the laws of the state, being connected with much important constructive legislation, among which might be men- tioned the present Australian ballot law, as he was chairman
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of the committee that framed this law. In community affairs he is deeply and helpfully interested. For several years he was one of the trustees of the Ottumwa library, and he has been a member of the board of trustees of the Ottumwa Hospital Asso- ciation from its organization. His ability in his profession, his activity in politics and his well known devotion to the public welfare have made him one of the valued residents of Ottumwa.
JAMES T. HACKWORTH.
The leaders are few. The great majority lack either the initiative which brings leadership, or the determination that enables them to overcome difficulties and use their opportunities to the best advantage. James T. Hackworth, however, was early imbued with the laudable ambition of attaining success and mak- ing his work count as a factor in business progress. Advantages that others have passed heedlessly by he has improved, and in the utilization of his opportunities he has reached a prominent position in business circles. No record of Wapello county would be complete without extended reference to him. His birth occurred in Adams county, Ohio, January 12, 1839. His father, George D. Hackworth, was born in Virginia in 1810 and in August, 1845, cast in his lot with the pioneer settlers of this county, establishing his home in Center township, where he lived upon a farm until 1857. He then removed to Ottumwa, where he served for several years as county surveyor and was also county auditor for two years. In 1873 he removed to Kansas and his last days were spent in Cowley county, where he departed this life in March, 1878. He left a widow and four children, two of whom have passed away since his death. His wife bore the maiden name of Clarissa Morris and was born in Ohio in 1814. They became the parents of seven children, but three had departed this life prior to the father's demise. America Ann, the eldest, became the wife of Charles M. Kellogg, and died, leaving one child. Ellen M. married George W. Bowen and passed away in Ottumwa, leaving a family. James T. is the elder son. Mary J. became the wife of Robert Porter and died, leaving five children. George J. is also deceased. Barbara L. is a resi-
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HISTORY OF WAPELLO COUNTY
dent of Quincy, Kansas. Emily H. married Robert Painter and died, leaving a family.
James T. Hackworth was a little lad of but six years when the family came to Wapello county, where he has since made his home, covering a period of almost seven decades. He attended the common schools and afterward entered the Iowa Wesleyan University at Mount Pleasant, from which he was graduated with the class of 1860. Deciding to make the practice of law his life work, he began reading law under the direction of Professor Henry Ambler, of the Iowa Wesleyan University, during his college course at Mount Pleasant, and was admitted to the bar in 1861. For ten years he engaged in the practice of law in Ottumwa, entering upon the active work of the profession after filling the office of county surveyor for a year. In 1863 he was appointed assistant assessor of United States internal revenue for Wapello county and acted in that capacity for three and half years during the period of the Civil war. In 1872 he joined Allen Johnston, A. G. Harrow and J. G. Hutchison in organizing the Johnston Ruffler Company. In 1877 Captain Hutchison withdrew and W. T. Major became a partner in the business. On its organization Mr. Hackworth was elected presi- dent and so continued for twenty-six years. This company was extensively engaged in the manufacture of sewing machine attachments and during a part of its history employed as many as five hundred hands in the factory. Mr. Hackworth also assisted in the organization of the Ottumwa Iron Works, which was formed in 1880 and is an outgrowth of the Johnston Ruffler Company, having been promoted by the partners of the former concern. Mr. Hackworth remains as vice president of the latter company, which controls one of the important industrial enter- prises of the city. He has also figured actively in connection with the Dain Manufacturing Company. The business of that corporation was brought to Ottumwa through the efforts of twenty men, among whom was J. T. Hackworth, who became vice president of the company and so continued until its consoli- dation with the Deere Company of Moline, Illinois, in the year 1911. This by no means covers the extent of his activity along business lines, however. He has figured most prominently in financial circles and is today president of the Ottumwa National Bank, of which A. G. Harrow is vice president and R. W. Funk cashier. This bank is capitalized for one hundred thousand dol- lars and has a surplus of one hundred and ten thousand dollars.
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Mr. Hackworth is also president of the Wapello County Savings Bank, capitalized for fifty thousand dollars and with a surplus of twenty-five thousand dollars. He is likewise president of the Batavia Savings Bank, the Blakesburg Savings Bank and the Union Trust & Savings Bank at Farmington. He is also treasurer of the Hardsocg Wonder Drill Company, is a director of the Ottumwa Savings Bank and is the owner of a large amount of real estate, consisting mainly of business houses located on Main street in Ottumwa. His property holdings and his busi- ness interests are the visible evidence of a life of well directed energy and thrift and have brought him to his present enviable position of leadership in Wapello county.
On the 21st of August, 1866, Mr. Hackworth was united in marriage to Miss Sue C. Kisinger and they make their home at the corner of Court street and Pennsylvania avenue in Ottumwa, where they have resided for more than thirty years. He belongs to the Methodist Episcopal church and has been a member of the official board of the First Methodist Episcopal church of Ottumwa for a half century and is now president of its board of trustees. He has also been president of the board of trustees of the Ottumwa Public Library since its organization and which now has between thirty and forty thousand volumes on its shelves, and is an influential part of the educational system of the city.
There are indeed few who can boast of having witnessed the growth and transformation of Ottumwa and Wapello county through almost seventy years as Mr. Hackworth has done. He has lived to see wild lands converted into rich and productive farms, has seen towns and villages spring up and become thriving cities and centers of trade and has been an interested witness of the moral and intellectual progress, which has kept pace with the material advancement of the community. He has not only been a witness, however, but has been a most active participant in all that has wrought for beneficial change and, while promot- ing his individual success, has contributed in very large measure to the general prosperity of city and county. His intense and well directed activities have found their just reward, and the honor and integrity of his business methods have given him firm hold upon the respect and confidence of the people. His fellow townsmen say that too much cannot be said in praise of Mr. Hackworth as a promoter of the business interests of the city,
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county and state. They recognize what he has done for Ottumwa and appreciate his efforts in its behalf-efforts that have at all times been resultant. He seems to see from the beginning the possibilities for any undertaking and is never satisfied until the utmost limit for successful accomplishment has been reached. He takes keen pleasure in solving complex industrial, commer- cial or financial problems and his is largely the joy of success in doing what he undertakes rather than in gaining material pros- perity. Moreover, his efforts have always been of a character that have contributed largely to the material welfare of the community and thus his lifework has come to constitute a most important chapter in the history of his city and county.
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