A biographical history of Fremont and Mills Counties, Iowa, Part 17

Author: Lewis Publishing Company
Publication date: 1901
Publisher: Chicago, Lewis Publishing Company
Number of Pages: 752


USA > Iowa > Mills County > A biographical history of Fremont and Mills Counties, Iowa > Part 17
USA > Iowa > Fremont County > A biographical history of Fremont and Mills Counties, Iowa > Part 17


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that, perhaps, with the exception of Hugh Miller, no one had so popularized science in his day, or trained so many young natural- ists. Many of the theories held by Agassiz are not supported by many of the natural- ists of these later days, but upon many of the speculations into the origin of species and in physics he has left the marks of his own strongly marked individuality.


W ILLIAM WINDOM. - As a prominent and leading lawyer of the great north- west, as a member of both houses of con- gress, and as the secretary of the treasury, the gentleman whose name heads this sketch won for himself a prominent position in the history of our country.


Mr. Windom was a native of Ohio, born in Belmont county, May 10, 1827. He received a good elementary education in the schools of his native state, and took up the study of law. He was admitted to the bar, and entered upon the practice of his profession in Ohio, where he remained until 1855. In the latter year he made up his mind to move further west, and accordingly went to Minnesota, and opening an office, became identified with the interests of that state, and the northwest generally. In 1858 he took his place in the Minnesota delegation in the national house of repre- sentatives, at Washington, and continued to represent his constituency in that body for ten years. In 1871 Mr. Windom was elected United States senator from Min- nesota, and was re-elected to the same office after fulfilling the duties of the position for a full term, in 1876. On the inauguration of President Garfield, in March, 1881, Mr. Windom became secretary of the'treasury in his cabinet. He resigned this office Oc- tober 27, 1881, and was elected senator from the North Star state to fill the va-


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cancy caused by the resignation of A. J. Edgerton. Mr. Windom served in that chamber until March, 1883.


William Windom died in New York City January 29, 1891.


D ON M. DICKINSON, an American politician and lawyer, was born in Port Ontario, New York, January 17, 1846. He removed with his parents to Michigan when he was but two years old. He was educated in the public schools of Detroit and at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, and was admitted to the bar at the age of twenty-one. In 1872 he was made secretary of the Democratic state central committee of Michigan, and his able man- agement of the campaign gave him a prom- inent place in the councils of his party. In 1876, during the Tilden campaign, he acted as chairman of the state central committee. He was afterward chosen to represent his state in the Democratic national committee, and in 1886 he was appointed postmaster- general by President Cleveland. After the expiration of his term of office he returned to Detroit and resumed the practice of law. In the presidential campaign of 1896, Mr. Dickinson adhered to the " gold wing " of the Democracy, and his influence was felt in the national canvass, and especially in his own state.


JOHN JACOB ASTOR, the founder of the Astor family and fortunes, while not a native of this country, was one of the most noted men of his time, and as all his wealth and fame were acquired here, he may well be classed among America's great men. He was born near Heidelberg, Ger- many, July 17, 1763, and when twenty years old emigrated to the United States. Even at that age he exhibited remarkable


business ability and foresight, and soon he was investing capital in furs which he took to London and sold at a great profit. He next settled at New York, and engaged ex- tensively in the fur trade. He exported furs to Europe in his own vessels, which re- turned with cargoes of foreign commodities, and thus he rapidly amassed an immense fortune. In 1811 he founded Astoria on the western coast of North America, near the mouth of the Columbia river, as a depot for the fur trade, for the promotion of which he sent a number of expeditions to the Pacific ocean. He also purchased a large amount of real estate in New York, the value of which increased enormously All through life his business ventures were a series of marvelous successes, and he ranked as one of the most sagacious and successful business men in the world. He died March 29, 1848, leaving a fortune es- timated at over twenty million dollars to his children, who have since increased it. John Jacob Astor left $400,000 to found a public library in New York City, and his son, William B. Astor, who died in 1875. left $300,000 to add to his father's bequest. This is known as the Astor Library, one of the largest in the United States.


S CHUYLER COLFAX, an eminent American statesman, was born in New York City, March 23, IS23, being a grand- son of General William Colfax, the com- mander of Washington's life-guards. In 1836 he removed with his mother, who was then a widow, to Indiana, settling at South Bend. Young Schuyler studied law, and in 1845 became editor of the "St. Joseph Valley Register," a Whig paper published at South Bend. He was a member of the convention which formed a new constitu- tion for Indiana in 1850, and he opposed


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the clause that prohibited colored men from settling in that state. In 1851 he was defeated as the Whig candidate for congress but was elected in 1854, and, being repeat- edly re-elected, continued to represent that district in congress until 1869. He became one of the most prominent and influential members of the house of representatives, and served three terms as speaker. During the Civil war he was an active participant in all public measures of importance, and was a confidential friend and adviser of President Lincoln. In May, 1868, Mr. Colfax was nominated for vice-president on the ticket with General Grant, and was elected. After the close of his term he re- tired from office, and for the remainder of his life devoted much of his time to lectur- ing and literary pursuits. His death oc- curred January 23, 1885. He was one of the most prominent members of the Inde- pendent Order of Odd Fellows in America, and that order erected a bronze statue to his memory in University Park, Indianapo- lis, Indiana, which was unveiled in May, 1887.


W ILLIAM FREEMAN VILAS, who at- tained a national reputation as an able lawyer, statesman, and cabinet officer, was born at Chelsea, Vermont, July 9, 1840. His parents removed to Wisconsin when our subject was but eleven years of age, and there with the early settlers endured all the hardships and trials incident to pioneer life. William F. Vilas was given all the advantages found in the common schools, and supplemented this by a course of study in the Wisconsin State University, after which he studied law, was admitted to the bar and began practicing at Madison. Shortly afterward the Civil war broke out and Mr. Vilas enlisted and became colonel


of the Twenty-third regiment of Wisconsin Volunteers, serving throughout the war with distinction. At the close of the war he re- turned to Wisconsin, resumed his law prac- tice, and rapidly rose to eminence in this profession. In 1885 he was selected by President Cleveland for postmaster-general and at the close of his term again returned to Madison, Wisconsin, to resume the prac- tice of law.


THOMAS MCINTYRE COOLEY, anem- inent American jurist and law writer, was born in Attica, New York, January 6, 1824. He was admitted to the bar in 1846, and four years later was appointed reporter of the supreme court of Michigan, which office he continued to hold for seven years. In the meantime, in 1859, he became pro- fessor of the law department of the Univer- sity of Michigan, and soon afterward was made dean of the faculty of that depart- ment. In 1864 he was elected justice of the supreme court of Michigan, in 1867 be- came chief justice of that court, and in 1869 was re-elected for a term of eight years. In 1881 he again joined the faculty of the University of Michigan, assuming the professorship of constitutional and adminis- trative law. His works on these branches have become standard, and he is recog- nized as authority on this and related sub- jects. Upon the passage of the inter-state commerce law in 1887 he became chairman of the commission and served in that capac- ity four years.


JOHN PETER ALTGELD, a noted American politician and writer on social questions, was born in Germany, December 30, 1847. He came to America with his parents and settled in Ohio when two years old. In 1864 he entered the Union army


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and served till the close of the war, after which he settled in Chicago, Illinois. He was elected judge of the superior court of Cook county, Illinois, in 1886, in which capacity he served until elected governor of Illinois in 1892, as a Democrat. During the first year of his terin as governor he at- tracted national attention by his pardon of the anarchists convicted of the Haymarket murder in Chicago, and again in 1894 by his denunciation of President Cleveland for calling out federal troops to suppress the rioting in connection with the great Pull- man strike in Chicago. At the national convention of the Democratic party in Chi- cago, in July, 1896, he is said to have in- spired the clause in the platform denuncia- tory of interference by federal authorities in local affairs, and "government by injunc- tion." He was gubernatorial candidate for re-election on the Democratic ticket in 1896, but was defeated by John R. Tanner, Re- publican. Mr. Altgeld published two vol- umes of essays on " Live Questions," evinc- ing radical views on social matters.


A DLAI EWING STEVENSON, an Amer_ ican statesman and politician, was born in Christian county, Kentucky, October 23, 1835, and removed with the family to Bloomington, Illinois, in 1852. He was admitted to the bar in 1858, and set- tled in the practice of his profession in Metamora, Illinois. In 1861 he was made master in chancery of Woodford county, and in 1864 was elected state's at- torney. In 1868 he returned to Blooming- ton and formed a law partnership with James S. Ewing. He had served as a pres- idential elector in 1864, and in 1868 was elected to congress as a Democrat, receiv- ing a majority vote from every county in his district. He became prominent in his


party, and was a delegate to the national convention in 1884. On the election of Cleveland to the presidency Mr. Stevenson was appointed first assistant postmaster- general. After the expiration of his term he continued to exert a controlling influence in the politics of his state, and in 1892 was elected vice-president of the United States on the ticket with Grover Cleveland. At the expiration of his terin of office he re- sumed the practice of law at Bloomington, Illinois.


S IMON CAMERON, whose name is prominently identified with the history of the United States as a political leader and statesman, was born in Lancaster coun- ty, Pennsylvania, March 8, 1799. He grew to manhood in his native county, receiving good educational advantages, and develop- ing a natural inclination for political life. He rapidly rose in prominence and became the most influential Democrat in Pennsyl- vania, and in 1845 waselected by that party to the United States senate. Upon the organization of the Republican party he was one of the first to declare his allegiance to it, and in 1856 was re-elected United States senator from Pennsylvania as a Republican. In March, 1861, he was appointed secretary of war by President Lincoln, and served until early in 1862, when he was sent as minister to Russia, returning in 1863. In 1866 he was again elected United States senator and served until 1877, when he re- signed and was succeeded by his son, James Donald Cameron. He continued to exert a powerful influence in political affairs up to the time of his death, June 26, 1889.


JAMES DONALD CAMERON was the eld- est son of Simon Cameron, and also attained a high rank among American statesmen. He was born at Harrisburg,


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Pennsylvania, May 14, 1833, and received an excellent education, graduating at Princeton College in 1852. He rapidly developed into one of the most able and successful business men of the country and was largely inter- ested in and identified with the develop- ment of the coal, iron, lumber and manu- facturing interests of his native state. He served as cashier and afterward president of the Middletown bank, and in 1861 was made vice-president, and in 1863 president of the Northern Central railroad, holding this position until 1874, when he resigned and was succeeded by Thomas A. Scott. This road was of great service to the government during the war as a means of communica- tion between Pennsylvania and the national capital, via Baltimore. Mr. Cameron also took an active part in political affairs, always as a Republican. In May, 1876, he was appointed secretary of war in Pres- ident Grant's cabinet, and in 1877 suc- ceeded his father in the United States senate. He was re-elected in 1885, and again in 1891, serving until 1896, and was recognized as one of the most prominent and influential members of that body.


A DOLPHUS W. GREELEY, a famous American arctic explorer, was born at Newburyport, Massachusetts, March 27, 1844. He graduated from Brown High School at the age of sixteen, and a year later enlisted in Company B, Nineteenth Massachusetts Infantry, and was made first sergeant. In 1863 he was promoted to second lieutenant. After the war he was assigned to the Fifth United States Cavalry, and became first lieutenant in 1873. He was assigned to duty in the United States signal service shortly after the close of the war. An expedition was fitted out by the United States government in 1881, un-


der auspices of the weather bureau, and Lieutenant Greeley placed in command. They set sail from St. Johns the first week in July, and after nine days landed in Green- land, where they secured the services of two natives, together with sledges, dogs, furs and equipment. They encountered an ice pack early in August, and on the 28th of that month freezing weather set in. Two of his party, Lieutenant Lockwood and Ser- geant Brainard, added to the known maps about forty miles of coast survey, and reached the highest point yet attained by man, eighty-three degrees and twenty-four minutes north, longitude, forty-four degrees and five minutes west. On their return to Fort Conger, Lieutenant Greeley set out for the south on August 9, 1883. He reached Baird Inlet twenty days later with his entire party. Here they were compelled to abandon their boats, and drifted on an ice-floe for one month. They then went into camp at Cape Sabine, where they suf- fered untold hardships, and eighteen of the party succumbed to cold and hunger, and had relief been delayed two days longer none would have been found alive. They were picked up by the relief expedition, under Captain Schley, June 22, 1884. The dead were taken to New York for burial. Many sensational stories were published concerning the expedition, and Lieutenant Greeley prepared an exhaustive account of his explorations and experiences.


I EVI P. MORTON, the millionaire poli- tician, was born in Shoreham, Ver- mont, May 16, 1824, and his early educa- tion consisted of the rudiments which he obtained in the common school up to the age of fourteen, and after that time what knowledge he gained was wrested from the hard school of experience. He removed to.


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Hanover, Vermont, then Concord, Vermont, and afterwards to Boston. He had worked in a store at Shoreham, his native village, and on going to Hanover he established a store and went into business for himself. In Boston he clerked in a dry goods store, and then opened a business of his own in the same line in New York. After a short career he failed, and was compelled to set- tle with his creditors at only fifty cents on the dollar. He began the struggle anew, and when the war began he established a banking house in New York, with Junius Morgan as a partner. Through his firm and connections the great government war loans were floated, and it resulted in im- mense profits to his house. When he was again thoroughly established he invited his former creditors to a banquet, and under each guest's plate was found a check cover- ing the amount of loss sustained respec- tively, with interest to date.


President Garfield appointed Mr. Mor- ton as minister to France, after he had de- clined the secretaryship of the navy, and in 1888 he was nominated as candidate for vice-president, with Harrison, and elected. In 1894 he was elected governor of New York over David B. Hill, and served one term.


C HARLES KENDALL ADAMS, one the most talented and prominent educators this country has known, was born January 24, 1835, at Derby, Vermont. He received an elementary education in the common schools, and studied two terms in the Derby Academy. Mr. Adams moved with his parents to Iowa in 1856. He was very anxious to pursue a collegiate course, but this was impossible until he had attained the age of twenty-one. In the autumn of 1856 he began the study of Latin and Greek


at Denmark Academy, and in September, 1857, he was admitted to the University of Michigan. Mr. Adams was wholly depend- ent upon himself for the means of his edu- cation. During his third and fourth year he became deeply interested in historical studies, was assistant librarian of the uni- versity, and determined to pursue a post- graduate course. In 1864 he was appointed instructor of history and Latin and was ad- vanced to an assistant professorship in 1865, and in 1867, on the resignation of Professor White to accept the presidency of Cornell, he was appointed to fill the chair of profes- sor of history. This he accepted on con- dition of his being allowed to spend a year for special study in Germany, France and Italy. Mr. Adams returned in 1868, and assumed the duties of his professorship. He introduced the German system for the instruction of advanced history classes, and his lectures were largely attended. In 1885, on the resignation of President White at Cornell, he was elected his successor and held the office for seven years, and on Jan- uary 17, 1893, he was inaugurated presi- dent of the University of Wisconsin. Pres- ident Adams was prominently connected with numerous scientific and literary organ- izations and a frequent contributor to the historical and educational data in the peri- odicals and journals of the country. He was the author of the following: " Dem- ocracy and Monarchy in France," " Manual of Historical Literature," " A Plea for Sci- entific Agriculture," " Higher Education in Germany."


JOSEPH B. FORAKER, a prominent po-


litical leader and ex-governor of Ohio, was born near Rainsboro, Highland county, Ohio, July 5, 1846. His parents operated a small farm, with a grist and sawmill, hav-


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ing emigrated hither from Virginia and Delaware on account of their distaste for slavery.


Joseph was reared upon a farm until 1862, when he enlisted in the Eighty-ninth Ohio Infantry. Later he was made ser- geant, and in 1864 commissioned first lieu- tenant. The next year he was brevetted captain. At the age of nineteen he was mustered out of the army after a brilliant service, part of the time being on the staff of General Slocum. He participated in the battles of Missionary Ridge, Lookout Mount- ain and Kenesaw Mountain and in Sher- man's march to the sea.


For two years subsequent to the war young Foraker was studying at the Ohio Wesleyan University at Delaware, but later went to Cornell University, at Unity, New York, from which he graduated July I, 1869. He studied law and was admitted to the bar. In 1879 Mr. Foraker was elected judge of the superior court of Cincinnati and held the office for three years. In 1883 he was defeated in the contest for the gov- ernorship with Judge Hoadly. In 1885, however, being again nominated for the same office, he was elected and served two terms. In 1889, in running for governor again, this time against James E. Camp- bell, he was defeated. Two years later his career in the United States senate began. Mr. Foraker was always a prominent figure at all national meetings of the Republican party, and a strong power, politically, in his native state.


L' YMAN ABBOTT, an eminent American preacher and writer on religious sub- jects, came of a noted New England family. His father, Rev. Jacob Abbott, was a prolific and popular writer, and his uncle, Rev. John S. C. Abbott, was a noted


preacher and author. Lyman Abbott was born December 18, 1835, in Roxbury, Massachusetts. He graduated at the New York University, in 1853, studied law, and practiced for a time at the bar, after which he studied theology with his uncle, Rev. John S. C. Abbott, and in 1860 was settled in the ministry at Terre Haute, Indiana, re- maining there until after the close of the war. He then became connected with the Freedmen's Commission, continuing this until 1868, when he accepted the pastorate of the New England Congregational church, in New York City. A few years later he re- signed, to devote his time principally to lit- erary pursuits. For a number of years he edited for the American Tract Society, its "Illustrated Christian Weekly," also the New York "Christian Union." He pro- duced many works, which had a wide circu- lation, among which may be mentioned the following: "Jesus of Nazareth, His Life and Teachings," "Old Testament Shadows of New Testament Truths," "Morning and Evening Exercises, Selected from Writings of Henry Ward Beecher," "Laicus, or the Experiences of a Layman in a Country Parish," "Popular Religious Dictionary," and "Commentaries on Matthew, Mark, Luke, John and Acts."


G EORGE WILLIAM CURTIS .- The well-known author, orator and journal- ist whose name heads this sketch, was born at Providence, Rhode Island, February 24, 1824. Having laid the foundation of a most excellent education in his native land, he went to Europe and studied at the Uni- versity of Berlin. He made an extensive tour throughout the Levant, from which he returned home in 1850. At that early age literature became his field of labor, and in 1851 he published his first important work,


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" Nile Notes of a Howadji." In 1852 two works issued from his facile pen, "The Howadji in Syria, " and "Lotus-Eating." Later on he was the author of the well- known " Potiphar Papers," "Prue and I," and "Trumps." He greatly distinguished himself throughout this land as a lecturer on many subjects, and as an orator had but few peers. He was also well known as one of the most fluent speakers on the stump, making many political speeches in favor of the Republican party. In recognition of his valuable services, Mr. Curtis was ap- pointed by President Grant, chairman of the advisory board of the civil service. Al- though a life-long Republican, Mr. Curtis refused to support Blaine for the presidency in 1884, because of his ideas on civil ser- vice and other reforms. For his memorable and magnificent eulogy on Wendell Phillips, delivered in Boston, in 1884, that city pre- sented Mr. Curtis with a gold medal.


George W. Curtis, however, is best known to the reading public of the United States by his connection with the Harper Brothers, having been editor of the "Har- per's Weekly," and of the "Easy Chair," in " Harper's Monthly Magazine, " for many years, in fact retaining that position until the day of his death, which occurred August 31, 1892.


A NDREW JOHNSON, the seventeenth president of the United States, served from 1865 to 1869. He was born Decem- ber 8, 1808, at Raleigh, North Carolina, and was left an orphan at the age of four years. He never attended school, and was apprenticed to a tailor. While serving his apprenticeship he suddenly acquired a pas- sion for knowledge, and learned to read. From that time on he spent all his spare time in reading, and after working for two


years as a journeyman tailor at Lauren's Court House, South Carolina, he removed to Greenville, Tennessee, where he worked at his trade and was married. Under his wife's instruction he made rapid progress in his studies and manifested such an interest in local politics as to be elected as " work- ingmen's candidate " alderman in 1828, and in 1830 to the mayoralty, and was twice re-elected to each office. Mr. Johnson utilized this time in cultivating his talents as a public speaker, by taking part in a de- bating society. He was elected in 1835 to the lower house of the legislature, was re- elected in 1839 as a Democrat, and in IS4I was elected state senator. Mr. John- son was elected representative in congress in 1843 and was re-elected four times in succession until 1853, when he was the suc- cessful candidate for the gubernatorial chair of Tennessee. He was re-elected in 1855 and in 1857 he entered the United States senate. In 1860 he was supported by the Tennessee delegation to the Democratic convention for the presidential nomination, and lent his influence to the Breckinridge wing of the party. At the election of Lin- coln, which brought about the first attempt at secession in December, 1860, Mr. John- son took a firm attitude in the senate for the Union. He was the leader of the loy- alists in East Tennessee. By the course that Mr. Johnson pursued in this crisis he was brought prominently before the north- ern people, and when, in March, 1862, he was appointed military governor of Ten- nessee with the rank of brigadier-general, he increased his popularity by the vigorous manner in which he labored to restore order. In the campaign of 1864 he was elected vice-president on the ticket with President Lincoln, and upon the assassi- nation of the latter he succeeded to the




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