USA > Iowa > An illustrated history of the state of Iowa, being a complete civil, political, and military history of the state, from its first exploration down to 1875; > Part 78
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which time be inaugurated a plan of settlement and so far overcame the in- terests and prejudices of many of the prominent banks and bankers, as well as many prominent citizens in New England and elsewhere, he succeeded in making compromises with them for cash, or in new compromise bonds, on a basis that will ultimately result in the funding of that debt into manageable proportions, and the res- toration of the credit of that city upon a sound basis. In the spring of 1875 he crossed the Atlantic, spending some time in the principal cities of England and France, and during a stay of three weeks in London, Eng- land, negotiated a settlement with the executors of the estate of a large iron master and coal dealer, deceased, which was being settled up under the direction of the high court of chancery, and with their aid, and that of their solicitor, obtained the approval of that court to the settle- ment, returning again to Iowa in June. And while he saw many things of interest in the old world, and there found a reverence growing up in his mind for antiquity, he re- turned to America, more impressed with its magnitude and its promise of future greatness, and to his own state, the state of Iowa, impressed with the feeling that her broad prai- ries and rich valleys cannot, for fer- tility and productiveness, be surpassed elsewhere in the world.
[Contributed.]
Michael Donahue. "I mean rail- road." The labors of the biographer are too frequently bestowed on those whose lives have been spent rather in retarding than assisting progress, and while haughty aristocrats and ambi- tious generals are embalmed in print, modest merit is left to shiver in the shade. Very often, too, the biography of those men who have enlightened, entertained or done other good ser- vices by their labors, is barren of in- cident and devoid of interest; but the lives of earnest workers, men in the vanguard of improvements, to whose clear heads and strong arms the great west owes so much, can never be un- interesting or fail to instruct. The life of Michael Donahue, to whom Davenport owes so much, is an in- stance corroborative of this observa-
tion. Far away. on the sounding banks of the Clyde, amidst the war of its furnaces, the din of its forges and the reek of the tall smoke stacks of Glasgow, Michael Donahue was born of Irish parents, Feb. 9, 1818. From earliest boyhood energetic and deter- mined, he, in 1831, accompanied an uncle to the new world, who settled in Duchess county, N. Y. In 1835, his parents followed him to this coun- try, and, while they were residing in Patterson, N. J., he worked in the Union Works as moulder. Although paying strict attention to his mechani- cal duties and becoming a first-class workman, the spirit of enterprise was strong within him, and on the termi- nation of his apprenticeship, he shipped before the mast, and visited the West Indies. Soon weary of a sea life, he returned home; then went to Cold Springs, opposite West Point, and, in the fall of 1841, became a moulder on the Croton water pipes. on their completion, he went to Cin- cinnati as moulder, where he re- mained until the breaking out of the Mexican war, when he became a vol- unteer, enlisting in company A, first regiment of Ohio volunteers, under Col. Mitchell. A taste of actual ser- vice at Monterey, Saltillo, Buena Vis- ta and Seralvo, where their train was attacked by thousands of Mexicans, and they for three days besieged in the town until relieved by the third Ohio regiment under Col. S. R. Curtis, late of Iowa, and general in the Union army, satisfied his desire for military glory, and he again became a son of Vulcan, starting a foundry for the government at the mouth of the Rio Grande, where he was chiefly em- ployed in repairing government boats. The war ending, he returned to New Orleans, from whence he made a trip up Red river to Alexandria, and con- tinuing via El Paso and San Diego on to San Francisco, there to join his brothers James and Peter, who were already there, and who had engaged in blacksmithing and boiler making, at a place known as " Happy Valley." Success attended industry, and, ere long, an extensive foundry and ma- chine shops were added, and the works called, in honor of the shops in which they learned their trade - The Union Foundry. At these works they claim the honor of melting the
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first iron fnsed on the Pacific coast, with which was made a block for holding a propeller shaft, and was exhibited as a relic of early California enterprise at the eighth industrial fair in San Francisco. Ever anxious to patronize home industry, the skill aud energy of the Donahues were at once acknowledged, and their establish- ment became one of the most exten- sive foundries in the far west. At this foundry were also made the first quartz mill ever erected in the states, and the printing press which gave to the people the paper announcing the admission of California into. the Union, in 1850.
In 1852, the brothers Donahue con- ceived the idea and obtained the fran- chise for lighting San Francisco with gas, and Peter and Michael are still stockholders in the company then formed. Coming cast in 1853, Mr. Donahue remained for a short time in New York, and visiting Davenport in 1854, he became, by purchase, the owner of the Le Clair foundry, which he has conducted with consummate skill, and which he is successfully running at the present day. Daven- port may be proud of the day which numbered Michael Donahue among its citizens, for he has ever been on the alert for its best interests, and indefati- gable in carrying out every scheme likely to be advantageous. The first steam fire engine in Iowa was the " Donahue" of Davenport, and its first engineer, the subject of our me- moir. His name is still on the rolls, and the late gathering of firemen from our own and neighboring states ac- knowledged, by a well deserved ora- tion, the services of their old chieftain, to whom the fire department of Iowa's metropolis owes so much. Always de- lighting to honor its best citizens, Davenport, in 1868, made Donahue its mayor, an honor he held for two terms, and it was during his mayorality that he strenuously and successfully advo- cated the adjustment of the city debt, and the building of the Davenport and Saint Paul railroad. The words which appear at the head of this arti- cle, and which have become proverbial in Davenport, were spoken by him, and the writer well remembers with what homely eloquence and hearty fervor they were delivered. His in- cisive arguments and practical logic
were given with all the force of a dead stroke hammer, and clinched as firm- ly as one of his boiler rivets, and years to come, Davenport will reap the rich benefits of traffic which owed its in- ception greatly to the wisdom, expe- rience and grit of Michael Donahue. The latest grand undertaking in which Mr. Donahue has been engaged is the Davenport water works, which, carried to a successful result a- against much opposition from ignor- ance, old fogeyism and greed, are the crowning glory of his busy life, and will ever remain a monument of his energy, skill and indomitable enter- prise. It was in 1873, after much agitation and the conflict of opposing systems, that Mr. Michael Donahue, with his brother, Col. Peter Donahue, of San Francisco, undertook, with the perfect confidence of the people, the great enterprise of supplymg 25,000 people with pure water. The compa- ny was organized, Jan. 13, 1873, and the two brothers personally controlled the entire financial and mechanical details, and in less than twelve months the inestimable boon of limpid water was percolating the iron veins and arteries with which their energies had meshed the streets of Davenport. This is no place to go into details; suffice it to say, that mainly owing to the vim of Michael Donahue, a mag- nificent system of water supply now offers to the intending settler, a grand inducement to settle in a city whose artificial advantages are only exceeded by the beauties of its situation, and the prosperity of its trade. Still in the prime of life, our worthy citizen lives among us, blessed in wife, weans an' warld's geer, and sure of a hearty welcome and cordial greeting where- ever he comes. Social in his habits, charitable and benevolent, a kind em- ployer, a faithful friend, and a merry companion, looking on life from a philanthropic stand point, and ever ready to assist in all good works, whether for private welfare, or the public benefit; and, that he may live long to reap the reward of a well spent life, crowned with well deserved po- pularity, is the hearty wish of every one who knows Michael Donahue, the father of the Davenport water works.
Lauren Fletcher Ellsworth was
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born in Winchester, Guernsey county Ohio, June 7, 1823. His father is a native of New York. He was married in Pennsylvania to a Miss Catharine Irish, when they removed to Ohio previous to 1815. To this union there were given five children -four boys and one girl - Lauren and Leroy W. being the only surviving sons of the family. Lauren was raised to work on a farm, attending school part of the time in the old classic log cabin, but the last three of his school years, enjoying the benefits of a graded school. At the age of seventeen he developed a taste for painting and lymning, and sought the consent of his father to learn the trade. His father dissuaded him from his purpose, believing the poisonous qualities of paints was contra indicated by what, at that age, appeared to be a feeble constitution. He at once commenced the study of medicine under Dr. James Campbell of Middletown, Ohio. After three years' study he obtained a complimentary certificate from his preceptor, and also a certificate from the board of censors of the state med- ical society, and commenced practice with Dr. Wilcox, a man who was re- garded as a fair average of American physicians, and whose practice ex- tended over a large area of country. In addition to his medical studies he pursued a pretty thorough course of the natural sciences and the course of study in theology as prescribed by the general conference of the M. E. Church, he having united with that branch of the church in his eighteenth year. At the age of twenty-two he married Miss Mary Oglebay, an es- timable young lady of Calais, Ohio, whose fidelity as a wife, and devotion as a mother, has abundantly demon- strated the wisdom of his choice. He here located and pursued his chosen profession for twenty years. Believ- ing that his sons should be raised to habits of industry, and trained for usefulness, he concluded to emigrate west and locate on a farm. Accord- ingly, in 1864, he removed to Iowa, and located in Mahaska county, where he has since resided, engaged in the practice of his profession, his sons carrying on farming. At the age of twenty-four he was licensed to preach, and sustains the relation of a local preacher, he having passed through
[ the official gradations of deacon and elder, the highest official position at- tainable by the local ministry. In 1844, he cast his first vote for Henry Clay for president. From this date he acted with the free soil party, and, as a free soiler, was selected as a dele- gate to the convention that met at Columbus, Ohio, in 1855, which gave birth to the republican party. With this party he has acted unwaveringly to the present time. He has filled many local offices, and in the fall of 1871, was elected to represent, in part, Mahaska county in the fourteenth general assembly. In this capacity he was appointed ou the committee on schools, and chairman of the com- mittee on medical institutions. As a legislator he strove to be faithful and just to all. To corporations and cap- ital he was just, without sacrifice; in expenditures of the public moneys he was economical without parsi- mony; in his labors and sympathies he was for the people, of whom he was and whose servant he is. A writer at the time said : " He is a good talker and a logical reasoner, and commands respect and his full share of influence on the floor of the House."
Col. Warren S. Dungan was born Sept. 12, 1822, at Frankfort Springs, Beaver county, Pennsylvania. His father, David D. Dungan, was a farm- er, and the son, like most farmer's boys of the eastern states, received a training on the farm to habits of labor and industry, which necessarily char- acterized his whole afterlife. His ad- vantages of education, prior to arriv- ing at the age of seventeen, were such as the subscription schools of the neighborhood afforded. The public school system had not then been in- troduced. At the age of seventeen, he commenced attending the Frankfort Springs academy, conducted and taught by the Rev. Jas. Sloan, D. D., and the Hon. Thos. Nicholson, both of whom are now deceased. These were very popular teachers, and drew together a large number of the yonng men of the surrounding country. This academy flourished for five years, and was one of the most popular institu- tions of the kind ever established in western Pennsylvania. Mr. Dungan attended all the winter sessions of this
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academy during its continuance, and here acquired a thorough knowledge of all the English branches of educa- tion usually taught in such schools, including the higher mathematics. In the summer season he had to remain at home to work on the farm. In the winter, mornings and evenings, he at- tended to feeding a large amount of stock, and doing other farm chores, and then walked a mile and a half to the academy. Most of his lessons had to be studied at night after work was done. Hia Saturdays were generally spent in hauling wood and coal, and going to mill, labor very familiar to farmers' boys the country over. The boy thought this system of labor and atudy a pretty severe ordeal ; but after- wards found that it was not without its advantages. It was his intention to take a thorough collegiate course; but in this he was disappointed, finan- cial reasons interfering to check his laudable ambition in that direction. He remained with his father on the farm until the fall of 1851, teaching a portion of the time, but devoting the greater portion to farming. During the last two years he remained on the farm he was allowed the control and management of affairs, according to his own judgment, and succeeded to the entire satisfaction of all concerned. The study of the law had always been his ambition, and he now concluded that it was time he should begin to provide some means by which he would be enabled to prosecute his fa- vorite study. The winter of 1851-2, he spent as tutor in a private family in East Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The two following years he spent in tcach- ing a select school in Panola, the county seat of Panola county, Missis- sippi. During the latter of said years he commenced the study of law with Col. Calvin Miller, a leading lawyer of north Mississippi. Col. Miller made the proposition that he and his pupil should open a law office in partnership in the state of Texas, and, although considered a flattering offer, Col. Dungan declined it, mainly on account of the existence of slavery in that state, believing that he saw the in- evitable conflict in the near future, which, even sooner than he antici- pated, deluged the country in blood. Besides, he had been in the state of Iowa a number of times, and was a
great admirer of its beautiful and fer- tile prairies, and bad concluded to make that his adopted state, prior to going south. He returned to Pennsyl- vania in the fall of 1854, and went into the law office of his cousin, Col. Rich- ard P. Roberts, iu Beaver, Beaver Co., Pa., where he remained until the 10th day of March, 1856, at which date lie was admitted to the bar, and on the 14th day of June, 1856, he opened a law office at Chariton, in Lucas coun- ty, Iowa, where he has remained ever since, and is in possession of an ex- tensive and lucrative practice. In the fall of 1861, he was elected a member of the state senate, from the seventh aenatorial district, comprised of the counties of Monroe and Lucas, for the term of four years from Jan. 1, 1862. He served at the regular session of the 9th general assembly, with entire sat- isfaction to his constituents. It is said that the senate journal will show that he never missed a roll call during the entire session. He was an active mem- ber of the judiciary committee, serv- ing on others, among which was that on elections. He served also at the extra session of the legislature in Sep- tember, 1862, convened for the purpose of providing by law for taking the vote of Iowa soldiers in the field. As chairman of the committee on elec- tions at that session, he introduced the bill which passed for that purpose, which bill had however been drawn by an eminent Iowa jurist, in antici- pation of the meeting of the legisla- ture in extra session. Mr. Dungan had, prior to the meeting of the legis- lature in extra session, recruited a company, of which he was chosen captain, by acclamation, for service in the suppression of the rebellion. This company was afterwards mus- tered into the United States service as Co. K, 34th Iowa Vol. Infantry, at Burlington, Iowa, on the 15th day of October, 1862, Mr. Dungan was, at its organization, commissioned as lieu- tenant colonel of said regiment, in which capacity he served during the war, and received at its close, a com- mission as brevet colonel of United States volunteers, for " gallant services in the rear of Mobile, Alabama."
Col. Dungan was married April 3, 1859, to Miss Abby K. Proctor, who was raised iu Middleborough, Mass., to whom six children were born, all
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still living except onc. In religious matters he very naturally retains the teachings of his fathers, and still marches under the banner of the Presbyterian church, in which he is a ruling elder. In politics, a whig, un- til the dissolution of that party, when he aided in organizing the republican party, and has ever since been an earnest and eloquent advocate of the principles upon which that party was founded. Col. Dungan, while in command of his regiment, which was about one-third of the period of its service, took great pride in both theo- retical and practical company and regi- mental drill, and no regiment serving with it, surpassed it in this respect. This regiment bore off the honors in brigade drill at Barancas, Florida, in February, 1864, in competition with some of the best disciplined regiments in the department of the gulf. Col. Dungan was an efficient and gallant officer, and though a strict disciplinar- ian, yet kind and considerate to all. He had the unbounded confidence of those under his command. Of a san- guine, nervous temperament, and sus- ceptible to excitement, yet his cool- ness rose as dangers increased, and he was always calmest in the midst of the greatest perils. As a lawyer, Col. Dungan is an honor and an ornament to his profession. His deep and per- severing researches into the law, the thorough mastery of his cases, his clear and keen analysis of the law as applied to the case in hand, together with his earnest manner of speaking, and his forcible and convincing argu- ments, render him, at the bar, a for- midable antagonist. He is strictly honest in all his dealings with his fel- low men, and has the unbounded con- fidence of his clients, and of the com- munity in which he lives. He is a man of strong feelings and affections. A kind and loving husband and father, and delights in the society of his fam- ily. A man of true principles, and correct business habits, and unswerv- ing in the performance and accom- plishment of what he believes to be his duty. On account of his many social qualities, and his strict integrity, he has hosts of friends. As a citizen, no one is more highly respected, never losing sight of the interests of the community. And his energy, ac- tivity and zeal usually place him fore-
most in all acts of benevolence and public enterprise. As a public speaker he has few superiors in the state.
Rev. Stephen H. Taft was born in Volney, Oswego county, N. Y., on the 14th of Sept., 1825. He is of the sixth generation from Robert Taft, who came from England, and settled in Mendon, Mass., in 1680. Mr. Taft's father, Stephen, when twenty-five years of age married a Miss Vienna Harris, and moved from Richmond, N. H., to Oswego county, N. Y. In the midst of severe labors and priva- tions, Mr. and Mrs. Taft brought up a family of seven children, to whom they were able to give but very lim- ited educational advantages. Stephen H. was their fifth child (the eldest of three brothers), and when sixteen years of age, engaged to work on a farm for six months at ten dollars per month, his wages being all devoted to the use of the family, with the excep- tion of four dollars, which his father allowed him to retain in lieu of at- tending fourth of July festivities. With this money he bought a Bible, a cheap copy of Shakspeare and a couple of biographical works, which formed the nucleus of his library. He attended school occasionally, winters, and when eighteen years old, taught school at ten dollars per month, " boarding round." From this time, by alternately teaching and attending school, he not only made good pro- gress in his studies, but was also able to aid in the support of the family. When nineteen, he united with the Wesleyan Methodists, and a year thereatter was licensed by that body to preach. In 1849, he was appointed and acted as agent for New York Central college, which institution he afterwards attended. In 1853 he mar- ried Miss Mary A. Burnham, of Madı- son county, N. Y., by whom he is the father of six children : George B., Wil- liam J., Frderick H., Sidney A., Mary V., and Elvin S., all, except the eldest, of whom are living. About this time, becoming convinced that sectarian divisions in the church tended to engender a spirit of bigotry and strife, Mr. Taft took the position of an inde- pendent preacher, holding himself responsible only to his conscience and his God, and this position he has ever since maintained. Soon after his
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marriage he removed to Pierrepont Manor, Jefferson county, and became pastor of an independent congrega- tion, where he remained three years. Thence he removed to Martinsburg, Lewis county, where, for five years, he preached to a large and interesting Christian Union Society. While here, some of the published sermons of the Rev. Frederick W. Robertson came to his notice, and led him to a clearer understanding of some portions of scripture than he had before attained. As a result of this deeper spiritual insight, some of his religious views underwent a change, noticeable among which was his belief in the Trinity, and the doctrine of a commercial scheme of salvation based upon a vicarious atonement. This change in his theology wrought also a change in his plans of life, as by it he became deeply desirous of doing all in his power to extend a knowledge of what to him seemed a truer conception of God and his government of human character and destiny. In seeking a broader field of labor, his first thought was to establish a colony in Nebraska; and with this object in view, in the fall of 1862, he came on to Chicago and attended a convention of those con- templating the construction of the Union Pacific Railroad, intending to accompany the surveying corps, which was to have been organized. But as this project, on account of the war, for the time fell through, he changed his course, and purchased of the state of Iowa six thousand four hundred acres of land situated in the Des Moines valley, in the county of Hum- boldt, and thither, in the spring of 1863, moved with a colony of upwards of forty persons. Here, near the center of the county, between the two branches of the Des Moines river, hie laid out the town of Humboldt (formerly Spring- vale), and erected a saw and flouring mill, some stores, a hotel and several other buildings. Upon the arrival of - the colony a Christian Union Church was organized, under the pastorate of
- Mr. Tatt. In 1866 he established the " True Democrat " (the first paper in the county), which is now conducted - by one of his sons, as the " Humboldt Kosmos." From the beginning of his colony enterprise he entertained, as his ultimate purpose, the founding and building up of a Liberal Christian
college, and in the year 1869, after surmounting many obstacles, he was able to enter directly upon this work. Through the aid of eastern friends and capitalists, he erected a beautiful and substantial college edifice (Humboldt college), costing upwards of $40,000, which was first opened for the recep- tion of students, Sept. 18, 1872. The institution is under the control of a board of trustees, who are chosen by an association made up of those who have contributed to its support. Its character is set forth in the following extracts from the articles of incorpor- ation :
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