Des Moines, the pioneer of municipal progress and reform of the middle West, together with the history of Polk County, Iowa, the largest, most populous and most prosperous county in the state of Iowa; Volume II, Part 105

Author: Brigham, Johnson, 1846-1936; Clarke (S.J.) Publishing Company, Chicago, pub
Publication date: 1911
Publisher: Chicago, The S. J. Clarke publishing company
Number of Pages: 1464

USA > Iowa > Polk County > Des Moines > Des Moines, the pioneer of municipal progress and reform of the middle West, together with the history of Polk County, Iowa, the largest, most populous and most prosperous county in the state of Iowa; Volume II > Part 105

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When still very young Eliphe Bouchard was taken by his parents to New York, where the family home was maintained for four or five years. In 1848, when six years of age, he removed with his parents to Valparaiso, Porter county, Indiana, attending the public schools of that place for the following four years. Circumstances made it necessary for him to assist in the support of the family and he obtained employment as a clerk. He was hired by a couple of young men who conducted a dry-goods store in Valparaiso in the hope that he would draw the French trade, as his people were French Canadians. Mr. Bouchard re- sided in Indiana until 1865, when he came to Iowa, arriving in Des Moines on the 2d of May of that year. This city at that time contained a population of five thousand. While still making his home in Valparaiso he had been employed in Chicago as a clerk for two years. At the time of the Civil war he made two unsuccessful attempts to enter the army, his mother using her influence to have him rejected on account of his youth. After coming to Des Moines he obtained employment in the wholesale and retail grocery establishment of J. L. Dorr & Company, with whom he remained for two years, when the firm sold out to E. L. March. He continued in the latter's service for one year and then accepted a position with the Maloney Confectionery Company, located near Fifth on Locust street, remaining there for three years, during which time he managed by strict economy to save enough money to start in business for himself and opened a retail grocery store which he conducted for two years. Disposing of his interests in this, he engaged in the livery and express business with Messrs. Armstrong and Messenger. In association with G. W. Messenger he had also been engaged in the buying, selling and shipping of horses. About 1887 he embarked in the hardware business on his own account at De Soto, about twenty- two miles from Des Moines. There he likewise conducted a grocery establish- ment for a short time. About 1899 he returned to Des Moines and purchased the property at the corner of Seventeenth street and Grand avenue, and started

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a grocery, feed and coal business, meeting with that success which is ever the result of energy, perseverence and honesty.

Mr. Bouchard was married December 25, 1881, at Columbus, Nebraska, to Miss Jeannette Taffe and they became the parents of two children : Beatrice, who died at the age of thirteen years; and Marie Frances, who passed away at the age of five.

Politically Mr. Bouchard is an independent republican, while his religious faith is indicated by his membership in the Capitol Hill Christian church, to which his wife also belongs. Fraternally he is identified with the Knights of Pythias. He is one of the best known citizens of Des Moines, where he has spent the greater part of his life and he possesses the highest respect and esteem of all who know him.

SEWARD NELSON.

Through well directed business activity and enterprise Seward Nelson has gained recognition as one of the prosperous and progressive farmers of Polk county. He was born in Story county, Iowa, August 29, 1867, a son of Andrew and Martha (Ersland) Nelson, the former a native of Norway and the latter of Norwegian parentage. The father, who is numbered among Polk county's heaviest land owners, is equally well known in agricultural, commercial and financial circles in this locality, and is mentioned at length on another page of this volume.

Reared amid the wholesome scenes and environment of rural life, Seward Nelson attended the district school in the acquirement of an education, and also received thorough practical training through the assistance which he rendered his father about the home farm. It was natural, therefore, upon attaining his majority for him to choose as his life work the occupation to which he had been reared, and when twenty-one years of age he left home and took up agri- cultural pursuits on his own account, renting a farm for about seven years. His ultimate aim, however, was to become an independent farmer, and in the meantime he worked diligently and unceasingly, carefully saving his money until he had accumulated sufficient capital with which to purchase one hundred and twenty. acres. This farm, located in Elkhart township, has since remained his home and upon its cultivation and development he has concentrated his efforts. He is a practical farmer, incorporating in the conduct of affairs all the modern and up-to-date methods of farming, while upon his place can be found the latest inventions of machinery for facilitating the work of the fields. Considerable time is given to his live-stock interests, as he annually raises for the market about one hundred head of hogs, and also is the owner of about seventy-five head of fine cattle and fourteen horses.

Mr. Nelson was married, on the 7th of March, 1889, to Miss Sarah H. Fat- land, a daughter of Haldor and Mangala (Trondem) Fatland, both natives of Skaanurg, Norway. The father, who was a sailor by occupation, remained a resident of the land of the midnight sun until about thirty-six years of age, when, about 1861, he came to the United States, locating in Illinois. He re- mained in that state three years, during which time he was employed by others, and then came to this county, purchasing a farm in Lincoln township. The journey from Illinois to Iowa was made in covered wagons, for that was before the time of the railroads, and the journey was fraught with many difficulties and hardships. After establishing his home on his Iowa farm he gave his entire attention to the cultivation of his land, and continued in its development until his death, which occurred in April, 1899. His wife passed away in Octo- ber, 1886. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Nelson have been born six children, as follows:

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Matilda, who married Albert Hill, a merchant of Cambridge, Iowa; Miller A., aged twenty years ; Clara H., aged eighteen years; Eldon L., aged fifteen years ; Hazel J., aged fourteen years; and Selma C., aged twelve years. With the exception of the eldest all of these children yet remain at home.

Mr. Nelson and his family hold membership in the Lutheran church, and in his political relations he is a republican. He has served as justice of the peace and constable of Elkhart township for years and as assessor for two terms. He is a stockholder in the Bank of Huxley, at Huxley, Iowa, and also in the Farmers Savings Bank at Alleman, Iowa, and is a well known figure in business circles in this part of the county. He is now in the prime of life and enjoys to the fullest measure the many advantages afforded by the present day, and being progressive and a man whose life has always been in keeping with high standards, he justly deserves the full measure of confidence and respect now entertained for him by all who know him.

RODOLPHUS D. EMERY.

Des Moines is a well known center of insurance activity and among the prominent companies operating in this field is the Great Western Accident Association, of which Rodolphus D. Emery is secretary. With large responsi- bilities devolving upon him and with voice in the management of the business, he is bending his energies toward its extension and has been connected with the formulation of carefully defined plans that have proven feasible and effective in developing the business and placing it upon the substantial basis upon which it now rests.

Mr. Emery is a native of Volga, Iowa, born on the 15th of June, 1863. His parents were the Rev. Amos G. and Mary A. (Chatfield) Emery. The ancestry on the paternal side is English, the family being founded in Massachusetts in the pre-Revolutionary period by the great-great-grandfather. At the outbreak of the war with the mother country the grandfather espoused the cause of . independence, serving with a New Hampshire regiment. The Chatfield family is also of English origin and was founded in America when this country was still numbered among the colonial possessions of Great Britain. Gould Chat- field, a cousin of Mary A. (Chatfield) Emery, was at one time attorney general of the state of New York.

Amos G. Emery, a native of the Empire state, was born in 1819 and pur- sued his education in Hamilton College. He became a minister of the Baptist faith and in addition to preaching the gospel gave his time and attention to farming. For a quarter of a century he was a resident of Clayton county, Iowa. His death occurred in 1906 in Boulder, Colorado. His wife survived him about three years, passing away in March, 1909. In their family were nine children : Ogden L., now deceased; John M .; Charles L .; Homer G .; Effie A. and Hattie M., who have also passed away; Rodolphus D., of this review ; Emily, who died in infancy; and Electa A.

At the usual age Rodolphus D. Emery became a public school student and his preliminary course was supplemented by normal training and also by advance work done in home study. While his parents were in somewhat limited finan- cial circumstances, the home training which Mr. Emery received was such as left upon him an indelible impress concerning the value of high moral worth and character, parental teaching bearing its fruits in the life which he has led. At the age of twenty Mr. Emery took up the profession of teaching, which he followed in the common schools for a time and later became principal of graded schools and instructor in county normals. Gradually he advanced in the pro- fession and for two years filled the position of county superintendent in Norton

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county, Kansas. He became recognized as an able educator, but turned from the profession of teaching to enter the field of insurance, becoming connected with the Great Western Accident Association in the position of solicitor and field manager. After acting in that capacity a year he was elected to the posi- tion of secretary, which he has since filled, and the growth and success of the company since that time are attributable in considerable measure to his efforts, business capacity and clear, sound judgment. He is also a director of the com- pany.

On the IIth of September, 1892, Mr. Emery was married in Norton county, Kansas, to Miss Anna L. Mulkey, a native of Mulkeytown, Illinois. Her father, the Rev. Barton W. S. Mulkey, is a minister of a Christian church in Norton county, Kansas. Her grandfather was one of the early settlers of Illinois and did much to spread the gospel of the Christian church in his sec- tion. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Emery have been born a son and two daughters : Amos B., born in Norton county, Kansas, January 15, 1895; Ruth, who was born near Lenora, in the same county, October 4, 1896; and Grace, born in Norton Kansas, July 13, 1898.

In politics Mr. Emery is somewhat independent, yet is allied with the pro- gressive wing of the republican party. He believes, however, in supporting well qualified candidates regardless of party affiliation and in the exercise of his franchise seeks ever the welfare and progress of community, state and nation. He stands for advancement at all times in municipal affairs and is a member of the Park Avenue Improvement League. He also belongs to the Grant Club, to Pioneer Lodge, No. 22, A. F. & A. M., and to Grant Camp, M. W. A. His religious faith is that of the Unitarian church and in all things he is liberal minded. He looks at life from a broad standpoint, judging with a spirit of charity and yet seeking to extend his power and ability, to further progress along material, intellectual, social, political and moral lines.

GARDNER COWLES.

Gardner Cowles, publisher of the Register and Leader and The Evening Tri- bune, was born at Oskaloosa, Iowa, February 28, 1861, a son of William Fletcher and Maria Elizabeth (LaMonte) Cowles. The descent on the paternal side is from Puritan ancestry. John Cowles, founder of the family, came to America in 1635. William Fletcher Cowles came to Iowa from Cortland county, New York, in 1851. For more than fifty years he was active in the ministry of the Metho- dist Episcopal church and was prominent in the church and public affairs of his time. His pastorates included many of the best churches of his denomination, and he was four times presiding elder of the Iowa conference. Maria Elizabeth (La- Monte) Cowles was a daughter of Thomas and Lucy (Paine) LaMonte, of Scho- harie county, New York. Their ancestors were Scotch, settling in America about 1650. LaMonte Cowles, attorney and a member of the state senate from Bur- lington, Iowa, is an older brother of the subject of this sketch.

Gardner Cowles was educated in the public schools of Muscatine and Mount Pleasant, Iowa, and in Penn College, Oskaloosa; Grinnell College, Grinnell, and Iowa Wesleyan University at Mount Pleasant, Iowa. From the last named insti- tution he was graduated in 1882 with the degree of A. B. and later received the degree of A. M. For a number of years he has been one of the alumni trustees of this institution. For two years after leaving college he was superintendent of the public schools of Algona, Iowa, and for nearly twenty years thereafter was active in the business and financial affairs of that city. For many years he served as a member of the Algona board of education. He represented Kossuth county in the twenty-seventh and twenty-eighth general assemblies of Iowa and was

GARDNER COWLES

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especially identified with legislation affecting the educational interests of the state.

In 1903 Gardner Cowles purchased a majority interest in the Register and Leader Company and moved to Des Moines, and has since been actively engaged in the management of the newspaper and its allied business interests. In No- vember, 1903, he became the publisher of the Daily and Sunday Register and Leader and the president of the Register and Leader Company. In 1908 the Evening Tribune was purchased and is one of the important parts of the Register and Leader business. Under the present management these newspaper proper- ties have greatly increased in circulation and in the total volume of business.

In 1884 Gardner Cowles was married to Miss Florence Call, a daughter of Ambrose A. and Nancy (Henderson) Call, of Algona, Iowa. Mrs. Cowles is a graduate of the class of 1884 of Northwestern University. Six children have been born to them, all of whom are living: Helen, the wife of James D. Lecron, of Cheyenne, Wyoming ; and Russell, Bertha, Florence, John and Gardner, Jr., all of whom are at home. Mr. Cowles holds membership with the Grant, Golf and Country, and Prairie Clubs of Des Moines. The Cowles family have an attract- ive home at 100 West Thirty-seventh street, Des Moines, Iowa.

RALPH W. TAYLOR.

Ralph W. Taylor, a well known grain man, whose headquarters are at Run- nells and who has made remarkable strides in business during the past ten years, is a native of Mexico, Missouri. He was born September 25, 1879, a son of Thomas and Mary (Whitehead) Taylor, both of whom were born in England. The father learned the carpenter's trade and came to America in 1866. He spent a short time at Akron, Ohio, and later in the same year arrived in Iowa, entering the contracting business at Newton. Subsequently he accepted a position as bridge foreman on the Rock Island Railway, but after one and one-half years went to Mexico, Missouri, and resumed business as a ·contractor, in which he was highly successful. In 1886 he purchased a farm south of Martinsburg, Missouri, upon which he has since lived. He has now reached the age of seventy and the mother of our subject is sixty-seven years of age.

Ralph W. Taylor was reared in the parental home and received his early education in the public schools of Mexico, later becoming a student of the Martinsburg high school, from which he was graduated in 1897. After leaving school he took up the study of telegraphy at Martinsburg and served as extra on the Wabash Railroad about six months, at the end of which time he was sent to Adelphi, Iowa, as agent, continuing there from 1898 to June, 1901, and while in this position began buying grain on his own account. As the grain business held out inducements which seemed highly favorable he gave up telegraphy and purchased a grain elevator at Runnells, which has since been in his charge. In October, 1908, he incorporated the R. W. Taylor Company, of which he is president. This company now owns a line of ten elevators, cribs and warehouses on the Wabash, Burlington and interurban railroads and main- tains headquarters at Runnells. It is handling a large business, which is each year growing in volume and importance and gives great promise for the future. Mr. Taylor was the owner of nine hundred and forty acres of land in Texas, but sold part of it and now owns three hundred acres. He also owns the hand- some residence in which he lives and three lots at Runnells and is a director and stockholder of the Farmers Savings Bank.

On the 26th of December, 1900, Mr. Taylor was happily married to Miss Ida B. Davis, a daughter of John and Lucretia (Hays) Davis, both of whom were born in Missouri. The father is a prominent farmer of Audrian county, Vol. II-44

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Missouri. Many years ago he purchased a section of land, which he has greatly improved, making it one of the most valuable properties in the county. He is now sixty-four years of age and his wife has arrived at the age of forty-six. Mr. Taylor and his wife are affiliated with the Christian church, of which they are liberal supporters. Politically he gives his adherence to the candidates and platforms of the democratic party and fraternally is identified with the Wood- men of America. An energetic and successful business man, he is modern and progressive in his methods and has a reputation for truthful and square dealing, which is of inestimable value and is gained only after years of actual demon- stration. He is regarded by his friends and business associates as a growing factor, whose name is destined to be widely known in the commercial world.

ROBERT J. McKEE.

Robert J. McKee, who spent much of his life in the public service, first as a soldier and afterward as an office holder, was ever found loyal to the trust reposed in him and discharged his official duties with promptness and fidelity. He was born in Brown county, Ohio, on the 16th of January, 1843, and was largely reared in Adams county, that state, spending his youthful days upon his father's farm. He was a son of Peter McKee, who for many years devoted his attention to agricultural pursuits in Ohio.

The son early became familiar with the duties and labors that are incident to the cultivation of the fields and the care of the harvests. He also gave a portion of his time to the acquirement of an education and remained at home until eighteen years of age, when he responded to the country's call for aid, as differences of opinion between the north and the south regarding the slavery question and the destructibility of the Union had led to a contest of arms. It was on the 20th of October. 1861, that he enlisted, joining Company B. Tenth Regiment of Ohio Infantry, for three years. On the 4th of January, 1864, however, he was honorably discharged at Scottsboro, Alabama, that he might reenlist as a veteran volunteer. The following day he was again enrolled among the Union soldiers, becoming corporal of Company B, Seventieth Regi- ment of Ohio Volunteer Infantry, with which he continued until honorably discharged at Little Rock, Arkansas, on the 14th of August, 1865. Although he was still in his teens when he entered the army, no veteran of twice his years displayed greater loyalty to the old flag and the cause it represented. He participated in many of the most hotly contested engagements of the war. including the two days' battle at Shiloh, the siege of Corinth, the siege of Vicksburg, the battle of Jackson and the battles at Missionary Ridge and Chattanooga, Tennessee, Buzzard's Roost, Dalton, Resaca, Cassville, Dallas, Big Shanty and Kenesaw Mountain, Georgia, the battle of Atlanta on the 22d of July, 1864, and the battle of Ezra Chapel on the 28th of the same month.

When the war had ended and the country no longer needed his military service. Mr. McKee returned to Ohio and through the following year again aided in the cultivation and improvement of his father's farm. In 1867, how- ever, he came to Iowa, settling in Afton, where he also followed farming a few . years. Later he filled the office of Sheriff in Union county, Iowa, and through- out the entire period of his residence in this state was active in politics as a defender of republican principles. While at Afton he also engaged in mer- chandising as a dealer in shoes and clothing, conducting the business a few years. In 1890 he removed to Des Moines, where he again engaged in mer- chandising for a time, but for a number of years occupied public offices. He was superintendent of Woodland cemetery for several years and was after- ward in the city hall until his death. The duties that devolved upon him were

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discharged promptly and faithfully and the record which he made in this con- nection was most creditable. He also had considerable influence in political circles and was one of the active local workers in republican ranks.

Mr. McKee was married twice. In Afton, he wedded Miss Edith Larey, and unto them were born two sons: Edgar Ulysses, now a resident of Hamp- ton, Iowa; and Walter, who is engaged in the insurance business in Des Moines. Having lost his first wife, Mr. McKee married, when in Creston, Iowa, in 1905, Laura M. Wade, a native of Ohio and a daughter of Adam and Catherine (Dietrick) Fisher, who were likewise natives of Ohio, where they spent their entire lives. By the second marriage was born a son, Alfred, who is living with his mother in Des Moines. The husband and father died July 15, 1910, and his death was deeply regretted in political and social circles and in his church, as well as in his home. He was a member of Crocker Post, G. A. R., and thus imaintained pleasant relations with his old army comrades. He also held mem- bership with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and with the West- minster church, in the work of which he took an active and helpful part, serving for some years as one of its elders. His influence was always on the side of truth and right and he believed in holding to as high and strict standards of integrity in business affairs as he did in private relations. He thus won and merited the confidence and good will of his fellowmen and his life record is an example that may well be followed by his sons.

FRANK F. WOOD.

Frank F. Wood, one of the best known druggists in Des Moines, where he has been prominent as a business man for the last thirty years, was born May 16, 1852, in Newport, Indiana, a son of Dr. William W. and Annie M. (Baker) Wood. The father was a native of Jefferson county, Ohio, where his birth oc- curred August 7, 1825, while the mother was born in Ellicott Mills, Maryland, April 8, 1828. Dr. Wood was a physician of some note in Ohio and during his early professional career was called upon to demonstrate his loyalty and abil- ities by administering to the victims of the cholera epidemic at the time of that plague until he himself contracted the disease and narrowly escaped death. In 188I he came to Des Moines and embarked in the drug business at East Sixth street and Grand avenue, where he remained until 1906, in which year he pur- chased the property on the corner of East Eleventh street and Grand avenue, upon which he erected a substantial store and residence building. Here he con- tinued in the drug business with unusual success until his death, April 11, 1898. He was survived by his wife until August 31, 1905, when she, too, passed away. The paternal grandparents of Frank F. Wood were Joshua and Esther (Scott) Wood, both of whom belonged to a well known Quaker family of Frederick City, Maryland. On the maternal side the grandparents were Elias and Eliza Baker, who were highly respected Methodists.

The elementary education of Frank F. Wood was acquired in the public schools of Malta, Ohio, after which he was employed in his father's drug store for a time and was then sent to Cincinnati to take a business course. Subse- quently he became an assistant in the office of a dentist, under whose watchful eye he became very proficient in the technical knowledge of that profession. When his father came to Des Moines in 1881 Mr. Wood opened a dental office on the second floor and had established a successful and prosperous practice when his father, on account of illness, was obliged to give up his business, which com- pelled the son to retire from professional work and take charge of the drug store. Upon the death of his father he was appointed executor of the estate and has since successfully conducted the business which he had established.

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Des Moines, the pioneer of municipal progress and reform of the middle West, together with the history of Polk County, Iowa, the largest, most populous and most prosperous county in the state of Iowa; Volume II, Part 105

Author: Brigham, Johnson, 1846-1936; Clarke (S.J.) Publishing Company, Chicago, pub Publication date: 1911 Publisher: Chicago, The S. J. Clarke publishing company Number of Pages: 1464

Author: Brigham, Johnson, 1846-1936; Clarke (S.J.) Publishing Company, Chicago, pub
Publication date: 1911
Publisher: Chicago, The S. J. Clarke publishing company
Number of Pages: 1464