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 110

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 110

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CARL L. OLESON.

Among the residents of Polk county of Swedish birth Carl L. Oleson deserves more than passing notice in that he has made an excellent record in connection with journalistic interests, being now the heaviest stockholder of the Skandia Printing Company, publishers of the Iowa Posten, a Swedish paper, of which he is editor and general manager. He was born near Lund, Sweden, on the 3Ist of July, 1871, and attended the village school between the ages of six and twelve years, afterward entering a business college, where he completed his education.

His parents and friends were much opposed to his coming to America and offered many inducements for him to stay in his native land, but the "American fever" actuated him to leave friends and family and he has never regretted coming to the new world. It was in 1888 that he landed in New York, and he proceeded directly to Vail, Iowa. He spent only about three months in that place, however, and next came to Des Moines. Upon his arrival in the capital city he accepted a position under Otto Nelson, who was the owner of a Swedish newspaper called the Svithiod and with this he continued until the paper was sold in 1903. He had gradually risen in the newspaper world so that when the owners disposed of the Svithiod he felt fully competent to engage in business on his own account and established a Swedish news- paper called the Iowa Posten. From the beginning the new enterprise has prospered and the circulation has steadily grown until there are now ten thou- sand copies sent out weekly. In connection with his regular newspaper work Mr. Oleson also conducts a job printing office and this branch of his business is also proving a gratifying source of income, for the work done is entirely satis- factory, both from the financial and artistic standpoint, as the prices are reasonable and the composition work always neat and attractive in form.

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Mr. Oleson was married in 1907 to Miss Anna Rudebeck, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. J. W. Rudebeck, pioneers of Des Moines, where her father is still prominent in business and financial circles, but her mother died about nine years ago. Mr. and Mrs. Oleson are members of the First Swedish Lutheran church, in which he is serving as a trustee, and he is also an honorary member of the Swedish Old Settlers' Society of Des Moines. Throughout the years of his residence in America he has made wise use of his time and opportunities and in this country where labor is unhampered by caste or class has reached a creditable position that affords him a substantial annual income.

ROBERT SPENCER FINKBINE.

Robert Spencer Finkbine, pioneer, builder, law maker and prominent citizen, was for many years one of the most widely known and most highly honored resi- dents of Iowa. His labors constituted an element for good in connection with public affairs and his integrity was at all times above question. Ohio numbered him among her native sons, his birth having occurred at Oxford, Butler county, on the 9th of July, 1828, his parents being Francis and Jane Finkbine. There he was reared to manhood and secured his education. When old enough to start in life for himself he learned the carpenter's trade and in 1850, when twenty-two years of age, came to Iowa, settling in Iowa City. There he followed carpentry but soon took up contracting on his own account. His energy and strong common sense attracted the attention of Governor Kirkwood and they became lifelong friends. As a builder Mr. Finkbine established an enviable reputation by his skill in the construction of buildings for the Iowa State University, the College for the Blind at Vinton and numerous public buildings elsewhere in the state. In 1856 when a convention was called of the opponents of slavery, assembling in Iowa City, where they proceeded to organize the republican party of the state, Mr. Finkbine was sent as a delegate from Johnson county and was one of those who in the evening at the ratification meeting called on Samuel J. Kirkwood for a speech, which was the first introduction to the public of the afterward famous war governor.

The active interest which Mr. Finkbine displayed in public affairs and his support of measures and movements which the public recognized as of practical value to the commonwealth, led in 1864 to his election as representative to the state legislature in the tenth general assembly and his course as a member of the lower house was such as to win for him reelection to the eleventh. His career as a law maker was conspicuous for the alert, clearheaded manner with which he handled questions of public moment. Though not gifted as an orator, his frankness, genial temperament and sterling integrity won for him the confidence and esteem of the legislature as his support could be relied upon for any measure of practical benefit to the people and as surely his uncompromising opposition to anything he deemed inimical to the public good. As chairman of the committee of ways and means he exercised a cautious, critical and economical supervision of the disbursement of state finances.

In 1853 Mr. Finkbine formed a business partnership with C. F. Lovelace under the name of Finkbine & Lovelace, and the firm soon took front rank among the builders of the state. Mr. Finkbine remained in Iowa City until 1873, when he was chosen by the legislature one of the commissioners to take charge of the erection of the new state capitol building. He was made superintendent of construction and was in active charge of building operations until its comple- tion. During the thirteen years he served as superintendent of construction over two and a half millions of dollars were expended under his direction and not the slightest taint of jobbery attached to the erection of this great edifice which stands

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as a splendid monument to his skill as a builder and more enduring still as a reminder of the sturdy integrity that knew no corruption. In 1880, having be- come so largely identified with Des Moines interests, he removed his family to this city. In 1890 he was appointed a member of the board of public works on which he served until 1894, and his energetic methods gave new impetus to the improvements in streets, sewers and bridges, while his wide knowledge of material and their cost saved the city many thousands of dollars. Contractors soon learned that the only conditions surrounding their contracts were their ful- fillment to the absolute letter. Mr. Finkbine was a man of even mental poise, morally honest and extremely frank on any subject on which his opinion was asked.

On the 27th of April, 1852, at Oxford, Ohio, Mr. Finkbine was married to Miss Rebecca Finch, a daughter of Orlando Finch, and they became the parents of four children : Charles A., now manager of the Wisconsin Lumber Company ; Edward C., president of the Green Bay Lumber Company ; William O., vice presi- dent of the Green Bay Lumber Company, and Harry M., of Atlantic, Iowa.

Politically Mr. Finkbine was a republican from the organization of the party, but in no sense a politician nor an office-seeker, yet at all times he kept thoroughly informed on all matters of public concern. He was a member in high standing in the Odd Fellows society, joining the order in Eureka Lodge of Iowa City in the early '50s. His wife held membership with the Daughters of Rebekah and both Mr. and Mrs. Finkbine were members of the Congregational church. The death of Mr. Finkbine occurred July 8, 1901, when he lacked but a day of com- pleting his seventy-third year, and his wife survived him until April 26, 1904. As a man of business he possessed unusual executive ability, determination and aptitude for successful management. He was plain of manner and speech yet always courteous and his talk effervesced with kindly humor. Educational and charitable organizations found in him an ardent supporter and he was an ideal pioneer citizen who recognized how great is the opportunity for the upbuilding of a substantial commonwealth. No duty of citizenship was ever neglected by him and he contributed to the building of the social structure with the same thor- oughness and sense of honor that he displayed in the building of the capitol. A highly useful and honorable career was terminated in his death. His industry and energy, his courage and fidelity to principles are illustrated in his career and brief and imperfect as this sketch necessarily is, it falls far short of justice to him if it fails to excite regret in that there are not more citizens like him in virtue and ability and gratitude that there are some so worthy of honor and imitation.

ASA TURNER.

Iowa may well be proud of the fact that she ranks as the foremost agricul- tural state in the Union, a position which is attributable to the labors and laud- able ambition of such men as Asa Turner, whom the press has styled as "a home missionary" because of the important work he has done in developing and promoting the agricultural interests of this state and in holding before the farming people the highest standards. His own property, situated in Polk county, but a short distance from Farrar, is known as Maple Leaf Farm and his holdings aggregate four hundred acres. He may be termed a practical theorist, for he has put to the test upon his own place the progressive ideas which he has advocated and which have constituted a valuable element in the work of general advancement.

Mr. Turner was born in Denmark, Lee county, Iowa, October 23, 1842, a son of Asa Turner, Sr., who was born at Templeton, Massachusetts, June II,

ASA TURNER

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1799. The grandfather also bore the name of Asa Turner. The ancestry of the family can be traced back to an early period in the colonization of the new world. Joseph Turner was a resident of Walpole, Norfolk county, Massachu- setts, and in 1768 his son, Edward Turner, purchased land and erected a resi- dence in Templeton, Massachusetts. There he cleared a small farm and profit- ably continued his business affairs until the outbreak of the Revolutionary war, when he joined the American army in the attempt to win national independ- ence. He participated in the battle of Bunker Hill and afterward went to Saratoga. He died in 1777 at Half Moon, near Albany, New York, of small- pox when but thirty-eight years of age. He had seven children, of whom Asa Turner, the grandfather, was the third.

Asa Turner, the father of him whose name introduces this review, became one of the pioneer settlers of Iowa and was the founder of the church and first academy at Denmark, Iowa. He had a family of eleven children: Henry Holmes, who passed away at Santa Barbara, California ; Mary and Elizabeth, who died in infancy; Sarah Evalina, the deceased wife of Elijah B. Higgins, of Santa Barbara, California; Mattie E., the wife of Captain C. P. Searle, also of Santa Barbara; Mary, the deceased wife of James A. Shedd, of Fort Scott, Kansas; Hannah, the wife of R. L. Turner, of Oklahoma, Iowa; Milton B., a resident of Oskaloosa, Iowa; Watson B., who is living in Polk county ; and Ada O., the wife of Herbert W. Lyman, of Willard, Montana.

Asa Turner, Jr., spending his youthful days on his father's farm at Den- mark, attended the public schools until he had mastered the elementary branches of learning. after which he became a student in the Denmark Academy, but all other considerations and interests gave way to his sense of patriotism and duty to his country when at the age of eighteen years he enlisted on the 21st of Sep- tember, 1861, as a member of Company H, Eighth Iowa Infantry, for three years. He reenlisted on the 6th of February, 1864, and for almost five years was connected with the army. He participated in the battle of Shiloh, the siege of Vicksburg, the second siege of Jackson, Mississippi, and the engagements at Brandon and at Coleman's Cross Roads. He was promoted to the rank of second lieutenant of Company G, Fifty-second United States Colored Infantry, on the 4th of August, 1864, and was mustered out at Vicksburg, May 6, 1866. His was a most creditable military record in which loyalty to duty was ever a prominent characteristic.

Following the close of the war Mr. Turner returned to Denmark, where he worked on the old home farm and attended school for two years. In 1869 he removed to Polk county, settling on section 26, Washington township, where he continued to make his home. He is now the owner of four hundred acres and has a splendidly improved farm, equipped with all modern conveniences and accessories incident to the development of a farm along the most progres- sive lines. He is recognized as an authority upon agricultural matters and has frequently been called upon to speak at farmers' institutes throughout the state, where he has inculcated high ideals concerning both agriculture and citizenship. He has been the motive spirit in some of the most important agricultural move- ments of the state and it is impossible to measure the extent of his usefulness. In speaking of him Professor P. G. Holden, of the State College of Ames, characterized him as "a great citizen."

On the 6th of April, 1870, Mr. Turner was married to Miss Fannie Wilder, a daughter of Flavel and Laura (Taylor) Wilder. Her father was from Massa- chusetts, and in an early day became a resident of Denmark, Iowa, where he followed farming until his death. He had seven children: George, of Den- mark, now deceased; Ellen, the wife of Porter Brooks; Swain, Harrie and Fred, all of whom lived at Denmark and are now deceased, Fred having died in the Civil war; Fannie, the wife of Mr. Turner; and Augustus, living at Den- mark.

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Mr. Turner is a republican in politics. He is a member of the Methodist Protestant church and maintains pleasant relations with his old army comrades through his membership in the Grand Army of the Republic. For two terms he was president of the Iowa Corn Growers Association and it is in connec- tion with his agricultural pursuits, perhaps, that he is most widely known. His work has been characterized by a spirit of unselfish devotion to the general good. He recognizes the possibilities for accomplishment in Iowa and agrees with Washington who, more than a century ago, said that "farming is the most useful as well as the most honorable occupation of man." He is continuously studying out methods to improve his work and the knowledge which he gains from research and other experiences he gladly gives to others for the benefit of the state. His life has indeed been one of activity and wide-reaching use- fulness.

JOHN R. SAGE.

Numbered among those men who rendered years of faithful service for their state and country in a capacity requiring unusual ability and integrity is John R. Sage, who for eighteen years was director of the Iowa weather and crop service. Upon the establishment of this office in 1890 Mr. Sage was appointed its director.

John R. Sage was born in Blenheim, Schoharie county, New York, December 29, 1832. To give even briefly the genealogy of the Sage family would involve some of the foremost characters of American and British history. The illustrious ancestry of this family traces back with hardly a break in the direct line to one of the honored subjects of William, The Conqueror. David Sage came from Eng- land in 1651 and settled in Middletown, Connecticut, and from him our subject is a descendant of the sixth generation. John, the son of David, was born in Connecticut. The male descendant in this line for the next three generations was named Benjamin. Benjamin, of the fourth generation, served in the American Revolution as did Comfort, cousin of Benjamin, of the third generation, who after displaying marked ability as an officer became brigadier general. The official records show that twenty-one of the Sage family participated in the Rev- olution. Our subject is the son of Daniel Sage and was the youngest of a family of nine children. Daniel Sage was a whig, John R. cast his first vote on a whig ticket and later was one of the organizers of the first club of republicans in Elmira, New York.

John R. Sage was reared on a farm among the foothills of the Catskill mountains and acquired his early education in the public schools of that region. At the age of eighteen he had advanced to the position of teacher and soon after- ward moved to western New York.

Being urged by his friends he was induced to enter the ministry of the Univer- salist denomination, and after pursuing preparatory studies under the instruc- tion of the Rev. D. P. and Mrs. Mary A. Livermore at Auburn, New York, he was licensed to preach in 1856. In 1862 he resigned his pastorate in Little Falls, New York, and enlisted as a private in the One Hundred and Twenty First New York Volunteers. While arranging his affairs at home preliminary to the departure of his regiment he was commissioned chaplain entirely without his knowledge or solicitation. He served with his regiment in the Army of the Potomac until the summer of 1863, when he resigned and was discharged on ac- count of disability.

On the Ist of January, 1870, he located in Mitchellville, Iowa, which was his home for six years and in which town he has ever since taken a sincere interest. In 1872 he built the Mitchell Seminary, a boarding school, which was operated for eight years, but as the investment was so large and the cost of maintenance

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so great it was being conducted entirely without profit, so in 1880 it was sold to the State, since which time it has been used as a reform school, known as the Mitchellville Industrial School for Girls. He then entered the newspaper field and forming a partnership with Ralph Robinson established the Newton Journal. He later sold his interest in that paper and became editor of the Cedar Rapids Republican. In 1883 he sold his stock in that paper and for a time was em- ployed as editor of the Des Moines Daily Capital.

His next step was the one that led to his appointment as director of the weather and crop service. Upon severing his connection with the Capital he began writing editorials for the Chicago Inter Ocean. He was for a time an agricultural writer and at all times studied the conditions that his editorials might be accurate as well as interesting. He was so well adapted to the work, his articles displaying the uncommon ability he possessed and the keen interest he took in all kindred work, that in 1890, when the Iowa weather and crop service was established, he was appointed director of that bureau. In October, 1899, he received from Secretary James Wilson a commission as section director in the national climate and crop service, to secure more effective cooperation of the state and federal government in the maintenance of this work in Iowa. Mr. Sage's work was most effective and highly appreciated. He was more than a mere collector of data relating to sunshine, rainfalls and cyclones and has en- tered in a remarkable degree into the spirit of the new agriculture of the new century. The records of Mr. Sage's office have always been considered as fur- nishing an accurate barometer of the agricultural situation. He established throughout the state an admirable corps of volunteer reporters, and to the chief must be given the principal credit for the enthusiasm and the persistence of this band of workers in the field.

No man in the state of Iowa has given more cheerfully his hours to the service of agriculture than has Mr. Sage. He has always been in demand at the farmers' institutes, and his service as an expert on crop statistics has brought to him a national reputation. It is doubtful if any man within the borders of the state of Iowa possesses a more comprehensive knowledge of the character of soils and the relation of moisture in the soil to the available plant food supply and the crop production. His public addresses on this subject have unquestionably accomplished much in the interests of an improved agriculture.

Mr. Sage has two daughters, the elder daughter, Edith, who became the wife of Henry Moore, of Mitchellville, lived in the Mitchell Seminary with her father while he conducted that institution. In the fall of 1910 she went to Florida for her health, but passed away there after a few weeks' residence. Ruby C., the younger daughter, has for several years served as a stenographer in the office of the weather and crop service.

Mr. Sage is a charter member of the Sons of the Revolution and for one year served as its vice president .. He is also a member of Crocker Post, G. A. R. It has been truly said that Iowa has not only been greatly benefited, but highly honored by the services of such a man as John R. Sage. Since January, 1884, he has been a resident of Des Moines, and has lived in this county thirty-three years. On reaching his seventy-fifth year he resigned his office on account of increasing infirmity.

JAMES C. O'MARA.

James C. O'Mara, who owns and operates a fine farming property of one hundred acres in Elkhart township, was born in Grundy county, Illinois, on the 9th of June, 1869, and is a son of Cornelius and Ann (Macvoy) O'Mara, natives of Ireland. The father emigrated to the United States at the age of sixteen

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years, locating in New York city, whence he removed to Morris, Illinois, where he engaged in farming as a renter for ten years. At the expiration of that period he came to Polk county, Iowa, and bought one hundred and forty acres of land in Elkhart township, which he began improving. He engaged in the operation of this property until his demise on the 14th of January, 1911, having survived his wife for eight years, her death occurring in 1903.

The boyhood and youth of James C. O'Mara were spent in Illinois and Polk county, Iowa, his education being acquired in the district schools. He remained at home with his parents, assisting in the work of the farm until he was twenty- seven years of age. In 1896 he left home and bought one hundred and sixty acres of land, which he improved and cultivated for three years. He then dis- posed of it and bought another quarter section elsewhere in Elkhart township. upon which he resided for two years. Selling this, he removed to Palo Alto county, where he farmed as a renter for four years, and then returned to Polk county and bought one hundred acres of his father's farm. This is the place upon which he is now living, and in addition to the cultivation of his fields he engages in the breeding and raising of. stock. His place is well improved and plentifully stocked as he keeps twenty head of horses, a nice herd of cattle and raises about fifty hogs annually.

In April, 1891, Mr. O'Mara was married to Miss Eva McPherson, a daughter of James and Mary (Ellison) McPherson, natives of Tennessee and Indiana respectively. Her father came to Polk county after the Civil war, establishing a blacksmith shop, which he conducted until about ten years ago when he retired. He and his wife are now living in Elkhart township, where he owns four acres .of land devoted to truck farming. Mr. and Mrs. O'Mara have two daughters : Hazel, who is nineteen ; and Mabel, aged sixteen. Both are now attending Drake University at Des Moines.

Fraternally Mr. O'Mara is affiliated with the Modern Woodmen of America. His political support he always gives to the republican party, but has never taken a prominent part in township activities. He is well known and highly regarded in the township, being a capable agriculturist and business man as well as a most desirable citizen.

WALTER E. BAKER, M. D.

Young men who deny themselves comforts and pleasures in order to gain a liberal education, thus preparing for greater usefulness in after years, gen- erally succeed in their calling. They are to be found in all the professions and many of the present leaders in theology, law or medicine worked their way through college, earning the money to pay the necessary expenses. Dr. Walter E. Baker, who for four years past has engaged in the practice of medicine and surgery in Des Moines, belongs among those who win their way, obstacles serving only as incentives to greater effort. He is a native of Iowa, born at Ham- burg. February 22, 1876, a son of Newton A. an Lucy Ann (Argyle) Baker.

Walter E. Baker received his preliminary training in the public schools and was graduated from the Kansas City Business College in 1898. He secured a position as bookkeeper and stenographer for the Milwaukee Harvester Com- pany at Kansas City, continuing with that company until September, 1899, when he matriculated in the academic department of Drake University. He was a student in the university about eight years until his graduation from the medical department with the degree of M. D. in 1907. During four years of the time, from 1901 to 1905, he kept books in the university office half of the time and studied half of the time. After receiving his medical degree he took a post- graduate course at Harvard Medical College and since that time has engaged

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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 110

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