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 114

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 114

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In his political views Mr. Walker is a republican, while in religious faith he is a Presbyterian. He was a member of the various committees of the Greater Des Moines plan, serving while the plan was in its formative period and until the passing of the final legislation. He is now president of the Auditorium Com- pany and a member of the Smoke Abatement Commission of Des Moines, a committee appointed by Mayor Hanna in 1911 to do away with the bad effects of smoke in Des Moines. If successful this will be a matter of great benefit. Up to the adoption of the Des Moines plan Mr. Walker was a member of the board of trustees of the Des Moines free public library. He was also president of the Commercial Club for two terms and a member of the board of directors for many years. He is now a member of the board of directors of the Road- side Settlement and assisted in raising the funds for the erection of the build- ings and the maintenance of the work.

STEPHEN D. CUNNINGHAM.

Among the younger agriculturists of Polk county whose efforts are being rewarded with success mention must be made of Stephen D. Cunningham, who was born on the farm where he now resides in Jefferson township on the 7th of April, 1884. His parents are Douglas and Anna (Andrews) Cunningham, the former a native of Indiana and the latter of Jefferson township, this county. The father came to Iowa from Indiana, where he had been farming, in 1880 and two years thereafter he purchased one hundred and sixty acres of land in Jefferson township. After cultivating this for a year he disposed of it and bought three hundred and twenty acres in the northern part of the township. He operated that until his retirement at the age of fifty-two years to Granger,

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Dallas county, where he and his wife, who is now forty-eight years old, con- tinue to reside.

Practically the entire life of Stephen D. Cunningham has been spent upon the homestead where he now resides, his preliminary education being acquired in the district schools. Later he pursued a course at Drake University and after the completion of his education he went to Stanley county, South Dakota, where he filed upon a claim, there residing for one year. Returning to Polk county at the end of that time he worked for his father until his marriage, at which time he rented the homestead which he has ever since been operating.

On the 22d of October, 1907, Mr. Cunningham was united in marriage to Essie J. Harvey, a daughter of Samuel S. and Anna (Channon) Harvey, natives of Polk county, Iowa, and Ohio respectively. The parents reside upon a farm in Jefferson township, in the cultivation of which the father, who has always been identified with agricultural pursuits, is engaged. Two children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Cunningham: Fay, Marie, and Verr Leon.

Mr. Cunningham always casts his ballot in support of the candidates of the democratic party, and fraternally he is identified with the Masonic fraternity. His wife holds membership in the Christian church and both are highly regarded in the community where they reside and have many friends.

THOMAS L. ALLEN.

For fifty years Thomas L. Allen has been a resident of the state of Iowa, during which period he has witnessed a remarkable transformation and has passed through many vicissitudes that would have overcome a less resolute spirit than the one he possesses. He is a native of Athens county, Ohio, born Sep- tember 8, 1847, and is a son of Dr. William C. and Lura O'Dell, the latter of whom was born in New York state in 1816. The father, who was born in Pennsylvania in 1812, was a farmer and a physician, carrying on his excursions through the woods a hoe and an axe, thus providing himself with roots and herbs, which he used in the practice of his profession. Dr. Allen was a remark- able man in several respects, possessing a philanthropic and generous disposi- tion which found outlet in numberless acts of helpfulness for others. His religion was "to live and let live," and during the drought and grasshopper years, which sorely afflicted Kansas and some other parts of the west, he was especially useful in assisting destitute families with provisions and clothing as they were fleeing from the stricken region. He settled in Iowa in 1861 and for twenty-six years was an honored resident of this state, being called to his reward in 1887. His wife passed away in 1891. There were ten children in their family, namely : Nancy Ann, now the wife of John Collins of Hamilton, Iowa; Delilah, who married John A. Ferguson and died leaving five children ; Laura Jane, now Mrs. John Stilwell, of Des Moines; Samuel O., who is married and also lives in Des Moines ; William H., of Knoxville, Iowa; Thomas L .; Harriet S., the wife of William H. Stoops, of Washougal, Washington; Cyrus G., deceased; John R., of Minnesota; and Lura S., wife of Pierce Purdue of Los Angeles, Cali- fornia.

Thomas L. Allen received his early education in a log schoolhouse in his native county which he remembers was built without the use of nails and was provided with a clapboard roof, slab seats, and a puncheon floor. At the age of fourteen years he came with his parents to Iowa and at once set to work to perform his part in the support of the large family. His first employment, which continued for three years during the plowing season, was in driving seven yoke of oxen attached to a plow breaking the virgin prairie. He next engaged as stage driver for one year on the route between Sigourney and Council Bluffs.

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One of the old stages on which he held the lines is now to be seen in the His- torical building in Des Moines. In 1867 he returned to farming and later operated sawmills and threshing machines, coming to Des Moines in 1889, where he be- came a constable under administration of the republican party, holding the position for six years. Those were troublesome times for officers of the law, the prohibition statute then being in force, and it is highly to the credit of Mr .. Allen to say that his record during the entire period of his service was absolutely clear although many of the officers were indicted by the grand jury and some of them were sent to the penitentiary. After retiring from the office of con- stable he was made deputy sheriff under Joe McGarraugh and filled this position most creditably for two years. Finding himself once more a private citizen, he took up the carpenter's trade, in which he engaged until 1906, when ill health compelled him to seek less arduous employment. In 1908 he embarked in the real-estate business, handling city and farm properties and western, northwest- ern and southern lands.

On July 21, 1867, Mr. Allen was united in marriage to Miss Angeline Cleve- land, born near Madison, Wisconsin, January 18, 1849. She is a daughter of George W. Cleveland, a farmer and well known minister of the gospel. Nine children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Allen, five of whom are now living: Clara M., now the wife of Elmer O. Lee, of Des Moines; William A., who married Letta Herring and has been upon the Des Moines police force since 1900; John V., of Luther, Iowa, who married Etta Proudfoot and is a barber, manager of the telephone exchange and the owner of a confectionery, notions and jewelry store at Luther, Iowa; Myrtle, the wife of Harvey Marshall, walk- ing delegate and secretary of the Barbers Union of Des Moines; and Thomas A., traveling salesman for the George M. King Lightning Rod Company.

Mr. Allen gives his allegiance to the republican party and in religious belief is a Spiritualist. He is a man of determined character, as was indicated early in his career. Four times he enlisted in the Union army and was sworn into service in each instance, but his father interfered with the son's plans and insisted upon his release, taking him home. A brother, William H. Allen, was more successful in his military aspirations, serving through the entire war in the Seventeenth Iowa Infantry. He was incarcerated for seven months in Ander- sonville prison.

Mr. Allen is now sixty-four years of age and in the evening of life looks back on a long career which has been brightened by many happy hours. He has bravely performed his part in the great drama and is respected by a large circle of friends and acquaintances in Polk county and Iowa.

CAPTAIN JAMES SAMUEL CLARK.

Captain James Samuel Clark is a veteran of the Civil war, who enjoys the distinction of having fought in the first and the last battles of that great con- flict as well as in many of the intermediate contests which contributed to the ultimate success of the Union arms. In business life he has made a creditable record as a lawyer and in insurance circles is now well known, being vice presi- dent of the Fidelity Insurance Company.

His birth occurred in Johnson county, Indiana, October 17, 1841, his par- ents being Archibald Glenn and Susan (Alexander) Clark, the former of Irish and the latter of Scotch descent. Both were natives of Kentucky, the father being born April 8, 1800, and the mother February 1, 1805. Our subject's paternal grandparents were Alexander and Sarah (Glenn) Clark, also natives of the Blue Grass state, but his great-grandparents, Archibald and Sarah (Ferguson) Glenn, were born in Ireland. Captain Clark's maternal grand-

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parents were William and Annis (Wishard) Alexander, the former born in North Carolina in 1770 and the latter in Pennsylvania, December 25, 1775. Annis Wishard was a daughter of William and Susan (Little) Wishard, both of whom were natives of Scotland. William Wishard was born in 1750 and on coming to the new world settled in Pennsylvania. He became a member of Washington's army during the Revolutionary war and fought in the battle of Brandywine, Delaware, to which place he had previously removed. His father was George Wishard, a Scotch dissenter who was burned at the stake for heresy. His family afterward fled from Scotland to County Tyrone, Ireland, and later to Pennsylvania.

It was in 1825 that the parents of our subject crossed the Ohio. river into Indiana, where he was reared upon a farm, and while spending his boyhood days under the parental roof Captain James S. Clark pursued his education in the country schools when not busy with the work of. the fields. He continued his studies there until 1855, when he accompanied his father to Warren county, Iowa, where a farm was purchased and the family home established. In 1856 the father died and James S. Clark, then a youth of fifteen years, assumed the management of the farm which he carried on until the death of his mother in 1859. Recognizing the value of education, he decided then to continue his studies and for this purpose entered the Ohio Wesleyan University at Mount Pleasant.

He had not long been a student in that institution, however, when the Civil war broke out and the call for volunteers was obeyed. Hardly had the smoke from rebel guns darkened the skies at Fort Sumter when he offered his aid to the government, enlisting on the 12th of April, 1861, as a member of Company F of the First Iowa Infantry. His first term of enlistment was for three months. He continued with that command, however, until August, 1862, when he enlisted in the Thirty-fourth Iowa Infantry and was made second lieutenant of Company C. He was with that regiment through seventeen battles and sieges or until mustered out with the rank of captain on the 15th of August, 1865. He was ever a brave and loyal soldier, fearlessly facing the enemy in defense of the Union cause, and the record which he made upon southern' battlefields is one of which he has every reason to be proud.

Soon after his return home Captain Clark reentered the Ohio Wesleyan University and was graduated in 1868. In the meantime he had determined to make the practice of law his life work and to this end became a student in the law department of the Iowa State University at Iowa City, from which he was graduated in 1869 with the valedictorian honors of the class. He was then appointed United States deputy marshal, in which position he continued until 1870, when he formed a partnership with W. S. Harbert in the practice of law. They worked together until 1876, when the business association be- tween them was discontinued and Captain Clark was joined by William Connor as junior partner in the firm of Clark & Connor. For a long period Captain Clark remained an active member of the Iowa bar and proved his ability to successfully cope with intricate problems of jurisprudence in the careful and systematic manner in which he presented his cause, winning many verdicts thereby. The partial loss of his voice caused him to discontinue the practice of law and in the meantime he had acquired an interest in the Anchor Fire In- surance Company and is now known as one of the prominent representatives of insurance interests in this city. At different times the degrees of Bachelor of Arts, Master of Arts and Bachelor of Laws have been conferred upon him, and in his college days he became a member of the Beta Theta Pi.

On the 18th of October, 1876, Captain Clark was united in marriage to Miss Fannie Page, of Iowa City, and to them were born six children, three sons and three daughters. Laura Osgood, born May 17, 1880, married Professor J. R. Chittick, of Des Moines, who is state chemist under the pure food law, and

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they have one daughter, Romona. Egbert Glenn, born March 13, 1882, mar- ried Louise Miles, of Grinnell, Iowa. Page, born July 13, 1884, died at the age of twelve years. Helen M., born April 19, 1886, is a teacher in the Will- iam Vashti College. Mabel and Morton, twins, were born August 16, 1888, and are still at home. The family residence is at No. 3500 Eleventh street, and the home is the abode of a warm-hearted hospitality.

In his political views Mr. Clark is a republican and to the party he gives stalwart support, being unfaltering in his advocacy of its candidates and its measures. He is a prominent member of the Iowa Commandery of the Loyal Legion and also of Crocker Post, G. A. R. He holds membership in the First Plymouth Congregational church, of which he has been treasurer, and for many years he has been an active member of the Young Men's Christian Association, in which he served as president for a long period. He is deeply interested in all that has to do with the moral progress of the community and his influence has always been a potent factor in behalf of justice, truth and right.

WILLIAM FENTON MORGAN.

The general grain brokerage business has an able representative in Des Moines in William Fenton Morgan, who has maintained offices here for the past sev- enteen years. He was born on the homestead in Muskingum county, Ohio, on the 3d of November, 1858, his parents being Thomas Williams and Martha Virginia (Anderson) Morgan. The father, who was born in 1829 and was of Welsh ancestry, always engaged in agricultural pursuits. The mother was a native of Virginia, her birth occurring in 1835. Thomas W. Morgan's maternal grandfather, Captain Williams, served under Commodore Perry in the Lake Erie campaign in the war of 1812. Our subject is one of a family of seven chil- dren, only three of whom are now living, the others being: Dosie, the wife of S. L. Rutledge, a high-school teacher of Zanesville, Ohio, and Robert Scott, who is a farmer of Muskingum county.

Being reared at home William Fenton Morgan acquired his education in the common schools of his native county, spending his vacations and such time as he could spare from his studies in assisting his father in the cultivation of the farm. Early deciding that he preferred a commercial to an agricultural career, he left the parental roof after attaining his majority and located in Indianapolis. In 1880 he first engaged in the grain business, entering the employ of Bennett, Moore & Company, working in their elevator until 1886. He then went to Buf- falo, New York, for the same house and remained until 1889. Going to Chicago in that year he accepted a position on the road for the Calumet Grain & Elevator Company, traveling through the grain states of the west for this firm for four years. In 1893 he went to Davenport, where he remained for one year, at the end of which period he located in Des Moines, where he established a general grain brokerage business as the state representative for the well known firms of J. C. Shaffer & Company, Chicago; T. A. Brier & Company, Peoria; Halliday Elevator Company, Cairo; W. M. Bell & Company, Milwaukee; E. E. Delp Grain Company, Philadelphia; Langenberg Brothers Company, St. Louis; Clin- ton Sugar Refining Company, Clinton; Iowa Grain & Milling Company, Nash- ville; Hartfield & Cook, Memphis; Thomas Johnson Company, Baltimore; and Henderson Elevator Company, Henderson, Kentucky. Mr. Morgan does a cash grain business, representing all of the best grain markets of the country.

On the IIth of December, 1879, Mr. Morgan was married to Mary Virginia Brandon, of Muskingum county, Ohio. Three children were born of this union, two sons, both of whom died, and one daughter, Grace Helen, now the wife of Joseph Graf, of Chicago. Mr. Morgan was married on the 26th of January,

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1898, to Miss Maudie L. Burton, a daughter of John Burton, one of the pioneer settlers of Iowa, who located in Mahaska county in 1854 and was for many years prominently identified with the political life of the community, having at one time served as county commissioner, besides holding various other po- sitions of trust. Mr. and Mrs. Morgan have a very pleasant country home nine miles north of Des Moines on the Perry Woodward line. He is a member of the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks and gives his political support to the republican party.

GUS WILLIAM THORNVALL.

The late Gus William Thornvall, one of the successful farmers of Elkhart township, where he owned one hundred and sixty acres of land, was born in Sweden in June, 1856, and was a son of Ole and Mary Thornvall. The parents spent their entire lives in the old country, where the father engaged in agricul- tural pursuits until his demise in 1884. The mother survived him until 1891.

The boyhood and youth of Gus William Thornvall were spent on his father's farm in the Norseland, his education being obtained in the common schools. At the age of twenty-three years he decided that he would become a citizen of the United States. Upon his arrival in this country he came directly to Polk county, Iowa, first settling in Des Moines. For a time he worked in the mill at Ankeny, following which he managed Mr. Ankeny's farm for six years. Dur- ing this time he accumulated sufficient capital to enable him to buy eighty acres of land, which he immediately began to improve. He met with such success in the cultivation of this that he was later able to purchase another eighty acres. Here he engaged in general farming and stock-raising, devoting his entire time and attention to the work of his farm until his demise in July, 1902.

In November, 1884, Mr. Thornvall was united in marriage to Miss Anna Carlson, a daughter of Carl and Bertha (Anderson) Carlson, natives of Sweden. Her father was a farmer in the old country and there he passed away in 1890. Her mother is now eighty-six yers of age and continues to make her home in her native land. To Mr. and Mrs. Thornvall were born six children; Gertrude, who is twenty-three years of age and is now attending Highland Park College; and Henry and Harold, twins, who are twenty-two; Esther, aged twenty; Emma, eighteen ; and Wilbur, who is fifteen.

The family affiliate with the United Evangelical church, in which Mr. Thorn- vall also held membership, while his political support he gave to the republican party and at one time served as road supervisor in Elkhart township. Since the death of her husband, nine years ago, Mrs. Thornvall has continued to operate the home farm with the assistance of her sons. She has made many improve- ments in the property and now owns one of the most attractive and valuable places in the township.

JAMES G. OLMSTED.

James G. Olmsted, started out in life empty-handed at the age of eighteen years, and not only provided for his own support but aided in the support of his father's family. Bravely and resolutely he took up the burdens that devolved upon him and the same spirit of self-reliance and helpfulness has been character- istic of his entire life. He has not only sought his own success but has also desired the welfare of others to the extent of giving active, helpful and hearty cooperation to any movements which have benefited the individual and mankind in general.

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A native of New York, James G. Olmsted was born in Le Roy, January 25, 1857. His father, Hamden Olmsted, was also born in Le Roy, and became a prosperous lumberman there, but financial reverses overtook him and in order to recuperate his losses he removed to the west, becoming a resident of Des Moines in 1875. Here his remaining days were passed, his death occurring in 1901, when he had reached the age of eighty-one years. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Fannie Sprague, was born in Wyoming, New York, and died in 1901, at the age of eighty-one years.

James G. Olmsted was a pupil in the public schools of his native town up to the time of the removal of the family to Des Moines, when he was eighteen years of age. He was then obliged to go to work, for it was necessary that he aid in the support of the family. He was first employed by the Rock Island Rail- road Company, wheeling freight for one dollar and ten cents per day. He remained with the Rock Island .Railroad Company for seven years, and on sever- ing his connections therewith was in charge of the freight department. In the meantime he had been frugal and economical, saving his money, and with the capital thus gained determined to engage in business on his own account. He therefore purchased an interest in a wholesale shoe house, becoming connected with W. B. Bentley, under the firm style of Bentley & Olmsted. They began business on a small scale with only one salesman on the road. Mr. Olmsted and Mr. Bentley also spending much of their time on the road looking after the business of the house.

The firm of Bentley & Olmsted prospered as the years went on, the business becoming one of the important wholesale enterprises of Des Moines. The part- nership continued uninterruptedly until the death of Mr. Bentley in 1900, when the business was incorporated under the name of the Bentley-Olmsted Company. Mr. Olmsted has since been president of the company and the chief executive in control of the splendid business which he has done so much to build up. From a modest beginning with one salesman the business has steadily expanded until the house is now represented upon the road by twenty-seven salesmen, and its goods are sold in all parts of the United States with the exception of New England.

Aside from the fact that he occupies a prominent position in commercial circles as a wholesale shoe merchant, Mr. Olmsted is also president of the St. Charles Savings Bank, is vice president of the First National Bank of Prairie City, Iowa, and a director of the Central State Bank of Des Moines. He likewise has other business interests all of which profit by his sound judgment and enter- prising spirit.

While a very busy man in connection with his commercial interests, Mr. Olm- sted has found time to work for others and for the benefit of the community at large. His interests have never been selfishly centered upon his own success and advancement, for along many lines he has reached out a helping hand, being especially interested in individual and organized movements for the benefit of young men. For many years he has been closely identified with the Young Men's Christian Association work, and is a charter member of the local branch of Des Moines, of which he has been president for seven years. Moreover he is well known in state circles of the organization, having for eleven years been president of the State Young Men's Christian Association. He has also been and is now president of the library board of Des Moines, and his cooperation can always be counted upon to further movements and measures which have for their object the welfare and upbuilding of the community. He is a member and one of the trustees of the Greenwood Congregational church, is a generous contributor to its support and a cooperant factor in its many activities.

On the 28th of September, 1884, Mr. Olmsted was married to Miss Edith I. Bentley, and they have one son Ralph and a daughter Alice. They also lost a

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son Charles, who passed away at the age of eighteen years. In his political views Mr. Olmsted is a republican and served one term on the city council as an alder- man at large. This office came to him unsought, for he was nominated when absent from home. He is no seeker for office, yet keeps well informed on the questions and issues of the day, and his position upon vital political questions is never an equivocal one. His time outside of business, however, is largely de- voted to the Young Men's Christian Association and other religious and chari- table work. He is a genial, popular gentleman who readily inspires confidence in others, and who enjoys in unqualified measure the good will and high regard of all with whom he comes in contact.

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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 114

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