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 124

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 124

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On the 27th of June, 1848, Judge Casady was united in marriage to Miss Augusta Grimmel, a daughter of Dr. F. C. Grimmel, and unto them were born seven children, four of whom died in infancy, while three reached adult age: Frank; Simon, now the president of the Central State Bank of Iowa; and Rose, the de- ceased wife of George F. Henry. Judge Casady was numbered among the found- ers and builders of the state who ever placed the public good before personal aggrandizement and the general welfare before partisanship. With keen and farsighted judgment he recognized the fact that the foundation stones of the commonwealth must be well laid. He sought to infuse a spirit of patriotism into every public act and the integrity of his motives none questioned, while the value of his service is today recognized by all.

When Judge Casady was called from this life the state senate appointed a committee to draft suitable resolutions concerning his life, character and public services, and the following report was submitted.

Mr. President: Your committee appointed to draft suitable resolutions on the life, character and public service of the late Judge Phineas M. Casady, of Des Moines, Iowa, would respectfully submit the following report and resolu- tions :

Whereas, An all-wise Providence called unto Himself on August 31, 1908, his aged servant at ninety years, Honorable Phineas M. Casady of Des Moines, Iowa, who was an honored member of this senate in the second and third general as- semblies, therefore be it

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Resolved, That this body, recognizing the eminent and valuable services of the deceased in the formative period of our state, and realizing that he did much as a legislator and judge and contributed much in the commercial world to place her in her high position that she now occupies in the sisterhood of states.

Resolved, That in the death of Judge Phineas M. Casady we are called upon to mourn the loss of an able, efficient and conscientious citizen, one who sought and devoted himself to the good of all, honored by all who knew him-and that statewide-a kind neighbor, a loving husband and father. In remembrance, therefore, we extol and revere the splendid qualities of his generous heart, noble mind, the high attributes that he showed as an ideal American citizen and we shall ever cherish the recollections of his manly life.

Resolved, That this body extend to the aged, sorrowing wife and to the family our sincere sympathy and respect.

Resolved, That these resolutions be printed in the Senate Journal and the secretary is hereby instructed to mail an engrossed copy of the same to the widow of the deceased.

C. C. DOWELL, E. P. McMANUS, JOHN H. JACKSON, Committee.

Senator Dowell moved the adoption of the resolution and spoke as follows : "Mr. President: Honorable Phineas M. Casady was born December 3, 1818, on a farm near Connersville, Indiana, where he spent his boyhood days. He ac- quired by strenuous efforts a liberal education such as the country and time afforded and became strong as a profound reader and thinker. He was admitted to the bar February 16, 1841, appointed deputy clerk of courts of Rush county in 1842 and held this position until the summer of 1846. June II, 1846, he arrived at Des Moines, casting his lot among our people, and put out his sign as attorney and counselor at law and had as partners Hon. Robert L. Tidrick, General M. M. Crocker (Iowa's brave general) and Jefferson S. Polk, who later was president of the Des Moines street railway system. He was the sec- ond postmaster of Des Moines, 1847-1848. Elected senator in 1848 and mem- ber of the second and third general assemblies, comprising the district com- posed of Polk, Dallas, Jasper and Marion counties and also all of the unor- ganized region north to Minnesota and west to the Missouri river. He was chairman of a committee on unorganized territory, and all this unorganized territory was made into counties and was given the names principally of the presidents of the United States and of our Indian tribes and names of their chiefs. Also aided in originating the movement which served to make Des Moines the capital of Iowa. He participated in and enjoyed the distinction of voting to elect two United States senators, Augustus C. Dodge and George W. Jones, at the same session. He was of the number who in 1850 memorialized our state legislature and congress to enact such a land grant as would encourage the con- struction of a steam railroad to the Missouri river, from which resulted that four trunk lines were built through Iowa, the members of the general assembly thereby having better facilities of transportation than our pioneer legislators did when it took eleven days by stage to go from Des Moines to Iowa City, then the capital of Iowa. In 1847 he was elected school fund commissioner. In 1854 he was elected judge of the fifth judicial district and resigned the same year and was appointed receiver of public moneys by President Pierce. Said position he held until 1857, and he again resumed his practice of law and continued so to do until 1864, when he retired to attend to private interests and later organized the Des Moines Savings Bank, which became one of the soundest and most reliable of financial institutions of the west. He was also president of the Equitable Life Insurance Company of Iowa for six years. He was also a member of the commission that prepared, in connection with Lamp P. Sher-

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man, brother of General Sherman, and Reverend Thompson Bird, the articles of incorporation for the city of Des Moines, and later became a trustee of the city."

On June 27, 1908, Judge and Mrs. Casady celebrated their sixtieth an- niversary in the home where they had lived for more than half a century and at this time in fair health and amidst a host of friends and their children and ten grandchildren and one great-grandchild. By faith he was a Presbyterian and lived it. Socially he was an Odd Fellow. Politically he was a consistent dem- ocrat. His character can best be illustrated by quoting what was said of him in an editorial of the Register and Leader of September 1, 1908:

"In these days when men are multiplying the complexities of life, engag- ing in vain and varied pursuits of the phantom of fame, and raising strange new standards of living, the life of a citizen like Judge Casady may well be held up as a model for the youth of Iowa. He lived simply and he had time to grow really great. He had no selfish personal ambitions to satisfy, but he was content to serve others. He believed in the dignity of plain citizenship and he preferred it to the pomp and circumstance of public office. He believed in the homely virtues of life-in gentleness, in devotion to his home, in loyalty to his friends, in patriotism for his country, in the faithful fulfillment of all obligations, in the beauty of service, and the duty of usefulness. He not merely believed in these things, but he practiced them, and when he went from this sphere of life he went not empty-handed but bearing a golden harvest of good deeds. Loving hands will probably rear a noble monument to Judge Casady, but they cannot ever build so noble a monument to his memory as there now exists in the city whose foundation stones he helped to lay. Judge Casady was not merely a part of the beginning of things in Des Moines and the state of Iowa, but he had a large part in the continued building thereof. To him, as to other pioneers, and to their courage and patience and public spirit, Des Moines and Iowa owe much. That they builded well, even better than they knew, is evidenced in the city of today and the Iowa of today. Judge Casady can never be forgotten as long as the city and state stand. There is sorrow in Judge Casady's death, but there is far greater rejoicing that he lived and labored among us. He died August 31, 1908, aged eighty-nine years. eight months and twenty-eight days. I move the adoption of the resolutions. The resolutions were adopted unanimously by a rising vote."

No stronger testimonial of the character and service of the man can be found than the expression of opinion regarding him on the part of those who were his close associates while he was still an active factor in the world's work. F. M. Hubbell said of him: "Judge Casady was one of the best men I ever knew and it is hard for me to express the gratitude I owe him. When I came to Des Moines as a lad of sixteen, back in 1855, he was one of the first men I became acquainted with. I walked the streets in my efforts to find employ- ment, but no one would listen to me. I finally saw Mr. Casady and he gave me employment, and I lived for a while at his home, which was then at about the place where the Crocker building stands now. In June, 1861, he gave me a position in his law office and in January of the next year he offered me a partnership, which I accepted. Judge Casady was a genuine man and he was a strong power for good throughout his entire life. He did much active work in the early building of the city. The Sherman block, which fifty years ago was the most pretentious business building in the city, was the result of his work. Though we severed business relations many years ago, we have always been warm personal friends and I have never ceased to honor him for his upright- ness of character and many other fine qualities."

Following is the tribute of Tacitus Hussey: "His life has been one of se- renity. He was always calm and peaceful. He had borne his ninety years with dignity even to the very last. The heart that had beaten with love for all hu- manity had fulfilled its mission and an exhausted nature said 'Peace, be still.'

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He stood before this community since 1846 as a towering oak-strong, majestic and calm. He has not been moved by any storm which may have beaten upon him but deep-rooted and rounded in the unswerving principles of right, he stood in his place doing his duties as a citizen, a husband and a father and a friend in every way."

"Judge Casady was a great friend to me," said Judge C. C. Cole. "I never knew a man who could be a better friend. He was one who had his convic- tions. If a man differed with him he would assert his opinion, but there was ever any friction --- he was all for peace. No one can pay him eloquent enough tribute. He was a grand, good man, noble in his bearing and he loved his friends."

Isaac Brandt made the following comments: "Judge Casady was one of the most useful citizens to Iowa and Des Moines that ever lived here. He was one of nature's grand men. He loved to do good and was always finding some good to do. I have known Judge Casady for fifty years and have never known him to do anything wrong. He never became excited no matter how exciting the incident was. An early settler meeting did not seem complete without him. His presence was necessary to make it complete."

Mayor Mathis: "I have known P. M. Casady for many years. He was a good man and a faithful friend. Des Moines is deeply indebted to him for the good influence he has exerted in this city during his long residence here. Dur- ing the latter years of his life nothing so pleased him as to meet the older men of the city and state, talking over with them the olden days and the progress of the times. My personal friendship with Judge Casady extends over many years, and in his death I feel a deep personal loss."

Judge W. H. McHenry : "He was a true type of the hardy pioneers of Polk county. Rugged in his industry, unswerving in his integrity, modest and unas- suming, he was a true friend of all his acquaintances. He was the first lawyer admitted to the bar in Polk county. He was loved and mourned by all who knew him."

Such a record as this confers honor upon the history of the state.

ASHTON CLEMENS.

The paint and glass business in Des Moines is ably represented by Ashton Clemens, who for a number of years past has been general manager of the Stand- ard Glass & Paint Company, one of the largest establishments of the kind in the city, and he is also prominently connected with other important interests. He was born in Omaha, Nebraska, January 27, 1872, a son of Ashton and Philicia (Pickard) Clemens. The grandparents on the paternal side came to America from England, and on the maternal side were natives of Pennsylvania. The father was born in Philadelphia and in the early years of his life was a re- markably diligent student, becoming an expert in a number of branches. His studies being to him in the nature of a diversion. He located upon a ranch near Omaha and there passed the principal part of his life.

Ashton Clemens of this review grew to manhood in a refined home, where he assisted his father on the ranch becoming familiar with the work which has helped to make a success of his later life. At the age of eighteen he became con- nected with the Kennard Glass & Paint Company, with which he remained for a period of ten years. He then entered the service of the Rock Island Railroad at Chicago but after two years was again attracted to the paint business, sell- ing out in 1902, to take up his residence in Des Moines. He organized the Stand- ard Glass & Paint Company, the house first being located at Fifth and Locust streets, but later removing to its present large quarters at 915-917 Walnut

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street. As secretary and manager, Mr. Clemens has built up a large business, and the name of the company is most favorably known throughout central Iowa. He is also identified with other lines, being president of the Des Moines Cabi- net Company and of the Riddle Auto Company.

On the 3d of October, 1900, at Omaha, Mr. Clemens was united in marriage to Miss Emma Ohlson, and by this union one child, Phyllis, was born July 7, 1901. Essentially a man of business, Mr. Clemens easily ranks as one of the prominent factors in the mercantile life of Des Moines. By giving his undivided attention to his calling he became thoroughly acquainted with the many details, and through sound judgment and progressive methods he gained the responsible place he now occupies in the community. Politically, he is in sympathy with the republican party, and socially is a valued member of the Grant, Commercial, Hyperion and New Des Moines Clubs, having many stanch friends in those organizations.

HARRY S. FLEAGLE.

Harry S. Fleagle, who is cashier of the Farrar State Savings Bank, was born in Mount Pleasant, Iowa, on the 8th of August, 1876, a son of Frank R. and Laura (Smith) Fleagle. His father is a native of Maryland, from which state he removed with his parents to Henry county, Iowa, when a child of five years, in 1849, and there Henry Fleagle, the grandfather of our subject, followed gen- eral farming during the remainder of his days. The latter was born in Ger- many about 1800 and was a stone-mason by trade, building a large round house at Hagerstown, Maryland.

Frank R. Fleagle spent his boyhood and youth in a manner very similar to the majority of lads reared in the rural districts during pioneer days. In the acquirement of his education he attended the district schools, following which he worked by the month as a farm hand until he attained his majority. He then went to Mount Pleasant, where he engaged in mercantile business with such suc- cess that he later opened another store in New London. He continued to con- duct these establishments for twenty-five years, at the end of which period he retired from commercial activities. The mother passed away in 1893, but Mr. Fleagle still survives at the age of sixty-six and makes his home in New Lon- don. In their family were five children, namely: Harry S .; Robert, a farmer living near Houston, Texas; Jesse, engaged in the life insurance business in Des Moines; and Stella and Nellie, at home with their father.

The boyhood and youth of Harry S. Fleagle were spent in New London, in whose public schools he acquired his preliminary education, this being supple- mented by a course in Elliott's Business College at Burlington, Iowa, following which he entered St. Albans Academy at Knoxville, Illinois. After a two years' course he was retained for three years in the capacity of an instructor. He then came to Des Moines, having accepted a position in the service of the National Masonic Accident Association, with which organization he was identified for six years. Withdrawing from this at the end of that period, he entered the Farmers Savings Bank at Carlisle as cashier. He remained there for about eighteen months and then came to Farrar, Washington township, Polk county, as cashier of the Farrar State Savings bank, in which capacity he continues to serve. In connection with his position in the bank Mr. Fleagle deals in real estate both there and in Des Moines.

In April, 1904, Mr. Fleagle was united in marriage to Miss Ella M. Russell, a daughter of S. W. and Ellen Russell, natives of the state of New York, where for some years Mr. Russell was engaged in the hotel business. A printer by trade, after locating in Iowa he continued to follow that occupation until his

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demise. He passed away in 1882, in Des Moines, where he had resided from quite an early day, being survived for one year by his wife. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Fleagle there has been born one child, Harold, who is now one year of age.

Mr. Fleagle is a republican in politics, and fraternally he is affiliated with the Masonic order, in which he had attained high rank, having attained the thirty- two degrees of the Scottish Rite, and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. His membership in both organizations is in lodges of Des Moines. Both he and Mrs. Fleagle belong to the Episcopal church. He is one of the enterprising and progressive young business men of Farrar, whose future is considered to be most promising by those interested in his career.

WILLIAM ZINSMASTER.

Among the industries of Des Moines which are of practical benefit to the community and are universally recognized as essential, is the bakery business. It is a prominent industry of the city, this remark applying especially to the Des Moines Bakery Company, a project which was originated by William Zinsmas- ter whose name introduces this review. He was born in Rhenish Bavaria, June 10, 1842, a son of Theobald and Barbara (Christman) Zinsmaster. The ances- tors on the paternal side removed from Switzerland to Bavaria in the seventeenth century and many of their descendants are still living in Germany. In 1846 Mr. Zinsmaster and his wife decided to take up their abode in the new world in order to promote their own welfare and to provide for the future of their family of eight children. They settled in Ohio, six miles from Massillon and there the father died from cholera in 1854, at the age of fifty-eight years, the mother having passed away in 1850.

William Zinsmaster lost his mother when he was eight years of age and his father at the age of twelve. He succeeded, however, in gaining the rudiments of an education in the little log schoolhouse of the neighborhood and continued on the home farm until seventeen years of age. He then became a student of Mount Union College, Ohio, and later of Greensburg Seminary, Ohio, engaging in farm work in summer and attending school in winter. He thus secured a good education and in 1861 went to Illinois where he taught school one year. Re- turning to Ohio at the beginning of the Civil war, like thousands of patriotic young men, he offered his services to the Union, but was rejected on account of defective eyesight. He taught school two terms in Ohio and in 1864 arrived in Polk county, where he continued teaching and working for wages until 1866 when he was married and engaged in farming in this county. He also taught school in Washington township, engaging in that occupation when there was only one schoolhouse in the township. He had the pleasure of assisting in building eight more schoolhouses during his stay in that section. In 1875 he came to Des Moines in order to receive medical treatment for rheumatism and has ever since made his home in this city. In 1876 he bought the land on which the Des Moines Bakery now stands and two years later erected a building in which he conducted the International Hotel for thirteen years. This hotel attained an enviable reputation as one of the best hostelries in the state and attracted a most desirable class of patrons. Mr. Zinsmaster attended carefully to the wants of his guests and was highly popular as a hotel man. However, in 1891, business having moved up town, he gave up hotel-keeping and began in the wholesale flour business in the same building. Five years later he organized the Des Moines Bakery Company of which he has since been president. The business was started upon a small scale but has grown steadily and it is now one of the large and important concerns of the city. Mr. Zinsmaster's son, Marcellus, and a son- in-law, Frank Proctor, are actively connected with the company, but the presi-

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dent is generally to be found on duty and continues the moving spirit of the enterprise. He is also the owner of valuable real estate in Des Moines but his principal energies are devoted to the affairs of the company over which he presides.

In 1866, in Story county, 'Mr. Zinsmaster was married to Miss Mary A. Kirkman, a native of Tennessee. Her father, Nelson Kirkman, settled in Story county in the '50s. Her mother, Delilah Spurlin before her marriage, was a na- tive of North Carolina. She died in 1910, having attained the advanced age of eighty-eight years.

The children born to Mr. and Mrs. Zinsmaster are as follows: Louise, the wife of Frank Proctor, vice president of the Des Moines Bakery Company ; Clara, the wife of Walter Emmons, of Omaha, Nebraska; Laura, the wife of Frank Schuler, of Des Moines; Rose M., the wife of Ralph Hale, of Chicago, whose father was once governor of Wyoming; Marcellus, secretary and treasurer of the Des Moines Bakery Company, who married Jetta C. Mehan; Horatio W., a resident of New York city; Helen Marie, the wife of Charles W. De Jarnett, of Des Moines ; and Lena Grace, at home.

Mr. Zinsmaster has ever since he attained manhood been a diligent worker, always finding employment at some useful occupation. He is remarkably ener- getic and efficient and has seldom undertaken anything which he did not carry out successfully. His example has been highly encouraging to others, especially as he is a man of action rather than of words, and his aim has ever been to pro- mote the comfort and happiness of those with whom he has associated. He was a good school-teacher and as a business man and citizen he has ably performed his part, showing an ability, foresight and enterprise which have at all times redounded to his credit. In politics he gives his support to the democracy, but he is not bound by political lines as he is liberal in voting as in all other affairs of life.

MRS. JENNIE BRAND.

Mrs. Jennie Brand, whose capable and intelligent direction of her affairs gives her prominent rank in the business circles of the town, was born in Wil- mington, Delaware, on the 30th of April, 1869, and is a daughter of Jacob and Jane (Black) Belz, the former a native of Germany and the latter of Ireland. The father was a baker by trade, in which line of business he engaged until 1869, when he retired from active life. Wilmington remained his home through- out his remaining days and he passed away in July, 1907, having for more than a decade survived his wife, her death occurring on the 4th of November, 1896.

Their daughter was reared in Wilmington and to the public school system of that city she is indebted for the educational privileges which she enjoyed during the period of her youth. It was in 1900 that she left the east and sought a home in Iowa, first locating in Polk county. Later she came to Valley Junc- tion, and after her arrival here she purchased a livery barn and feed shed located on the corner of Maple and Third streets. She gave her attention to the management of this enterprise with the assistance of a man whom she hired to conduct the barn until she sold out in 1911. She owns three lots in Valley Junction. also valuable city property at Indianola, Iowa, and three Iowa farms. In the direction of her affairs she is displaying an unusual aptitude for suc- cessful management, possesses keen business sagacity and an intelligent ap- preciation of business principles, and in the conduct of her business is proving herself the equal of niany of the shrewd business men of the locality.

Mrs. Brand is the mother of four children, as follows: Harry E. Hutch- ison, who is call boy for the Rock Island Railroad; Grace E. Carraher and Charles E. Carraher, who are attending high school; and Ethel Marian Brand,

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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 124

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