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 125

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 125

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Mrs. Brand is a member of the Catholic church, the teachings of which institu- tion form the guiding principles of her life, and she also belongs to Post No. I, Ladies of the G. A. R. She has recently moved into an attractive and comfortable residence on Sixth street between Maple and Elm streets, and the hospitality of her home is enjoyed by a large circle of warm friends, for since her arrival in Valley Junction she has become widely known, being held in high esteem for her many excellent traits of heart and mind.

GEORGE P. HANAWALT, M. D.

A poet has written "How blest is he who crowns a youth of labor with an age of ease," but how much greater is the man who reaches an age of useful- ness whose service continues a potent element for good in the community even after he passes the Psalmist's allotted span of three score years and ten. Such is the record of Dr. Hanawalt. At the age of seventy-five years he is still active in the practice of his profession and one of its most capable and hon- ·ored representatives. A native of Ross county, Ohio, Dr. Hanawalt was born September II, 1836, a son of John and Mary (Jefferson) Hanawalt. The father, whose birth occurred in Mifflin county, Pennsylvania, January 18, 1798, was of German descent and was the son of a Revolutionary soldier. The mother, Mary (Jefferson) Hanawalt, was born near Frederick, Maryland, August 20, 1812, and was a lineal descendant of the family of which Thomas Jefferson was also a representative.

Dr. Hanawalt was reared in Ohio and the public schools afforded him his early educational privileges which were supplemented by study in Salem Acad- emy. He began preparation for a professional career in 1859 as a student in the office and under the direction of Drs. Salter and Holton, of Madison county, Ohio, but the Civil war interrupted his studies for in February, 1862, he vol- unteered for active service with the Seventh Ohio Infantry and in the following August was transferred to the regular army as hospital steward. While on duty in United States General Hospital he attended medical lectures and in March, 1864, was graduated from Georgetown University at Washington, D. C. Later he was promoted to the position of acting assistant surgeon and held that rank until October, 1868, when he resigned and came to Des Moines, where he has now been engaged in active practice for about forty-three years. His ability soon won him recognition and he has maintained a foremost position as a repre- sentative of the medical profession in Des Moines throughout the entire period. He has been for many years and still is surgeon for the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad Company, the Des Moines & Fort Dodge, the Chicago, St. Paul & Kansas City, (now the Great Western), the Des Moines & Northern (now the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul and the Minneapolis & St. Louis), the Des Moines & Kansas City and the Electric Street Railway Companies and the Interurban. He has ever been a hard worker in his profession, practicing both medicine and surgery, and his success has been the legitimate and logical outcome of his ability and close application. A thorough and discriminating student, his reading has been wide and his advancement certain. In 1877 he was commissioned surgeon general of the National Guard of Iowa and served throughout the terms of Governors Sherman, Carpenter, Larrabee and. Boies, covering a period of about sixteen years, when he retired with the rank of brigadier general, I. N. G.

Dr. Hanawalt was responsible for the establishment of the first hospitals in Des Moines. These were Tracy Home and Cottage Hospital, both of which were at his instigation established and conducted by Mrs. A. B. Tracy, a phil- :anthropic lady who devoted her life and means to this work. The former was

GEORGE P. HANAWALT

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established at the time of the terrible "Four Mile" disaster on the Rock Island Railroad when the Doctor took upon himself the care of the numerous injured for whom Des Moines then afforded no accommodations. Several of P. T. Barnum's men were among the victims of this wreck and the appreciation of Mr. Barnum and his manager, James June, for the efficient service and accom- modation given his employes by Dr. Hanawalt and Mrs. Tracy was so great the former gave a benefit lecture, the entire proceeds of which, amounting to twelve thousand dollars, he gave to Mrs. Tracy for the establishment of a hos- pital. With this she founded the Cottage Hospital, which was continued up to a short time prior to the opening of the Methodist Hospital.

On the 31st of October, 1871, Dr. Hanawalt was married to Miss Emily Agnes Jordan, the marriage being celebrated in Walnut township, Polk county, at the home of her father, Hon. James C. Jordan. Mrs. Hanawalt was born in Platte county, Missouri, and was brought to Iowa by her parents in early childhood. Her education, begun in a little select school conducted in one of the old Fort Des Moines buildings on Coon Point, was completed in the North- western University at Evanston, Illinois, in 1868.

In his political views Dr. Hanawalt has been a republican since age con- ferred upon him the right of franchise. He is a charter member of Crocker Post, G. A. R., and also a member of the Octogenarian Society and the Tippecanoe Club. In professional lines he is connected with all the different medical so- cieties, thus keeping in touch with the advanced thought of the profession through the interchange of ideas and experiences. He is a genial, big-hearted man who has the respect of all. His kindly spirit goes out in ready sympathy and helpfulness to those who need aid, professional or otherwise, and there is no member of the medical profession in Des Moines who is held in higher re- gard than Dr. Hanawalt.

JUDGE JESSE A. MILLER.

In Judge Jesse A. Miller we find united many of the rare qualities which go to make up the successful lawyer and jurist. He possesses perhaps few of those brilliant, dazzling, meteoric traits which have sometimes flashed along the legal horizon, riveting the gaze and blinding the vision, for the moment, then disappearing, leaving little or no trace behind, but rather has those solid and more substantial qualities which shine with a constant luster, shedding light in the dark places with steadiness and continuity. His mind is analytical, logical and inductive, and with a thorough and comprehensive knowledge of the fundamental principles of law he combines a familiarity with statutory law, and a sober, clear judgment which makes him not only a formidable adversary in legal combat but has given him the distinction, while on the bench, of having few of his decisions revised or reversed.

He was born on a farm five miles from Iowa City, on the 8th of August, 1869. His father, Colonel Alexander James Miller, was born at Mount Pleas- ant, Pennsylvania, September 21, 1830, and was a son of Samuel Miller, who in 1855 left the Keystone state and came to Iowa, settling in Johnson county. This was two years after the removal of Colonel Miller from Mount Pleasant, Pennsylvania, to Johnson county. Two other sons of Samuel Miller reared their families in Iowa, one being William E. Miller, a prominent jurist, who at one time was a member of the supreme court of Iowa, while the other, the Rev. Dr. Emory Miller, was an eminent divine, who spent fifty years in the Methodist ministry and is now living in Des Moines.

For some time after coming to this state, Colonel Alexander J. Miller was engaged in business at Iowa City, and later resided upon a farm in Johnson Vol. II-52

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county. In 1875 he removed to Oxford, Iowa, where for a number of years he was engaged in the hardware and agricultural implement business. Subse- quently he turned his attention to newspaper publication, becoming editor of the Oxford Journal. He won his title through active and valiant service in the Civil war as Lieutenant Colonel of the Sixth Iowa Infantry. Soon after the outbreak of hostilities he was mustered in as a first lieutenant, in July, 1861, was promoted to the rank of captain on the 22d of May, 1862, became major on the 22d of October of the same year, and was promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel on the 14th of March, 1863. At the battle of Dallas on the 28th of May, 1864, he was severely wounded. He afterward served as, one of the Iowa commissioners that located the Iowa monuments on the battlefield at Shiloh and also one of the commissioners who located the lowa monuments at Chattanooga, or Missionary Ridge. He was prominent in public affairs and in republican politics for many years and was a man of much more than local influence. He died at Oxford, Iowa, September 4, 1910, and is still survived by his widow, who bore the maiden name of Mary Louisa McColm. She was born March 21, 1841, in Baltimore, Maryland, and in 1863, at Cleveland, Ohio, gave her hand in marriage to Colonel Miller.

Their son, Jesse A. Miller, pursued his education in the public schools of Oxford, Iowa, and in the State University, completing a course in the law de- partment by graduation on the 18th of June, 1891. Twelve days later-June 30th -- he had located in Des Moines for general practice. For a year and a half he remained alone, after which he spent two years as the junior partner of the firm of Raymond & Miller. Later he was for eight years a member of the firm of Howe & Miller, and upon the election of the senior partner to the bench Mr. Miller organized the firm of Miller, Wallingford & De Graff, which at the end of a year became Miller & Wallingford and was so continued for three more years. Mr. Miller was then elected judge of the district court of Polk county and following his retirement from the bench resumed the practice of law, having on January 1, 1910, become a member of the firm of Hewitt, Miller & Walling- ford. In April, 1911, Mr. Hewitt was appointed judge of the district court and the firm is now Miller & Wallingford. Nearly every one of Judge Miller's for- mer partners have at one time or another been on the bench-Judge Howe, Judge De Graff and Judge Hewitt-and this in addition to his own judicial service. It is a notable fact and one which reflects credit upon Judge Miller as showing the class of his professional associates. In the course of a long and active profes- sional career he has tried many important cases. One of the most interesting was the prosecution, while county attorney, of Charles Thomas for the murder of Mabel Schofield, the case being tried five years after the committment of the deed, the conviction of murder in the first degree being obtained on circumstan- tial evidence. The conviction was sustained by the supreme court of Iowa and upon appeal the United States supreme court declined to disturb the judgment of conviction. Judge Millei is a strong and forceful lawyer, of well balanced in- tellect, thoroughly familiar with the law and practice, of comprehensive general information, and possessed of an analytical mind and a self control that enabled him, while on the bench, to lose his individuality, his personal feelings, his prejudices and his peculiarities of disposition in the dignity, impartiality and equity of office to which life, property, right and liberty must look for protec- tion. His decisions indicate strong mentality, careful analysis and a thorough knowledge of the law. The only offices which he has held have been in the line of his profession. He was assistant attorney general of Iowa from 1895 until 1898; county attorney of Polk county from 1903 until 1906; judge of the ninth judicial district court from 1907 until January 1, 1910, when he resigned to re- enter the practice of law. His practice is extensive and of an important char- acter and he is remarkable among lawyers for the wide research and provident care with which he prepares his cases.

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For twenty years Judge Miller has taken an active interest in state and na- tional politics as an advocate of republican policies, believing it the duty as well as the privilege of every American citizen to exercise his right of franchise and support the principles which he deems essential as factors in good government. He is a Mason of high rank, having attained the thirty-second degree of the Scottish Rite. He also holds membership with the Knights of Pythias, the Bene- volent and Protective Order of Elks, the Knights of Khorassan, the Modern Woodmen of America and the Knights of the Maccabees. He also belongs to a college fraternity, the Beta Theta Pi, and is a prominent member of the Grant, Prairie and Hyperion Field and Auto Clubs of Des Moines, the Rotary Club of Chicago and the Beta Theta Pi Club of New York city. His religious faith is that of the Congregational church.

On the 15th of May, 1895, in Grinnell, Iowa, Judge Miller was married to Miss Emily Williston Magoun, a daughter of the Rev. Dr. George F. and Eliza- beth (Earle) Magoun, both prominent educators and well known not only in Iowa but in other states. Her father was for twenty years president of Iowa College at Grinnell. Judge and Mrs. Miller have three children: Frederic Ma- goun and Alexander McColm, twins, born February 18, 1896; and Jesse Earle, born May 5, 1902. Judge and Mrs. Miller are prominent in the social circles of Des Moines. Throughout the entire period of his professional career, cov- ering twenty years, during which Judge Miller has been a member of the Des Moines bar, and in his gradual advancement to prominence and power in the profession, he has displayed all the qualities indispensable to the lawyer-a keen, rapid, logical mind, plus the business sense and a ready capacity for hard work, comprehensive knowledge of the law, eloquence of language and a strong per- sonality, combined with an earnest, dignified manner and marked strength of character.

JOSEPH W. MULLANE.

Joseph W. Mullane, the popular and well known cashier of the First Na- tional Bank of Valley Junction, Iowa, was born in Warren county, this state, on the 6th of January, 1874, and is of Irish extraction as his name would sug- gest. His parents, Cornelius and Bridget Mullane, were born on the Emerald isle and emigrated to the United States with their parents when in their in- fancy. The grandparents of Joseph W. Mullane first located in New York but later removed to Ohio and after residing there for a time went to Indiana. In 1861 Cornelius Mullane, who was at that time twenty-five years of age, located in Des Moines, Iowa, and for several years was engaged in the transfer busi- ness, hauling merchandise from Keokuk and other river towns to the capital city. After following that occupation for four or five years he became a railroad contractor, and while thus employed he built a number of the railroads which enter Des Moines. In 1869 he turned his attention to agricultural pursuits and located on a farm of eighty acres which he had bought in Warren county. The land was neither cleared nor improved and he immediately erected a house and outbuildings and began to cultivate the soil. He has been very successful in his undertakings and has added to his original tract from time to time until he now owns four hundred acres of land, which is well improved and under a high state of cultivation. The mother of our subject passed away in 1875 and the father has been living retired in Des Moines since 1893.

Joseph W. Mullane was reared and educated in Warren county and after completing the course of the common schools he matriculated at Drake Univer- sity, where he studied for four years. Before leaving college he decided that the world of finance offered more attractions to him than any other and he de-

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cided to go into the banking business. He therefore entered the Des Moines Savings Bank as a messenger and worked his way up to the position of paying teller. All during the period of his tyrociny he had given evidence of possess- ing good executive ability as well as strong powers of organization, so when the bank at McIntire, Iowa, was established he was deemed the most fitting man for the place and was given the management of the institution. He only remained there for six months, however, during which time he found what to him prom- ised to be a more lucrative field of action, and coming to Valley Junction he organized the First National Bank in 1900. At that time Mr. Mullane was only twenty-six years of age but his sagacity and foresight, combined with his compre- hensive knowledge of matters of finance as well as his. convincing personality, in- stantly won for him the recognition and confidence of the leading business men of the town, and that their judgment was above question has long ago been demon- strated. Ever since the bank was established he has occupied the position of cash- ier and his pleasing manner, and courteous and capable discharge of the work of his department has been very instrumental in the upbuilding of the business.

In November, 1898, Mr. Mullane was united in marriage to Miss Nellie Cox, a daughter of John W. and Mary Cox, both natives of Illinois. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Mullane have been born two daughters: Marjorie, aged nine years, and Eloise, aged two years. He is of the Roman Catholic faith but Mrs. Mullane is a member of the Presbyterian church. Fraternally he is identified with the Knights of Pythias. Ever since attaining his majority Mr. Mullane has been a supporter of the republican party. He takes an active interest in local politics and at the present time is serving as city clerk as well as a member of the school board. During their residence in Valley Junction Mr. and Mrs. Mullane have won many friends, to whom the hospitality of their pleasant home on the corner of Fourth and Locust streets is graciously extended.

ARLINGTON J. ASH.

Arlington J. Ash, who is manager of the sales department of the Hayes Company at Des Moines, Iowa, was born December II, 1870, in Holton, Kansas, a son of Abraham and Emma E. (Wameyer) Ash, the former of whom was born in 1831, in Bradford county, Pennsylvania, where he was prominent as a farmer and stock-raiser. His parents were natives of Germany, from which country they emigrated at an early date to the United States, where the father, John Ash. was a participant in the Revolutionary war.

The early education of Arlington J. Ash was obtained in the public schools, supplemented by a course in the La Compt (Kansas) College, and later he studied for the ministry but subsequently relinquished his intentions in that direction. He engaged in farming, which vocation he followed until twenty-six years old, when he became a candidate for the state legislature, but was defeated. He then accepted a position as traveling salesman but after a short experience on the road was appointed a teacher in the reform school at Hutchinson, Kansas, remaining there until 1898, when he enlisted as a volunteer in the Spanish-American war but was not called to the front. He then became associated with the Scranton schools in the capacity of salesman, remaining thus employed, however, but a short time, when he entered the employ of the Johnston Harvester Company, for which he traveled through South America for one year. He returned to Kan- sas and was connected with the Minnie Harvester Company of Springfield, Mis- souri, until 1903, when he was engaged by the Osborn Harvester Company, of St. Louis, to take charge of their exhibit at the world's fair in that city, remain- ing there throughout the period of the exhibition. After this he was connected with the Oliver Company until 1907, in which year he was offered the position

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of manager of the sales department of the Hayes Company, which he has since filled with efficiency and to the entire satisfaction of his employers.

Mr. Ash was married November 10, 1896, to Miss Sarah E. Scott, whose father, a well known physician, was in charge of the Chicago & Rock Island Railroad Hospital at Holton, Kansas. Mr. and Mrs. Ash are the parents of two children, namely : Nadine, born December 4, 1900, and Virginia, born July 19, I907.

In politics Mr. Ash is independent, supporting the men whom he considers the most worthy of the offices to which they are nominated. Fraternally he is a member of Traveling Men's Lodge No. 12, Woodmen of the World, and his religious faith is indicated by his membership in the Presbyterian church. He is greatly interested in outdoor sports, to which he gives such time as he can spare from his multifarious duties. He is well known as a man of strict integrity and sterling worth, as well as business capacity and enterprise, and his many admirable qualities have placed him among the respected citizens of his com- munity.

LINCOLN P. BENNETT.

The owner of a highly improved farm of seven hundred acres in Polk county and of other valuable property, the gentleman whose name stands at the head of this review is clearly among the fortunate ones who have conquered all fears of financial dependence. He is a native of this state, born in Dallas county March 1I, 1860, the son of Calvin and Hopy W. (Wilson) Bennett, the former a native of Kentucky and the latter of Ohio. They came to Jefferson county, Iowa, in 1848, and subsequently removed to Indiana where they remained a short time and then returned to this state, taking up their residence on a farm of three hundred and twenty acres in Dallas county. At the close of a year Mr. Bennett disposed of this place and removed to Polk county, acquiring land near Valley Junction which became the family homestead. He kept a tavern before the days of the railroad and was a typical pioneer, having also good business ability. He acquired about seven hundred acres of land which he greatly im- proved, continuing upon the farm until 1885. He now makes his home with his son Scott at Grand avenue and Forty-eighth streets, Des Moines. The beloved wife and mother was called away January 2, 1900.

Lincoln P. Bennett was reared on the home farm under highly favorable con- ditions, receiving the benefit of a thorough training in agriculture and stock- raising under his father. He attended the district schools and later was a student in the Baptist College and a business college at Des Moines. He con- tinued with his parents until twenty-six years of age when his father gave him a farm of two hundred and forty acres upon which he has since lived, purchas- ing more land as opportunity presented until he is now the owner of a model establishment of seven hundred acres in Polk county also owning two hundred and forty acres in Franklin county and valuable residences in Des Moines and Valley Junction. He was one of the organizers of the First National Bank of Valley Junction and served as president four years when he resigned and has since held the office of vice president. He has also been a stockholder in the People's Savings Bank of Des Moines ever since its organization and in his business career has shown an ability that reflects the highest credit upon his judgment and also has met with the hearty approval of his business associates.

On the 17th of February, 1886, Mr. Bennett was united in marriage to Miss Nellie Jamison, a daughter of A. J. and Sarah Jamison, the former of whom was born in Indiana and the latter in Ohio. Mr. Jamison, who was a farmer by occupation, came to Iowa with his father, who located on land where Valley Junction now stands, and there spent the remainder of his life. Mrs. Bennett's

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father continued a resident of Polk county until 1860, when he went to Califor- nia, but a year or two later returned to Iowa, this time locating in Dallas county, where his death occurred March 30, 1902. His widow is still a resident of Dal- las county. Five children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Bennett, namely : J. Edgar, who is married and lives in Walnut township; Lloyd E., at home; Rose G., now the wife of O. W. Johnson, of Walnut township; Russell, a student in the high school at Valley Junction ; and Esther M., who is ten years of age and lives at home. The mother of these children died January 20, 1906, and on the 12th of August, 1908, Mr. Bennett married her sister, Miss Grace Jamison.

Politically Mr. Bennett is a progressive republican. He has firm faith that the party has within itself the ability to correct all abuses. He has served with general satisfaction to the people as township trustee for two terms but has not urged claims for political honors as he prefers to devote his attention to his business affairs. He is not identified with any religious denomination, but is friendly toward them all. He is a man of pleasing address and gentlemanly manner and has always been straightforward in his dealings, never seeking to advance his own interests to the injury of others, he possesses in a high degree the confidence and regard of a wide circle of friends and acquaintances in Polk county.

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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 125

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