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 138

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 138

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Charles A. Swanson early began on' the little home farm the struggle with poverty and the years of his boyhood were occupied with labor, as it was neces- sary for every member of the family to work in order to provide the simplest means of sustenance. Upon arriving at the age of fifteen years he left the parental home and became a seafarer, following the life of a sailor, in the course of which he visited the leading ports of Europe and America. On June 3, 1881, he came to Des Moines and engaged in various occupations, finally entering the coal business, in which he continued until by thrift and economy he had accumulated sufficient capital to engage in business for himself. This he did in 1889, locating at No. 505 East Sixth street. He also opened the Mapleblock coal mine, but after having fairly started independently, he sold out and discontinued mining for two years. He then became associated with Joseph Norwood under the title of the Swanwood Coal Company, which owns its mines, and ever since its organization has been one of the flourishing con- cerns of the city. He is also a member of the board of directors of the Century Savings Bank and has made a number of investments which yield a handsome income.

On the 16th of June, 1889, Mr. Swanson was united in marriage to Miss Annie E. Lumsdon, of Boone county, Iowa, and three daughters have blessed their union : Christina E., aged nineteen, a graduate of the East Des Moines high school and now a student in the liberal arts department of Grinnell College ; Ethel Ruth, fifteen years of age, now a student in the high school; and Jennie Evelyn, fourteen years of age, also attending high school.

Mr. Swanson deserves much credit for the work he has accomplished, espe- cially as in the earlier part of his life he had many grave difficulties to overcome. That he is a man of unusual enterprise and excellent business sagacity is fully proven by the success that has rewarded his efforts. Socially he is identified with Lodge No. 68, K. P., and his political allegiance is given to the republican party. to which he yields an earnest support. He is a member of the Friends church and in his life has set an example of patience and perseverance well worthy of emulation.

FRANCIS H. MERRILL.

Francis H. Merrill, who for many years was identified with various com- mercial enterprises in Des Moines but is now engaged in general farming and stock-raising in Bloomfield township, was born in the capital city on the 17th of February, 1869. His father, John H. Merrill, was a native of Maine who came to Iowa in 1865, locating in Des Moines, where for twenty years he conducted a furniture store. Withdrawing from this in 1885, he engaged in the grocery business with his son but retired from commercial life at the end of eleven years, locating on a beautiful farm he had acquired in Bloomfield township where his widow and son now reside. After cultivating this for a year he was taken ill and five years of invalidism ensued which was terminated by death on the Ist of February, 1905. Mr. Merrill was a veteran of the Civil war, having gone to the front as lieutenant of Company A, Eighty-eighth Illinois Volunteers, which he helped organize, and being mustered out with the rank of captain but was acting as Major at the time of his discharge, at the end of three years' service. His death was directly attributed to the hardships and exposure incident to army life. Mrs. Merrill, who prior to her marriage was Araminta K. Baker, was born in Pomfret, near Putnam's Cave in Connecticut, on the 22d of September, 1837. Her mother died when she was still a child and with her father she removed to Massachusetts, where, as well as in Warren, Ohio, she acquired her education. In 1866 they came to Iowa and here on the IIth

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of March, 1868, she was united in marriage to John H. Merrill. Although she has passed the seventy-fourth milestone on life's journey she is still very active and presides over her son's household.

The preliminary education of Francis H. Merrill was obtained in the public schools of Des Moines, and later he entered Drake University, graduating with the class of 1889. Following this he engaged in the grocery business with his father for eleven years, during which period he organized the Des Moines Yeast Company, but later disposed of that business. He also founded the Merrill Manufacturing Company, which compounded baking powder, bluing, polishes of various kinds, as well as bottled pickles. He withdrew from the latter business upon the death of his wife and then concentrated his entire attention upon those interests which he and his father held in common. He removed to the farm with his parents, assisting in the management and super- vision of the property until his father's health failed, at which time he assumed entire charge. During the period of their occupancy many improvements were made by both father and son, which have added greatly to the appearance as well as the value of the property. The buildings are substantially constructed and kept in repair, while the fields are given the careful supervision which results in abundant harvests. Mr. Merrill keeps ten head of cattle, three horses and twenty-five hogs, all of them of a good grade and in fine condition. In addition to his agricultural interests he holds considerable stock in some of the Polk county coal mines.

In 1891 Mr. Merrill was united in marriage to Miss Lola Walker, who passed away in October, 1894. She was a daughter of A. D. Walker, a native of Wisconsin, who came to Iowa and located in Des Moines, where he bred and raised thoroughbred horses. Owing to his failing health he was compelled to retire from business a few years ago and he and Mrs. Walker removed to Marshalltown, where they are now living.

Mr. Merrill's political allegiance is given to the republican party but he never takes an active part in local affairs of a governmental nature, preferring to devote his time and attention to the development of his personal interests. His mother is a member of the Presbyterian church.

JOHN W. WEEKS.

John W. Weeks is now engaged in the coal and feed business in Des Moines. His success has been due to hard work and a conscientious discharge of his obligations so that today he enjoys an enviable reputation in business circles. He was born in Knox county, Illinois, February 8, 1862, a son of Charles P. and Mary (Reynolds) Weeks. The father, a farmer and stock-raiser, by occu- pation, was born February 3, 1831, and departed this life in September, 1909, at the age of seventy-eight years. The grandfather, George Washington Weeks, was a native of Kentucky. He was born in 1803 and came to Iowa in 1860. The grandmother was a native of Virginia and was married in that state, later coming to Iowa. Mary Reynolds, the maternal grandmother of our subject, is now living at Tyndall, South Dakota, at the venerable age of ninety-two years and retains her mental and physical faculties in a remarkable degree. Her husband died in the '60s.

John W. Weeks came to Iowa quite early in life and was reared upon a farm in Madison county. He received his education in the public schools and not being attracted to agricultural pursuits, he began at twenty years of age to learn the carpenter's trade. In 1890, at Newton, Iowa, he gained his first experience as a contractor and continued for fifteen years, in the course of which he erected many buildings large and small and developed an ability which

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gave bright promise for his future. Coming to Des Moines in 1905 on account of larger opportunities in this city, he established his office for two years at No. 1020 Grand avenue, after which he moved to No. 1030 on the same avenue. He made a specialty of home building and was instrumental during the past five years in the erection of many handsome private residences, thus adding to the beauty of the city. In February, 1911, however, he retired from contracting and is now conducting a coal and feed business, having already secured a good patronage.

On the 30th of June, 1884, Mr. Weeks was united in marriage in Jasper county, Iowa, to Miss Clara Smith, and five children have blessed the union : Lottie, now twenty-two years of age, who married Harry De Baggio and has one child, Karl; Myrtle, nineteen years of age; Irma, fifteen; Lyla, twelve; and Gladys, ten years of age.

Mr. Weeks is a pronounced lover of his home and no happier family circle can be found anywhere than that which gathers at his fireside. He belongs to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, being connected with both lodge and encampment. He has taken an active interest in the order and has filled all of the chairs in the subordinate lodge. He is also identified with the Yeomen of the World. Politically he gives his support to the republican party and religiously he adheres to the Christian church. Friendly in his relations to his fellow men, broad-minded on all subjects that admit of diverse interpretations, he is recognized as one of the substantial and progressive citizens of the com- munity.

ABRAHAM R. DAUGHENBAUGH.

The career of Abraham R. Daughenbaugh is striking evidence of the financial possibilities in America for young men who from the first will apply themselves with the determination to win. Coming to Iowa in 1866 in a prairie schooner with nothing to depend upon but his own strong constitution and indomitable will he accumulated in forty years a fortune of more than two million dollars. He was summoned from earthly scenes May 29, 1910, at the age of sixty-seven years, having gained a reputation as one of the leading business men and financiers of the state. He was born at Wooster, Ohio, October 31, 1843, and came of sturdy German ancestry, the grandparents emigrating to this country many years ago. The father learned the milling business and in the spring of 1849 took up his residence at Cedarville, Illinois, where the son Abraham grew to maturity.

At the age of twenty-three years Abraham R. Daughenbaugh started out in the world to seek his fortune, spending two years at Lena, Illinois, where he took unto himself a life companion. In the spring of 1866 he came to Iowa, locating at Dayton, Webster county, where he opened a store and entered upon a career which made him one of the leading financiers of the state. From the beginning of his entrance to the mercantile world he showed marked ability and he soon became a prominent factor in the business interests of his county. In 1877 he moved to Gowrie, Webster county, Iowa, opening up a large general store and buying grain and stock. From that time on he began establishing general stores and elevators in various places and gradually entering other lines of business. He established a bank in Gowrie and later became identified with a number of such institutions in the state, including the First National Bank of Fort Dodge, Iowa, the Fort Dodge National Bank, of Fort Dodge, Iowa, the Stratford State Bank, the First National Bank of Gowrie, and was sole owner of the Somers Se- curity Bank and others. In Webster, Calhoun and Greene counties he gained an influence that has been accorded few men and was familiarly known as Uncle Abe. He became closely identified with agricultural interests and acquired about twelve thousand acres of central Iowa land all of which he improved and tilled, making his lands the most valuable in this state.

A. R. DAUGHENBAUGH ·

MRS. HENRIETTA DAUGHENBAUGH

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His business interests were not however confined to the counties of Polk, Web- ster, Greene and Calhoun or even to the state, for he soon purchased lands in other parts of the middle west and north west. In the evolution of his transactions he acquired one hundred and three farms, and thousands of acres which were located in the following states: Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, Missouri, North and South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois and Iowa. He acquired much land in its virgin state but before he passed away he tiled and improved it, and a large amount of it is under a high state of cultivation. In several cases the land included large tracts through which he secured the building and operation of railroads, laid out town sites, disposing of lots and opening up new lines of business. Large tracts of timber lands comprised a part of his valuable holdings. Mr. Daughenbaugh's ability to speak several languages quali- fied him to act as a most capable agent and in that capacity he obtained rights of way at various times for different railways, principally the Rock Island. .

In 1887, in order to provide the best possible educational advantages for his children, he took up his residence in Des Moines and soon was largely interested in real-estate investments in that city. During the latter years of his life he divided his attention between various enterprises in this city and his large hold- ings in central Iowa.

On the 22d day of March, 1866, Mr. Daughenbaugh was united in marriage to Miss Henrietta Richey of Wooster, Ohio, a daughter of Gasper and Martha Richey. The former was a prominent miller and agriculturist. Mr. and Mrs. Daughenbaugh became the parents of six children: Jennie D., who married F. D. Cathcart, of Long Beach, California, and they have one son; Sarah Nettie, who married W. H. Hoover of Des Moines; Abraham F. of Gowrie, Iowa, who has one daughter ; Nellie D., who married Fay Sperry, of Las Cruces, New Mex- ico; and Grace D., the wife of Dr. F. D. Staves of Des Moines, who have one daughter. One daughter, Margaret, born to Mr. and Mrs. Daughenbaugh died in infancy.

Mr. Daughenbaugh was a man of sound judgment in business and remarkable . executive ability, often displaying foresight little short of prescience. He was a natural leader in the world of business and from the beginning of his active career showed a knowledge of values and an appreciation of the use of money that are highly important elements in the attainment of financial success. His great wealth was largely accumulated by judicious investments, the increase in value of real estate adding constantly to his fortune. His name, as years passed, became a synonym for industry, activity and enterprise and his advice was largely sought by persons desiring to make safe investments. He was substantial and thorough in his ideas. Whatever he did, he did it well and without the least ostentation. The people of his old home, Gowrie, take a just pride in the success of their dis- tinguished citizen, who never cast a vote outside of Webster county. It may be justly said of A. R. Daughenbaugh that his and Iowa's history coincide and that he is responsible in a large measure for the developing of his state, being immu- tably interwoven with its early history.

Even though his responsibilities were of great magnitude Mr. Daughenbaugh found time for recreation and amusement. His strongest hobby was horses and he was a lover of all kinds of thoroughbred stock and an expert judge of quality. He rarely attended a fair that he did not purchase one or more head of prize- winning stock and he was considered one of the best horsemen in the middle west. He was identified with the Masonic order and held membership at Fort Dodge, Iowa. In politics he was a stanch republican and being a modest man and never an office seeker he was importuned by the people of his community to accept office but his multitudinous private interests and duties effectively pre- vented him from devoting any time to political positions, though his advice was often sought after and heeded by his party. He served as mayor and treasurer and for twenty years as postmaster of the town of Gowrie. He held other offices

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of marked responsibility and was for many years chairman of the local republi- can committee. The last ten years of his life he gave his attention to his Des Moines interests which consisted of much valuable business and residence property, while his son, Fred, had full charge of the farm lands and outside trans- actions. Mr. Daughenbaugh gave his daughters and his son a thorough course of business training. His son, Fred, has borne a majority of the business cares of his vast estate for the past fifteen years and is amply qualified to carry on the interests of his father's estate.

He was a lover of home life, which was idealized and enhanced by the affection and intelligent help of Mrs. Daughenbaugh, his greatest happiness being found in the midst of his family, to whom he acted in a most princely way. Their family reunions were annual and of the good, old-fashioned, warm-hearted sort. Mrs. Daughenbaugh has many friends in Gowrie, and Dayton, as well as in this com- munity of which she has been a member for nearly a quarter of a century, being greatly esteemed for her many and generous beneficences.

LEWIS P. BLOOD.

Lewis P. Blood, an honored citizen of Camp township, who arrived in Polk county forty-seven years ago and has ably performed his part in the upbuilding of the county, is a native of Maine. He was born February 4, 1838, a son of Nathan and Harriet (Gleason) Blood, both of whom were born in Massachu- setts. Mr. Blood, Sr., came to Polk county, Iowa, with his family in 1864 and for several years cultivated a farm near Mitchellville. He then went to Wiscon- sin and later to Illinois, but finally returned to Polk county and made his home with the subject of this review. He died in August, 1886, at the age of seventy- eight years, and the beloved wife and mother passed away in 1894.

Lewis P. Blood received his early education in the district schools of Wiscon- sin and assisted his father in the farm work until twenty-one years of age. He then began working by the month on his own account and in 1864 came to Polk county, Iowa, and engaged as a farm laborer for two years. At the end of this time he bought a small place in Camp township and managed his affairs with such good results that he became the owner of a well improved farm of two hundred acres, of which his son is now practically in charge, as the father has retired from active labor.

On the 15th of February, 1866, Mr. Blood was married to Miss Anna M. Sellers, a daughter of Ira S. and Nancy (Williams) Sellers, both of whom were natives of Ohio. They moved to Indiana and in the '50s came to Iowa, where Mr. Sellers entered government land and engaged successfully in farming. In his later years he lived retired at Runnells, but was making his home with a son in the country when he died, at the age of ninety-four, in 1907. The mother departed this life in 1904. Six children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Blood, namely: Oscar M., who is now forty-four years of age and is engaged in farm- ing in Minnesota ; Hattie M., who died in 1892, at the age of twenty-two; Emily L., who is married and lives in Camp township; Ira N., who is thirty-six years of age and is engaged in farming in Minnesota; Wilbur L., aged twenty-eight years, who is engaged in farming in Polk county ; and Arthur O., now twenty-five years of age and in charge of his father's farm. The greatest sorrow Mr. Blood has known was the death of his beloved companion, in January, 1894. She was forty-six years of age at the time of her departure and in the midst of a life of great usefulness, being a lady of rare traits of character who endeared herself to all with whom she came in contact.

In politics Mr. Blood has given his support to the republican party ever since arriving at voting age. He has served as school director, but never sought the

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honors of public office. He is not connected with any religious denomination, but has always been a generous supporter of worthy objects, and as a successful and progressive member of the community has set an example of energy and applica- tion well worthy of imitation by young men.

EDGAR RUBEY HARLAN.

Edgar Rubey Harlan, curator of the historical department of the state of Iowa since the Ist of October, 1909, was born in Spartansburg, Randolph county, Indiana, February 28, 1869. He traces his ancestry back through eight generations to George Harlan, who immigrated to the colony of Pennsylvania in 1649. From him the line of direct descent is traced down through Aaron Harlan, a native of Pennsylvania ; Aaron Harlan, Jr., born in South Carolina in 1828; James, born in South Carolina in 1765; Elihu, born in Kentucky in 1789; John, born in In- diana in 1821; and Samuel Alexander, born in Indiana in 1849. The last named wedded Marinda E. Rubey and they became the parents of Edgar Rubey Harlan.

Matriculating at Drake University (Des Moines) to supplement his public school studies by a more specifically literary course, Edgar R. Harlan finished the work of the Freshman year and then entered the law department, from which he was graduated a LL. B. in 1896. While taking his college course he also engaged in teaching school and, following his graduation, he entered upon the active prac- tice of law at Keosauqua, Van Buren county, serving as county attorney for two terms ending in 1901. For six years thereafter, or until 1907, he continued in the active practice of law as a member of the firm of Brown & Harlan. In the latter year he accepted the appointment of assistant and acting curator of the his- torical department of the state of Iowa, and on the Ist of October, 1909, was made curator, which position he has since filled. He has also held other impor- tant connections with public interests, of varied character, being a member of the board of the Iowa Soldiers' Roster Commission; a founder of the Mississippi Valley Historical Association ; a member of the Iowa State Library Association, the Iowa State Historical Society and the American Historical Association. He belongs likewise to the Christian church and to several of the leading clubs of Des Moines, and his political allegiance is given to the republican party.

Mr. Harlan was married June 9, 1897, to Minnie C. Duffield, a daughter of of George Crawford and Adelaide (Stidger) Duffield. Her father, at the age of thirteen, and a large family of brothers and sisters, came with his par- ents, James and Margretha (Bireley) Duffield, to Iowa, being the first family to establish a home west of the Des Moines river in this state, the date of arrival being April, 1837. Mr. and Mrs. Harlan have four children, John Edgar, George Duffield, Mary Adelaide and James Rubey, aged respectively thirteen, eleven, nine and three years.

THOMAS JEFFERSON SAYLOR.

To Thomas Jefferson Saylor belongs not only the distinction of being the oldest settler in Polk county but the only resident now living upon the land which he purchased from the government. He is a native of Indiana, having been born in a log cabin which was located on the corner of what is now Illinois and Washington streets in Indianapolis, on the 24th of March, 1830. His par- ents, Thomas and Mary (Howard) Saylor, were natives of Indiana and Ohio

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respectively but were married in the former state. Unto this union there were born four sons and one daughter who yet survive: John, Austin, George, Thomas and Mrs. D. S. McQuiston, a resident of Des Moines. The father was thrown from his horse and killed when coming from church, just four months prior to the birth of his son Thomas. The mother subsequently married John B. Saylor, a brother of her first husband, and they became the parents of five sons and two daughters, one of whom died in infancy. Three of the sons enlisted and went to the front during the Rebellion and two died during the war from exposure and injuries and one shortly after returning home when hostilities had ceased. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. John B. Saylor removed to Valparaiso, Indiana, and on the 2d of May, 1836, they started upon the long journey across the Illinois prairies to Iowa, which they had decided was to be their future home. They crossed the Mississippi river at Burlington and traveled over the territory which was known as the Black Hawk purchase, settling just below its boundary on the Des Moines river in Van Buren county. Mr. Saylor entered a quarter section of land, upon which they lived for seven years, and then removed to Fort Des Moines, where he bought a section of land from some squaw men. Not more than possibly thirty acres of this had been broken, but it contained a double log cabin, which provided immediate shelter for the family. This was the site of the present town of Saylorville and it continued to be the home of Mr. and Mrs. Saylor during the remainder of their lives. He was a government contractor and supplied hay and beef to the garrison and flour and beef to the Indians. During the Civil war he acted as a sutler and it was while engaged in this capacity he contracted the illness which finally resulted in his death in Vicksburg, Mississippi, in July, 1863. Mrs. Saylor survived him until 1892, passing away at the venerable age of eighty years.

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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 138

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