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 144

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 144

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It was on the 20th of September, 1892, that Mr. Van Duyn married Miss Clara C. Headrick, a daughter of Daniel and Mary (Lain) Headrick, of Bloom- field, Iowa. Her parents were among the very early settlers of Iowa, having removed here from Indiana in 1849. One son, Glenn D., has been born of this marriage, his birth occurring on the Ist of January, 1896. Mr. and Mrs. Van Duyn affiliate with the Christian church, in the faith of which denomination they were reared. Mr. Van Duyn also holds membership in the Masonic frater- nity, in which organization he has attained the thirty-second degree of the Scot- tish Rite and is identified with the Shriners. The political support of Mr. Van Duyn is always accorded the men and measures of the republican party, and his fealty was recognized through his present appointment. During the period of his identification with the business interests of Des Moines he acquired a repu- tation for integrity, trustworthiness and ability along his chosen field of activity, which has been the foundation of his success.

BRUCE E. JONES.

Bruce E. Jones, who was at one time quite actively identified with Polk county politics, was born in Scott county, Indiana, his natal day being the 6th of June, 1848. His parents, Benjamin T. and Lucinda (Hagan) Jones, who were natives of Maryland and Kentucky respectively, came to Iowa from Indi- ana in 1856. They first located in Des Moines, where the father followed his trade, which was that of a cooper, until the breaking out of the Civil war, when

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he was appointed deputy provost marshal. He filled that office until 1867, when he removed to Bloomfield township and cleared eighty acres of land which he had bought, continuing to engage in its cultivation until his demise in 1893. His wife passed away in 1880.

Bruce E. Jones was only a lad of eight years when the family moved to Polk county, so that the greater part of his life has been spent in the township where he is now residing. His education was acquired in the district schools of Des Moines township as well as the first grammar and high schools of the city of Des Moines, which he attended later. After completing his course he taught school for more than twenty years, meeting with more than average success in that vocation as he possessed in an unusual degree the rare faculty of impart- ing knowledge to others. During this time he learned the carpenter's trade, which he followed for several years during the summer months or at such times as he was not teaching. In 1880 he was appointed assistant county auditor withdrawing from that position at the end of two years to become auditor, the duties of which office he most capably discharged for six years. At the expira- tion of his term of office he accepted the secretaryship of the Clifton Heights Land Company, which he retained four years. In 1892 he withdrew from public life in order to devote his entire attention to clearing and cultivating a farm of sixty-five acres which he owned just within the' city limits. At the time of his purchase it was almost entirely covered with timber but it is now cleared, well improved and cultivated. In addition to his home place Mr. Jones also owns forty acres of the old homestead and three residence lots in Des Moines.

It was on the 12th of November, 1890, that Mr. Jones married Miss Lizzie Crane, a daughter of James and Elizabeth (Swain) Crane, who were natives of New Jersey, and located in Des Moines in 1846. Here her father engaged in mercantile business for fourteen years, his being one of the first stores in Des Moines. In 1860 they became citizens of Bloomfield township, locating on a farm of one hundred and twenty acres, which they cleared and improved, add- ing to the tract as they were able until their realty holdings aggregated three hundred and twenty acres. From that time until his demise on the 8th of Feb- ruary, 1881, Mr. Crane was engaged in agricultural pursuits. Mrs. Crane sur- vived her husband almost eleven years, passing away on the 23d of January, 1892. Three children have been born unto Mr. and Mrs. Jones: Hattie S., now a young lady of eighteen years, living at home; Homer C., aged sixteen, being employed in the store of Harris-Emery of Des Moines; and Marjorie E., twelve years of age, who is attending school.

The family affiliate with the Christian church, while fraternally Mr. Jones is identified with the Masonic order and the Forresters. His political support is given the candidates of the republican party, to whose assistance he is in- debted for the official honors of his earlier years. Although he no longer par- ticipates in government affairs his intense interest in educational matters has caused him to serve as a school director for many years, in which capacity he has always given most efficient service.

HARRY G. LOVELL.

One of the enterprising and progressive young business men of Clive is Harry G. Lovell, who is a native of Iowa, having been born in Adair county on the 25th of September, 1885, a son of James and Sarah (Oaks) Lovell: The father was also born in the Hawkeye state but the mother came from Penn- sylvania. They located on the farm in Adair county in 1873, where they have since continued to reside. The land was unimproved and uncultivated but the father was industrious and persevering and these qualities, when assisted by

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Mrs. Lovell's capable management of the household affairs, enabled him to add to his original tract from time to time, so that he now owns four hundred acres of valuable land. He has been relieved of the supervision and responsibility of the homestead by his sons and he and his wife are enjoying the well earned rest awarded the labor of their youth.

Harry G. Lovell spent his boyhood and youth as do the majority of boys who are reared in the more sparsely settled districts. His days were occupied by the task of the schoolroom, work of the field and such amusements as are af- forded in the country. He remained a member of his father's household until he had attained his majority, at which time he left home. During his first year away from home he worked as a farm hand near Clive but at the end of that period he obtained employment in the Gibson coal mine. After mining a year he returned to Clive and bought a general mercantile store owned by James Mc- Keon, with which business he continues to be identified. He owns the building where his store is located, has a large and well assorted stock of goods and en- joys an extensive and constantly increasing patronage.

On the 26th of October, 1909, Mr. Lovell was united in marriage to Miss Ebba Olson, a daughter of John and Hannah (Johnson) Olson, natives of Sweden. They came to the United States in 1881 and located in Tennessee, where they lived for one year. In 1882 they removed to Iowa and settled in Clive, where Mr. Olson accepted a position as section foreman with the Mil- waukee & St. Paul Railroad, which he continues to hold.

Mr. and Mrs. Lovell are affiliated with the church in Clive which is unde- nominational. He also holds membership in Gold Leaf Lodge, No. 599, I. O. O. F., Des Moines, Iowa. He has always given his political support to the demo- cratic party ever since attaining his majority, as he feels that the basic prin- ciples of that body are best adapted to subserve the interests of the majority. Although he has never taken a particularly active part in municipal politics he is at present serving as assistant postmaster. He is only twenty-six years old but he has a well established business which is yielding a good income, and his many friends prophesy for him a promising future.

C. R. SCROGGIE.

C. R. Scroggie, proprietor of the Midland Schools, which is the official organ of the schools of Iowa, and also conducting a teachers agency in Des Moines, was born in Burbank, Ohio, October 9, 1865. His parents were both natives of Scotland and after living for some time upon a farm in the Buckeye state came to Iowa in 1869, settling on a farm near Monticello. C. R. Scroggie was sent as a student to the graded schools near Monticello and later the high school at Wyoming, Iowa. Subsequently he matriculated in the Lenox Presbyterian College at Hopkinton, Iowa, from which he was graduated in 1891. He eagerly embraced his opportunities for advancing his education and has ever been a stalwart champion of the public schools.

For five years after his graduation Mr. Scroggie was superintendent of the Hopkinton schools and at the same time published the Hopkinton Leader, an independent paper, of which he became the owner. In 1896 he accepted the position of superintendent of schools at Monticello, where he remained for five years, during which period notable advance was made in the public school system, various reforms and improvements being introduced. In 1902 he was chosen for the superintendency of the schools at Ames, Iowa, where he continued for three years, when he resigned that position and purchased the Midland Schools, which is the official organ of the public-school system of Iowa. He has since edited the paper and has done much through its columns to uphold

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the high standard of education and enhance the fitness and scope of the Iowa schools, which are today the equal if not the superior of public schools in any state in the Union. He is also conducting a teachers agency and both branches of his business are meeting with success.

In 1893 Mr. Scroggie was united in marriage to Miss Jessie Cummings, of Hopkinton, and they have one child, Eugene, born in 1894. Mr. Scroggie has attained high rank in Masonry and is now connected with the Mystic Shrine. He also belongs to the Des Moines Press Club and is usually to be found where intelligent men are gathered in the discussion of vital and important questions of the day. He has an extensive acquaintance throughout the state and his resourcefulness and reliability in business as well as his social qualities have made him many friends.

W. W. WISE.

Prominent among the business men of Des Moines is W. W. Wise, who was born December 19, 1861, in Jasper county, Iowa, where, like many another far- mer's boy, he was only able to obtain a limited education, attending school in a log schoolhouse, but, being of an ambitious nature, he supplemented the knowl- edge thus acquired by taking a course in the Iowa Business College in order to equip himself mentally for life's great struggle. After leaving this institution he worked at various occupations, finally becoming associated with the well known firm of Adams & Hastie in their real-estate and abstract office, where he re- mained for several years. He next accepted a position with the Wabash Coal Company, remaining until 1886. He then decided to start out on his own ac- count and incorporated a company known as the Wise Ice Company, of which he was made general manager, the employes at that time comprising three helpers. He disposed of his interest in this company in 1901 and in 1908 he was elected: general manager of the Consumers Ice Company, a position he retains at the present time. The plant is a very large one and during the busy season over one hundred people are employed. Mr. Wise is a son of Edward and Adaline (Hunt) Wise, the former of whom was a native of Indiana, coming to Iowa in the early '50s and settling in Peoria City, where he followed the trade of a black- smith. To him and his wife were born two children, William W. and Rose, who makes her home in Denver, Colorado. The father departed this life in 1855, being survived by his widow, who is still living at a ripe old age on the estate of her husband near Maxwell, Iowa.

On September 17, 1885, Mr. Wise was united in marriage to Miss Harriet E. Underwood, and they are the parents of three children, a son and daughter who died in infancy and La Nore, now a young daughter at home.

Mr. Wise has always taken an active interest in politics, being numbered among the progressive republicans. He was a member of the city council from 1892 to 1896, was a member of the board of public works from 1903 to 1908, and has ever given his support to any public movement that would advance the welfare of the city. Fraternally he is affiliated with the Knights of Pythias, the Woodmen of the World, the Ancient Order of United Workmen, the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks and the Grandview Club. They are both members of the Methodist Episcopal church.

During his long connection with civic affairs Mr. Wise has made an exhaus- tive study of the subject of municipal government. He opposed strenuously the adoption of the commission form of government, as he believed that it would not accomplish the elimination of the machine politician, but would have a tendency to facilitate factional control of municipal affairs, and objected to conferring upon the council both executive and legislative powers, contending that the execu-

W. W. WISE

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tive authority should be vested in an appointive board consisting of three mem- bers, one to hold office two years, one four years, and one six years, after that each appointment to be made for a term of six years, and removal to be only for cause, making it impossible for the mayor to pay off his political debts through the patronage of this board, as he would only have one appointment during a two-year tenure in office. This board to have charge of all contracts, public im- provements of all kinds, the hiring and discharging of all employes excepting of the police and fire departments, and purchasing of all supplies, thereby elimi- nating all of the patronage from the elective officials. The police and fire depart- ment to be under a police and fire commission appointed the same as the board of public works as to term of office. He called attention to the state board of control as an example of the efficiency of appointive officials for all executive work, whose terms are permanent and independent of the appointive power. He opposed the initiative, referendum and recall, under which he claimed only disas- ter would result. As a public official would be compelled to cater to public senti- ment, right or wrong, he would be unable to promulgate any public improvement, the merit of which would depend upon a fair trial, as a minority opposition could compel a vote upon it before its merits could be tested. He predicted that the so-called commission plan would be demonstrated a failure within ten years of its adoption. His contention that the system fostered rather than eliminated machine control was amply demonstrated by the first election under the commis- sion plan when a ticket made up of some of the best business men in the city was ignominiously defeated by the opposition ticket composed of five of the shrewd- est politicians in the city of Des Moines.

HON. CHARLES SULLIVAN BRADSHAW.

A number of capable men have occupied the bench of the district court of the ninth judicial district of Iowa since its establishment, but it is doubtful whether any has entered upon his duties under more favorable auspices than Charles Sullivan Bradshaw, the gentleman whose name stands at the head of this review. His election was notable from the fact that his father is holding a similar position in the state, this being perhaps the only instance in Iowa of father and son occupying important judicial offices at the same time.

Mr. Bradshaw was born at Toledo, Tama county, Iowa, August 4, 1871, and is a son of C. B. Bradshaw, who was born in Tuscarawas county, Ohio, and educated at Cornell College, Iowa, and the University of Michigan. The father served as captain of Company F, Twenty-fourth Iowa Infantry, during the Civil war, being in the field from 1862 to 1865. He has been a life-long democrat and is a prominent attorney of Tama county, being at the present time district judge of the seventeenth judicial district and residing at Toledo. The mother of our subject was Mary Ann Hayzlett before her marriage and was a native of Mount Vernon, Iowa, receiving her education at Cornell College. She died in June, 1892. Harvey Bradshaw, the paternal grandfather of our subject, settled in Linn county, Iowa, in 1857. He was a Methodist preacher, being a circuit rider and presiding elder of the church. He was also connected in an official capacity with Cornell College at Mount Vernon and died November 8, 1861. The maternal grandfather, William Hayzlett, settled in Linn county in 1846, having driven across the country with oxen from Virginia, and he cleared the farm upon which he lived until his death in 1887. Two children were born to

Mr. and Mrs. Bradshaw-Charles Sullivan, of this review; and Alice, who is . now principal of the Garfield school at Des Moines.

Charles Sullivan Bradshaw attended the public schools at Toledo and was graduated at the Toledo high school in 1887. Later he matriculated in the law Vol. II-60

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department of Drake University, graduating with a degree of LL. B. in 1896. He began practice at Des Moines, and on January 1, 1897, became a member of the firm of Kinne, Hume & Bradshaw, the other members being Hon. L. G. Kinne and James C. Hume. After three years the title of the firm became Kinne & Bradshaw, and so continued until the death of Judge Kinne, Mr. Bradshaw then practicing alone. On the 8th of November, 1910, he was elected district judge of the ninth judicial district and assumed his office January 1, 19II. Hav- ing possessed every desirable advantage of early training and of education in his profession he was highly successful as a practitioner and upon the bench has shown an impartiality and clearness of judgment which indicate peculiar fit- ness for the responsible position he now fills. He possesses good business quali- ties and is a member of the board of directors of the Commercial Savings Bank of Des Moines.

Professionally Judge Bradshaw is identified with the Polk County and Iowa State Bar Associations, and fraternally, holds membership in many organiza- tions. Socially, he is connected with the Grant and Hyperion Field and Motor Clubs. He is republican in politics. A man of strict integrity and unflinching devotion to duty, he has demonstrated that he possesses no ordinary ability and is fully worthy of the confidence placed in him. He is in the prime of life, blest with a keen and well balanced mind, and those who know him best are con- fident that he is a judge to whom even the most humble may look for unbiased justice.

In June, 1911, Judge Bradshaw was united in marriage to Miss Ruth Baker, of Indianola, Iowa. Mrs. Bradshaw is a daughter of Dr. Edward L. Baker, a leading physician of Indianola and a granddaughter of General Nathaniel T. Baker, who was adjutant general of Iowa during the Civil war. She is a charming woman, highly educated and of splendid intellectual attainments.

JAMES F. JORDAN.

James F. Jordan, a well known citizen and substantial agriculturist and stock raiser and dealer of Walnut township, is numbered among the worthy native sons of this county, his birth having occurred in the township where he now resides on the 26th of February, 1848. He has the distinction of being the first white child born in that township and west of Des Moines in Polk county. His parents, James C. and Malinda (Pitman) Jordan, were natives of Virginia and New York respectively. They came to Polk county, Iowa, in 1846, locating in Walnut township, where the father purchased a tract of one hundred and sixty acres of land and began the task of clearing and improving the property. The operation of that farm claimed his attention throughout the remainder of his life and his undertakings as an agriculturist were attended with success. His demise occurred on the Ist of March, 1891, and thus the community lost one of its respected pioneer residents. He had long survived his wife, who was called to her final rest on the Ist of March, 1855.

James F. Jordan was reared in Walnut township and supplemented his pre- liminary education, obtained in the district schools, by a course of study in Simpson College at Indianola. In early manhood he took up the profession of teaching, acting as an instructor in the country schools for twenty or thirty terms and imparting clearly and readily to others the knowledge that he had acquired. By Charles J. Folger, secretary of the United States treasury, he was appointed gauger and storekeeper at the international distillery in Des Moines, serving in that capacity until during Grover Cleveland's administration in July, 1889. He took an active part in the campaign of William McKinley, by whom he was later appointed postmaster of Valley Junction, holding the office for

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ten years. On the expiration of that period he returned to the old homestead and took charge of the place, having operated the farm continuously since. The property returns to him an excellent financial income as a reward for the care and labor he bestows upon the fields.

On the 15th of January, 1891, Mr. Jordan was united in marriage to Miss Anna Jackson, a daughter of Joseph and Mary (Perkins) Jackson, both of whom were natives of Ohio. Mr. Jackson came to Iowa at an early day, becom- ing a stockman and hotel proprietor of Harlan, where he conducted business for a number of years. After disposing of his interests in that town he took up his abode in Des Moines and there lived retired until called to his final rest in July, 1890. His wife had passed away in 1870.

Mr. Jordan has never swerved in his allegiance to the republican party, being convinced that its principles are most conducive to good government. He dis- tinctly recalls seeing John Brown on one of his expeditions, that gentleman hav- ing stopped at his father's home, which is the present home of our subject and a station on the famous underground railroad prior to the Civil war. He has served as trustee of Walnut township and also acted in the capacity of road supervisor. Fraternally he is identified with the Knights of Pythias at Valley Junction, Iowa, while in religious faith both he and his wife are Methodists. He has resided in Polk county from his birth to the present time and enjoys an enviable reputation as one of its best known and most esteemed citizens.

FRANCIS E. HERRING.

One of the model farms of Bloomfield township is the eighty acre tract which Francis E. Herring has under cultivation. A native of Iowa, he was born in Keokuk county on the 12th of December, 1857, a son of Isaac and Lydie J. (Swain) Herring, of South Carolina, from which state they migrated to Iowa in the pioneer days and located upon a farm. When the Civil war broke out the father enlisted in Company K, Seventeenth Iowa Volunteer In- fantry, and went to the front, where he remained until hostilities ceased. He endured many hardships, having been captured by the enemy at one time and consigned to prison where he was retained for seven months. Upon receiving his discharge he returned to Keokuk county, where he engaged in agricultural pursuits for six years and then removed to Polk county. Buying ten acres of land near Des Moines, he started a market garden, which he continued to cul- tivate for twenty years. Disposing of his business at the end of that period he removed to Des Moines, where he resided for three years, and then settled upon a farm which he had bought in Bloomfield township, and upon which he was living at the time of his demise in 1903. Our subject's mother passed away in 1858, and when he was twelve years of age his father married Ellen Rahm, by whom he had one child, Nina Gertrude. The second wife died about 190I.

The boyhood and youth of Francis E. Herring were spent in Keokuk and Polk counties, in the district schools of which, as well as the public schools of Richland and Des Moines, he acquired his education. When old enough to lay aside his text-books he began assisting his father in the cultivation of the market garden, working for him by the month for nine years. He always remained at home where his duties and responsibilities in connection with the farm increased as the father's strength and powers weakened with the passing years. Upon the father's death the entire care of the homestead devolved upon him, although twenty acres of the eighty belong to his sister. He has made many improve- ments in the property, which is now one of the best farms in the township, and he engages in general farming and stock-raising, in both of which he is meeting

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with marked success. He keeps twenty-four head of cattle, five head of horses and raises about forty hogs for the market each year. Progressive in his ideas he is constantly studying how to obtain the best results in the cultivation of the soil and is always ready to adopt any new method which appeals to him as being at all practical.

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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 144

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