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 18

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 18

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In the spring of 1855 he removed to Iowa, taking up his abode in Iowa City, where he remained until 1860. He had learned the harnessmaker's trade in his native country and followed it in the new world until 1863. Upon his removal to Des Moines in the spring of 1860 he entered the employ of the Western Stage Company, manufacturers of harness, coaches, hacks, etc., having pre- viously been employed by the same company when in Iowa City. All this time he was actuated by a desire to engage in business on his own account and when his labors and careful expenditure had brought him. sufficient capital he em- barked in the retail grocery business in 1863, opening a store in the center of the block on Walnut between Fourth and Fifth streets. Earnest effort to please his patrons, reliable dealing and reasonable prices soon built up for him a grow- ing trade and he continued in business with gratifying success for eighteen years. Experience and opportunity led him to extend the scope of his efforts into other fields and while still engaged in the grocery business he also estab- lished the first commission business in Des Moines, buying eggs, butter and other farm products, which he shipped to different markets. From a small beginning his shipping business grew until it became the largest in the state of Iowa and was successfully continued until 1893, adding yearly to the sub- stantial income which Mr. Seeburger received. He next engaged in the manu- facture of butter and established the Capital City Creamery. For a number of years he was one of the large creamery butter-makers of the state, shipping

RAIMUND SEEBURGER

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to all the principal markets of the country. His stamp was a guarantee of the excellent quality of the product and he therefore found no difficulty in disposing of his creamery output in any market to which it was sent.

As the years passed on and Mr. Seeburger prospered, he made invest- ments in various dividend paying properties. He now has extensive interests in oil wells and lands in Louisiana and is the owner of large real-estate hold- ings in Des Moines, including the fine Seeburger block at the corner of Fifth and Walnut streets. His attention is now merely given to the supervision of his invested interests, which bring him a most gratifying annual return.

In Iowa City, in 1857, Mr. Seeburger was united in marriage to Miss Fannie Rock, a native of Pennsylvania, and they became the parents of six children, of whom three are living : Raimund J., who was born in Iowa City, March 18, 1860; Albert H., born in Des Moines, March 13, 1862; and Walter Lidell, born in Des Moines, April 12, 1865.

. The family has long been prominent in the capital city, for during the forty- eight years of his residence here Mr. Seeburger's worth has been widely recog- nized, Des Moines finding in him not only an enterprising and progressive busi- ness man but a citizen whose loyalty and support can be counted upon at all times. During the period of the Civil war he enlisted with the Union troops under Captain Charles Weitz, but owing to a lack and shortage of arms when General Price attempted to enter Iowa, the company was disbanded and each vol- unteer received his honorable discharge. In politics he is independent, believing it better to support men best qualified for office rather than to hold to strict party lines. He has never desired political preferment for himself, content to figure before the public only as a business man. His record in this connection is indeed enviable, for, undeterred by obstacles and difficulties in his path, he has pushed forward to the goal of success, nor is his path strewn with the wreck of other men's fortunes. His course has at all times been a constructive one, not destructive, and in the course of an honorable business career he has upbuilded some important commercial interests and in time has made investments that enable him now to live practically retired. The most envious cannot grudge him his prosperity, so honorable has it been won and so worthily used. He attends St. John's Lutheran church and has been a liberal contributor to its support.

JAMES COX DAVIS.

James Cox Davis, a member of the Des Moines bar, now specializing in the field of corporation law as attorney for the Chicago & Northwestern Railway Company, was born in Keokuk, Iowa, September 2, 1857, his parents being Caleb F. and Caroline T. Davis. He is indebted to the public school system of his na- tive city for the educational privileges afforded him in his youth, and after pre- paring for the bar he was admitted to practice upon examination on the 17th of August, 1877. He at once opened an office in Keokuk, where he remained until the Ist of January, 1902, and in the intervening period of a quarter of a century he won a notable position at the Keokuk bar by the ability and conscientious manner in which he discharged his professional duties and by the ability which he displayed in handling intricate and involved legal problems. At a later day he removed to Des Moines, accepting the position of attorney for Iowa for the Chicago & Northwestern Railway Company and is now concentrating his ener- gies upon the conduct of the legal department of the railway service. His busi- ness interests, aside from his profession, include connection with the Keokuk Savings Bank, of which he was vice president, and director and general counsel for the Iowa State Insurance Company.

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On the Ioth of December, 1884, Mr. Davis was united in marriage to Miss Clara B. Mooar, of Keokuk, a daughter of the late Judge Daniel Mooar of that city. Her death occurred at Keokuk, March 21, 1895. His second marriage, on the 15th of June, 1906, was with Louise M. Pomeroy, of Waverly, Iowa, a daughter of the late Dr. Joseph C. Pomeroy of that place. The children of Mr. Davis are: Daniel M .; Ora, Caroline Thistle, James C. and Joseph P.

His religious faith is manifest in his membership in the Episcopal church. In politics he is a conservative republican who does not believe in the unbalanced progressiveness that upsets stability or forces radical changes. He was for years regarded as a leader in republican circles in his county and district and has served as temporary chairman of the republican state committee. Keokuk elected him to the office of city attorney which he filled in 1880-81, and in 1885 he was chosen chief executive of that city for two terms of one year. The turn of his mind is eminently judicial and free from the bias of animosity. He believes that in politics as in all other things one should have an eye to practical results and not to glittering generalities. Strong and positive in his republicanism, his party fealty is not grounded on partisan prejudice and he enjoys the respect and con- fidence of all of his associates, irrespective of party. Socially Mr. Davis is a member of the Grant Club, the Des Moines Golf and Country Club, the Des Moines Club and the Commercial Club.

CHARLES J. DUKEHART.

Although he has been engaged in business on his own account less than four years Charles J. Dukehart has attained recognition as one of the highly enter- prising and successful young business men of Des Moines, and is now well started on a career that gives unusual promise for the immediate future. Born at Waynesboro, Pennsylvania, March 13, 1884, he is the son of Adam J. and Anna (Warthen) Dukehart, the latter of whom was born in the Keystone state in 1847. The father was born in Pennsylvania in 1837 and became a successful lawyer but is now living retired in his native state. There were eleven children in the family of Mr. and Mrs. Dukehart, nine of whom are still living, namely : Katie, of Baltimore, Maryland; Stella, the wife of George Sanders, of Pennsyl- vania; Ida, now Mrs. Clarence Sanders, of Pennsylvania; Ella, the wife of Charles Hoke, also of Pennsylvania; Anna, living at home; John, of Baltimore; Charles J., of this review; Louise, at home; and Norbid, also of Des Moines.

Charles J. Dukehart received his preliminary education in the common schools and, having decided upon a business career, took a course in the Penn- sylvania Business College at Lancaster, Pennsylvania. He began his contest with the world as a stenographer, but continued in this line for only two years, be- coming bookkeeper of the Frick Company, a Pennsylvania concern, with a branch office at Des Moines, in 1902 and in 1906 was made manager. Although quite young for such a responsible position, he discharged his duties in a manner that proved highly satisfactory to his employers and, becoming thoroughly familiar with a line which he found quite congenial, he decided to start in business for himself. Accordingly, in 1908, he organized the Dukehart Machinery Company. with headquarters at Nos. 112-114 East Walnut street, handling threshing ma- chines, automobiles and heavy, portable field machinery. From the very start he drew a good patronage, so much so that it became necessary to seek larger accommodations, and he is now located at Nos. 106-1IO West Second street where every facility is presented for storage and display purposes. The firm gives em- ployment to twelve or fifteen persons and is now well established.

On the 14th day of October, 1909, Mr. Dukehart was united in marriage to Miss Elizabeth Hughes, who was born at Des Moines May 12, 1884, a daughter

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of John O. and Janet (Jones) Hughes. The father is a native of Ohio and has been identified with the federal service in this city for the past twenty-five years.

The success of Mr. Dukehart may be accredited to his great energy and in- domitable will. Years ago he saw the possibilities of an independent career and. as head of a growing enterprise, he has demonstrated that his early impressions were true. His friends have great confidence in his steady progress toward an ambition to develop the business until it becomes one of the largest of the kind in this part of the country. Politically he gives his support to the democratic party and in religious belief he is a stanch adherent of the Catholic church.

HARRY HERNDON POLK.

In a review of the life history of Harry Herndon Polk one is led to the re- flection that to accumulate a fortune requires one kind of genius; to retain a fortune already acquired, to add to its legitimate increment and to make such use of it that the possessor may derive therefrom the greatest enjoyment and the public the greatest benefit, requires quite another kind of genius. Mr. Polk be- longs to the younger generation of business men of Des Moines called upon to shoulder responsibilities differing materially from those resting upon their pre- decessors. Yet in every instance he has proved himself equal to the task and is carrying forward and expanding in the natural ramifications of trade the inter- ests which were founded and instituted by his father, Jefferson Scott Polk, of whom extended mention is made elsewhere in this volume.

The son was born in Des Moines, November 30, 1875, and after mastering the fundamental branches of learning as a public school student entered the pre- paratory department of the Iowa Wesleyan University at Mount Pleasant, Iowa. Subsequently he attended the Pennsylvania Military College at Chester. Penn- sylvania, and was a student from Amherst College, of Amherst, Massachusetts. His study and mastery of the principles of jurisprudence led to his admission to the bar June, 3, 1909. His attention is devoted to the management of extensive important real estate and electric railway interests. He was president and gen- eral manager of the Interurban Railway Company from its incorporation until the Ist of January, 1909, but after his father's death resigned as general mana- ger in order to devote more time to the management of the important interests of the Polk estate. According to the terms of his father's will he was made one of the executors of the estate. Since January, 1909, he has served as vice president of the Des Moines City Railway and his invested interests largely cen- ter in its property and in that of the Interurban Railway Company, of which he is president.

Mr. Polk was married on the 3d of January, 1900, in Des Moines, to Miss Alice Kauffman, a daughter of B. F. Kauffman, who was one of the foremost lawyers of Iowa and died in 1893. Their children are: Mary Barr, born October 30, 1900; Julia Herndon, born July 17, 1903; and Henry Herndon, March 17, 1910.

Mr. Polk is a member of St. Paul's church and of the Masonic fraternity and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. His political allegiance is given to the republican party. He takes an interest not so much in politics as in matters of citizenship relative to the welfare and upbuilding of Des Moines, and as a member of the greater Des Moines committee and the Des Moines Commercial Club, of which he is a director, cooperates heartily in the projects and move- ments of both organizations for the welfare of the capital. He has an interest- ing military chapter in his life record, covering service from 1898 until 1902 as captain of Troop A of the First Cavalry of the Iowa National Guard, and his social nature finds expression in his membership in the Des Moines Club, the

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Golf and Country Club and the Hyperion Field Club. The subjective and ob- jective forces of life are in him well balanced, making him cognizant of his own capabilities and powers, while at the same time he thoroughly understands his opportunities and his obligations. To make his native talents subserve the de- mands which conditions of society impose at the present time is the purpose of his life and by reason of the mature judgment which characterizes his efforts at all times, he stands today as a splendid representative of the prominent capi- talist to whom business is but one phase of life and does not exclude his active participation in and support of the other vital interests which go to make up human existence.

WILLIAM PHILLIPS.

Of the members of the bar now deceased who attained high standing in Polk county William Phillips will long be remembered with reverence and esteem on account of his unusual ability and sterling worth. He was born at Steuben- ville, Jefferson county, Ohio, September 22, 1827, a son of Thomas and Re- becca (Irwin) Phillips. Both of the parents were natives of Pennsylvania, the father being of Irish and the mother of Welsh descent.

William Phillips was reared upon a farm and received his early education in the public schools. Later he became a student at college, where he made thorough preparation for a career that brought him into contact with many of the brightest minds of the west. In 1851, being then twenty-four years of age, he came to Illinois and temporarily engaged in the mercantile business at Peoria, Galesburg and Henderson. However, he was plainly intended by nature for a professional career, and after pursuing the study of law for several years he was admitted in 1854 to the Illinois bar. Later, in the same year, he came with his parents to Iowa, locating on a section of land in Greene county, near the present town of Jefferson, which he laid out, also being one of the prominent workers in securing the location of the county seat at this place.

In July, 1856, he came to Des Moines, which had been selected as the capi- tal of the state, although at that time a straggling village. Here he associated in practice with Judge Curtis Bates, then one of the leading attorneys of the state, and soon demonstrated his ability, which later became generally acknowl- edged throughout the state, as the possessor of a mind of unusual legal dis- cernment and marked intellectuality. In 1859 the partnership between himself and Judge Bates having been dissolved, he became senior member of the firm of Phillips & Phillips, the junior member being James H. Phillips, a brother of our subject. This firm proved highly successful and subsequently admitted Colonel C. H. Gatch, the title becoming Phillips, Gatch & Phillips. In a few years Mr. Gatch withdrew and was succeeded in the firm by Colonel E. J. Goode. The retirement of James H. Phillips, on account of his election as mayor of the city, led to a partnership which existed for a number of years between William Phillips and Hon. James G. Day, who had previously served as justice of the supreme court of Iowa. However, in 1894, by mutual agreement this partner- ship was dissolved and two years later the firm of Phillips, Ryan & Ryan was formed, which continued until the death of the senior member, which occurred on the 29th of November, 1901. Mr. Phillips was the head of all of the firms named, except the first, and it was largely through his ability and application that these firms gained their unusually high standing in the courts of the state. He was also identified with various business interests, being for a number of years president of the Merchants Consolidated Insurance Company, and his advice in business affairs as well as in law was greatly prized.

WILLIAM PHILLIPS

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On the 20th of August, 1857, Mr. Phillips was happily united in marriage to Miss S. Jennie Rutan, a member of one of the prominent families of Iowa and a niece of Governor Samuel Kirkwood and granddaughter of Governor Clark, one of the territorial governors of Iowa. Four children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Phillips: Nellie and John Franklin, both deceased; Thomas Will- iam, now living at Des Moines; and Jennie B., the deceased wife of Dr. J. B. Hardy, a prominent physician of Phoenix, Arizona. Mrs. Phillips makes her home in Des Moines, where she has a wide circle of friends and acquaintances.

Mr. Phillips was of a genial and sociable disposition and he made a host of friends in the course of a long and active career as a leader at the bar of Polk county. He was a close student and an indefatigable worker in his profession, leaving no avenue unexplored in his conduct of a cause. He loved the work in which he was engaged and was an able advocate and counselor and. a strong pleader, his deductions being logical and his application of legal principles al- most invariably correct. In his private life he was thoroughly conscientious and in an eminent degree he gained and retained the confidence and respect of all who knew him. There was probably no man who did so much to start young men on the right road to success, both in an advisory and financial way, and many times men in later years came to him and told him how much of their success was due to his friendship, advice and assistance. He was also a very liberal contributor to the churches of Des Moines, irrespective of creed.

CHARLES SHULER WILCOX.

Charles Shuler Wilcox, accounted one of the promising young attorneys of Des Moines, was born in Elgin, Illinois, November 21, 1874, his parents being Captain William H. and Mary Ann (Greene) Wilcox, who were early settlers of Kane county, Illinois. Their family numbered six children : Florence; Laura, now of Chicago; William, of Oklahoma; Mary, a resident of Onawa, Iowa; Helen, of New York city; and Charles S., of this review. The father ranked as a leading attorney of Elgin and as a prominent factor in political circles. He gave his support to the democracy and served as postmaster under the adminis- tration of President Cleveland. His loyalty in citizenship was plainly evidenced by his service in the Civil war, in which he won the rank of captain.

After attending the common schools of Elgin Charles S. Wilcox became a pupil in a business college of that city and subsequently studied in the State University of Iowa, where he won the degree of Doctor of Dental Surgery in 1897. Before he had reached the age of eighteen, however, he had worked for one year at the carpenter's trade, for two years as a grocery clerk and for a short time was engaged in selling oil and gasoline on his own account and also spent one year in a brass foundry and manufacturing plant. His labors along these different lines brought to him the capital that made possible his college course. After winning his D. D. S. degree he located for the practice of dentistry in Vinton, Iowa, where he remained from 1897 until 1901. He then removed to Des Moines and engaged in practice until 1904. In the meantime he took up the study of law and while practicing dentistry in this city pursued a course in law in Drake University. Following his admission to the bar in 1904 he entered at once upon the active work of the legal profession and in 1910 removed to the Fleming building, where he occupies offices in connection with United States Senator Albert B. Cummins. From 1909 until 1910 he was special counsel in the office of the attorney general of Iowa during the ad- ministration of Hon. H. W. Byers but resigned to resume the private practice of law. His ability in this field is constantly being developed and few men of his years are accorded a position of equal prominence.

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On the 30th of January, 1908, in Marengo, Iowa, Mr. Wilcox was united in marriage to Miss Bertha Patterson, a daughter of the Hon. James and Mary A. (Beem) Patterson, of that place. Her father served as representative from Iowa county in the twenty-fourth and twenty-fifth sessions of the general assembly. He is also a veteran of the Civil war and has ever given his political support to the democracy. Both Mr. and Mrs. Wilcox hold membership in the First Unitarian church of Des Moines and he belongs to the Men's Unity Club and to the Grant Club, both of this city. Mr. and Mrs. Wilcox reside in a beautiful home on the west side of the city. Fraternally he is connected with the Knights of Pythias and has served as prelate of Myrtle-Capital Lodge, No. 9, K. P. From 1906 until 1911 he was treasurer of the State Bar Associa- tion of Iowa and is widely known to the profession, who recognize his worth and growing ability. In politics he is a progressive republican and directed the speakers bureau in Senator Cummins' campaign against Senator Allison in 1908. He also assisted in the speakers bureau of the lowa republican state central committee in that year and managed the successful primary campaign of Judge S. F. Prouty for congressman in the seventh congressional district in 1910. He is a member of the seventh district congressional committee and his labors have been an effective force in promoting the interests of his party. He especially advocates its progressive policy and stands for all that means ad- vancement and improvement along political lines.

CARROLL WRIGHT.

Carroll Wright, who in the field of corporation and railroad law has gained notable and well merited distinction, while in banking circles his sound judgment has constituted an element of successful management, was born October 21, 1854, in Keosauqua, Iowa. His father, the Hon. George G. Wright, was for fifteen years justice of the supreme court of Iowa and United States senator from 1871 until 1877. His mother, who bore the maiden name of Hannah M. Dibble, was a daughter of Thomas Dibble, a member of the constitutional con- vention of Iowa. The influence of paternal and maternal ancestry may have had to do with the choice of Carroll Wright's profession, but in the practice of law individual ability is the only foundation upon which success is built and with a recognition of this fact he has so qualified and prepared his cases with such thoroughness and care that in the courts he is recognized as an almost invincible power, while his ability as counsel is equally strong.

Mr. Wright was educated in the State University of Iowa, where he won the Bachelor of Philosophy degree in 1875, and in Simpson Centenary College of Law, from which he was graduated in 1878. Before his admission to the bar he acted as a reporter of the Iowa State Register and this gave him a knowl- edge of men that has constituted an element in his later success. In 1878 he was admitted and began practice as a member of the firm of Wright & Wright. A later change in the partnership led to the adoption of the firm style of Wright, Cummins & Wright, and afterward Cummins & Wright. Later he was made attorney for Iowa and South Dakota for the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad Company and throughout the greater part of his practice has made a specialty of railroad law in which he is a recognized authority. Its involved and complicated interests become clear and tangible when he brings to bear thereon the weight of his comprehensive knowledge and his keen, analytical power. He also occupies an enviable position in financial circles as vice presi- dent and director of the Security Loan & Trust Company of Des Moines and as director of the Des Moines National Bank, as well as director of several railway companies.

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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 18

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