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 24

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 24

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The last named was educated in St. Ambrose parochial school and in the law department of Drake University, from which he was graduated with the class of 1895. He began the practice of law alone at Des Moines, and was not

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long in establishing himself in a creditable position as a representative of the bar. Moreover, he was soon recognized as a factor in political circles. In 1896 he took prominent part in the campaign of that year, serving as secretary of the republican county central committee. In 1897 he was appointed justice of the peace for Des Moines township, his appointment coming to him from the trustees, and at the ensuing election he was regularly elected to the office, in which he served for three years and then voluntarily retired to enter upon the active practice of law. In January, 1901, he was selected by the board of supervisors of the county as their legal adviser, in which connection he had charge of all the civil business of the county. He has been again and again reelected to that position so that he is now serving for the tenth year. During this period the county has erected an eight hundred thousand dollar courthouse, and Mr. Hal- loran had personal charge of the drafting and contracts. In connection with the building only one small piece of litigation arose and in that the county won. The work was so carefully done that the building was completed and turned over with only four hundred dollars charged as extras. Mr. Halloran also had charge of the construction of the new jail, which is one of the most complete in the United States, representing an investment of one hundred and fifty thousand dollars, in which connection he had charge of all of the legal work. He has also had charge of the development of drainage work in the county, which is divided into fourteen drainage districts. He is now connected with the law faculty of Drake University, having been selected by the board of trustees of the university in 1909.

On the 12th of October, 1898, Mr. Halloran was married to Miss Ottilia J. Kivits, a native of St. Louis, and they have three children: Mary, born Sep- tember 5. 1899; Ruth, born June 3, 1904: and John Joseph, Jr., born May 19, 1907. Mr. Halloran holds membership with the Knights of Columbus, and was grand knight of the local council for one term. He was also a delegate to its national convention at Mobile in 1909, and he holds membership with the Ancient Order of United Workmen and the Modern Woodmen of America. He is a man of high character and ability and whatever success he has achieved or en- joyed in life is attributable entirely to his own labor. He comes of good honest Irish stock, and many of the sterling characteristics of the Celtic race are man- ifest in his life. He has become recognized as one of the strong representa- tives of the legal fraternity in Des Moines, and that he is most capable as the legal advisor of the board of supervisors is indicated in the fact that he has been continuously elected to the office for a period of more than ten years.

GEORGE MILFORD CHAPPEL, M. D.

The United States weather bureau is a great American institution and one that has proven of vast benefit to the country. Each year gives evidence of its increasing usefulness, especially as it aids the agricultural interests, and in Iowa, one of the greatest of the agricultural states, the bureau receives de- served recognition. Among the men who have contributed largely toward the efficiency of the service is Dr. George Milford Chappel, chief of the Iowa divi- sion. He was born in Clayburg, Clinton county, New York, August 9, 1858, the son of Allen and Maria (Vaughan) Chappel, the latter of whom was born in Plattsburg, New York, February 8, 1833. The father was born at Highgate, Vermont, August 4. 1829, and became successfully identified with the mercan- tile business. There were four children in the family: Charles Henry, now of Baltimore, Maryland; George Milford, of this review; Vernon P., of Iron Mountain, Michigan; and Laura M., now Mrs. Burdette Stryker, of Harris- burg. Pennsylvania. The maternal grandfather of Mr. Chappel, Nobel A.

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Vaughan, participated in the war of 1812, and the mother's grandparents on both sides were soldiers of the Revolutionary war. Her grandfather, Benjamin Vaughan, served under Ethan Allen and was wounded in the battle of Benning- ton, while her grandfather Merriam entered the patriot army the day after the battle of Lexington. John Chappel, the grandfather on the paternal side, was also numbered among the patriots who helped to free the colonies from British rule.

George Milford Chappel received his preliminary education in the public schools of Clinton county, New York, later attending the public schools of Washington, D. C., for two and one-half years, and subsequently becoming a student of Hunt's Academy, where he continued for one year. He took up his medical studies in Philadelphia, carrying them forward in Michigan and at Omaha, Nebraska, and graduating from the medical department of Drake Uni- versity, in 1890, with the degree of M. D. He began his active career as clerk in a grocery store at Washington, D. C., but after two years secured a posi- tion in the office of a pension and patent attorney, which he held for two years. On March 30, 1881, being then twenty-three years of age, he became identified with the service to which he has devoted the principal energies of his life. After studying at the school of instruction at Fort Myer, Virginia, for eight months, he was transferred to Savannah, Georgia, as assistant observer, continuing at that point from December 1, 1881, to September 1, 1883. He then went to Philadelphia, where he was on duty from September, 1883, to July 15, 1885, being then transferred to Mackinaw, Michigan, as observer in charge of the station. In August, 1887, he was assigned in charge of the office at Omaha, Nebraska, where he remained until July 31, 1888, then coming to Des Moines and taking charge of the office in this city, where he has since continued.

In 1889, the state weather service was established, securing the assistance of cooperative observers who were supplied with government thermometers, rain gauge and blanks, taking daily observations and reporting to the main office at Des Moines, from which weekly bulletins have been issued to the farmers of Iowa during the season of crop growing each year. In 1890, the state legis- lature passed an act authorizing the Iowa weather and crop service, of which Dr. Chappel served as assistant director until January 1, 1908, when he was appointed director of the state service. The bulletins issued from his office have been of very great value to farmers all over the state, and the system of which he is at the head is regarded as one of the most satisfactory of the kind in the United States. It has become one of the permanent features which no well informed citizen would consent to have discontinued, and its success has in an important degree been due to the ability, application and progressive- ness of its director. On July 1, 1909, Dr. Chappel was appointed one of twelve district editors of the Monthly Weather Review, his district being known as district No. 5, covering the territory north of the Ohio river in the Missis- sippi valley. This is a most important work and one that is of great value to engineers and contractors, as well as to scientific bodies.

On the 15th of July, 1885, Dr. Chappel was united in marriage to Miss Emma J. Fonteneau, who was born in Philadelphia, May 18, 1861, a daughter of Edward and Josephine (Julliard) Fonteneau, both natives of France. Two sons have blessed the union of Dr. and Mrs. Chappel, the eldest of whom, Milford E., was born at Mackinaw, Michigan, May 7, 1886. He was graduated from the engineering department of the Iowa State College at Ames, in June, 1909, and is now connected with the Brett Contracting Engineering Company, of Wilson, North Carolina. Allen R., the second son, was born November 30, 1888, at Des Moines, and is now in the junior class at the Iowa State College.

Dr. Chappel is politically identified with the republican party, and frater- nally holds membership in the Masonic order, the Elks, and the Yeomen of America. He is also, by virtue of the services of his ancestors, a member

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of the Sons of the American Revolution. The duties of his office require his close attention, and in the specialty which he chose as his life work he has shown a remarkable capacity and has gained a reputation as one of the most efficient officers in the service. He is a constant student of both science and literature and possesses rare faculties of observation. He may be regarded as a repre- sentative type of the educated man of the twentieth century who knows what he wants and generally succeeds in what he undertakes.

EDWARD HOWARD HUNTER.

Some men are born with a capacity for business responsibility and apparently no discouragement and no obstacle can prevent these favored sons of fortune from attaining the object of their ambition. They possess within themselves resources of energy, persistence and progressiveness necessary in carrying out important enterprises or in formulating new ones, and in their hands rest largely today the destiny of state and nation.

Edward Howard Hunter, of Des Moines, belongs to the financial leaders of Iowa. He is a native of Waterloo, New York, and was born September 13, 1855, a son of George and Mary (Carney) Hunter. The father was descended from Scotch and the mother from Irish ancestry. George Hunter was engaged in the business of stone quarrying in the Empire state.

Until he arrived at the age of sixteen the subject of this review lived at home. He received his early education in the public schools and also possessed advantages later of a course in a business college at Rochester, New York. After learning telegraphy he secured a position as operator at Tribes Hill, on the line of the New York Central Railway, in 1870. Two years later he ac- cepted a similar position on the Burlington Railway and has ever since been connected with that road in various capacities, being at the present time special representative of the Burlington system. He served as operator at several sta- tions in the state and then was made agent of the road at Corning, Iowa. While in Corning he was twice elected county treasurer. In 1887 he was appointed to the general agency at Des Moines, which position he filled to the general sat- isfaction of the railway officials and its patrons for several years.

In 1884 the eighth congressional district elected him a member of the dem- ocratic state central committee. Two years later he was made chairman of the committee ; in 1889, chairman of the executive committee, and as such planned and carried into effect that by which the unexpected happened-the election of Horace Boies, a democrat, as governor. Every other candidate on the ticket elected was a republican.

In 1890, by an act of the twenty-third general assembly, the city limits of Des Moines were extended two miles on each side, making it six by nine miles -- fifty-four square miles. Mr. Hunter and B. F. Kauffman, Conrad Younger- man, W. L. Read and R. L. Chase were appointed as a commission by the gov- ernor to divide the entire city into seven wards-four on the west side of the Des Moines river and three on the east side. It was a vexatious and laborious task.

In 1891 occurred the death of J. K. Love, president of the Iowa National Bank, and Mr. Hunter and B. F. Kauffman purchased the interest of Mr. Love's estate in the bank, Mr. Kauffman being elected president and Mr. Hunter vice president of the institution. This was his introduction to the banking business, with which he has ever since been connected. Mr. Kauffman died in 1893 and Mr. Hunter was made president of the bank, a position, however, which he resigned one year later, having been appointed by President Cleveland post- master at Des Moines. He served in that position two years under democratic

EDWARD H. HUNTER

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administration, and, owing to difficulty 'in agreeing upon his successor, contin- ued two years under President Mckinley. His training as a railway man espe- cially fitted him for the duties of postmaster of this city, a position of unusual honor and trust. In the final adjustment of his accounts with the government, covering a period of over four years, in which millions of dollars were handled through the money-order department and as a special government depository for smaller offices, it was found that the government owed him one cent, which was paid to him by check, which is doubtless highly prized by him as a souvenir.

During his term as postmaster he instituted many important changes in the operation of the office, added several sub-stations and insisted especially upon promptness and courtesy from employes. He took great interest in the admin- istration of the affairs of the office and made a special trip to Washington to confer with the postmaster general concerning improvements which he thought should be instituted. As a result of the conference he was given authority to. place letter boxes on the street cars-the first instance of this kind in the United States. The letter boxes are still to be seen on the cars and have proven a great convenience to the public in this city, as in many other cities where the same system has been adopted.

On the termination of his term in that office he was again elected president of the Iowa National Bank in 1899. He served two years and then sold his in- terest, entering the Iowa State Bank, of which he was elected vice president in 1903. He has served as president of the latter bank since 1895. In 1905 he became interested in the Bankers' Realty Company, as stockholder and director and was elected its president, which office he still holds. The business of this company is loaning money on real-estate securities. He is also a member of the board of directors of the Commercial Savings Bank.

In 1900 Mr. Hunter organized the New York Wall Paper & Stationery Com- pany of Des Moines, which has proven highly successful. He is president of this concern and is also connected with other interests, being very prominent in financial enterprises of the city.

On the 25th of November, 1880, Mr. Hunter was united in marriage to Miss Nellie A. Crooker, a daughter of Isaac L. Crooker, of Corning, Iowa. Five children have come to bless this union: Trimble Harry, Glen Boies, Ken- neth Blythe, Edward Howard and Gladys.

Mr. Hunter takes great interest in politics and exerts a wide influence in the state." He was formerly a democrat, but his sentiments underwent a change in 1896, when the currency question was at issue, and he has since been in hearty sympathy with the republican party. In 1888 he was elected a member of the board of trustees of the State Asylum for the Insane at Clarinda, and served for ten years, or until all the charitable institutions of the state were placed in charge of a general board of control. He served as chairman of the board of trustees the largest portion of the ten years, and under the jurisdiction of the board over one million dollars was expended in buildings and improvements. To Mr. Hunter belongs the credit of successfully inaugurating the first seed- corn train which was run on' the Burlington system. He also planned a sim- ilar train carrying lecturers, stopping at various points and instructing farmers as to soil, adaptability of crops, etc. The idea has since been adopted upon many railways in the west.

Mr. and Mrs. Hunter are prominent in social circles and are identified with the Congregational church. He is a liberal contributor to religious and all worthy causes and is known as one of the public-spirited, wide-awake and up- to-date men of Iowa, whose influence may always be counted upon in the pro- motion of the permanent welfare of the state.

Mr. Hunter is a compact bundle of mental and muscular energy. He is of sanguine, volatile temperament, strictly temperate in his habits, ambitious, industrious, perseverant, vigilant and optimistic. He believes in life insurance

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and demonstrates his convictions by carrying one of the largest lines of life in- surance in Iowa. Socially he is genial, affable, Chesterfieldian in courtesy to everybody, but has no taste for current clubs and societies, although he is a member of the Commercial Club, a compact of leading business men to promote the civic, manufacturing and mercantile welfare of the city. He is also a mem- ber of the Des Moines Club.

CROMWELL BOWEN.

Cromwell Bowen, for forty-two years an active member of the Des Moines bar, prominent in professional circles and honored by the representatives of the legal fraternity with various official positions, was born at Berkshire, Frank- lin county, Vermont, May 25, 1846. He is of the fifth generation of Richard Bowen, who came from Wales and settled in Massachusetts in 1640. The early ancestors of the family on the paternal side were associated in history with the Welsh royalty. His father, Harrison S. Bowen, a native of Claren- don, Vermont, was born in 1812 and died in 1847, at Berkshire, where he had conducted business as a prominent and influential farmer and merchant. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Mary Susan Stow, was born in Mas- sachusetts in 1813, and died at Berkshire in 1905, having reached the remark- able age of ninety-two years.

Having mastered the elementary branches of learning as a public-school student, Cromwell Bowen continued his education in Kimball Union Academy of Meriden, New Hampshire, from which he was graduated with the class of 1867. He afterward pursued a preparatory course at Dartmouth College and then took up the study of law, mastering many of the principles of juris- prudence whereby he won admission to the bar as St. Albans, Vermont, in 1869.

Immediately afterward, Cromwell Bowen sought the opportunities of the middle west and came to Des Moines, where for forty-two years his name has been an honored one in relations of citizenship and the practice of law. He at once opened an office and the court records give proof of his active connection with many of the most important cases that have been tried in the district. He was not long in establishing his place as one of the leading attorneys of the city and from that time forward a large and distinctively representative clientage has been accorded him. His preparation of cases is thorough and exhaus- tive and in his presentation of his cause he leaves untouched no point that has bearing thereon. He does not employ the arts or rhetoric which so often enshroud the truth and subvert justice, but presents his cause in a clear, forci- ble, logical manner and never fails to hold the attention of the court and sel- dom fails to win the verdict desired.

Mr. Bowen has been married twice. On the 4th of October, 1871, he wedded Miss Martha L. Fletcher, of St. Albans, Vermont, who died in 1885, and on the 27th of December, 1887, he married Miss Ella Mathews, a daughter of Thomas and Laura P. Mathews, who were pioneer residents of Des Moines. Her father is now deceased but her mother is still living. The children of the first marriage are: Harrison S., Mabel L. and Mrs. Nellie Fletcher Camp- bell, all of whom were born in Des Moines. The latter has three children, Bowen, Angus and Fletcher. The children of the second marriage are Persis M. and Thomas Mathews, both natives of Des Moines.

Mr. Bowen has ever been a recognized champion of the cause of public education and for fifteen years filled the office of school director. His political allegiance was given to the democratic party until 1896, when, because of its attitude on the money question he joined the ranks of the republican party. He has never taken an active part in politics, however, preferring that his serv-

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ice in citizenship shall be of different character. He holds membership in Capital Lodge, No. 110, A. F. & A. M. and the chapter, council and com- mandery of Des Moines, and belongs also to the Congregational church, which finds in him a faithful representative. His humanitarianism is manifest in many works of charity and benevolence. He is a man of very social nature, à most hospitable host at his own fireside and has a large circle of friends who entertain for him warm and enduring regard.

JAMES A. SEEVERS.

Among the honored names of adopted sons of Iowa who achieved dis- tinction in the Civil war is that of James A. Seevers, captain of Company C, Fifteenth Iowa Volunteers. Although born below Mason and Dixon's line. and in politics an ardent democrat, he was strongly opposed to slavery and freely offered his services in behalf of the Union when the life of the nation was assailed. He was called away November 5, 1865-forty-five years ago- but there are many now living in Iowa who revere his memory and will ever regard him as indeed one of nature's noblemen.

He was born in Jefferson county, Virginia, March 6, 1832. In 1842, the father moved with his family to Oskaloosa, Iowa. Upon arriving at Burling- ton the father decided to leave his son, James, in that place to attend school, the opportunities for education in those early times being extremely limited in the interior of the state. Accordingly the lad was left behind, but the sep- aration proved only for a short time, as the son ran away from school, and although only ten years of age, walked to Oskaloosa, joining his parents in their new home. He was received with open arms and quickly forgiven for his disobedience of parental orders. At the age of eighteen, he began the study of law in Oskaloosa in the office of his brother, Judge W. H. Seevers, and was admitted to the bar in 1853. He made rapid progress in his profession, and in 1856, was elected county attorney of Mahaska county, filling that office to the entire satisfaction of the courts and the people. He later entered into partnership with his brother and M. T. Williams, under title of Seevers, Will- iams & Seevers, the firm becoming very prominent and securing a large share of the legal business of the county.

Mr. Seevers was a strong supporter of Stephen A. Douglas, and his unusual ability soon gained him recognition as the leading exponent of democracy in that section of the state. At the outbreak of the Civil war he espoused with all his heart the cause of the Union, and organized a company of volunteers composed almost entirely of democrats. In October, 1861, he was elected captain of the company, being assigned to the Fifteenth Iowa Volunteers. After spending the winter at Keokuk, the regiment was ordered to the front and took an active part in the battle of Shiloh and also that at Corinth, per- forming service of great value to the cause. The surgeon of the regiment afterward declared that Captain Seevers proved, during these trying times, one of the bravest of Iowa's gallant sons. While on a forced march from Corinth, in a thickly timbered country, Captain Seevers received a wound from falling, which resulted so seriously that he was reluctantly obliged to resign from the army. He returned home and resumed the practice of law and also his former place in the councils of the democratic party. It is believed by those who are acquainted with his remarkable abilities that he would ultimately have achieved national distinction. He was actuated by the noblest principles and an unswerving devotion to duty, his ambition being to accomplish something useful and worthy. His record should prove an inspiration to every right- minded young man desirous of an honorable career.

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Mr. Seevers was united in marriage in Mahaska county, May 29, 1855, to Miss Mary Collins, member of a well known pioneer family of the state. Four children blessed the union, namely : Charles A., Albert C., and James E., all of whom are deceased; and Eva, the only daughter, who inherited much of the talent of her father, and is now general secretary of the Young Women's Christian Association of Detroit. She formerly held a similar position at Des Moines. Mrs. Seevers has been making her home in Des Moines since 1897, and has many friends whom she has attracted by estimable qualities of mind and heart.

WILLIAM GEORGE HALE.

William George Hale, a prominent and progressive representative of journal- istic interests in Polk county, is the editor of the Des Moines Daily News. His birth occurred in Belknap, Davis county, Iowa, in 1874, his parents being An- drew Jackson and Emma (Suthern) Hale. The father, a pioneer physician of lowa, here successfully followed his profession for almost three decades. The family traces its ancestry back to Nathan Hale.

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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 24

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