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 3

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 3

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As the years passed he invested extensively in real estate and during the lat- ter part of his life devoted his attention largely to his real-estate interests. He was also identified with various business concerns, serving as vice president of the State Insurance Company and adjuster for the Iowa Loan and Trust Company. He was interested with F. M. Hubbell in securing the right of way of the Wabash Railroad in this city. His interest in Des Moines was shown while a member of the city council, in which he served for a number of years. He was chairman of the streets, alleys and bridges committee and was instru- mental in securing many improvements that have assisted in giving to the city its present attractive appearance. In his business affairs he was remarkably suc- cessful, displaying a sound judgment which produced highly gratifying returns. He was energetic, reliable and progressive and his public spirit contributed very greatly toward the upbuilding of the city.

In 1863 Mr. Coggeshall was united in marriage at Indianapolis, Indiana, to Miss Mary Jane Whitely, a member of one of the well known families of In- diana. Seven children were born of this union, three of whom are now living:

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George W., of Dedham, Massachusetts; Harry H., now engaged in the real- estate business at Des Moines; and Corinne, now Mrs. Lingenfelder, of Des Moines.

The family is prominent in the city and has engaged extensively in building, being also largely interested in real estate. Mrs. Coggeshall made her home in this city for nearly half a century and has many friends here. Mr. Cogge- shall was not identified with any religious denomination, but was an attendant of the Congregational church. He was a broad-minded man of unsullied char- acter and was greatly loved by those with whom he associated.

FRANK HERVEY ALLEN, M. D.

Enterprise, progressiveness and well balanced judgment have been salient factors in the success of Dr. Frank Hervey Allen, in the field which he entered two years ago at Des Moines. He comes of an unbroken line of worthy ances- try, leading back to the Puritans, the list containing many noted names repre- sentative of the highest type of American citizenship. The progenitor of the family in this country was George Allen, who was born in Braintree, Essex county, England, and emigrated to America in 1635. He was one of the origi- nal purchasers of the site of the town of Cambridge, Massachusetts, and also of the township of Sandwich, Massachusetts. He was the first mayor of Sand- wich, was a thorough Puritan and a prominent member of the Baptist church. the family having ever since been identified with that denomination.

Dr. Allen was born at Iowa City, Iowa, March 4, 1874, a son of Major Will- iam Thomas and Harriet Louise (Trusdell) Allen, the latter of whom was born at Deckertown, New Jersey, June 20, 1839, and departed this life January 26, 1877. The father was a native of South Strafford, Vermont, born May 29, 1834. 'He came to Iowa in the '50s, and on September II, 1861, enlisted in the Fourth Iowa Cavalry, of which he was made commissary sergeant. He was mustered into the United States service December 24, 1861, and appointed commissary September 15, 1862, resigning September 22, 1864, to accept ap- pointment as captain and commissary of subsistence. He was mustered out of service as major and commissary of subsistence May II, 1866. Major Allen assisted in raising a company of volunteers at Iowa City and Mount Pleasant at the beginning of the war, and was in General Curtis' command at Pea Ridge. and later on the staffs of General Washburn and General Prentiss, as division and post commissary. He was depot commissary at Devall's Bluff in 1864, and chief commissary of the Department of Arkansas, at Little Rock, in 1865. being recognized as one of the most capable of the commissary department. Dr. Allen's grandfather, Lyman Allen, also served in the Civil war. He was major of the Thirty-seventh Iowa Infantry, known as the Grey Beard Regiment, all the members of the command being somewhat advanced in years. After the close of the war he came to Wilton, Iowa, where he died February 28, 1888. As a young man he came west from Bethany, New York, with his brothers-in- law Jonas and Azro Brown, stopping at the village of Chicago in 1838, where he and his companions worked at the carpenter's trade. He passed through many thrilling experiences, and while at Chicago narrowly escaped with his life from a stroke of lightning, which killed a man who was sitting at his side by the stove. He came to Iowa in 1853, and, his wife having died of cholera, he was again married December 31, 1856, to Mrs. Hepsey Baldwin, of Union township. Johnson county. Asaph Allen, great-grandfather of our subject, served in the war of 1812 and died in the Military Hospital, October 25, 1814. Another an- cestor, Joseph Allen, was first cousin of Ethan Allen of Ticonderoga fame and was a soldier in the patriot army at the time of the Revolutionary war. There

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were five children in the family of Major William Thomas Allen, namely : Charles Lyman, who married Suzanne Pedicord at Shelby, Iowa, and died at Spokane, Washington, May 1, 1898; Maud May, who was born at Oxford, Iowa, September 15, 1861, and died at Shelby, November 9, 1878; Fred Mark, who was born at Little Rock, Arkansas, October 1, 1866, and married Sarah Wil- son, of the city of Mexico; William Warren, now of the city of Mexico, who was born September 12, 1870, and married Josephine Helen Rivera; and Frank Hervey.

The subject of this review received his preliminary education in the country schools of Iowa and was graduated from the Shelby high school in 1892. Hav- ing decided upon a professional career, he became a student in the literary de- partment of the State University, where he continued for one year, then enter- ing the medical department, from which he was graduated with the degree of M. D. in 1898. In 1905 he took a post-graduate course at the Chicago Poly- clinic. Immediately after leaving college Dr. Allen began practice at Stam- ford, Nebraska, where he continued for one year. He then removed to Shelby, Iowa, where he was actively engaged in practice until December, 1909, when he removed to Des Moines and purchased the practice of Dr. D. C. Bice at University place. Although quite recently located in this city, he enjoys an ex- tensive patronage which is steadily increasing. His office is thoroughly equipped with the best appliances, among which are a static and X Ray machine, an elec- tric vibrator for electric massage, a galvanic and faradic battery and also a nebulizer for treating throat and lung diseases, and a dry hot air apparatus for rheumatism, enlarged joints, etc. He is a member of the Iowa State Medi- cal Society and the Polk County Medical Society and takes an active part in their deliberations.

On the 3d day of May, 1899, Dr. Allen was united in marriage to Miss Margaret Willsey, who was born near Sterling, Illinois, December 1, 1874. She is the daughter of Ira and Orinda P. (Brown) Willsey, the former of whom was born in Schoharie county, New York, and the latter at Pittsfield, Massachusetts. Three children have come to bless the home of Dr. and Mrs. Allen : Ruth Margaret, who was born November 14, 1901; Frank Willsey, who was born May 6, 1903; and May Eugenia, who was born June 6, 1906.

Politically, Dr. Allen is a progressive republican. He has not sought public office, but he served as health officer of the township and as county physician for the poor at Shelby for several years. Religiously he is in sympathy with the Baptist church, and fraternally, he is identified with the Masons, the Order of the Eastern Star, the Modern Woodmen of America, and the Royal Neighbors. In his practice Dr. Allen has shown marked ability, indicating that he is well adapted both by training and natural talent for the successful application of the healing art. His specialty is obstetrics and diseases of children. He keeps thoroughly informed as to the latest advances in medicine and surgery and in- deed it is doubtful whether any of the younger physicians in the state have a more favorable outlook at the present time than Dr. Frank Hervey Allen.

FREDERICK M. HUBBELL.

The history of any community resolves itself into the lives of the men whose . activities have been responsible for its upbuilding, and a history of Des Moines would be incomplete without prominent mention of Frederick M. Hubbell, whose name is inseparably interwoven with the development of the city. For many years he has been one of its most progressive business men and has been iden- tified with some of its most important commercial and financial enterprises. In all his associations with the business world he gives the same quality of service

FREDERICK M. HUBBELL

CITY OF DES MOINES AND POLK COUNTY

and devotion to duty that characterized the conduct of his private affairs and his cooperation and judgment are sought along many lines. Through the steps of an orderly progression he has steadily advanced until his name is one of the most honored on commercial paper in Des Moines, while his record excites the admiration and respect of his associates.

Mr. Hubbell was born in the town of Huntington, Fairfield county, Con- necticut, January 17, 1839, and was reared on the home farm, his father being an agriculturist and stone-mason. During his boyhood he aided in the work of the farm and attended the district schools until thirteen years of age, when he took a three years' course at what was then Birmingham and is now the Derby high school. In 1855 his father decided to come west and in company with his son traveled by railroad to Rock Island, by steamer to Muscatine and by stage coach from that city to Fort Des Moines, where they arrived on thie 7th of May of that year. The place at that time was a small town but Frederick Hub- bell managed to find employment the day after his arrival, becoming clerk for P. M. Casady, receiver of the United States land office, his salary being eight dollars and a third per month. At that time the rush of land buyers was so great that the daily receipts often amounted to twenty-five thousand dollars in gold.

In March, 1856, Mr. Hubbell went to Sioux City, Iowa, but in the year 1861 returned. In that year Judge Casady formed a partnership with J. S. Polk, opening an office as the law and real-estate firm of Casady & Polk, and Mr. Hubbell entered their service as clerk. He became a member of the firm Jan- uary 1, 1862, and in 1865 Judge Casady retired. The firm then became Polk & Hubbell and so continued until January 1, 1887. They were identified with every public enterprise of importance in the city and did much for its development by their financial backing and support. One of their most important undertakings was in connection with the building of the Iowa & Minneapolis narrow gauge railroad to Ames. The Iowa & Minnesota Railroad Company was organized in 1866 and work was started but they were not so successful in this under- taking and the construction of the road was discontinued in November, 1868. In April of the following year, however, the road was divided and sold, the firm of Polk & Hubbell buying the portion from Des Moines to Ames, and they organized a new company, financed the project and ultimately the road was com- pleted. On the Ist of August, 1879, it was acquired by the Chicago & North- western and July 11, 1880, the first passenger train of that company entered Des Moines. In 1866 Mr. Hubbell with several others built the first street railway in Des Moines, it running from the courthouse to Capitol Hill and being one of the old horse car lines. The Equitable Life Insurance Company was organized in January, 1867, with Mr. Hubbell as its first secretary, and the first policy was issued to him, it being still in force. He served one year as secretary of that company, was elected president in 1888 and was at the head of the organization until 1907, when he declined reelection. During those years the company met with almost phenomenal success, owing to his wise management, good judgment and excellent executive ability. He is chairman of the board of trustees and so careful has he been in the management of affairs that the company has never had but one law suit in court.

In 1871 the firm of Polk & Hubbell organized the Des Moines Water Works Company, with a capital of one hundred and fifty thousand dollars, and construc- tion was begun the same year, the works being erected where they now stand. Through their efforts the city now has a splendid water system, with an abun- dant supply of good, pure water and also reliable fire service. The works passed into the hands of Polk & Hubbell soon after the company was organized and Mr. Hubbell served as secretary until the works were sold to a joint stock company.

On the dissolution of the partnership between Mr. Polk and Mr. Hubbell in 1887 the latter turned his attention to real estate and has since made that his Vol. II-2

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principal business. The success that he has achieved is almost beyond belief. He has come into possession of a large portion of the most valuable property of the city. Upon this he has erected many fine buildings and has many plans in view which will still further beautify the city. There is probably not another man in Des Moines that has done so much for its development and prosperity, as he is ever ready to lend his support to any enterprise which he believes cal- culated to prove of public benefit. He usually supports the democratic party but is not a politician and in local affairs votes for the man whom he deems best qualified for office regardless of party lines. He is a man of firm convictions and is a worthy representative of that type of American citizenship which has done so much toward the development of the middle west.

HON. LAFAYETTE YOUNG.

Hon. Lafayette Young, numbered among those who for some years have been molding public opinion in Iowa, is now leaving his impress upon the politi- cal history that is being written by congress in Washington, for, named as the successor to Senator Dolliver, he is now one of Iowa's two representatives in the upper house and enjoys the distinction of being the only native son of this state to be so honored.

Born in Monroe county, Iowa, on the 10th of May, 1848, he spent his early youth in his father's home, and when not occupied with the effort of acquiring an education in the public schools he assisted his father, who owned and oper- ated a woolen mill run by horse power. He was one of a family of seven chil- dren and the lack of financial resources in the home made it incumbent that he spend much of his time in labor, and he had little opportunity for the enjoyment of those sports which engage the attention of most boys. When he was thir- teen years of age his father's mill burned down. Thus devolved upon him the necessity of providing for his own support in other ways; it meant that the boy should assume the burdens of manhood and that he was thus deprived of the parental assistance and guidance which came to him with his father's instruction in the work of the mill.

He went to Albia, where he secured employment in a newspaper office. and later he was located at different times at Centerville, Keokuk and Eddyville. Gradually he mastered all of the duties in connection with the mechanical oper- ation of a newspaper and learned to some extent the secret of successful jour- nalism in business management and in newspaper writing. He has, however, throughout his entire life been a student, for he has never ceased to learn, and each year finds him with broader experience and with a wider understanding and, therefore, with greater force and personality as a journalist of the middle west. Early in his newspaper career he was connected with the job department of the St. Louis Dispatch, which was ten years before that paper was sold from the courthouse steps at auction to Joseph Pulitzer for twenty-five hundred dol- lars. Early experience in the newspaper field also came to him as an employe of Mills & Company of Des Moines.

About the time of his marriage he removed to Atlantic, Iowa, and estab- lished the Atlantic Telegraph in February, 1871, continuing its publication until March, 1890, and in that period of nineteen years built up one of the most prosperous journals in that section of the state. Wishing to try the broader field offered in Des Moines, he returned to the city where he had lived twenty years before and founded the Capital, continuing as its editor and manager until he was temporarily relieved from those duties by his son and namesake, after his appointment as the successor of Senator Dolliver in the United States senate.

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Mr. Young was reared in the faith of the democratic party, his father and brothers all being stalwart supporters of that political faith, but the independent spirit which caused Lafayette Young to start out in life for himself at the age of thirteen has been manifest in his political views as well as in other relations of life. He took up the study of politics, carried his investigations far and wide, thought earnestly and considered wisely. His opinions have been the result of careful research and thorough understanding and the republican party has for years recognized in him one of its foremost representatives in Iowa.

Until within a comparatively recent period newspapers have been made the vehicle of his political views. Those at all acquainted with the history of jour- nalism in the Mississippi valley know that Lafayette Young has made the Des Moines Capital what it is today. He came to this city in 1890 and purchased the paper. It was not much of a journal in those days and, in fact, he had to upbuild it both financially and politically. He brought to the former task marked business acumen, disposed of all processes that seemed a useless expenditure of time, labor or material, and sought the introduction of that secret of business success-the attainment of maximum results with minimum of effort. He thor- oughly organized every department of the paper, surrounded himself with an able corps of assistants in gathering and printing the news and himself remained at the head of its editorial interests. He has never been hesitant in expressing his views, but his opinions have on the whole been founded on the bed rock of fact and logical deduction. He stands today justly prominent among newspaper men of the country, having won success as well as distinction.

It has only been public service that has occasionally called Mr. Young from the editorial rooms of the Capital. At the time of the Spanish-American war he went to the front to write of the conflict between the two countries and, while not in actual service, he has since been known by the title of colonel. He was with the commission which, headed by W. H. Taft, then secretary of war, visited the Philippines and other parts of the Orient.

In legislative work Senator Young's initiative experience came when his fel- low townsmen and other citizens of his district elected him to the state senate, where he served for three terms, or twelve years. He was a member of the senate during the period in which all of the railroad laws now in force were adopted, except that relative to the two-cent fare and the anti-pass laws. Again and again a delegate to the party conventions he has twice served as permanent chairman of the republican state convention and has been a delegate-at-large to two national republican conventions-those of 1890 and 1898. In 1908 he was made elector-at-large.

At the national republican convention at Philadelphia he made the nomina- ting speech which placed.the name of Roosevelt before that body for vice presi- dent. He is an orator of ability, and while his utterances ring with strong and clear logic, he knows just as well how to employ the art of rhetoric or to hold the attention of auditors through the excitation of sympathy. On the whole. however, his speech is that of a forceful and earnest presentation of a cause which he espouses, and he never falters in his support of what he believes to be right or for the best interests of the public at large.

His work in behalf of good roads in Iowa entitles him to rank with the public benefactors of the state. He was president of the Iowa Good Roads As- sociation and labored untiringly and persistently for years for the accomplish- ment of the prime object of that body. He advocated dragging and draining and eventually was instrumental in securing a great highway, three hundred miles long, from Davenport to Council Bluffs, by way of Des Moines. The River-to-River Road Association is directly due to his work, his ceaseless agita- tion and his tireless campaigning. Following the death of Senator Dolliver Mr. Young was appointed by Governor Carroll to serve out the unexpired term in the United States senate and has maintained the same fearless, steadfast and

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sturdy position that he has ever occupied in his championship of movements or measures in which he believes.

In 1870 Senator Young was united in marriage to Miss Josephine Bolton, whose acquaintance he had formed when she was a student in a private school of Des Moines and he was an employe on the State Register. When her school days were over they were married and to them have been born three children. Their only daughter, Nellie, is now the wife of John P. Herrick, of Bolivar, New York. Their elder son, Harold, held a captaincy during the Spanish- American war and is now an editorial writer on the Des Moines. Capital, while the younger son, Lafayette Young, Jr., is business manager of that paper.

The Register and Leader of February 21, 1911, said: "Mrs. Lafayette Young is unique among the senatorial hostesses of Washington in being a practical newspaper woman, who has been the associate and able coeditor of her husband during his long and successful career as an editor and publisher. From the early days of their married life her ambition was to be her husband's chief sup- port, not only in the home but in his business cares. She familiarized herself with every detail of the business connected with newspaper publication and," continued the Register and Leader, "was so well trained in practical newspaper lore that when Senator Young went to Cuba during the Spanish-American war his wife assumed editorial and business management of the Capital and con- ducted its affairs with brilliant success. She is a versatile writer and has con- tributed to almost every department of her husband's paper. She is a charming woman personally and is noted throughout the state for her wit and general fund of information. She takes a broad view of every question, and to her ripe experience and ready sympathy much of her husband's prosperous and honorable career may be traced.'

Their home, known as the "Owl's Head," is one of the commodious and beautiful residences of Des Moines, having a substantial and roomy appearance and an extremely hospitable air. In it have been entertained, perhaps, every newspaper man of prominence that has ever visited Des Moines, and the social functions there may be said to resemble somewhat the salons of France, for here distinguished men and women are gathered in the discussion of leading questions of the day and of the vital problems that have concerned this and pre- vious ages. Both Mr. and Mrs. Young have traveled extensively, having visited Europe and the Orient as well as all sections of America, and possess that broad and liberal culture and intimate knowledge of lands and people that only travel can bring.

LAFAYETTE YOUNG, JR.

Lafayette Young, Jr., business manager of the Des Moines Capital since June 13, 1901, was born in Atlantic, Iowa, December 1, 1878, the younger son of United States Senator Lafayette and Josephine (Bolton) Young. He was twelve years of age when the family removed to Des Moines and after complet- ing his preliminary education in the public schools entered the University of Michigan, which numbers him among its alumni. He was graduated with the degree of Bachelor of Philosophy and has since graduated from the law de- partment of the University of Iowa. He was made business manager of the Des Moines Capital immediately on his graduation, the 12th of June, 1901.

Mr. Young was married in 1910 to Miss Virginia Corse MacArthur, of Bur- lington, Iowa, a daughter of William Corse and Harriet (Hammer) MacArthur. Outside of home and business Mr. Young devotes all of his energies to the up- building of the city of Des Moines and the state of Iowa. He organized and

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created the Greater Des Moines Committee Inc., which was the beginning of the greater Des Moines movement, and at this writing, in 1911, he is serving for the fourth term as president of the Greater Des Moines Committee.

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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 3

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