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 40

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 40

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Grandfather John Kinney was a large planter and slave-holder in Virginia, but liberated his slaves instead of selling them, as most people did, thus making him a poor man. He sold his place and came west into the then frontier of western Ohio and began hewing out a place in the forest for his home and family of eleven. Great-grandfather John Kinney served in the patriot army at the time of the Revolutionary war.

George W. Kinney was married to Sarah Brown, of Iowa City, to whom was born Eugene B., who died in 1898, leaving a widow and one child, Florence. After the death of his first wife, George W. Kinney was married to Elizabeth Phoebe Noyes, who was a member of a prominent Indiana family, whose parents died by accident early in life, leaving her an orphan. In spite of this handicap, she acquired a fine classical education and was known for her sweet sympa- thetic nature and intellectual ability. Her name is highly praised in an histor- ical book on pioneer days in Dearborn county, Indiana. This book, "Cotton's Keepsake." was written by Judge A. J. Cotton, prominent as a preacher and jurist of the first half of the eighteenth century. Judge Cotton was an uncle of the above, as was also the Hon. James P. Milliken, who later became prom- inent in Jowa, in and around Iowa City, Johnson county, Iowa. The Noyes family are a prominent family and are quite numerous over the country. Five children came to bless the home of Mr. and Mrs. Kinney: Charles N., of this review; Mabel D., now the wife of Henry H. Slayton, of Chicago, who have

CHARLES N. KINNEY

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three children, Earl, Marie, and Wendell; Maud and Harry, both deceased; and George E., a graduate of Drake University and Chicago University, now living in northern Minnesota. He is a prominent lumberman and capitalist and widely known.

Charles Noyes Kinney received his preliminary education in the rural schools, later taking a preparatory course at Drake Academy, following this by a college course. In 1893, he was graduated from Drake University. He continued his studies along professional lines for two years at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology of Boston, also for one year at Yale University and two years at the University of Chicago in research work. On July 15, 1896, Professor Kinney was united in marriage to Golda Gertrude Jameson, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Bruce Jameson, of Des Moines, Iowa. Mr. Jameson was a trustee of Drake University and an ardent lover of the Church of Christ, never tiring in his efforts to further the cause. Mrs. Kinney is a graduate of Drake University, receiving her degree in 1896, and is a woman of exceptional talents. She is recognized in the art world for her skill and ability in china painting, as well as water color and drawing, and is a prominent club woman of the city. Three children have been born to the union of Professor and Mrs. Kinney, the second, Maud, dying in infancy. The other members of the family are: Vesper Lavergne, who was born May 13, 1897; and Corliss Robert, born July 19, 1900.

In the spring of 1896, Professor Kinney received a call to fill the chair of chemistry in Drake University, which he accepted and still occupies. Fif- teen years of acceptable service have thus been rendered the institution, the rep- utation of which he has assisted very materially in advancing. The department of chemistry, under his administration, has grown from one in which eighteen students were enrolled, all of whom were in charge of one teacher, until it now requires fourteen teachers and assistants and has an approximate enrollment of two hundred. The work is of such a high character that it is accepted by learned institutions in all parts of the country, the department always occupy- ing the advanced line, and its graduates are noted for their progressiveness and efficiency.

In 1902, Professor Kinney was appointed to the position known as state chemist, which is the office of chemist of the state board of health, and still continues in that position, having been reelected annually ever since. He is frequently called upon in various parts of the country to give expert chemical testimony in murder trials, where his testimony is recognized as so fair and impartial and reliable that frequently he is used by both sides alike. His ser- vices are also in extensive demand for examination of water supplies of towns and cities, in which he is a recognized authority. He also frequently reports upon mining properties, traveling for this purpose all over the west and north and south into Mexico. He is largely interested in growing fruit and in sheep- raising and owns several farms, including an up-to-date dairy farm.

Professionally, he is acting as chemist for a number of industries and cor- porations as consulting and analytical chemist, in which he is extensively en- gaged. He enjoys a wide chemical patronage extending into the neighboring states. He is prominent in various professional societies and is now serving as president of the Iowa section of the American Chemical Society and also of the local chemical society. He is a member of both the French and German Chem- ical Societies, the American Chemical Society, the Iowa Academy of Science, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the National Geo- graphical Society, State Historical Society, and the American Water Works As- sociation, etc .. and has been active as a contributor to the publications of those organizations.

No account of Professor Kinney's life would at all justly or adequately rep- resent him that did not portray his activities in Christian service. While thor- Vol. II-17

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oughly a man of affairs and always abreast of his times, as the lines of associa- tion noted above indicate, he holds, with all the intensity of his strong life, to the thought that the fundamental problem is the Christianization of the world and a man's supreme relationship is his relationship to God. For many years an earnest worker in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), his people, both locally and in the general lines of their activity, have felt the force of his personality. Just at present he is serving in the following relationships of both honor and responsibility : president of the official board of the University Church of Christ, of which congregation he is a charter member; president of the local brotherhood of the University Church of Christ from its organization to the present time; president of the city federated brotherhoods of the Disciples of Christ; president of the state brotherhood of the Disciples of Christ in Iowa; vice president of the Iowa Christian Convention; first vice president of the Laymen's Civic Union of Des Moines, an interdenominational church organiza- tion ; and a member of the international committee of ninety-seven of the Men and Religion Forward Movement.

Very recently he was elected chairman of the Committee of One Hundred for Des Moines, which city is one of ninety cities in North America chosen as centers of operation for the Men and Religion Forward Movement. This po- sition Professor Kinney regards as the greatest honor of his life. He was also active earlier in the Laymen's Missionary Movement and in a local way has had a large and generous part in the establishing of several mission churches in and around Des Moines.

It is truly remarkable that a man, under the pressure of an exacting pro- fessional career, should yet find time for so marked a contribution to the moral and spiritual upbuilding of those about him. His name is known and honored in the ranks of all workers for righteousness in our city. Without regard to denominational lines, he is always looked to as one valuable in counsel, efficient in service and tirelessly unselfish in gifts of time and means and effort. He is an exponent of the very best in the Christian citizenship of this day when man- hood is coming into its own in advancing the great work of God.

Politically he is identified with the republican party and has been active in its cause, serving as chairman of the precinct and ward delegations and as a member of the Polk county central committee. Ever since coming to the Uni- versity he has served as president of the athletic board and has had much to do in shaping the athletic policy of the university. He also holds membership in the Grant Club of Des Moines. As is to be seen he is a man of many activi- ties and has accomplished a very large amount of valuable work; all of which redounds to his credit and to the credit of the institution with which he is con- nected. He is justly deserving of a prominent place in a permanent record of Polk county, possessing as he does in an eminent degree those qualities which everywhere awaken sentiments of admiration and respect.

HARLEY A. SEDORE.

The biography of any individual who has won his way to a position of responsibility through his own exertions is well worthy of record. It teaches the importance of industry and self reliance, two of the leading elements in the character of all self-made men, as without these characteristics very little good would be accomplished in the modern world. Harley A. Sedore has from boy- hood been remarkably industrious as well as self reliant, since he overcame many obstacles, and is today established as one of the successful business men of Des Moines. He was born at Saratoga, New York, November 22, 1876, the son

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of John and Fannie (Aker) Sedore, the latter of whom was born near Sing Sing (now Ossining), in 1850.

The father was born in New York state about 1850, and was by trade a brickmason. One of the ancestors, Levi Du Parent, a native of Paris, France, came to America previous to the Revolutionary war, and assisted the patriots in freeing themselves from the British crown. There were four children in the family of Mr. and Mrs. Sedore: Charles, who is married and lives at White Plains, New York; Carmi, who died, leaving a widow and three children ; Harley A., the subject of this review ; and Ezra, deceased.

Harley A. Sedore was left alone in the world at four years of age, and was reared among strangers, early learning the great lesson of patience and self- reliance. At the age of five years he was brought to Iowa, and as he grew up attended the common schools, graduating from the Capital City Business Col- lege in 1899. He began his active career in the employ of Pease Brothers, hay commission dealers, and six months later became connected with the American Iron Works as bookkeeper. Industrious and economical, he was able after three years to purchase an interest in the business, and since the incorporation of the company, in 1906, has filled the position of secretary, assisting very materially in advancing its interests. This company handles steam machinery, steam pumps, boilers and engines upon a large scale, and is doing a general jobbing and foundry business. It gives employment to about twenty-five men, not including the office force, and its reputation is steadily growing throughout the west.

On the Ist day of April, 1905, Mr. Sedore was united in marriage to Miss May Weston, born at Alta, Iowa, daughter of Roland and Jennie (Dando) Weston. The father was a well known stockman and lumber dealer. Mr. Sedore has never devoted much time to politics, but he gives his adherence to the repub- lican party, as the one best qualified to protect the interests of the people. Alert and progressive in business he keeps well informed as to general affairs and is thoroughly alive to the possibilities of the city and state of his adoption, be- lieving that no other section of the country offers a more favorable outlook. He takes an active interest in all outdoor athletic sports. A man of a genial and a hopeful disposition, clear judgment and well established character, he justly deserves the recognition he receives as an energetic and patriotic citizen, whose aim is to advance the best interests of all with whom he is associated.

HENRY CLAY JORDAN.

Henry Clay Jordan, a leading agriculturist of Walnut township, was born in Missouri on the Ist of April, 1844. His parents, James C. and Malinda (Pit- man) Jordan, are mentioned at greater length on another page of this work in connection with the sketch of James F. Jordan, a brother of our subject.

Henry Clay Jordan, of this review, who was but two years of age when brought to Polk county by his parents, was here reared and educated, attending the district schools and also the Forest Home Seminary (now the Baptist College) of Des Moines. While he was a student in that institution the Civil war broke out and in 1862 he became a member of the Twenty-third Iowa Volunteer In- fantry, serving with that command until 1864. In that year he received an ap- pointment to West Point, but resigned at the end of about six months and returned home.

He worked on the home place for the next fifteen years and then his father gave him a farm of his own, which he operated for about five years. On the expiration of that period he disposed of the property and purchased two hun- dred acres of bottom land, which was largely covered with timber. He operated a sawmill in connection with his agricultural interests but sold the farm at

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the end of five years and went to Pocahontas county, where he bought a tract of ninety-six acres and set himself resolutely to the task of clearing and im- proving the land. After operating the farm for about six years he disposed of the place and removed to Gilmore, Iowa, where he bought a general store, conducting the same successfully for some years. While residing in Gilmore he was appointed postmaster of the town through the influence of Congressman Dolliver, serving in that capacity for four years.

After disposing of his interests in Gilmore he returned to Polk county and here again turned his attention to general agricultural pursuits, following farm- ing until 1908, when he went to Colorado and purchased and improved a section of land. Leaving a son and daughter in charge of the place, he returned to Polk county and has since been successfully identified with agricultural pur- suits here. His various undertakings have been attended with a well merited measure of prosperity and he is widely recognized as a substantial and repre- sentative resident of the community.

In September, 1878, Mr. Jordan was united in marriage to Miss Alice Warner, a daughter of Benton and Nancy (Parker) Warner, who were na- tives of North Carolina and Indiana respectively. Mr. Warner came to Iowa in 1850, locating in Jasper county, where he entered a tract of land and carried on farming throughout the remainder of his active business career. His de- mise occurred in Missouri in 1900. His widow, who has now attained the age of seventy-six years, makes her home in Commerce, Iowa. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Jordan were born four children, as follows: Kasson, who died at the age of fourteen years; Pauline, a school teacher of Colorado; Ralph E., living in Colorado, who is married and has one child, Donald Hartley, now three years of age; and Rupert J., a youth aged nineteen years, who is still under the parental roof.

In politics Mr. Jordan is a democrat and his fellow townsmen, recognizing his worth and ability, have called him to several positions of public trust. He held the office of township clerk for two years, was township assessor for two terms and for one term acted as township trustee. During the twenty-sixth general assembly Mr. Jordan was chosen for the position of doorkeeper of the senate. He belongs to the Grand Army of the Republic and is also identified with the Modern Woodmen of America. His religious faith is indicated by his membership in the Methodist church, to which his wife also belongs. He is an earnest, honorable Christian man, always to be found on the right side of every question, and giving his influence for all that tends to advance material, intellectual, political and moral progress.

EDWIN JULIUS FRISK.

Edwin Julius Frisk, of Des Moines, who is serving for the second term as justice of the peace of Lee township, was born July 2, 1874, in Cambridge, Henry county, Illinois, his parents being Eric P. and Kathrina A. (Stoneberg) Frisk, who were married at Kewanee, Illinois, April 6, 1869. After their mar- riage they removed to Bishop Hill, Illinois, where they resided for two years and then became residents of Cambridge, that state. The father was engaged in the grocery and provision business at Cambridge and later at Galva, from which place he removed with his family to Des Moines in 1880. He had pre- viously located in this city by reason of making his headquarters here while serving as traveling auditor for the Chicago Grocery & Provision Company. In 1883 he founded and organized the Bloomfield Coal & Mining Company, con- tinuing as its president and manager to the time of his death in 1889. Mrs. Frisk still survives and is a devoted member of the Swedish Methodist church.

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Edwin Julius Frisk attended the public schools of Des Moines. On account of the death of his father he was compelled to leave the high school when four- teen years of age and at that time began to learn the printer's trade, serving as "devil" in the office of the Iowa Daily Capital, now the Des Moines Capital, at- tending night school to complete his studies. He was afterward employed in various printing establishments in Des Moines until 1898, when he severed his connection with the printing business. The following year he was appointed deputy county recorder, which position he filled until 1903, when he was ap- pointed deputy clerk of the district court, serving in that capacity until 1907. He pursued the study of law while employed as deputy recorder and deputy clerk of the district court of Polk county and was admitted to practice by the supreme court of Iowa in 1907. He was also assistant chief clerk of the house of repre- sentatives during the memorable thirty-second general assembly and during the two extra sessions .. In 1909 he was elected justice of the peace of Lee township and in the following year was reelected. He presides over that court in addition to practicing law and thus his time is entirely given to the demands of his pro- fession in the active work of the courts either as advocate or judge.

In 1905, Mr. Frisk was united in marriage to Miss Minnie Roselia Young- berg, a daughter of August Youngberg, who was a pioneer resident and mer- chant of Des Moines, but now living retired. Mrs. Frisk was born in this city and educated in the public schools, being a graduate of the East high school. They have two children: Edwin Norman, born August 13, 1905, and Rilla Louise, born August 16, 1909.

Mr. Frisk holds membership in the Methodist church and is connected with several fraternal organizations. He is a republican and a believer in a united party, has labored effectively and earnestly for the growth and success of the party and for sixteen years has been secretary of the Swedish American Repub- lican Club of Des Moines. He is thus widely known in political circles and has many warm friends among prominent political leaders of the state.

PRESTON B. DURLEY.

Preston B. Durley, whose career was one of ceaseless activity and energy, resulting in the successful attainment of the purposes and work to which he set himself, was particularly well known in journalistic circles of Iowa as the busi- ness manager and treasurer of the Daily News of Des Moines. He was born in Hennepin, Illinois, on the 19th of January, 1839, and supplemented a public school course by study in Wheaton College. He was attending a commercial college in Chicago at the outbreak of the Civil war and after hostilities had pro- ceeded for a period he could no longer content himself to remain at home and enlisted in the One Hundred and Twenty-fourth Regiment of Illinois Volun- teers with which he served until the close of the war, holding the rank of quar- termaster sergeant. He was on active duty at the front until victory crowned the Union arms and then returned to Illinois and was for a time engaged in business in that state. Subsequently he removed to Faulk county, South Da- kota, and, associated with the Rev. C. A. Douglas and others, founded the town of Faulkton, taking active part in its substantial development and improvement and in the inauguration of a system of government which should be clean, wholesome, practical and progressive. His residence in Des Moines dated from 1885 and the following year he became the treasurer and business manager of the Daily News, being connected with the paper in that dual capacity until his death. The uninitiated are apt to regard the gathering and publica- tion of news as practically the entire work of newspaper publication, but the business of the office must be managed as systematically and thoroughly as the

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conduct of a mercantile or industrial concern. There must be just as judicial advertising and exploitation of the value of the product as is displayed by the merchants who place their wares upon the market. With aptitude for successful management, keen discernment in all of the details as well as the principles of the business, Mr. Durley controlled the office interests of the paper and his ability was manifest in the success which attended the undertaking.

From his youth Mr. Durley was a member of the Congregational church and always an ardent, zealous and effective worker in its behalf. At Hennepin he served as superintendent of the Sunday school and at Faulkton was very promi- nent in church work. In his political, views he was always a republican and while he never sought nor desired political preferment he was at all times an advocate of that progress which manifests itself in practical work for the public good and in better standards of citizenship. He belonged to the Commercial Club and cooperated in its movements for the benefit and, upbuilding of Des Moines. Fraternally he was associated with the Woodmen of the World. All through his life he manifested unfaltering energy and firm resolution and never hesitated in a course which he marked out for himself, but continuously pressed on toward the goal of successful achievement. His business qualifications and his personal worth commanded for him the esteem and confidence of all.

Mr. Durley was twice married. In June, 1866, he wedded Addie Unthank, who died in 1876. leaving a daughter. Ten years later Mr. Durley wedded Ella A. Hamilton, of Des Moines, and unto them was born a son, John H. Dur- ley, now also connected with newspaper interests. Mrs. Durley was the daughter of William H. Hamilton, who came to Iowa in 1866 and was engaged in business but died in 1868. In social and literary circles of Des Moines she has been very prominent. She holds membership in the Women's Club, of which she has been president, and she is now president of the Press Office Club. She has been very active in newspaper work and also as a writer and is the author of a number of books, including "My Soldier Lady," which has met with large sale and won favorable comment from the reviewers. In the 'Sos she was a member of the state board of educational examiners and it was through her efforts that the home for the aged was founded in Des Moines, Mrs. Durley calling the first meeting for its members and securing the first funds obtained for the building in 1896. She is intensely interested in the great sociological and economic problems of the country and has taken an advanced stand in sup- port of many measures looking toward the betterment of existing conditions.

ALBERT D. PUGH.

Albert D. Pugh, well known as an active and progressive attorney at Des Moines and especially prominent in connection with the socialist party, was born in Lake township, Muscatine county. Iowa, April 5, 1868. He is the son of Jonathan G. Pugh, who was born in Mansfield, Ohio, January 13, 1825. The family descended from Evan Pugh, a Welsh Quaker, who came to America with William Penn. Jonathan Pugh, the great-grandfather, settled in Hamp- shire county, Virginia, and married Margaret Wood. He held a lieutenant's commission in the colonial army in 1766. The grandfather, John Pugh, mar- ried Florinda Murphy and settled at Mansfield, Richland county, Ohio, in 1812. Jonathan G. Pugh, the father, served in the Mexican war under General Taylor, and in 1849 went to California via the isthmus of Panama. Returning to Ohio, he crossed the plains with a large wagon train in 1851, of which he and Jacob Beam were proprietors. There were about ninety persons in the party, and they made the trip from St. Joseph, Missouri, on the overland trail to Sacramento, California, without serious mishap by ox team in one hundred

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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 40

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