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 41

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 41

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and twenty days. He settled in Muscatine county, Iowa, in 1855, and engaged in farming. At the time of the Civil war he held a lieutenant's commission in the Home Guards of Muscatine county, issued by Governor Kirkwood. In 1875 he removed to Poweshiek county, and in 1894 to Des Moines, his death occurring soon afterward. The mother of our subject, Harriet V. Baker, before her marriage, was born at Bainbridge, Highland county, Ohio, March 2, 1836, her mother's maiden name being Clarinda Anderson, and her grandparents being Robert and Rachel Pucket. Grandfather Pucket fought at Guilford court- house at the time of the Revolutionary war. Her great uncle, Stephen Mayo, was also a Revolutionary soldier, his widow, Rebecca Mayo, being one of six Revolutionary widows who were drawing pensions in somewhat recent years. On the maternal line the family history has been traced to the Mckenzies and Fraziers.

Albert D. Pugh received his preliminary education in the common schools and began his active career in railway service as telegraph operator and station agent in 1886. In July, 1892, he was promoted to the position of contracting freight agent of the Chicago & Great Western Railway at Des Moines, but being at- tracted to the law, he resigned on April 1, 1895, and began the study of the pro- fession in the office of Carr & Parker, the partners being Judge George H. Carr and A. C. Parker. In 1896 he matriculated in Drake University, graduating with a degree of LL. B., in May, 1897, since which time he has been actively engaged in practice at Des Moines and has been identified with much important litigation. As attorney for John M. Work he brought to a concluson the cause in behalf of the taxpayers against the city of Des Moines, its officers, and the water company which prevented a loan of fifty thousand dollars of the municipal waterworks fund to the water company. As attorney for other clients he secured a decision from the district court of Polk county dissolving a trust, created by a will which involved about thirty thousand dollars worth of property. The supreme court reversed the case, but Mr. Pugh was the first attorney to present the question to the supreme court. The supreme court recognized the doctrine contended for but held it discretionary with the court whether the particular trust should or should not be dissolved.

Mr. Pugh was appointed special counsel, without compensation, for the city, in March, 1910, to defend an action brought by the Des Moines City Railway Company to enjoin the city council from submitting to a vote of the people, an ordinance initiated by a petition of twenty-one hundred voters, providing for municipal ownership and operation of the street railway. The submission of this ordinance to a vote was enjoined by the district court. Mr. Pugh made applica- tion to the supreme court for a writ of prohibition, and the court not being in session, Justice Ladd held. that he had not jurisdiction to grant a writ. The ordinance could not be submitted at any subsequent time, hence there was no remedy by appeal.

Mr. Pugh was a member of the committee of three hundred appointed to formulate the Des Moines plan ; and of the more recent committee of twenty-five to settle the street railway problem. He has been connected with the socialist cause since 1901, and was the nominee of the party for city attorney, district judge and councilman, campaigning regularly for socialist principles and meas- ures. The most effective of his campaigns was for councilman in the spring of 1910. He emphasized municipal ownership and made it an issue, so that every other candidate for the council declared himself on the issue.

On the 19th day of June, 1901, Mr. Pugh was united in marriage to Dr. Marion Howe, daughter of Lafayette and Mary Howe of Fredericksburg, Iowa. The family is of English Puritan origin. The emigrant ancestor, Garden Howe, settled in New Hampshire, and had seven sons. The mother's maiden name was Tisdale. Dr. Pugh is also connected in the maternal line with the Emmons fam- ily and has a Dutch strain. Dr. Pugh was graduated from the scientific depart-

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ment of the State University at Iowa City in 1891, and served as science teacher in the West Des Moines high school until 1897, when she resigned and entered the medical department of the State University, graduating with a degree of M. D. in 1899. Later she took post-graduate work in Chicago. She has met with marked success as a practitioner and is well known as a lecturer on medical sub- jects, having been chosen to give special instruction to women at Drake Univer- sity. She has also been physician to women at the Victoria Sanitarium. Two children have blessed the union of Mr. and Mrs. Pugh: Jonathan Howe, now eight years of age; and Lawrence Tisdale, aged four years.

Mr. Pugh professionally holds membership in the State Bar Association and the Des Moines Bar Association, and his wife is a charter member of the Pro- fessional Women's League. Mr. Pugh and his wife hold membership in the Unitarian church, and he is connected with the Men's Unity Club, while she is identified with Unity Circle, both being active workers of those organizations. Mr. Pugh is also connected with the Brotherhood of American Yeomen. Modern Woodmen of America, Woodmen of the World, Homesteaders, Court of Honor and the Modern Brotherhood of America. As is indicated by this review, he is an energetic and tireless worker and an independent thinker, who follows the dic- tates of his judgment even though he may know that he is in a hopeless minority. It is, however, through men of his indomitable stamp that many of the most im- portant reforms of the world have been accomplished, and although comparatively a young man, Mr. Pugh has lived to see many ideas accepted and put into prac- tical operation in municipal, state and national affairs that were considered chim- erical when he began his active career. Hence he looks forward confidently to the rapid adoption of yet more radical innovations in the years to come.

SAMUEL A. ROBERTSON.

Samuel A. Robertson, now retired, was for fifty-five years past identified with the city of Des Moines, becoming one of its most prominent builders. He was born in Preble county, Ohio, December 23, 1835, and is the son of Samuel and Susan (Van Winkle) Robertson, the family on both sides having been identified with the American Revolution, a monument now standing in Preble county as an evidence of the appreciation of the people for services rendered in the cause of the colonies. The grandfather on the paternal side was Major Sam Robertson, who settled in Preble county and was known as one of the leading men in western Ohio. The father was extensively connected with the contracting business and was one of the builders of the Ohio canal, which was constructed under the direction of the United States government.

Samuel A. Robertson received his early education in a log schoolhouse of his native county and as soon as he arrived at a suitable age was put to work to learn the bricklayer's trade. After three years' service he felt competent to assume personal responsibility and accordingly undertook to complete a contract including a roundhouse and shops for the Cleveland, Columbus & Cincinnati Railroad Company, and the Indianapolis & Bellefontaine Railway. This contract had previously been given up by men of large experience but Mr. Robertson applied himself with such energy that it was successfully completed, to the entire satisfaction of the railway company, in seven weeks. He was later given charge of the construction of depots, engine houses and bridges on the railway.

In the spring of 1856, having decided to cast his fortune with the west, Mr. Robertson arrived in Des Moines which, although the capital of the state, was then a straggling village possessing many of the characteristics of the frontier and built mainly of frame houses. After strolling through the streets

S. A. ROBERTSON

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a short time on the day following his arrival and finding money to be scarce and employment uncertain, the visitor returned to the wharf and went aboard a steamboat bound for St. Louis. On the boat he met J. C. Savery, who advised him to return to Des Moines, promising that employment would be provided in a very short time, as Mr. Savery was then on his way to St. Louis to secure plans for a hotel which he proposed to erect in the capital city. Accordingly Mr. Robertson left the boat at Pella and returned to Des Moines, where he later began working on the Savery, now the Kirkwood Hotel, but for lack of funds and material the work was soon stopped. He next found employment on the courthouse and later, being willing to undertake any employment that offered, engaged in laying sidewalks for several months. His wife was in Cincinnati, Ohio, and desiring to bring her to Des Moines, he started on the journey, going by way of St. Louis, where he arrived some days later. The next morning Mr. Robertson presented himself at the desk of the hotel to pay his bill when he found to his consternation that the currency with which he was supplied had depreciated and was absolutely worthless. This was before the organization of national banks and the country was flooded with paper promises of individual concerns, called "red dog" money, the value of which fluctuated rapidly and often dropped to zero. The traveler was obliged to borrow money with which to pay his bill and ten cents for fare to cross the river. However, he determined to proceed upon his journey and after arriving in East St. Louis he called upon the superintendent of the railway leading to Cincinnati, telling him that as an old railroad man he would like to ride over the line. This request met with a sharp rebuff. As a last resort Mr. Robertson handed to the superintendent a letter which he was carrying in his pocket, which had been given him by John Brough, general manager of the Cleveland, Bellefontaine & Indianapolis Railway. No sooner had the railway official glanced at the missive than his demeanor changed. "This letter," said he, "puts a change on the situation. It is good for any favor you may desire on our line." George B. McClellan, the gentleman to whom he presented the letter, was later in command of the Army of the Potomac, and in 1864 was candidate of the demo- cratic party for president of the United States.

Upon returning with his wife to Des Moines Mr. Robertson entered the contracting business, although money was for several years very scarce, pay- ment for work being made in groceries, dry goods and the various necessities or commodities of life until the approach of a brighter era after the beginning of the war when a currency of the national banks made its appearance. At one time Mr. Robertson worked a year and received only one dollar in cash and the following year only thirteen dollars. He was selected to remodel the postoffice building at Des Moines and went to Washington, where he secured an appropriation of two hundred and fifty thousand dollars for that purpose. After completing the desired improvements, also making large additions to the grounds and adding a third story and tower to the building, he returned thirty- nine thousand dollars to the United States government as unused. This is an indication of his character and such a man is certain to win the confidence of the community. He was given the contract to supply the stone for the state capitol and in order to do so was obliged to build a railway to one stone quarry and a railway switch to another, the expenditure being quite heavy. On this contract he lost forty-eight thousand dollars, but other work proved remun- erative and in the course of extensive building operations he acquired a fortune. In 1878 he became a member of the city council and started an era of sidewalk, sewer and paving improvements which gave him the title of the "father of the sewer system of the city." In 1890 he organized the Des Moines Brick Manu- facturing Company and installed a large plant, demonstrating the value of the clay at Des Moines. He was a stockholder in the Iowa National Bank and served as president of the institution for several years. He was also president

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and a member of the board of directors of the Royal Union Mutual Life Insur- ance Company and served in many other business organizations. During recent years he has rested from his labors in the enjoyment of a well earned repose. On the 24th of March, 1857, Mr. Robertson was married to Miss Margaret, daughter of Charles and Isabelle Olive (Courtney) Porter, of Cincinnati, Ohio. Charles Porter, whose birth occurred in 1795, passed away in 1842, while his wife, whose natal year was 1800, was called to her final rest in 1888. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Robertson were born nine children, as follows: John Porter, whose birth occurred in 1858 and who is deceased; Sudabelle, born in 1860, who is the deceased wife of Major Charles J. T. Clark of the United States army, by whom she had three children-Robertson, Isabelle and Elsie; Edith Courtney, who gave her hand in marriage to J. W. Campbell, of Des Moines, and has two children. Donald and Alonzo: Emma Houston, who is now Mrs. J. K. Rodgers of New York, and has one daughter, Marguerite; Libbie, who died when nine years of age; Bertha K., who is now Mrs. J. M. Boggs, of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania ; Lonnie, who died in infancy ; Margaret Porter, at home ; and Bes- sie. who also died in infancy.

Mr. Robertson has for many years given his adherence to the democratic party and socially is connected with the Knights of Pythias and Elks lodges of Des Moines. He has many genial characteristics and his kind and generous disposition has made for him many friends among the young and old in the city of his adoption. He early became recognized as one of the most public- spirited citizens, a man of great civic pride who demonstrated his deep personal interest by his unselfish services. In the course of a long and unusually active career he has achieved success and has also gained a place in the estimation of the people which few men in Des Moines have attained.

GUY A. MILLER.

Guy A. Miller is perhaps best known to the general public because of his political activity and support of the republican party. But to a more restricted number-those who have had to do with the work of the courts, or those who are his colleagues in the profession, he is known as an able lawyer, whose ability is constantly being developed through wide study and careful prepara- tion. He was born in Graham, Nodaway county, Missouri. November 4. 1882. In the paternal line he is connected with the family of William Lloyd Garrison, the apostle of liberty. His father. Martin L: Miller, a native of Illinois. has been a resident of Des Moines since 1886 and is now connected with the Wells Fargo Express Company. He married Lillie M. Harper, whose ancestors, of English and Scotch lineage, lived at Harper's Ferry, Virginia. although Mrs. Miller was born in Ohio. By her marriage she had two children, the daughter being Lela Maud, who was born in Graham, Missouri. November 22, 1880. and is now the wife of W. M. Giles, of Kansas City, Missouri.

In the public schools Guy A. Miller pursued his education. attending the West high school, from which he was graduated with the' class of 1900. He then entered Drake Law School in the class of 1901 and was graduated with the class of 1904, successfully passing the bar examination in the spring of that year. In the fall he entered upon active practice, starting alone and so con- tinued until May, 1908. when he formed a partnership with Orville S. Franklin. He has since practiced as a member of the firm of Franklin & Miller, with offices in the Youngerman block. In addition to the practice of law Mr. Miller has won recognition as an able attorney. The thoroughness and precision with which he prepares his cases are elements in his success. His knowledge of the prin- ciples of jurisprudence is comprehensive and he is seldom if ever at fault in their

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application. Moreover, he conforms his practice to a high standard of pro- fessional ethics and is regarded as an able and conscientious minister in the temple of justice. While a comparatively young man and not long engaged in the practice of law, he has successfuly conducted a case in the United States supreme court after a hearing in the state district court and the federal circuit court. Finally it was appealed and Mr. Miller argued it in the United States supreme court. In fact, he handled the case all' the way through. His clientage is of an important character and he is making continued advancement in his chosen profession.

On the 30th of October, 1907, Mr. Miller was united in marriage to Miss Crete M. Johnson, a daughter of J. D. and Emma (Vosburg) Johnson. Mrs. Miller was born in Colfax, Jasper county, Iowa, and represents a well known family of this city, her father having for twenty-two years been connected with the Utica Clothing Company. There is one son by this marriage, Guy Den- mar Miller, who was born in Des Moines, October 18, 1909. In politics Mr. Miller is a progressive republican and an active worker in party ranks. He has delivered many campaign addresses and has done effective work toward promot- ing republican interests. He is in hearty sympathy with those wholesome and purifying reforms which are growing up within the party and speak for a better. cleaner and more honest administration of public affairs. Fraternally he is connected with the Knights of Pythias and the Modern Woodmen of America. and his religious faith is that of the Christian church. He also belongs to the Drake Law Club, and his social qualities render him popular in these different organizations.

EDWIN A. NYE.

Edwin A. Nye, of Des Moines, occupies an honorable place among the news- paper men of the west. For many years identified with the editorship and pub- lication of newspapers, he became widely known as one of the capable and progressive men in a profession that calls for the keenest talent the country af- fords. The papers of which he had control commanded an influence not com- monly accorded the press outside the large cities, and as editor of the Des Moines Daily News for eleven years, until very recently, he displayed an ability that greatly advanced the permanent welfare of the city and its subsidiary re- gion. He was born in Dearborn county, Indiana, June 24, 1856. a son of Rev. J. W. and Maggie (Showalter) Nye, the latter of whom was a native of the Keystone state, departing this life at an advanced age, in 1907. The father is a native of New York state and after entering the ministry was one of the pioneer circuit riders of the Wabash valley, attaining a wide reputation on ac- count of his acknowledged high character and unusual ability as a pulpit speaker. He served from 1863 to 1864 as chaplain of the One Hundred and Twenty- first Illinois Infantry and is now living at Chrisman, Illinois.

Edwin A. Nve received his preliminary education in the public schools, later attending Greenhill Seminary, also Westfield College, and the Indiana State Normal School, in the meantime teaching school for several terms while ob- taining his education. After graduating from the Normal School he turned his attention to newspaper work in Illinois and during the years that have since passed has owned and edited ten or fifteen different newspapers in various states.

He successfully conducted for several years the Auburn Dispatch at Auburn. Indiana, and for seven years was at the head of the Danville (Illinois) Evening Commercial. In 1897 he came to Des Moines and was for eleven years editor of the Daily News, resigning in 1908 to accept the position of western repre- sentative of the American Press Association of New York, in which position he

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is still serving. He is also identified with various business concerns, being vice president of the Century Fire Insurance Company and a member of the board of directors of the First National Bank of Prairie City.

In September, 1878, Mr. Nye was united in marriage at Veedersburg, Indiana, to Miss Ada F. Lucas and two children have blessed this union: Mrs. W. H. Harrison, the wife of Professor W. H. Harrison, who fills the chair of chem- istry in the Northwestern University of Chicago; and Roy L., who was born in 1887 and is now a member of the senior class of Drake University.

Mr. Nye, ever since arriving at manhood, has been identified with the re- publican party, and in recognition of his services received the appointment of consul to Shanghai, China, while in charge of his paper at Danville. This honor, however, he declined, not having an inclination for public office and pre- ferring to devote his attention to his private affairs. He is a stanch member of the Christian church, of which he is an elder and in whose interests he served for seven years as a minister while at Danville. Socially he is connected with the Press Club of Des Moines.

He is a highly cultured gentleman, a deep thinker and a good speaker. His services on the platform have been much sought after, as is indicated by the fact that he has delivered more than one hundred addresses at commencement exer- cises, the list including colleges, universities, high schools and academies. He has been highly complimented by the press in all parts of the country on his ability as a public speaker. He is a constant reader and has a large and well selected library, literature being his recreation and delight. While he is by nature essentially modest, he has a frank, genial manner which invites approach. Few men in central Iowa can claim a wider circle of sincere friends.

ANGUS B. LEAMER.

Among the well known but more recent acquisitions to the Des Moines clergy must be numbered the Rev. Angus B. Leamer, who for the past two years has most ably ministered in the parish of the St. John's Lutheran church. A native of Nebraska, his birth occurred in Dakota county on the 8th of October, 1871. The father, who was an agriculturist, migrated from Pennsylvania to Nebraska in 1865, and in the following year he purchased and located upon the farm where the son Angus was born. The mother, prior to her marriage, was Miss Margaret Gesey, a member of a well known Pennsylvania family, the village of Geseytown having been named after her grandfather. .

The early years in the life of Angus B. Leamer did not differ particularly from those of other lads reared on a farm in the west at that period. Educa- tional advantages were very uncertain and inadequate, owing to the sparselv settled communities, but the boy early evinced unusual mental qualities and scholarly instincts, which the parents determined should be fostered and devel- oped, so when he had finished the course of the common schools he was sent to Wittenberg College at Springfield, Ohio. He was a student of that institu- tion until 1895, in which year he graduated with the degree of Bachelor of Arts. Following that he taught for one year, at the expiration of which period he de- cided to enter the ministry, so matriculated at the Western Theological Seminary at Atchison, Kansas, being awarded the degree of B. D. two years later, at the same time as Wittenberg conferred upon him the degree of Master of Arts. In the autumn following his graduation he was ordained a minister of the Lu- theran synod by the Rev. L. P. Ludden, D. D. and upon the 14th of November, 1898, he accepted a call to the pulpit of the Lutheran church of Benedict, Neb- raska. At the expiration of that pastorate he went to West Point, Nebraska, where he labored most effectively during the four years of his pastorate, putting

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new life and enthusiasm into the church and parish. During his years of service a new and beautiful parsonage was erected. From there he went to the First Lutheran church of Iowa City, where he remained for five years, then came to St. John's in Des Moines. Liberal in his views, charitable in his criticism and enthusiastic in his efforts to assist humanity to a higher plane of living Mr. Leamer has been recognized as a power in every community in which he has labored. A pleasing personality, good voice and clear decisive thought and speech, united with strong, oratorical powers, has made him a forceful and moving speaker.

He is now devoting considerable time and attention to the lecture platform and is rapidly becoming known in the lyceum field of the middle west. The subjects of his lectures are: "An Urn of Treasure and The Model- Home," the latter being treated under four sub-heads, "Father," "Mother," "Son" and "Daughter." In addition to the heavy and exacting demands of his parish he has also found time to organize four church societies during the period of his residence in Iowa. He is an ex-president of the State Synod of Iowa, a member · of the General Synod of the United States and of the Ministerial Association of Des Moines.

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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 41

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