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 60
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96 | Part 97 | Part 98 | Part 99 | Part 100 | Part 101 | Part 102 | Part 103 | Part 104 | Part 105 | Part 106 | Part 107 | Part 108 | Part 109 | Part 110 | Part 111 | Part 112 | Part 113 | Part 114 | Part 115 | Part 116 | Part 117 | Part 118 | Part 119 | Part 120 | Part 121 | Part 122 | Part 123 | Part 124 | Part 125 | Part 126 | Part 127 | Part 128 | Part 129 | Part 130 | Part 131 | Part 132 | Part 133 | Part 134 | Part 135 | Part 136 | Part 137 | Part 138 | Part 139 | Part 140 | Part 141 | Part 142 | Part 143 | Part 144 | Part 145 | Part 146 | Part 147 | Part 148 | Part 149 | Part 150 | Part 151 | Part 152 | Part 153 | Part 154 | Part 155 | Part 156 | Part 157 | Part 158 | Part 159 | Part 160 | Part 161 | Part 162 | Part 163 | Part 164 | Part 165 | Part 166 | Part 167 | Part 168 | Part 169 | Part 170 | Part 171
Judge De Graff received his preliminary education in the public schools of his native town, graduating from the high school in 1888, after which he en- tered Dixon College at Dixon, Illinois, graduating with the title of A. B. in 1894. Becoming a student of the University of Chicago, he gained the degree of Ph. B. in 1898. He began the study of law in the office of Judge W. T. Hodson, of Galena, and was graduated in 1896, from the Northern Illinois College of Law with the degree of L.L. B. He also holds the degree of L.L. M. from the same college. He was principal of the high school at Galena, Illinois, from 1892 to 1893. He also served in a similar capacity in the North Dixon high school for two years. After graduating in law he entered the office of Judge
503
CITY OF DES MOINES AND POLK COUNTY
Judson F. Going, of Chicago, with whom he was associated for nearly two years.
In 1898 he came to Des Moines and accepted a position as secretary and instructor in law, in the Highland Park College of Law, which position he occu- pied for four years, engaging in active practice in this city in 1901 as a member of the law firm of Miller, Wallingford & De Graff. In 1904 he was appointed assist- ant attorney general of the state of Iowa, continuing in this position until Janu- ary I, 1907, when he became county attorney of Polk county. He discharged the duties and responsibilities of that office with such satisfaction that on January 1, 1910, he was appointed by Governor B. F. Carroll as judge of the district court of the ninth judicial district, and in November of the same year was elected to the office by the highest vote polled in the county. His present term expires in January, 1915. Judge De Graff is the author of two books, "Out- lines and Principles of American Government," and "Introductory Studies in Economics," used principally in class work in colleges. These works were is- sued in 1898 and 1899 and have met with high commendation from teachers in different parts of the country.
On the 14th day of August, 1901, at Des Moines, Judge De Graff was united in marriage to Miss Grace L. Clark, a daughter of Almon Clark, a well known farmer and stock-raiser of Earlham, Iowa. Mr. and Mrs. De Graff are the parents of one child, Lawrence Jr., who was born July 17, 1909.
Judge De Graff is a member of the State Bar Association and the Polk County Bar Association. Politically he gives his allegiance to the republican party and socially he is identified with Capital Lodge, No. 110, A. F. & A. M., the Knights of Pythias, the Red Men, the Modern Woodmen of America, the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and the Grant Club. His religious be- lief is indicated by membership in the Methodist church. He has a genial and pleasing address, which has made him highly popular in the community of which he is a valued member. He is alert, capable, energetic and public-spirited, and can always be depended upon to lend assistance to any movement which in his opinion will promote the permanent welfare of the city. He is justly numbered among the prominent and progressive men of Des Moines and the unanimous sentiment of his friends is that he has acquitted himself with the greatest pos- sible credit in the responsible office he now fills.
JOHN M. MEHAN.
There has been no evolution or development in educational work so marked as is that seen in the commercial or industrial world, and Professor John M. Mehan was prominent among those who have given impetus to the work of edu- cation in Iowa, especially in meeting the demand of the business world for thoroughly trained and competent employes whose qualifications are based upon practical instruction in the methods of business life. As president of the Capital City Commercial College he was one of the best known residents of the city and occupied a prominent place in Des Moines. He was born in Virginia in 1853 and lost his parents during his early youth so that, thrown upon his own resources, he was deprived of the advantages of a higher education. When a young man he went to the west and spent several years in prospecting in Col- orado and Montana. During a portion of this time success attended him so that he accumulated some capital. At length he left the mining regions to re- turn to the Mississippi valley and about thirty years ago located in Union county, Iowa, where he resided until early in the '8os when he came to Des Moines. Here he established the Capital City Commercial College soon after his arrival and devoted all of his time to the upbuilding of the school, his labors
504
CITY OF DES MOINES AND POLK COUNTY
resulting in the development of the greatest institution of the kind in the state. He planned a thorough, systematic course of study to meet the demands for wide training for business and the excellence of the course which could be pursued in his school led to the rapid and substantial growth of the institution until, in 1900, there were enrolled eighteen hundred pupils. Moreover, he es- tablished the school upon such excellent lines and surrounded himself with such an efficient corps of assistants and teachers, that the work has been continued since his death and the college is still growing. In 1888 he was joined by W. H. McCauley in a partnership that was maintained until the death of Profes- sor Mehan, Mr. McCauley becoming vice president of the company with Pro- fessor Mehan as president. The original location of the school was the second floor of the old block at the corner of Sixth and Locust streets. When the Young Men's Christian Association building was erected the Capital City Com- mercial College sought quarters therein and was still situated there at the time of Professor Mehan's death, but since the college has erected a building for its own use on Tenth street between Locust and Walnut. As the school pros- pered, bringing him in a desirable annual revenue, Mr. Mehan made invest- ment in other enterprises, becoming the owner of considerable stock in the Grand Avenue Savings Bank, in the Iowa Loan & Savings Association and in other business interests. Mr. Mehan was the founder of the Midland newspaper in Des Moines.
Soon after removing to Union county Mr. Mehan was married to Miss Nettie Vedder Weatherby, of Creston, Iowa, and to them were born two children, John C., of Chicago; and Jetta C., the wife of Marcellus Zinsmaster, of Des Moines. Mrs. Mehan lived but a few years after her marriage and in 1887 Mr. Mehan married again, his second union being with Miss Flora Ickis, of Afton. He was ever devoted to the welfare of his family and found his greatest happiness in promoting the interests of his wife and children.
He was a very active and helpful member of the Central Presbyterian church and his belief in its teachings was exemplified in his daily conduct. He also be- ionged to Capital Lodge, No. II0, A. F. & A. M., and attained the thirty-second degree of the Scottish Rite in Des Moines Consistory. He was ever a worthy exemplar of the craft and enjoyed in full measure the confidence and good will of his brethren of the fraternity. In all of his life he was actuated by a spirit of helpfulness. The establishment and conduct of the Capital City Commercial College was not merely to him a source of income but an opportunity to assist others. He was especially interested in young people and sought their advance- ment and to them gave aid in many ways that could never be compensated for by tuition or financial returns. He sought to give to his pupils a clear, correct idea of life, its opportunities and its values, and his own history was an in- spiration to those who came in contact with him for his progress was attributable entirely to his own worth and the development of his native powers.
CORBIN A. DANA.
For nearly twenty years engaged in the real-estate business in Des Moines Corbin A. Dana is widely known and has not only won a competence in his vocation, but has a host of friends who recognize his personal worth. He was born on the spot where the town of Aurora, Iowa, now stands, November 17, 1865, the son of William and Elizabeth (Watson) Dana, the latter of whom was born at Windham, Vermont, in 1837, and passed away in 1881.
The father was born at Rutland, Vermont, October 12, 1800. He devoted the active years of his life to farming and died in 1879. There were eleven children in the family of Mr. and Mrs. Dana, five of whom died in childhood.
505
CITY OF DES MOINES AND POLK COUNTY
'The others were : Thesta, now the wife of Sidney Hadsell, of Fresno, California ; Lucy, the wife of A. W. Field, of Enid, Oklahoma; Ira who married Rose Vosburg and died leaving two daughters who are living in California; Carrie, also deceased; Corbin A., the subject of this review; and Fannie, the wife of Knowlton Kent, of Hanaford, Illinois.
Corbin A. Dana received his early education in the common schools of Buchanan and Fayette counties, Iowa. He continued upon the home farm until twenty years of age and then began clerking in a drug store at West Union, Iowa, and later established the first drug store in the town of Belle Fourche, South Dakota. In 1892 he came to Des Moines and entered the real- estate business. He now occupies offices at Nos. 317 and 319 Locust street and carries on a large general real-estate business, specializing in exchange business, in which he has attained a goodly measure of success. He is also manager, sec- retary and treasurer of the Central Chemical Company, one of the well estab- lished firms of this city.
On the 17th day of August, 1887, Mr. Dana was united in marriage to Miss Harriet L. Scofield, who was born at Janesville, Wisconsin a daughter of P. D. Frances L. (Loveland) Scofield. The family has a Revolutionary history, as two of the uncles of the father participated in the Revolutionary war ; other relatives of the maternal branch on the father's side served in the same war.
In religious belief Mr. Dana affiliates with the Baptist church and politically he is identified with the democratic party. He has not sought the honors of public office, as he prefers to devote his time and attention to his private busi- ness. He has a wide acquaintance among the members of various fraternities, being identified with the Masons, the Knights of Pythias and the Woodmen of the World. He has assisted very materially in the development of the city, and as his business methods have always been thoroughly honorable and re- liable, his success is most gratifying. He is one of the widely known real- estate men of Des Moines and also a genial, open-hearted gentleman, whom to know is to honor and esteem.
GEORGE L. BARQUIST.
George L. Barquist, president of the St. John & Barquist Company, con- ducting a sheet metal work and general roofing business, their enterprise being the most extensive of this character in the state, is numbered among those business men to whom the opportunities and advantages of the new world have constituted the path of success. Industrious and determined, he never feared to venture where favoring opportunity led the way, but has steadily progressed until he occupies a prominent position in industrial circles, his labors constituting a forceful factor in its prosperity as well as individual advancement. Born May 23, 1849, Sweden claims him among her native sons, although in his youthful days he came to America, with his parents, John and Margaret Barquist, set- tling near Stratford, Iowa. There for a period he was identified wich farming interests but in 1867 he came to Des Moines and was apprenticed to learn the tinsmith's trade which he followed for a number of years, gradually working his way upward until he was made foreman for Compret & Stark, in hardware and sheet metal work. He had charge of their contract department and so con- tinued until his industry and careful expenditure had brought to him a sub- stantial capital to enable him to engage in business on his own account in part- nership with Clifford Newman under the firm name of Barquist & Newman, hardware and sheet metal manufacturers. The business was continued with changes in the partnership, however, leading to the adoption of the firm style of Barquist & Moore. Some time afterward he became one of the organizers
506
CITY OF DES MOINES AND POLK COUNTY
of the St. John & Barquist Company, Inc., and was chosen president upon the company's incorporation in 1889. Mr. St. John retired about 1906, but the bus- iness is still carried on under the name of the St. John & Barquist Company. They draw their patronage from all parts of the United States, although prin- cipally from western territory, and are the largest firm operating in their par- ticular line in the state of Iowa, conducting a general roofing and sheet metal work business, in which connection they employ from fifteen to forty skilled workmen. They are careful to secure the services of only the most capable men and the work therefore done under contract with them is of most excellent character, proving at the same time eminently satisfactory to their many patrons.
In Des Moines, in 1877. Mr. Barquist was married to Miss Hattie Cooney, who was born in Galena, Illinois. They have one son, Harry L. whose birth occurred in Des Moines, October 31, 1879. He was educated in the public and high schools of Des Moines and his first business engagement was with Lederer, Strauss & Company, wholesale milliners, as general utility boy. He continued with that house for several years and then entered his father's business, taking up clerical work. He was taught drafting and has been with his father con- tinuously since, being now secretary and treasurer of the St. John & Barquist Company. He was married June 26, 1904, in Des Moines, to Miss Josephine Ogden, who was born in Leon, Iowa, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. William Ogden.
Both father and son are supporters of the republican party and both hold membership with the Odd Fellows Society and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. George L. Barquist is also a member of the Masonic fraternity, and his son belong to the Hyperion, Field and Motor Clubs. Their religious faith is that of the English Lutheran church and both have made for themselves creditable positions in business circles and their business connections constitute a strong firm, the experience and sound judgment of the father being supple- mented by the enthusiasm and enterprise of the younger man. Both have de- pended upon their own resources and capability for success and their intelligently directed labor has been the basis of their commercial progress.
REV. JOSEPH WELLS.
Among the citizens of Des Moines who are actively engaged in religious work must be numbered the Rev. Joseph Wells, the superintendent of the western district of the American Sunday School Union. A native of England, his birth occurred in Middlesboro on the 21st of May, 1862. The father, Henry Wells, traced his ancestry back to the time of William the Conqueror, at which period the family migrated from France. The mother passed away during the childhood of her son Joseph but the father, who was a steel and iron worker, came to the United States in 1881 and located in Cleveland, Ohio, where he passed away in 1909.
The fundamental education of the Rev. Joseph Wells was acquired in his native land, where he spent the first nineteen years of his life. After his ar- rival in America, however, he pursued a business course in Cleveland in order to acquire a more practical understanding of commercial methods. Later he also studied salesmanship in the Sheldon School at Chicago. He early identified himself with religious work and in 1885 took a position as assistant secretary of the Young Men's Christian Association at Council Bluffs, Iowa. He con- tinued to be engaged in this capacity for two years, following which he entered the service of the American Sunday School Union as missionary for Potta- wattamie county. He retained this position for five years, at the expiration of which period he accepted the pastorate of the Silver City Baptist church, after
507
CITY OF DES MOINES AND POLK COUNTY
having passed the examination of the council of the representative Baptist churches.
Mr. Wells' preliminary theological training was acquired under the direction of the Rev. H. C. Brotherton of Cleveland, under whom he was converted, and also the Rev. D. H. Cooley, D. D., now of Morgan Park, Illinois. Mr. Wells' practical experience as an organizer most ably qualified him to supervise the upbuilding of any parish and under his administration the membership increased in number as well as in enthusiasm, while the financial condition had very much improved at the end of his five years' pastorate. In 1897 he returned to the American Sunday School Union as state financial missionary and six years later was made state superintendent.
He continued to discharge the duties of this office until the Ist of January, 19II, at which time he was elected to his present office, which is that of super- intendent of the western district. This district comprises the states of Iowa, Nebraska, Wyoming and South Dakota. In 1904 Mr. Wells attended the World's Fourth Sunday School Congress which convened in Jerusalem, following which he made a prolonged trip through Europe, Asia and Africa, remaining away a year. He carefully studied and observed the habits and customs of the people of the Orient and Holy Land and after his return prepared a lecture which he is frequently called upon to deliver, entitled: "What I saw in the Land of the Bible.'
Mr. Wells married Miss Ella S. Scribner of Council Bluffs, a daughter of A. N. Scribner, a carriage and wagonmaker now residing in Des Moines. Mrs. Wells' interests are identical with those of her husband, as she has always been a most enthusiastic church and Sunday school worker. She expends a great deal of energy in the church and Sunday school of Calvary Baptist church, with which they are affiliated, aside from which she devotes considerable time to the city mission and the Fresh Air Society. The latter organization owns a home thirty-five miles north of Des Moines, where they send tired mothers and children for a ten days' outing in the summer, making about four trips a year. Upon her mother's side Mrs. Wells is descended from the Pilgrim Fathers, and it is doubtless to them she can attribute her intensely religious and spiritual nature. Four children have been born unto Mr. and Mrs. Wells, three of whom are living, namely : Paul S., who is employed by the Des Moines Electric Company; Joy O., who is secretary to her father; and Ruth J., who is still attending school.
Mr. and Mrs. Wells are both people whose services can be counted upon to advance the interest of every movement calculated to improve the spiritual or moral condition of the community in which they reside. They are public-spir- ited, charitable and beneficent, ever striving by their attitude toward humanity to fulfill the teachings of the Nazarene and always being willing to assist by word or deed those who appeal to them.
F. B. STEWART.
F. B. Stewart, who for the past four years has been engaged in business at Des Moines as a dealer in bridge materials, has built up quite an extensive enter- prise of this character. His birth occurred in Lee county, Iowa, on the 26th of August, 1859, his parents being Alexander and Mary (Marsh) Stewart, the former a native of Athens, Ohio, and the latter of Maine. The father came to Iowa in the late '40s and embarked in the milling business, owning and ope- rating several flour mills. His demise occurred in Illinois in 1894, when he had attained the age of seventy-five years.
508
CITY OF DES MOINES AND POLK COUNTY
F. B. Stewart obtained his education in the schools of his native county and after putting aside his text-books engaged in merchandising in Page county in partnership with his father, with whom he was thus associated from 1876 un- til 1879. In the latter year he went to Colorado and was there engaged in the saw- mill business until 1882, when he returned to Iowa, locating in Des Moines. Here he became connected with the lumber business as a representative of J. M. Boyd & Company, remaining with that firm for several years. On the expira- tion of that period he was made manager of the firm of John H. Queal & Com- pany, acting in that capacity for thirteen years and proving himself well quali- fied for the important position. He next identified himself with the Wheeler Bridge Supply Company and after twelve years' connection with that firm felt that his experience and capital justified him in establishing an independent enter- prise of this character. In 1907, therefore, he embarked in business as a dealer in bridge materials and his activities in this connection have met with continued success.
In 1888, at Yankton, South Dakota, Mr. Stewart was united in marriage to Miss Florence Bull, a native of Indiana, by whom he has four children: S. A., Ruth, Charlotte and Charles. In politics Mr. Stewart is an independent republican, not feeling himself bound by party ties. Throughout his business career he has endeavored to make all his acts and commercial moves the result of definite consideration and sound judgment. There have never been any great ventures or risks in his business career, but by honest, slow-going, de- pendable business methods he has made steady progress, his course at all times being characterized by energy and good system.
WILLIAM L. WHITE.
In business lines William L. White has made the force of his ability and in- dividuality felt, accomplishing whatever he has undertaken. His life has been one of intense and well directed activity covering a period of forty-five years in the shoe business in Des Moines.
His father, Alvah White, was born in Massachusetts and in early life re- moved to Tennessee, and afterward came to Oskaloosa, Iowa, at a very early day, being numbered among the pioneer settlers of this state. He followed agri- cultural pursuits all his life and passed away about 1855. Our subject's mother, who bore the maiden name of Springer, was a native of Kentucky.
William L. White was born in Oskaloosa, Mahaska county, Iowa, on the 13th of January, 1845. His education was acquired in the public schools of that city, he remaining upon the home farm until February, 1864, when at the age of nineteen years he enlisted at Oskaloosa as a private in the Thirty-third Regiment Iowa Infantry, and served about twenty months, when he was honorably dis- charged.
He came to Des Moines in 1868 and his first enterprise was when he en- gaged in the dry-goods business with Webb Dart but in this he remained for only a short time. He next embarked in the shoe business with A. C. and E. Tal- bott but in a short time, feeling capable of his own ability to conduct a business, he entered upon an independent career. For the past forty-five years Mr. White has been known as one of the enterprising and successful shoe men of Des Moines, who, by the strictest adherence to sound business principles and un- wavering integrity, has attained an enviable position and established a business that ranks second to none in Des Moines and undoubtedly in the state.
Mr. White is a stanch Republican, believing in the policies and always sup- porting the candidates of that party but never himself seeking the emoluments
WILLIAM L. WHITE
511
CITY OF DES MOINES AND POLK COUNTY
of public office prefering to assist those whom he considers most adapted to and capable of faithful public service.
He is a charter member of the Knights of Pythias of Des Moines, a valued brother in the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, and has for many years been a member of the R. E. C. A., a charitable organization whose custom it was for many years to dress in white at Christmas time and distribute packages among the poor but later gave up this practice and now hold an annual banquet making their distributions in another manner. He is also a member of the Grand Army of the Republic and the Loyal Legion. His religious affiliation is with the Unitarian church.
On the 3Ist of December, 1872, in the city of Des Moines, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. White and Miss Ella Clapp. Miss Clapp is a daughter of Edwin Ruthven and Emily (Boughton) Clapp, extensive mention of whom is made in another part of this work. Their home has been blessed by the birth of five children as follows: Jane Hosick, born September 26, 1873, wedded Dr. W. N. Schlawig, of Colorado, where they now reside; Adelia, born July II, 1876, and married Chester H. Atherton, secretary and manager of the Centaur Wire & Iron Works of this city, and they have one son, William Herbert, born July 27, 1904 ; Alvah C., born April 18, 1878, is now with the W. L. White Shoe Company ; William L., Jr., born February 17, 1880, is also in the same store. He is married and has three daughters: Ella Ruthven, born November 20, 1900; Helen Elizabeth, born October 20, 1902; and Margaret Jane, whose birth oc- curred October 17, 1904. Helen, born November 1, 1886, is the wife of C. Ray Brand of Des Moines, and they make their home in this city.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.