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 61

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 61

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Not to be omitted in the record of William L. White is his home life. Al- though having endless business cares as befall a man of his position he has al- ways been a lover of his home and would gladly at any time remain absent from a social function to spend a quiet evening at home with his family.

Such in brief is the life history of William L. White, one of the oldest mer- chants of Des Moines and still one of the youngest men, active, alert and pro- gressive, to whom opportunity has meant the open door to success, using wisely the advantages which come to him and creating them when none have seemed ap- parent, he has steadily pushed forward toward the goal of prosperity and has won his advancement in those lines which contribute to business activity and therefore to the commercial stability of the city, county and state.

EDWARD ELISHA DORR, M. D.

Ready at all times to meet the urgency of the hour, advancing step by step in his professional and business career, Dr. Dorr is today recognized as one of the eminent members of the medical profession, not only of Des Moines but of Iowa, and is equally well known as a forceful factor in business circles. He is a native of Valparaiso, Indiana, a son of Joseph M. and Jullietta B. (Reynolds) Dorr and a descendant of Captain Mathew Dorr, who was a soldier of the Revolution and later a member of the Ohio militia. Joseph M. Dorr came to Towa in 1853, settling in Warren county. He returned to complete his educa- tion at DePauw University of Indiana and afterward engaged in the practice of law at Valparaiso until 1863, when he came to Des Moines, the family joining him in the capital city in May, 1864.

Thus it was that Dr. Dorr became a pupil in the public schools of Des Moines and later in the pursuance of his education attended the State University of Iowa, being graduated from the medical department in March, 1889. He did postgraduate work in Vienna, Austria, in 1889 and 1890 and in Chicago in 1896. Following his sojourn abroad he returned to this city and opened an

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office. Here he has since engaged in practice with constantly increasing ability. He has not sought by leaps and bounds to reach the goal of success and emi- nence but has been content to move forward steadily but surely, equipping him- self for the onerous duties of the profession by broad study and research and learning from daily experience the lessons to be gleaned therefrom. His stand- ing is indicated by the honors that have been conferred upon him by the pro- fession. He was chosen counsellor of the seventh district of the Iowa State Medical Society in 1903 and filled the position until 1908. In 1900 he was elected to the presidency of the Des Moines Pathological Society and in 1905 to the presidency of the Polk County Medical Society. In the same year he was made a delegate to the American Medical Association and filled the position again in 1907. Since 1900 he has been the editor of the Iowa Medical Journal and in this connection is most widely and prominently known by reason of the worth of the Journal as a contribution to the medical literature of the age. He has also displayed keen insight into business affairs and is secretary- treasurer of the Dorr Investment Company and secretary of the Lincoln Place Company, in which connection he is developing and improving valuable property interests and also contributing to the upbuilding of the city.

Dr. Dorr is now filling the office of lieutenant on the medical reserve corps of the United States army by appointment of President Taft, who called him to the position in April, 1909. In more strictly political lines he is well known for he has been active in the republican party and a worker for all that has to do with practical reform and improvement in municipal affairs. He was a stanch advocate of the Des Moines plan of city government and his coopera- tion has been equally effective in other lines of advancement. He served as alderman of the city from 1900 until 1902, was city physician in 1894-95, and county physician from 1893 until 1895. He has belonged to the Grant Club since 1892 and is well known as a factor in the social circles of the city, having been the first president of the Waveland Park Golf Club and secretary and treasurer of the Iowa Golf Association. This indicates the nature of his chief recreation as he is an enthusiast on the subject of golf. Fraternally he is con- nected with the Knights of Pythias and the Modern Woodmen of America, and is also a member of the Sons of the American Revolution and numerous other organizations.

On the 7th of January, 1891, Dr. Dorr was united in marriage to Miss Mil- dred Redhead, a daughter of Hon. Wesley Redhead, of Des Moines, who died in 1892 and on the 19th of February, 1896, Dr. Dorr wedded Mary Newman, a daughter of George C. Newman and a sister of O. P. Newman, editor of the Washington Times. They have one child, Newman Dorr, still in school. Dr. Dorr is today one of the best known citizens of Des Moines because of his extensive and prominent connection with professional, public and social in- terests. His life has been characterized by a continuous development along the lines that make him a forceful and honored factor in the community and few residents of Des Moines have a wider circle of friends.

JACOB L. SHEUERMAN.

The manufacturing interests of Des Moines are ably represented by Jacob L. Sheuerman, secretary and general manager of the Capital City Woolen Mills. Although he is not yet thirty-five years of age, he occupies a position of large responsibility, whose duties he has discharged with a promptness and efficiency that met the cordial approval of all persons interested. He is a native of Iowa, and was born at Marengo, August 8, 1876, a son of Leopold Sheuerman, a record of whom appears elsewhere in this work.

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Jacob L. Sheuerman was given by his parents every desirable opportunity of education. He attended the public schools, and after graduating from the Des Moines High School in 1895, matriculated in the State University of Iowa, where he continued for three years, when he received an offer to enter the service of Sears, Roebuck & Company, a large mail order house of Chicago. The opportunity was too tempting to an ambitious young man to be overlooked, and although it was quite a sacrifice, he gave up his studies at the university in the last year of his course and went to Chicago.

After spending three years in the advertising department of the Chicago company, during which time he gained experience that has proven of great value, he returned to Des Moines, and became permanently connected with his father's large establishment, the Capital City Woolen Mills. This is the third largest concern of the kind in the United States. It manufactures raw material into cloth, which is then made up into finished garments for wear- ing apparel for women. The house maintains nineteen traveling salesmen, whose territory includes the principal states of the west, and employs six hun- dred and eighty persons. As its secretary and manager, Mr. Sheuerman has exhibited remarkable tact and judgment and the business has each year shown increasing returns upon the investment. He has the ability in an unusual de- gree of applying practical methods, thus producing large results, which are to be witnessed in the large and growing activities at the mills.

On the 7th day of October, 1903, Mr. Sheuerman was united in marriage at Iowa City, Iowa, to Miss Myra Bloom, a daughter of Moses and Sarah Bloom. The father attained an enviable reputation in politics, serving as state senator for a number of terms. He is now deceased. The beloved mother is still residing at the old homestead at Iowa City. Mr. and Mrs. Sheuerman have no children of their own, but have an adopted son, Richard Sheuerman.

Politically, Mr. Sheuerman is numbered among the progressive republicans. He and his wife give their adherence to the Jewish religion, and are valued members of the Jewish temple. He holds membership in the Commercial and Hyperion Clubs. He is an up-to-date business man, alert, enterprising, broad- minded, thoroughly informed as to every detail of his calling, and capable, on account of his natural talents, education and experience, of meeting any emer- gency that arises in the course of his daily duties. He has the confidence and esteem of the employes of the large establishment of which he is manager-an additional evidence of his genuine worth. In business he has made a highly creditable record, but even more creditable is his loyalty to any cause he con- siders right, for neither fear nor favor induces him to swerve from what he believes to be just and true.

CHARLES H. MORRISON.

Few lines of business in modern times have shown such a remarkable growth as the automobile industry, and it has now reached a development which was not dreamed possible even by the wildest enthusiasts ten years ago. The auto has become a necessity to thousands of persons in America, and this fact has been recognized by bright young men who have undertaken the responsibility of dis- tributing these wonderful machines to the many customers throughout the coun- try who are able to pay for them. Charles H. Morrison is one of the well known auto men of Des Moines, and the success he has attained in securing patrons in the past few years is evidence that he applies intelligence and energy to his vocation.

He was born in Pennsylvania, February 10, 1882, a son of J. M. and Cath- erine (Kolb) Morrison, both of whom were natives of the Keystone state. The

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mother was born in 1858 and the father in 1856. He is now engaged in the automobile business. The paternal grandfather was a soldier of the Civil war, serving in a Pennsylvania regiment, and was present at the battle of Gettysburg.

Charles H. Morrison came with his parents to Iowa and received his pre- liminary education in the public schools of Ida Grove, subsequently becoming a student in the high school of the same town. After graduating from the high school, in 1902, he pursued a medical course in the State University, and then carried his studies still farther at Drake University. He established the first automobile livery in Des Moines, in 1906, and has ever since been engaged in the automobile business, managing an exclusive livery establishment and also selling the Mitchell and Thomas machines.

On the 25th of November, 1909, Mr. Morrison was united in marriage to Miss Alma Matthews, born at Denver, Colorado, a daughter of George and Anna Matthews. The mother is deceased, but the father is a ranch owner of Colorado.

Mr. Morrison received a liberal education in his earlier years and, no doubt. he has been very greatly assisted in his business by the knowledge he gained through study in high school and college. He has a fine address and is a fluent and convincing talker. Morever, he understands the automobile and he firmly believes in its necessity and great importance to modern life. His activities are limited only by the field in which he operates and they have produced very sat- isfactory financial returns. While living at Ida Grove he identified himself with the Church of God and he still retains his membership there. Politically he is an earnest republican, and fraternally he is connected with the Odd Fellows.

WILLIAM L. SHEPARD.

Des Moines is well known as an insurance center, several of the strong and growing insurance companies having headquarters in this city, from which point in radiating lines their business interests reach out to all parts of the country. Among the leading companies operating here is the Central Life Assurance Society, of which William L. Shepard is the vice president. He was born in Bloomfield, Ontario county, New York, June 13, 1856, a son of Luther and Elizabeth (Fairchild) Shepard. The mother died in July, 1869, but the father long survived and passed away in 1896. He was a merchant and miller, and in 1873 he left the east to become a resident of Des Moines, where he resided until 1876, at which time he took up his abode in Villisca, Iowa, where he re- mained until his death. He was a native of New Hampshire but lived for many years in New York before removing to the Mississippi valley. The Shepard family is of Scotch-Irish descent. The Fairchild family was founded in America by those who left England and settled in Barnstable, Massachusetts, in 1628. Among their descendants were those who served in the patriot army in the Revolutionary war.

William L. Shepard was a pupil in the Bloomfield (New York) Academy to the age of fifteen years, when he started out in the business world as a clerk in a general mercantile store of his native city, being thus employed for two years. Following the removal of his father to Iowa he obtained his first position in Des Moines with George Bugbee, proprietor of a retail dry-goods house, who was one of the pioneer merchants of this city. Later he clerked for William W. Moore, a dealer in dry goods at Des Moines, spending three years with the two firms. In 1876 his father removed to Villisca, Montgomery county, Iowa, where he engaged in general merchandising in partnership with his son under the firm name of L. Shepard & Son. They continued together for ten years, at the end of which time the father retired, William L. Shepard, however, carry-

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ing on the business for another six years. In 1892 he returned to Des Moines and engaged in the wholesale shoe business with Frederick Field under the firm style of Frederick Field & Company, wholesale dealers in boots and shoes. A year later. their house and stock were destroyed by fire and the business was discontinued. Mr. Shepard then became cashier of the American Savings Bank which position he filled for three years. On severing his active connection with the bank he became secretary of the Iowa Lithograph Company but a year later entered into active connection with the grain trade, becoming secretary of the Des Moines Elevator Company. He was allied with that enterprise until 1905, when he disposed of his interest and removed to Spokane, Washington, where he remained for a year. In 1906, however, he again came to Des Moines and since that time has bent his energies to administrative direction in insurance circles as the vice president of the Central Life Assurance Society. He had been nominally the vice president of the company for five years prior to that time but in 1906 became an active factor in its management, and his judgment, enterprise and labors have since been factors in its successful control.

On the Ist of August, 1878, in Villisca, Iowa, Mr. Shepard was married to Miss Lulu Tracy, a native of Pennsylvania, and they have two living children : Gail, who was born in Villisca and is now the wife of Clarence Bell and a resident of Carlsbad, New Mexico; and Ruth, who is the wife of Dr. J. F. McKitrick, of Des Moines. The parents are members of the Unitarian church. In fact Mr. Shepard is at all times somewhat independent in thought and action, believing in the right to form his opinions according to his judgment and observations and at the same time according to others the same right. He is, therefore, not allied with any political party but votes as his judgment dictates. He is a member of the different Masonic bodies and a past eminent commander of Temple Com- mandery, K. T. He holds membership with the Grant and Golf and Country Clubs. In business life he has won for himself a creditable position that brings to him substantial financial returns and at the same time indicates the power and ability which he displays in the control and management of important interests.

MATHEW L. TURNER, M. D.

Dr. Mathew L. Turner, holding to high professional standards and striving at all times to increase the value of his professional services through his wide reading and research, has for a number of years been accounted one of the most progressive and successful practitioners of Des Moines. He was born in Potta- wattamie county, Iowa, on the 17th of March, 1865, a son of Jerome and Mar- garet (Perry) Turner, the former of Scotch and the latter of English lineage. The father, a native of Ohio, removed from that state to Iowa in 1859, casting his lot with the early residents of Pottawattamie county, where he secured a tract of land and engaged in farming. He died in January, 1904, while his wife, a native of Pennsylvania, passed away in February, 1884.

At the usual age Dr. Turner became a pupil in the public schools of his native county and there continued his studies at intervals until he had attained his majority. Subsequently he matriculated in De Pauw University at Green- castle, Indiana, pursuing the liberal arts course, and with broad general knowl- edge to serve as the foundation upon which to rear the superstructure of pro- fessional learning, he entered the Medical College of Indiana, from which he was graduated with valedictorian honors as a member of the class of 1896. He was located for practice at Griswold, Iowa, where he remained for six years. coming thence to Des Moines in 1902. In the intervening period of nine years he has followed his profession in the capital city and postgraduate work has further qualified him for the onerous duties which devolve upon him. In 1900

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he attended the Post Graduate School of Chicago, and again, in 1909, pursued a course there. He has a very large and steady practice and is accounted one of the leading physicians of Des Moines. His ability is based upon a thorough scientific knowledge of medicine and surgery and his experience has covered a wide range in practice. Anything that tends to bring to man the key to the complex mystery which we call life is of interest to him, and he conforms his practice at all times to a high standard of professional ethics. Limited financial resources hampered him at the outset, for he was a poor boy and worked his own way through school. Laudable ambition, supplementing determined purpose and unfaltering perseverance, has won him continuous advancement and he stands today in a position which might well be envied by the great majority of the representatives of the medical profession. Aside from his practice he has large holdings in realty, stocks and other investments.

Dr. Turner is a prominent Mason, holding membership in Capital Lodge, No. IIO, F. & A. M., the Royal Arch Chapter, the Knight Templar Commandery and the Mystic Shrine, and in the lodge he has served as senior warden. He also has membership relations with the Yeomen, Modern Woodmen, the Court of Honor and the Knights of Pythias, and in the last named is a past chancellor. He is a member of the Country and University clubs. His political allegiance is given to the republican party and like most men of strong intellectual develop- ment he is well informed on all the vital questions and general interests of the day, yet his attention chiefly centers upon his professional duties, which are dis- charged with a conscientious sense of obligation and an ability that renders him one of the distinguished leaders of the medical profession in Des Moines.

JOSEPH SHELDON GLADSTONE.

Joseph Sheldon Gladstone, successfully engaged in the real-estate business at Des Moines, is numbered among the city's most substantial and esteemed res- idents. His birth occurred in Guyandotte, Cabell county, West Virginia, on the 3d of October, 1876. His paternal grandfather, William Gladstone, ran the first freight train on the Stockton & Darlington Railroad, the first railroad that was built in England or the world. His engine was called Yough Hall, mean- ing the rough haul, for in those days engines were named instead of numbered. The Stockton & Darlington Railroad was in Durham county, England. The grandmother of our subject on his father's side was a first cousin of James Watt, who first discovered the power of steam.

William Sheldon Gladstone, the father of Joseph S. Gladstone, was born at Stockton-on-Tees. Durham county, in 1843. In 1857 he was apprenticed and put under a taskmaster, to learn artistic painting. Following his emigra- tion to the United States in 1864 he worked for the Pennsylvania Railroad Company until 1872. Subsequently he accepted the position of general fore- man in the paint department of the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway Company at Huntington, West Virginia, the general foreman in those days purchasing all the supplies. He remained in the service of the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway Company until called to his final rest in 1899. In 1874 he had wedded Miss Elizabeth Anne Weaver, born at Cottageville, West Virginia, in 1856, and who still survives him. Their union was blessed with five children, as follows : Joseph Sheldon, of this review : Robert T., who is married and resides at Hunt- ington, West Virginia; Ida I., living in Chicago; Virginia T., the wife of H. E. Koontz, of Chicago; and W. F., who is married and also makes his home in Chicago.

In the acquirement of an education Joseph S. Gladstone attended the graded schools of Huntington, West Virginia, and also pursued a business course in the

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Huntington Commercial School. After putting aside his text-books he served an apprenticeship to the machinist's trade, working at that occupation altogether for fourteen years and spending the greater part of the time in Huntington, West Virginia. From there he went to Chariton, Iowa, where he was made superintendent of the Eureka Manufacturing Company, manufacturers of agri- cultural implements, and at the next annual meeting was elected vice president and general manager of the concern. Subsequently he removed to Humeston, Iowa, and there became managing editor of the Humeston Advocate. Later, coming to Des Moines, he again took up the machinist's trade, working for the Chicago Great Western and Rock Island Railroads, as well as in some of the smaller shops of the city. He afterward went to Pella, Iowa, as private secre- tary to H. Rietveld, a banker who also operated coal mines and was engaged in the manufacture of brick and tile. While working in this capacity he gained an insight into the real-estate business and in 1905 began operating as an im- migration agent in the Panhandle of Texas. Subsequently he embarked in bus- iness on his own account, buying, selling and exchanging lands, properties, etc., and now has a large clientage. He has thoroughly informed himself concern- ing realty values and its appreciation or diminution in price and is thus enabled to assist his clients in making judicious investments and profitable sales. He is likewise the president of the Hawkeye Medicine Company of Des Moines. His military record covers service as quartermaster sergeant in the Second Regiment of West Virginia National Guards.

On the 16th of March, 1898, at Ironton, Ohio, Mr. Gladstone was united in marriage to Miss Gillie Sadler, a daughter of R. R. and Amanda M. (Thomas) Sadler, who came to. Iowa from Virginia about 1898. Mr. Sadler is the pub- lisher of the Iowa State Baptist Record at Pella 'and is also a director of the Central University of Iowa. He is deeply interested in affairs concerning the Baptist church. Mrs. Gladstone is one of a family of eight children, the others being as follows: R. L .; L. H .; Hoge; Leland; Nina, the wife of H. P. Van Gorp; Walker L .; and Emma M. Unto our subject and his wife have been born three children: William Sheldon, Elizabeth Ardelia and Ota Louise.

In politics Mr. Gladstone is a republican, while in religious faith he is an Episcopalian. Fraternally he is identified with the Masons and the Knights of Pythias. He has gained many stanch friends in both social and business life and his record is a creditable one, inasmuch as his success is attributable to his own labors.

GEIS BOTSFORD.

Geis Botsford, the secretary of the Des Moines Commercial Club, has served in that capacity since his election in 1908. His birth occurred at Fort Dodge, Iowa, on the 9th of April, 1870, his parents being Austin N. and Mary (Scott) Botsford, of New York, both of whom were natives of Connecticut. The father who settled in Fort Dodge in 1867, is an attorney by profession and still resides at that place. The mother has passed away.

Geis Botsford obtained his education in the public schools of his native town. the year of his graduation being 1888. For a number of years thereafter he was identified with journalistic interests. It was in 1889 that he began work of this character in the employ of John F. Duncomb, a prominent democratic leader of the state and owner of the Fort Dodge Chronicle, remaining in his service until 1892. During the next five years he was connected with the Sioux City Journal, while in 1897 he came to Des Moines and identified himself with the Leader. He remained with the paper for about seven years, acting as city editor, reporter and advertising manager. Subsequently he was connected with

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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 61

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