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 73

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 73

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On the 12th of July, 1892, in Vinton, Iowa, Mr. Waterbury was married to Miss Coral P. Chaffin, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. D. S. Chaffin and a de- scendant of the royal house of Stuarts of Scotland. They have two children. Carl Chaffin and Chloris Patience.

Mr. Waterbury is a progressive republican but not an aspirant for office. He belongs to the Masonic fraternity and to the Knights of Pythias lodge, and to several social organizations including Grant Club, the East and West Commer-

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cial Club, the Des Moines Press Club, the Des Moines Club and also the Greater Des Moines Committee. He also holds membership in the Unitarian church.

Mr. Waterbury has been an extensive traveler, visiting all parts of the globe and every country in the world. He has held commissions from Governors Cum- mins and Carroll to investigate the conditions of health and commerce in va- rious countries, including the Hawaiian islands, the Philippine islands, New Zea- land, Australia, Japan and China. While in London in January, 1904, he was appointed special commissioner for the United States for international exhibi- tions at Rome, Paris, Vienna, London, Antwerp, Amsterdam and Rotterdam, embracing the departments of hygiene and pure food and allied arts and also special commissioner for the royal appointments. In the name of the people of the state of Iowa he has made four successful trips across India and, pro- moting the interests of trade at the same time, he has established branch houses in China, Japan and all European centers. He finds pleasure in many of the delights of traveling and has thereby become a well informed man of wide general information. His mind is stored with many interesting incidents, making him a congenial and entertaining companion. Des Moines acknowledges his worth and citizenship and the value of his efforts in promoting commercial activity in the capital city.

H. C. HARGROVE.

H. C. Hargrove, who comes of good American ancestry and inherited many of the characteristics which enabled brave men and women to conquer the terrors of the wilderness, has for a number of years been a resident of Des Moines and is well known in the state of Iowa as a practical silo man. He was born in Van Buren county, Iowa, April 20, 1864, and is a son of John G. Hargrove, a native of Delaware. The father came to Iowa from Indiana in the '40s and settled in Van Buren county, where he engaged in farming. He is now living retired and is greatly respected as one of the survivors of the early settlers of the county. He is a man of high character and during his active career was an carnest church and Masonic worker, being also for a number of years a leading member of the county board of supervisors. The mother of our subject, Han- nah Holland before her marriage, was born in the state of Delaware and was brought by her parents to Van Buren county sixty-nine years ago, when she was only three weeks old. She is also still living. Her father,, William Holland, walked·from the state of Delaware to Iowa in order to see the country and decide from personal observation whether it was as beautiful and productive as it was represented to be. After taking his observations he returned on foot to Dela- ware and gathered together thirty families, forming a colony which settled in Iowa, naming the town Milton in honor of their old home place in Delaware. When we consider the toil and difficulty of such a journey as that undertaken by this noble pioneer we are impressed with a sense of the courage and fortitude of such men, and are willing to acknowledge that all obstacles are sure to give way before such firmness and endurance.

H. C. Hargrove received his early education in the public schools and later attended the Iowa Wesleyan University. After leaving college he entered busi- ness life and was for a number of years engaged as commercial traveler, becoming one of the highly popular men on the road. In 1903 he located permanently in Des Moines and has since been identified with the silo business, with which he is thoroughly familiar, being one of the original promoters of the system in Iowa.

In 1886 Mr. Hargrove was married to Miss Sylvia Russell, whose parents came from Delaware with the colony that founded the town of Milton. One

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son, George, has been born of this union. Mr. Hargrove is prominent in the Masonic order and is a member of the chapter, commandery and shrine at Des Moines and the blue lodge at Milton, this being the lodge to which his father belongs and of which his grandfather was an honored member. He also holds membership in the Young Men's Christian Association, being one of the directors of that organization, and is also identified with the Grant Club of Des Moines. Always genial and obliging, he has an extensive acquaintance in Iowa and is greatly esteemed wherever he is known. He is a true believer in the brother- hood of man and his life has largely been controlled by principles of kindliness and charity, his religion consisting in deeds rather than in words.

CHARLES A. CHAMBERS.

It is always an inspiration to an ambitious person to study the life of a man who, through his own unaided and well directed effort, attains the position to which he aspires. Among such in Des Moines must be numbered Charles A. Chambers, who is engaged in the real-estate and loan business in the Manhattan building, where he has been located for nearly three years, during which period he has built up a very gratifying clientele. He was born in Hancock county, Illinois, on the 24th of April, 1860, his parents being John M. and Mary (Payne) Chambers. The father, who was a native of Tennessee, always followed agri- cultural pursuits until a short time before his death, which occurred on the 24th of April, 1909, at Augusta, Illinois. Mrs. Chambers' people, who were also farmers, were among the pioneer settlers of Hancock county, migrating there from North Carolina in which state she was born. She is still living and continues to make her home in Augusta.

Having been reared upon a farm and in a home whose income was very limited, Charles A. Chambers did not have the advantages which fell to the lot of many boys of that period. His schooling was confined to attendance at the district schools during their brief winter sessions, as during the other months his assistance was required upon the homestead. He remained a member of the parental household, bearing his share of the work attached to the cultivation of the farm, until he was twenty-one years of age. Being an ambitious youth he felt at that time that better opportunities must await him in the city, so he came to Des Moines, in 1881, and almost immediately entered one of the busi- ness colleges. By means of hard work and close application he improved his neglected education, at the same time acquiring a thorough knowledge of book- keeping and a better understanding of business methods. Upon the completion of his course he accepted a clerkship in the grocery store of Thomas Naylor, continuing in his employ for a year. At the expiration of that time he obtained a position as bookkeeper with the Carman & Schmitt Mattress Manufacturing Company. His work there was quite congenial and he remained in their service for about ten years, following which he engaged in the same work with the W. P. Chase Company, dealers in sporting goods. He left there at the end of a year to become bookkeeper for the Selby Lyle Company at Guthrie Center, with whom he was identified for a similar period. Returning to Des Moines he en- tered the employ of the J. Levitt Company, who are engaged in the loan busi- ress continuing with them for two years, during which time he acquired a very thorough knowledge of the business. Withdrawing from there he opened an office of his own. Mr. Chambers has become quite well established and is enjoying a good and constantly increasing patronage. During the period of his identification with the various firms by whom he was employed he became quite well known in the city and his capability, as well as high business prin- ciples, has been the undoubted means of his rapid advancement.

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In this city in June, 1885, Mr. Chambers was united in marriage to Miss Clara B. Selby, a daughter of John Selby, a native of Illinois, but of English extraction. Two children have been born of this marriage, Raymond and Laura, their births occurring in Des Moines. Mr. Chambers' fraternal relations are confined to Grant Camp, No. 108, Modern Woodmen of America. of which organization he is a charter member. He is eligible, however, to the Sons of the American Revolution, his ancestors on both sides having participated in the war for independence. Mr. Chambers takes pride in his paternal ancestry the family originally coming from the house of Cameron of Scotland, from which country they migrated to Tennessee during colonial days.

It is to the candidates of the republican party that Mr. Chambers accords his political support, his views coinciding with those of the more progressive faction of that body. He has never aspired to official honors, however, so does not actively participate in civic affairs, preferring to concentrate his en- ergies upon the development of his private interests.

CHIESA & COMPANY.

Chiesa & Company is one of the well established houses of Des Moines. Al- though organized only five years ago the company has attracted a large trade in liquors and groceries, also representing as wholesale dealers the Ottumwa Brew- ing Company. The officers of the company are: T. Aldera, president; V. Chiesa, vice president ; and P. Chiesa, secretary and treasurer.

T. Aldera was born at Oleggio, province of Novara, Piemonte, Italy. March 2, 1864, and is a son of Lorenzo and Teresa (Columbo) Aldera. He received his early education in the schools of his native land and in 1882 came to America and spent a short time at Toronto, Canada. He then returned home and served twenty-two months in the Italian army, at the expiration of which time he once more crossed the ocean and, about 1888, arrived in Omaha, where he spent four years. He then went to Butte, Montana, and was connected with the smelt business for two years. In 1896 he came to Des Moines, Iowa, where he en- gaged in business for five years, after which he was in the hotel business at Omaha for four years. In 1905 he visited his old home in Italy and after one year returned to Des Moines and became identified with the firm of which he is now president. In 1901 Mr. Aldera was united in marriage to Miss Jennie Meda, daughter of John and Teresa Meda, and to this union five children have been born, four of whom are now living, namely: Paul, Madeline, John, and Antony. Mr. Aldera and his family are all identified with the Catholic church and he is a valued member of the Eagles.

Vincent Chiesa, vice president of Chiesa & Company, is a native of San Lorenzo, Province of Udine, Italy, born June 16, 1870, and a son of John and Santa (Beltrame) Chiesa. He attended the schools of San Lorenzo and grew up under the paternal roof serving, as he approached manhood, for twenty-one months and fourteen days in the Italian army. At the age of twenty-two, in 1892, he emigrated to America, coming direct to Des Moines, and for about a year was in the employ of J. B. McGarrish, a brick manufacturer and general contractor. In 1893 he went to the Pacific coast and was employed in Cali- fornia in smelting works for one year, after which he returned to Des Moines. In 1901 he went to Hot Springs, Arkansas, but two years later again took up his residence in Des Moines, where he has since remained, becoming one of the organizers of Chiesa & Company in 1906. On April 18, 1897, he was married to Miss Sabina Bassi, daughter of Angelo and Marial (Baruzzini) Bassi. Their home has been brightened by the birth of one son, Marco, who is now thirteen

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years of age. The family are all members of the Catholic church and Mr. Chiesa is identified with the Eagles and the Red Men.

Peter Chiesa, secretary and treasurer of Chiesa & Company, has the same family name as the vice president of the company but is not a relative of his. He was born in San Lorenzo, Province of Udine, Italy, January 25, 1883, and is the son of Lewis and Teresa (Chiesa) Chiesa. The ancestry of this family has been traced back for a period of five hundred years in Italy. Mr. Chiesa arrived in America April 18, 1900, and came to Des Moines, being then seven- teen years of age. He received his early education in his native country, but has since greatly broadened his knowledge by observation and experience. His first employment at Des Moines was under Mr. McGarrish in his brick manu- facturing plant. After eighteen months with this concern he became connected with the Italian Importing Company, wholesale grocers, and gained a pretty good general idea of the grocery business. About 1902 he associated with Harry Ponzeline in the confectionery and fruit business for nine months, when their place was burned out. He then entered the employ of Peter Dapolonia, a whole- sale liquor dealer, but on account of ill health resigned in October, 1903, and went into the pool and billiard business. Since the organization of Chiesa & Company he has been one of its prominent factors. He has two brothers- Valentine, who lives in Germany, and Lewis, who is working for Chiesa & Company. Mr. Chiesa is an active member of the Red Men and also of the Guiseppe Garabaldi Society, an Italian fraternal organization of this city.

The company maintains three stores in the city, located respectively at No. 222 West Court avenue, No. 423 West Second street, and No. 101 East Locust street. On account of the energy and ability displayed by its management the business has shown steady growth from the start and today Chiesa & Company is one of the highly flourishing concerns of the city. The officers of the company are all men of experience and energy and recognized by their associates as being in a high degree competent and reliable.

JOHN EVANS.

The unusual managerial powers exhibited by John Evans in the direction of the Coliseum has served to bring him quite prominently before the citizens of Des Moines, in which city he was born on the 18th of October, 1883. The father, David Evans, was born in South Wales in 1853, but the mother, who prior to her marriage was Sophia Kahler, is a native of Germany, her birth occurring in Lubeck in 1858. The parents came to Des Moines in 1883, where the father opened a restaurant and which he continued to conduct until he passed away in 1910. The mother is still living and now makes her home in California. Three children were born of this union, those aside from our subject being: Lewis J., who is married and residing in Des Moines; and Annie, who is in California with her mother.

In the acquirement of his education John Evans was first a pupil in the private school of Miss Rachael C. Clarke, following which he attended the city high school. After completing his education he assisted his father for a time in the management of the restaurant at Fourth and Walnut streets. He with- drew from this business venture in 1905 to engage in newspaper work, his first position being on the Capital, with which journal he was identified for two years. He then went to Washington, D. C., being employed on the Times for a year, following which he became night city editor of the Chicago Inter-Ocean for a similar period, after which he returned to Des Moines to assume the manage- ment of the Coliseum, which has since yielded larger dividends than any similar structure in the United States, having paid nine per cent on the outstanding

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stock in ten months, which is three times the profit netted by any other coliseum in a year. This building was constructed under the direction and supervision of the Greater Des Moines Committee, the money being raised by subscription from the citizens. The company, which is now incorporated, contains six hun- dred stockholders. It is a well and substantially constructed building containing, on the mail floor, nineteen thousand square feet of floor space and twenty-eight booths covering an additional seven thousand square feet, thus making the total area of the floor twenty-six thousand square feet.

On the 12th of July, 1910, Mr. Evans was united in marriage to Miss Aimee Marguerite Loizeaux, a native of Dysart, Iowa, and a daughter of C. J. and Olive (Roberts) Loizeaux, residents of Des Moines, where the father, who is a physician, is engaged in the practice of his profession. Mr. Evans is a mem- ber of the Ad Men's Club, while his political support is accorded to the republican party.

HENRY COX, M. D.

Although nearly a quarter of a century has passed since the grave closed upon the mortal remains of Dr. Henry Cox, his memory is cherished by rela- tives and friends whom he strongly attracted by his noble qualities. He made his home in Des Moines for twenty-one years and died February 1. 1887, having gained recognition as one of the most talented and respected physicians of the city. He was born in Preble . county, Ohio, September 21. 1821, and was a son of David J. and Rosanna (Bake) Cox.

Before Mayflower days representatives of the Cox family were living in America, William Cox having come to this country in the Godspede in 1610, three years after the settlement at Jamestown, Virginia. In the early Indian wars the family took their part valiantly and Robert Cox of Marblehead, was engaged in King Philip's war in 1675. Thomas Cox, the great-grandfather of Dr. Henry Cox was one of the proprietors of East New Jersey in 1670. His estate was one of the most valuable in the colony and from its richness was called "Cream Ridge," a name handed down to posterity by a postoffice in its immediate vicinity, at which some of his descendants still receive their mail. "Box Grove," the ancestral home, saw the beginning of the home life of five generations of the Cox family.

General James, Cox, the grandfather of Dr. Cox, was born in 1753 and served his country in various honorable positions. He enlisted as a private in the First New Jersey Militia and was promoted to lieutenant in the same regiment, and later became a general, serving until the close of the Revolutionary war. He was engaged in the battles of Brandywine, Germantown and Monmouth, the last named being fought within a few miles of his home in New Jersey. He was also a member of the New Jersey legislature for eight years, was speaker of the house four years, and later elected to the congress of the United States. He died a short time before the war of 1812, while still a member of congress. Among the distinguished members of this family was Samuel S. Cox (widely known as "Sunset" Cox), who was a prominent lawyer, author, congressman and minister to Turkey. He was a cousin of Dr. Cox of this review.

David J. Cox, the father of our subject, was born in New Jersey in 1792 and was one of a family of thirteen children. His life was devoted to the ministry, becoming a pioneer Methodist preacher in the wilds of Ohio and later living in Decatur county, Indiana. He was an accomplished scholar and was the owner of a noted library. being said to have the finest collection of books within a radius of one hundred miles.

Henry Cox received his early education in the district schools and after at- taining his majority engaged in the drug business in Indiana. Being attracted to the medical profession, he entered the Ohio Medical College at Cincinnati,

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graduating with the degree of M. D. in 1853. He began practice in Hendrick county, Indiana, and continued in that state until after the Civil war. He was a personal friend of Governor Oliver P. Morton and at the time of the war was appointed surgeon on his staff. He also served in the medical department of the army but declined remuneration for his services. He stood ready at all times to respond to any call that was made upon him to advance the interests of his state or nation. He rendered valuable aid after the battles of Shiloh, Corinth and Vicksburg and at the close of the war he and his wife gave a banquet at their home to two hundred soldiers, which was one of the notable events of the time. It was in 1866 that he and his family removed to Des Moines, and in a few years he became widely known in this state on account of his skill as a physician and his remarkable ability in attracting friends.

In 1846, at Hillsboro. Highland county, Ohio, Dr. Cox was married to Miss Catherine Beatty, and they became the parents of six children, namely: Mary Ida, who is now the widow of Dr. J. W. Adams of Des Moines: Eliza, the wife of W. F. Mitchell. of the same city : James Edgar, of Long Beach, Cali- fornia : Cassius M., also of California: Elmer Elsworth, of Long Beach: and Frank A., who died in infancy.

Mrs. Cox was born in Highland county. Ohio, October 6, 1823, and is a daughter of Captain Andrew Beatty, an officer in the Revolutionary war. Her mother, who bore the maiden name of Sarah Judith Carter, was a member of a noted Virginia family and was named in honor of the wife of Robert Carter, popularly called King Carter, on account of the almost regal state in which he lived. She was left a widow with ten daughters, who became the wives of men prominent both in professional and business life. and it was her privilege to visit them in their various homes. Mrs. Cox possesses exceptional talent as a writer and is the author of many beautiful poems now in possession of her children. She makes her home with her daughter, Mrs. Mitchell, and has reached the advanced age of eighty-eight years, a very large part of her life having been devoted to promoting the comfort and happiness of others. She has been a consistent member of the Methodist church for seventy-four years. was one of the founders and the first president of the Children's Home in Des Moines and for a number of years was also president of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union and .a personal friend of Frances E. Willard.

Mrs. Mitchell came to Iowa with her parents in 1866, arriving in Des Moines in a stage coach, as the railroad had not been built into the city although it was com- pleted later in the same year. In 1875 she was united in marriage to W. F. Mitchell. She has been very prominent in philanthropic and society circles and is an ardent member of Abigail Adams Chapter of the Daughters of the Ameri- can Revolution and has served as a member of the board of managers of this organization. Mrs. Mitchell has had many honors in club circles, having been president and charter member of the Review Club, president of the Des Moines Women's Club two years, and it was during her administration that the Hoyt Sherman place came into the club's possession. She also served as president of the Des Moines Federation of Women's Clubs and was a member of the public library board for eleven years. On the occasion of the visit of Hon. William Taft to Iowa, prior to his election to the presidency, he was the principal speaker at three meetings in Des Moines, the first of these being a woman's meeting presided over by Mrs. Mitchell. Later she received a personal letter from Mr. Taft complimenting her on her success on that occasion and saying that the meeting over which she presided made upon his mind the deepest impression of any public gathering that he had ever attended.

In 1852 Dr. Cox traveled extensively over the west and, foreseeing the great advance in population and the demands for homes, purchased five hun- dred acres of land in this state, which was in possession of the family until a few years ago. He was a man of strong convictions, fearless in the expression

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of his views and a lover of the republic and his fellowmen. He was a strong abolitionist in the years preceding the Civil war and did not hesitate to assist escaping slaves on their way to Canada over the underground railroad. During the war his home, which was a large brick colonial structure, sheltered many fleeing families, and the garret was a storehouse for the armament in readiness for the protection of the county seat of Danville, Indiana. He was tireless in his efforts to relieve the wants of the poor and deserving, but never publicly made known his good works, preferring above all else the approval of an edu- cated conscience. In the full sense of the word he was an upright man and of him it may be truly said he left the world better for his having lived in it.

MIER ADELMAN.

In enumerating the natives of Russia who have become citizens of Des Moines mention should be made of Mier Adelman, who has been engaged in business in this city for more than a quarter of a century. He. is of Hebrew parentage and was born on the 6th of July, 1849. He was educated in the government schools of his native land and after laying aside his text-books he was employed as clerk in a logging business. Feeling life in Russia was no longer tolerable, he and his wife emigrated to the United States in 1882, and upon arriving in this country they made their way westward to Des Moines, where after traveling one year he engaged in the meat business for nineteen years. In 1903 he embarked in the grocery business with his son. He possesses all of the thrift, perseverance and sagacity which characterizes his people and by his own efforts has acquired a nice business and some property since settling here.

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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 73

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