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 79

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 79

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RICHARD R. ROLLINS.

Richard R. Rollins, a prominent figure in the financial circles of Des Moines and in all business affairs manifesting that keen discernment which for lack of a better term has been called commercial sense, is now president of the Des Moines Realty & Securities Company and a director in other financial institu- tions of the city. He was born in Des Moines, February 4, 1872, a son of John R. and Sarah E. Rollins. The family is of Scotch-Irish origin, although it has been represented for over two centuries in New Hampshire, Maine and Ver- mont. In the year 1857 John R. Rollins came to Des Moines and in the inter- vening years to his death left a strong and beneficial influence upon the edu- cational, commercial and financial undertakings of this city. He was first super- intendent of the city schools but later turned his attention to merchandising and subsequently became identified with various banking and industrial undertak- ings. He served for ten years as councilman from the old third ward and de- clined a renomination, preferring the quiet and retirement of private life. In office his loyalty to duty and intellectual recognition of the possibilities and de- mands of the situation enabled him to do splendid service and his fellow towns- men gave expression of the appreciation of his worth by again and again call- ing him to office. In his later years he was a director of the Citizens National Bank, the German Savings Bank and the Security Loan & Trust Company and was president and director of the Iowa Pipe & Tile Company. His death oc- curred in 1903, at the age of seventy-nine years.

Richard R. Rollins was graduated from the West Des Moines high school in the class of 1891 and made his initial step in the business world as an em- ploye of R. G. Dun & Company, with whom he remained for a year. Realizing the value and necessity of further educational training if he should attain to positions of responsibility and prominence in the business world such as his am- bition pointed out to him, he resumed his studies and was graduated from Am- herst College in 1896. He then entered the law department of the University of Iowa and was graduated in 1898. He won the degrees of Bachelor of Sci- ence and Bachelor of Law and at Amherst became a member of the Phi Beta Kappa and is also a member of the Chi Psi. While in school in Iowa City he was president of the law class in 1897. He took up the study of law not for the purpose of practice but in order to further qualify him for the responsibilities

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of business life. He became identified with manufacturing interests in Des Moines as secretary and manager of the Rollins Vinegar & Pickle Company, which sold out in 1904, and the following year he turned his attention to the investment brokerage business, in which he is still engaged. He was the pro- moter and builder of the Grant Club building and of the Securities office build- ing and has thus contributed to the material improvement of the city. In finan- cial affairs he has shown that his judgment is sound, his discrimination keen and his spirit of enterprise strongly marked. He is now president of the Des Moines Realty & Securities Company, a director of the Security Loan & Trust Company and the Security Loan & Investment Company and is identified with several other financial institutions of the city.

'At Des Moines, on the 23d of November, 1899. Mr. Rollins was united in marriage to Miss Gertrude Getchell, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Charles H. Getchell. Her father was an early settler here and prominent in the lumber and planing mill business and in various other business activities. Their only child, Richard R. Rollins, Jr., was born June 24, 1906.

Mr. Rollins is by inheritance, training and conviction a republican. He has no political aspirations and although pledged the almost unqualified support of the Civic League and the business interests of the city he declined in 1906 and again in 1908 to enter the mayoralty contest, having no desire to hold public office. He belongs to no secret organization except the Benevolent and Protect- ive Order of Elks, which he joined in 1898. He is, however, a valued member of the Grant Club, the Golf and Country Club and the Commercial Club and is helpfully interested in all of the movements of the latter for the benefit of the city, the exploitation of its resources and advantages and the stimulus of its commercial activity.

GEORGE N. FRINK.

George N. Frink, of Des Moines, who is well known throughout Iowa as one of the most capable fraternal society workers in the state, is a native of Bentonville, Fayette county, Indiana.

He was born March 1. 1859. a son of Rufus E. and Katherine (Spong) Frink, the former of whom was born at Montrose, Pennsylvania, in July, 1832, and the latter at Bentonville. The father served in an Indiana regiment for three years at the time of the Civil war. A brother also served in the Union army and was taken prisoner by the Confederates and confined for thirteen months in a stockade at Andersonville, Georgia. There were seven children in the family of Mr. and Mrs. Frink, six of whom survive, namely: George N., of this review ; Emma, the wife of Charles Brakefield, of Centralia, Illinois ; M. S., who is mar- ried and lives in Centralia ; Rossa, the wife of O. E. Thomas, of Centralia ; and Nancy E. and Myrtle, also of Centralia.

George N. Frink received his early education in the district schools of Hamil- ton county, Indiana, and for five years, after laying aside his books, he engaged in farming. In 1881 he came to Polk county, Iowa, and ran a mill for one year at Berwick. He then opened a bakery and restaurant which he conducted until 1899, when he disposed of his business, having been elected state deputy of the Modern Woodmen of America, a position which he still fills. He organizes new lodges and has charge of the work of increasing the membership of the order in the state, having complete control of the field work in Iowa. He has been highly successful in a work for which he is remarkably well adapted by experience and talent. Prior to accepting the position of state deputy, and while still engaged in the bakery and restaurant business. he was clerk of U. S. Grant Camp, No. 108. M. W. A., a position which he filled for sixteen and one-half years, during

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which time the membership of the camp was increased from one hundred and fifty-six to thirteen hundred and seventy-two. This is one of the most notable records of the kind that has ever been made in America. He resigned his posi- tion as clerk of the camp in July, 1908, in order to devote his entire attention to organization throughout the state.

In March, 1882, Mr. Frink was united in marriage to Miss Ada Doane, of Zionsville, Indiana, a daughter of Eli and Louisa Doane, the father being a well known farmer of Boone county. Two sons have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Frink : Earl D., a graduate of the Capital Park high school, who studied law for two years in college, but was obliged to give up his ambition to become a law- yer on account of failing eyesight; and Raymond E., who is now a student in the East high school.

Mr. Frink is a warm friend of education. He was for seven years a mem- ber of the school board of Capital Park and president of the board for five years. Politically he gives his support to the republican party. He is identified with the Christian church and is a deacon in the Capital Hill church of that denomina- tion. Fraternally he holds membership in the Modern Woodmen of America, the Knights of Pythias, the Modern Brotherhood of America, the Brotherhood of American Yeomen, and the Royal Neighbors. His great success as an organ- izer has made his name familiar in fraternal circles throughout the United States, and it is entirely within the bounds of truth to say that he is one of the most popular men in Iowa.

GRANT MORROW.

Grant Morrow, secretary and treasurer of the Iowa Dairy Company, has been a resident of Des Moines for twenty years and has just reason to be proud that he took up his residence in this beautiful city. He is a native of Wabash county, Indiana, born May 11. 1868, and is a son of Simon S. and Mary E. (Till- man) Morrow, the former of whom was born in Ohio and the latter in Wabash county, Indiana. The father is now living retired. The great-grandfather on the paternal side was a native of Pennsylvania and the ancestors on the maternal side were early settlers of the state of Ohio, later removing to Indiana.

Grant Morrow received his early education in the district schools of Wayne and Union counties, Iowa, later attending the Commercial and Normal College of Shenandoah, Iowa. He left school at the age of twenty-one and taught for three years at Thayer. However, he was attracted to mercantile life and, giving up his occupation of teaching, he came to Des Moines in 1891 and entered the employ of the Des Moines Dairy Company as bookkeeper. In 1896 he organized the Iowa Dairy Company, of which he was secretary and manager, the company during its early years being a copartnership. In 1902 it was incorporated and Mr. Morrow was made secretary and treasurer and still continues in those offices. This company has become one of the leading dairy enterprises of the city and handles about one thousand, eight hundred gallons of milk per day, its annual business amounting to about one hundred and twenty-five thousand dollars. Fifteen years ago the company began its existence and its first day's sale was one pint of milk. This development has been almost phenomenal. Its affairs have been managed remarkably well and it is greatly to the credit of Mr. Morrow that he has from the beginning been a leading factor in this organization.

On the 23d of March, 1890, Mr. Morrow was married to Miss Dora Allison, a daughter of George W. Allison, of Union county, Iowa. Three children have blessed this union : Ethel, who was born February 19, 1894; Glen, who was born January 19, 1898; and Hale, born October 1, 1905.

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Fraternally Mr. Morrow is identified with Capital Lodge, No. 110, A. F. & A. M., and he is also a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Modern Woodmen of America and the Brotherhood of American Yeomen. In politics he gives his support to the republican party, but he has not aspired to public office, his time being mainly occupied with his growing business. Be- ginning as a poor boy, he has won his way to financial independence through perseverance and a worthy ambition to accomplish laudable aims. The Iowa Dairy Company is a monument to his business judgment, of which any one might be proud, and as a man faithful to his duties and responsibilities his character inspires increasing respect and esteęm.

CONRAD AMEND.

Tribute must ever be paid to the self-made man, the strength of whose de- termination has enabled him to overcome all obstacles in the way of the realiza- tion of his ambition. Germany has furnished this country with many such ex- amples, one of the most notable in Des Moines being Conrad Amend, whose birth occurred in Steinau, near Frankfort, Germany, on the 3d of January, 1849. His parents, William and Marie (Knabelauch) Amend, were natives of the same place, and there the father was successfully engaged in the manufacture of shoes until his demise in 1852. The mother, however, came to America to make her home with her son, after he was established, but only remained a short time, returning to the old country where she passed away in 1890, having reached the venerable age of seventy-five years.

Conrad Amend was given the advantages of but a limited education, his school days being terminated at the age of eleven years, when together with a relative he embarked for the United States to seek his fortune. They landed in New York on the IIth of September, 1860, where they remained for one year, during which time the lad followed such employment as he could obtain. At the expira- tion of that period he went to Buffalo and there he remained for six years. Half of the time he worked for a farmer, but the remaining period was spent in a large meat market, where he thoroughly mastered every detail of the business, having resolved that should be his life vocation. In 1869 he determined to go farther west, feeling convinced that better opportunities awaited him in a more recently settled community.

He was only twenty years of age, but he had saved enough of his meager salary to enable him to start into business for himself, so he opened a market in Des Moines, which boasted of about fifteen thousand inhabitants and had but one railroad. His first shop was located at Second and Vine streets, in the imme- diate vicinity of the farmers' market, where he remained for two years, and then removed to Third street. He continued in the latter place for many years, going from there to 304 Walnut street, where he has ever since been established. Here he has erected a modern business block, which is a credit to the locality and which is divided into two store rooms, for he now conducts an up-to-date grocery as well as meat market. He has met with excellent success and now has branch houses in various parts of the city, all of which are doing a good business. Always be- Jieving in the commercial future of Des Moines, Mr. Amend has invested heavily in real estate and has realized profitable returns from his holdings. He is also financially interested in various other local enterprises.

In Des Moines on the 25th of January, 1872, Mr. Amend was united in mar- riage to Miss Mary Cronig, who passed away on the 30th of June, 1897. Ten children were born of this union :. William, who was born on the 3d of January, . 1873, and died on the Ist day of the same month, 1907; and John, George and Edward, all of whom are engaged in business with their father; Emma, who is

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keeping house for the family; Herman and Albert, also working for their father; Arthur, who is attending the Capital City Commercial College; and Mary and Ralph, who attend the Irwin school. Mr. Amend is very proud of his sons, and well he may, be, as they are all regarded as promising young business men. The religious faith of the family is manifested through their affiliation with the Luth- eran church.

Ever since granted the full rights of citizenship Mr. Amend has given his support to the candidates of the republican party, but as he has never aspired to official honors has not actively participated in civic affairs. His life is an ex- cellent example of what it is possible to accomplish by tenaciously clinging to a definite purpose with the firm determination of attaining the goal. With but limited education, no knowledge of the language or customs of the country and scarcely any means, he came to the United States when but a mere lad and with no assistance, save such as industry, preseverance and integrity must ever obtain, has reached a position which commands the respect of the entire community. He is regarded as a man of unusual business acumen and his opinion and judgment is often sought and relied upon by men whose advantages in life have been far greater than his. Five times Mr. Amend has crossed the Atlantic to visit his friends and relatives in the old country, by all of whom he is highly regarded. He has never regretted leaving the land of his birth to become a citizen of Amer- ica, and has ever been loyal in thought and speech to the country which has pro- vided him with the opportunities of which he has made such excellent use.

WILLIAM E. EVANS.

Many theories have been advanced concerning success, but careful analyzation of the fact always brings one to the same conclusion-that determination, en- ergy and laudable ambition constitute the basis of advancement in business, and these qualities have been strongly manifested in the life of William E. Evans, now a prominent representative of the coal trade of Des Moines. He was born in Mahaska county, Iowa, February 27, 1874, and spent his youthful days upon the home farm of his father, David J. Evans, who was a native of South Wales and came to America in 1855, at which time he settled near Oskaloosa, Iowa. He devoted his life to farming and passed away July 19, 1907, at the age of sey- enty-three years. He married Ann L. Lloyd, a native of Pomeroy, Ohio, who (lied July 9, 1903, at the age of sixty-seven years.

William E. Evans was educated in the country schools of Mahaska county and spent two years in the Oskaloosa high school and three months in the Oska- loosa Business College, putting aside his text-books permanently when twenty- one years of age. In the meantime he had become familiar with all departments of farm work, for from an early age he had assisted in the labors of the field. After leaving school he engaged in clerking in the grocery store of Howell & Hammond of Oskaloosa, believing that he would find commercial pursuits more congenial than farm life. He continued in that service for two years, after which he became assistant mailing clerk in the Oskaloosa postoffice. A year later he secured a position with the Avery Supply Company, dealers in general mer- chandise at Avery, Iowa, and there remained for two years doing clerical and office work, bookkeeping, etc. On his return to Oskaloosa he entered the service of the Chew & Blair Grocery Company, continuing in that position for two years, after which he removed to Hocking, Iowa, and there became bookkeeper for the Hocking Supply Company, dealers in general merchandise. After spend- ing eighteen months there he came to Des Moines in July, 1901, his first position in this city being with the Norwood Coal Company as bookkeeper. He remained with that firm for four years and then resigned his position to form a partner-

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ship with J. Norwood under the name of the Evans Fuel Company. They began business at Twentieth and East Grand streets in East Des Moines and the part- nership was continued for about three years, at the end of which time Mr. Nor- wood sold his interest to S. Davis. No change, however, was made in the firm name until a short time later when Mr. Davis sold out to E. L. Lloyd and the name was changed to the Evans-Lloyd Fuel Company. The business was in- corporated on the Ist of May, 1908, Mr. Evans becoming the secretary and treas- urer, with Mr. Lloyd as president. The offices of the company were transferred in May, 1909, to the Fleming building on Sixth avenue. They are today the largest retail coal dealers in the city, doing an extensive annual business, which has been built up throughout by close application, unfaltering energy and straight- forward dealing.

On the 26th of May. 1897, Mr. Evans was united in marriage, in Oska- loosa, to Miss Effie M. Chew, a daughter of E. D. Chew and a native of Ma- haska county, born May 21, 1874. Her people were early settlers ot that county. One child has been born to this marriage, Elmo, who was born in Oskaloosa, November 26, 1898. The parents are members of the Asbury Methodist Epis- copal church and Mr. Evans belongs to Myrtle Capital Lodge, No. 9, K. P. In politics he is a republican and in matters of citizenship his influence is always on the side of progress and improvement. He deserves much credit for what he has accomplished. He was the youngest in a family of seven children and the necessity of providing for his own livelihood confronted him at a com- paratively early age. All through the years in which he was employed by others his faithfulness and ability enabled him to command good positions and gradu- ally he worked his way upward until at length his careful habits enabled him to embark in business on his own account. Since that time he has made steady and gratifying progress, the name of Evans being now largely synoymous with the retail coal trade of the city. There has been no esoteric phase in his life. He has worked persistently and energetically and the years have chronicled his ad- vancement from a humble position to one of affluence and prominence in the trade circles of Des Moines.

DANIEL BONUS.

Although only twenty-five years of age, Daniel Bonus, director of the Mid- Western Conservatory at Des Moines, has attained high standing in his profes- sion and is justly entitled to the credit he receives as a talented and accomplished artist. He is a native of Chicago, born May 14, 1886, and very early in life gave evidence of possessing unusual musical talent. He received his preliminary edu- cation in the public schools of Chicago and was graduated from the high school in 1903, having then arrived at the age of seventeen.

He began the study of music at the age of seven, an uncle being his teacher upon the violin. He next received instruction on the same instrument under Henry Scheld, a noted composer, and later under Rudolph Berliner, of the Chi- cago Conservatory of Music. His next teacher was the late S. E. Jacobsohn, who is regarded as having been one of the greatest violin teachers of America. He continued under Mr. Jacobsohn and Joseph T. Ohlheiser for seven years, during this time also studying composition and orchestration with Bessie Ayres, Louis Campbell Tipton, Dr. Louis Falk and Felix Borowski. He received a teacher's certificate from the Chicago Musical College in 1903 and was graduated from that institution the year following. He took a post-graduate course and was awarded the degree of Bachelor of Music, the second highest honor that the in- stitution can bestow.

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As a singer he attracted favorable attenton, even as a child, and has studied under Joseph Leach, an English baritone, John Henderson, of New York, Senor Nicola Lentini, of Milan, Italy, and others. He went to Europe in order to meet the great teachers and traveled through Switzerland, Germany, France and England, studying in various places. He speaks German, Italian and French and is an accomplished teacher of German and Italian.

As a composer he has attracted many favorable comments and has issued works for the voice and the violin. In Chicago he taught for several years and for five years was an instructor in Simpson College. Coming to Des Moines in June, 1910, he has since most ably filled the position of director of the Mid- Western Conservatory. He is an enthusiastic advocate of a symphony orchestra for Des Moines and there is every probability that he will within a reasonable time be at the head of such an organization.

On the 28th of June, 1910, Mr. Bonus was united in marriage to Miss Esther Chaiken, of Chicago. He is now fairly launched in a profession for which he is remarkably well adapted by talents and education. Judging by what he has al- ready accomplished, no musician in America can look forward to a more prom- ising future than the gentleman whose name introduces this review. Since his arrival in Des Moines he has taken an active part in the promotion of music and deserves the greatest credit for the interest which has been aroused under his skilful guidance within the last year.

WILLIAM ALFRED COOPER.

William Alfred Cooper is remembered not only as a successful business man, displaying marked executive force and keen discernment in the management of the affairs of the Northwestern Suspender Company, but he also left an indelible impress upon the community because of his sterling traits of character in other directions, his stanch advocacy of the cause of temperance and his fidelity to the moral teachings which have their root in the church.

He was born in Cooperstown, Venango county, Pennsylvania, August 15, 1844, and represented one of the old New England families founded in America in early colonial days. His grandfather, William Cooper, was a captain of the Revolutionary war, valiantly espousing the cause of liberty until victory crowned the American arms. He married Rachel Philson, and their son, James Irwin Cooper, became the father of William A. Cooper. Having arrived at years of maturity James I. Cooper married Amanda Cochrane, of Meadville, Pennsylvania, a daughter of Colonel Cochrane, of the Revolutionary war. It was James Cooper who founded and named the town of Cooperstown, where he resided until 1853, when he removed with his family to Cedar county, Iowa. Some time afterward he took up his abode upon a farm near Wilton in Cedar county and there made his home until his death, which occurred in 1874. As a pioneer settler he con- tributed to the early progress and development of the state, proving his worth as a citizen of the communities in which he lived.

William A. Cooper spent his youthful days in his parents' home, coming with the family to Iowa when but nine years of age. He was therefore practically reared in this state and with its interests was identified throughout his remaining days. He was a youth of only seventeen years when he responded to the coun- try's call for aid, enlisting as a member of Company G, Thirty-fifth Iowa Volun- teer Infantry. Although so young, no veteran of twice his years displayed any greater loyalty or fidelity to the cause which he espoused. He thus faced the enemy's fire on southern battlefields, participating in the engagements of Vicks- burg, Nashville, Spanish Fort and others of almost equal importance. He was

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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 79

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