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 82
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but subsequently decided that he preferred a business career. In 1900 he ob- tained a position in the office of the Hawkeye Insurance Company, of Des Moines, as stenographer. Being ambitious he applied himself closely and at the end of a year was made correspondent. He continued to fill this position for three years . and then was appointed examiner, being retained in the latter capacity for a similar period of time. In 1907 he was made secretary of the Commercial Fire Insurance Company and remained identified with this office until 1911, when he became manager of the department for the state of Iowa of both the Hawkeye and Commercial Fire Insurance Companies. Although his progress has not been at all phenomenal Mr. Clancy has made the steady, but permanent advance which usually rewards well directed effort. In addition to his other duties he is also a director of the Commercial Fire Insurance Company.
In this city in December. 1906, Mr. Clancy was united in marriage to Miss Ida May Hand, a daughter of J. F. and Mary A. Hand, pioneer settlers of Des Moines. Mrs. Clancy is a graduate of the Des Moines high school and is a musician of more than average ability, having completed the course of the Des Moines Musical College. Two children have been born of this union: Joseph Francis, and one child who died in 1908. Mr. and Mrs. Clancy are communi- cants of the Roman Catholic church, their local identification being with St. Ain- brose parish. Mr. Clancy also belongs to the Knights of Columbus, of which organization he is a trustee and secretary, the Waveland Golf Club, the Iowa Commercial Club, and he was president of the Greater Iowa Club in 1909, just before it was merged into the former organization.
REV. ALVAH LILLIE FRISBIE.
Des Moines has had few representatives of its ministry whose pastorates have covered so long a period or been a greater moving force in the moral de- velopment of the city than that of the Rev. Alvah Lillie Frisbie, now pastor emeritus of Plymouth church. A native of New York, he was born in Tomp- kins, Delaware county, October 2, 1830, a son of Daniel George and Bernice (Lowrey) Frisbie, and descended from Edward Frisbie, who settled in Branford, Connecticut in 1645. Thirty-five of his descendants from Branford and vicinity bearing the name of Frisbie were enrolled in the patriot army of the Revolu- tionary war, including the grandfather of Rev. A. L. Frisbie, who was a sergeant.
After mastering the preliminary branches of learning Alvah L. Frisbie became a student in Homer Academy, attended Oberlin College in 1852-3 and then en- tered Amberst College of Massachusetts, from which he was graduated with the Bachelor of Arts degree in 1857. A quarter of a century later-in 1882-his alma mater conferred upon him the Doctor of Divinity degree. In preparation for the ministry he attended the Andover Theological Seminary, completing the course with the class of 1860, after which he entered the ministry, of the Congre- gational church and was ordained in Ansonia, Connecticut, in the spring of 1860. His first pastorate was in Ansonia, Connecticut, continuing from March, 1860, until July, 1865, when he accepted a call from the church in Danbury, Con- necticut where he remained until October, 1871. The scene of his labors changed from New England to the middle west at that time, for on the 8th of October of that year he entered upon active work as minister of the Plymouth Congrega- tional church of Des Moines, and for twenty-eight years labored earnestly, zeal- ously and with far-reaching effect for the moral progress of the community and the people who came directly under his teaching. In his ministry there was none of that spasmodic growth which is often the outcome of highly wrought emo- tions that have no permanency, but a steady, healthful development that pro- duced substantial results as is manifest in the numerical and spiritual progress
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of the church. He won not only the love of his own people but the high respect of all who recognize forces of good in the world. In his preaching he sought to appeal to the conscience and judgment of men, proclaiming the truth as he saw it in a strong, logical manner, and as the years passed, while he sought with singleness of purpose to upbuild the church, he also established himself more and more firmly in the regard of the members of his congregation and of the community at large. It was therefore a matter of deep regret on the part of many that he severed his relations as active pastor of the church on the 8th of October, 1899, to become pastor emeritus, thus still retaining close relations with his people.
On the 23d of August, 1859, in Sutton, Massachusetts, the Rev. A. L. Frisbie was married to Miss Jerusha R. Slocum, a daughter of Horatio and Roxalana (Richardson) Slocum, who died in 1872. On the 29th of July, 1873, in Danbury, Connecticut, he wedded Martha J. Crosby, a daughter of Judah P. and Catherine (Stevens) Crosby. In Mrs. Frisbie the Doctor has a helpmate no less con- secrated to the work of the ministry than her husband has ever shown himself to be, nor is she lacking in any detail of equipment for the career of a minister's wife. The sons and daughters of the household are: Lillian H., the wife of George M. Whicher; Grace E., the wife of William H. Ryan; William A., who wedded Nellie McCord ; Mabel E., the wife of Homer J. Clark; and Alfred L., who married Margaret Scammon.
Dr. Frisbie has always been an advocate of republican principles and is now associated with what is known as the progressive wing of the party. which in reality is a reform movement and protest against the blind following of party leaders, or the manipulation of the parties for the benefit of the few to the detriment of the majority. At the time of the Civil war he served as chaplain of the Twentieth Connecticut Regiment of Volunteer Infantry from September I. 1863, until July 1, 1864, and thus was entitled to membership in Crocker Post, G. A. R., and to the Loyal Legion, serving now as chaplain of the Iowa com- mandery of the latter. He has been a trustee of Iowa College at Grinnell since 1885 and he has been a corporate member of the American Board of Commis- sioners for Foreign Missions since 1895. Allying his interest with those of progress and righteousness in 1847, when as a youth of seventeen years he joined the Congregational church, he has since labored earnestly and untiringly for all those forces which contribute to moral progress and the acceptance of Biblical teaching. One who knows him well said: "His name is indeed closely associated with the growth of Congregationalism in Des Moines, Polk county, and the state of Iowa, as the first volume of this work clearly shows. In fact it is not easy to see how the Congregational church could have attained to its present commanding position in the state had this noble, self-sacrificing, public- spirited preacher and doer of the Word been led by circumstance or Providence to some other field."
SILAS B. ALLEN.
Silas B. Allen who, as a leading lawyer of Des Moines, has established a large and satisfactory practice, his name figuring prominently in connection with the records of the courts of Des Moines, was born at Cold Spring, Jefferson county, Wisconsin, on the 13th of November, 1862. His parents were James C. and Malinda (Pond) Allen, both of whom were natives of New York, the mother having been born in Cataraugus county. In the paternal line the family is of Scotch-English ancestry and Chief Justice Chase of the United States supreme court was a great-granduncle of Mr. Allen. The maternal lineage is English, the grandparents having come from England, at which time they settled in New
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York, while subsequently they removed to Wisconsin, and it was in the latter state that Malinda Pond gave her hand in marriage to the Rev. James C. Allen, who was a pioneer preacher of the United Brethren church, and a blacksmith by trade. He became one of the early residents of Wisconsin and in that state he and his wife reared their family of nine children. During the period of the Civil war the Rev. Allen served the government in and near St. Louis as a gov- ernment blacksmith. He could not regularly enlist as a soldier on account of heart trouble, but did what he could to aid the country, and throughout the four years' civil strife remained in the government employ in the line of his trade.
Silas B. Allen pursued his education in the Milton College of Milton, Wiscon- sin, and the Whitewater Normal school, and prepared for his profession as a law student in Drake University, where he was graduated in 1892 with the LL. B. degree. After leaving college, he began the practice of law in Des Moines and was first associated with Frank S. Dunshee, under the firm name of Dunshee & Allen, a relationship that was maintained for six and a half years. At the end of that time Mr. Allen formed a partnership with H. F. Dale under the firm style of Dale & Allen, and so practiced for four years, since which time he has been alone. In following his profession he has established himself in a large and satisfactory practice among the leading lawyers of the city. An excellent pres- ence, an earnest manner, marked strength of character, a thorough grasp of the law and an ability to correctly apply its principles make him an effective and suc- cessful advocate.
On the 2d of June, 1891, in Des Moines, Mr. Allen was married to Miss Min- nie M. Baker, a daughter of John Baker, a native of Iowa and a soldier of the Civil war who was killed during the progress of hostilities. Three children have been born unto Mr. and Mrs. Allen: Clark L., born in Des Moines, September 30, 1892; Marguerite, February 22, 1896; and Hortense November 18, 1898. The parents hold membership in the Grace Methodist Episcopal church and in politics Mr. Allen is a progressive republican but not an insurgent. In 1907 and 1909 he was a candidate for the mayoralty, but was defeated. He holds high rank in his party and his opinions carry weight in its local councils. Fraternaliy he is connected with the Masons, the Odd Fellows, the Knights of Pythias, the American Patriots and the Yeomen. Something of the nature of his recreation is indicated in the fact that he belongs to the Waveland Park Golf Club. Few lawyers of Des Moines have made a more lasting impression upon the bar of the city, both for legal ability of a high order and for the individuality of a personal character which impresses itself upon a community. Deeply interested in the welfare of the city, he is an active member of the Commercial Club, of which for four years he served as vice president and at all times he cooperates in its measures and movements for the upbuilding of the city and the exploitation of its advantages. His standing as a citizen is perhaps best indicated by the fact that he was one of five chosen among the most prominent residents of the capi- tal to draft what is known as the "Des Moines Plan," which is the present sys- tem of city government. To the work he gave untiring effort, indefatigable en- ergy and a most earnest and thoughtful consideration. His labors were the re- sult of long study and deliberation concerning municipal problems, and his analyt- ical mind also drew from his study sound and logical deductions. Not only did he aid in drafting the document that constitutes the basis of the present system of city government but he also fought as no other man fought for its passage. Believing that the plan contained elements of government superior to anything hitherto adopted in the management of municipal affairs in this country, and believing that the people should understand its workings and the benefits to be derived therefrom, he sought in every possible way to make known the plan in all of its scope and possibilities, and unceasingly and untiringly labored for its rec- ognition until it became the adopted form of city government, recognized today throughout the country as an ideal form of government. Moreover, it has awak-
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ened the attention of men deeply concerned in civic problems throughout the world, being copied not only by cities in the United States but also among all civilized nations. The work which Mr. Allen has done in this connection seems the crowning labor of his life, and while he sought the adoption of the "Des Moines Plan" with a singleness of purpose, his object being solely to give to the city an ideal form of government, in so doing he wrote his name high on the keystone of the arch of fame. As in all great actions, the sense of self was ob- literated and with steadfast purpose he labored for the achievement of what he knew would be a work of lasting benefit to Iowa's capital.
JUDGE WILLIAM HARRISON MCHENRY.
Nine years service as judge of the district court of Polk county has indeli- bly engraven the name of Judge William Harrison McHenry upon the judicial history of the state. The very fact of his reelection to office is incontrovertible proof of his ability and high standing and of the clearness and impartiality of the decisions which he has been called upon to utter. Though the practice and interpretation of the law has been his chief life work, he is perhaps even more widely known to the general public as a speaker who is in frequent demand where subjects of general interest are under discussion, but whether as an orator be- fore the general public, as a lawyer quietly engaged in the preparation of his cases, or as a judge upon the bench, sitting as the conservator of rights, privi- leges, life and liberty, Judge McHenry has ever held to high ideals and sought for progress along practical and therefore far-reaching lines of benefit.
Des Moines classes him as a native son. He was born in the capital city, Janu- ary 1, 1860, and is a direct lineal descendant of William McHenry, a member of the committee of public safety and a lieutenant in the Revolutionary war under command of General Nathaniel Butterfield, our subject's maternal great- grandfather. His father, William Harrison McHenry, was born near Colum- bus, Ohio, September 16, 1816. Coming to Iowa in the pioneer epoch of the history of the state he served as the first mayor of the city of Des Moines and for eight years was judge of the district court. He wedded Mary, a daughter of Judge B. F. Butterfield, of Warren county, Indiana. Her death occurred at Des Moines in 1880, while Judge McHenry, Sr., passed away September II, 1893.
William Harrison McHenry, Jr., thus comes of an honored and representa- tive family of Des Moines and his lines of life have been cast in harmony with the example of an illustrious father. He was a student in the Des Moines high school to the date of his graduation in 1877. He completed a course in the Iowa State College with the degree of Bachelor of Science in 1881 and received his Bachelor of Law degree from Drake University in 1883. Twenty-two years later Drake conferred upon him the Master of Law degree.
Following the completion of his law course, Judge McHenry was admitted to the bar and entered upon active practice, in which he continued until his ele- vation to the bench on the 17th of March, 1902. As a lawyer he soon proved himself sound, clear minded and well trained. With a long line of decisions from Marshall down, by which the constitution has been expounded, he is familiar, as are all thoroughly skilled lawyers. He is at home in all departments of the law from the minutiæ in practice to the greater topics wherein is involved the consideration of the ethics and the philosophy of jurisprudence and the higher concerns of public policy. For nine years he has sat upon the bench of the dis- trict court of Polk county, his present term expiring January 13, 1915, and his decisions indicating strong mentality, careful analysis, a thorough knowledge of the law and an unbiased judgment. The judge on the bench rails more fre-
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WILLIAM H. MCHENRY
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quently perhaps from a deficiency in that broad mindedness, which not only com- prehends the details of a situation quickly and that insures a complete self con- trol under even the most exasperating conditions than from any other cause ; and the judge who makes a success in the discharge of his multitudinous, deli- cate duties is a man of well rounded character, finely balanced mind and of splendid intellectual attainments. That Judge McHenry is regarded as such a jurist is a uniformly accepted fact.
On the 9th of November, 1887, in Sioux City, Iowa, Judge McHenry was married to Luella A. Wright, a daughter of A. R. and Elizabeth S. Wright. She was descended from the Abbott and Southworth families of New England and was a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution. Her death occurred December 11, 1910.
Judge McHenry gives his political allegiance to the republican party. His membership is with the Masons, the Elks, the Knights of Pythias, the Eagles, the Yeomen and the Red Men, and aside from purely fraternal organizations he has active connection with the Golf and Country Club and the Grant Club. A popular public speaker, he is in frequent demand as the orator on occasions of general interest. He has a wide circle of friends among the pioneers of Polk county as well as among those of the younger generation and the more recent additions to the citizenship of this district.
JOHN KETCHAM ELWELL.
The Elwell family, which is one of the oldest in America, is most ably rep- resented in Des Moines in the person of John Ketcham Elwell, who as president and manager of the Field Shoe Company has been identified with the commercial interests of this city during the past five years. He is a direct descendant of Robert Elwell, who was one of the founders of the Massachusetts Bay colony which was located at Dorchester, now a part of the incorporated city of Boston. The old Dorchester town records contain the following entry under date of Sep- tember 1, 1634: "It is ordered that the lott which was granted to John Rockel shall be transferred to Robert Elway (Elwell)." In 1675 some of his descendants located in Salem county, West Jersey, and the grandfather of our subject, John Hutton Elwell, was born in Pittsgrove, Salem county, New Jersey, in December, 1798. He was a carpenter by trade and in his early manhood migrated still farther West locating in Ohio, where he met and married on the 25th of March, 1824, Mary Smith, of Montgomery county, Ohio.
Mr. Elwell was one of the founders of Dayton, Ohio, in which city he spent many years of his life. He passed away on the 9th of July, 1861, and was laid to rest in Putman county, Ohio. He was of English extraction in both the pa- ternal and maternal lines. His son. Hiram Smith Elwell, was born in Dayton, Ohio, on the 30th of April, 1834. He was a stone cutter, following that trade in various parts of the state during the entire period of his active career. He was married on the Ist of September, 1859, in Vaughnsville, Ohio, to Miss Mary Jane Ketcham, who was born in Chesterville, Ohio, on the 2d of November 1839. They began their domestic life in Vaughnsville, where they resided until 1864, at which time they removed to Chesterville, where they remained six years and then located in Columbus Grove. Here Mr. Elwell passed away on the 21st of Sep- tember, 1885, but his wife still survives and continues to make her home in Columbus Grove.
John Ketcham Elwell was born in Vaughnsville, Ohio, on the 27th of July, 1862. He commenced his education in Chesterville, but had only attained the age of eight years when his parents removed to Columbus Grove, in whose public schools he remianed a student until the completion of his course in 1878. He
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was not a robust youth and his health being very poor at this time his parents sent him to Gallatin, Missouri, where he worked upon a farm for two years. Following this he accepted a position as errand boy and night watch with the Etter Randall Dry Goods Company, remaining in their employ for eleven years, during which time by means of close application, energy and faithful service he became the head of the shoe department. Upon resigning this position he came to Boone, Iowa, where with others he organized the McCune Shoe Company, with which he was identified until 1907, when he removed to Des Moines, be- coming interested with Frederick Field in the Field Shoe Company, and of which he has ever since been the president and manager.
On the 9th of October, 1895, Mr. Elwell was united in marriage to Miss Mary Ambrose, the eldest child of Mr. and Mrs. J. W. Ambrose of Nevada, Iowa. Mr. Ambrose migrated to Iowa from Milledgeville, Illinois, in 1872, and ever after continued to make his home in this state. Mrs. Elwell was born in Polo, Illinois, on the 6th of June, 1865. After completing the course of the public schools she went to Cornell College at Mount Vernon. She was a graduate of the Sherwood Conservatory of Music of Chicago and for many years engaged in teaching. Two children were born of this marriage: John Ambrose, whose birth occurred in Boone on the 25th of August, 1897, and one son who died in infancy. The wife and mother passed away on the 18th of April, 1904.
Mr. Elwell was again married on the 20th of September, 1910, his second wife being Miss Mary V. Sharp, a native of Coralville-which is in the vicinity of Iowa City-this state, her birth occurring on the 29th of June, 1869. Mrs. Elwell is a daughter of James Gaul and Ann Jane (Hutchinson) Sharp, who migrated to the United States from Canada in 1866, first locating in Illinois, where they lived for a year and then removed to Iowa. They have been residents of Des Moines for some time and it was here that Mr. Sharp, who was formerly a miller, organized the Mill Owners Insurance Company of Des Moines in 1880. Mrs. Elwell, who acquired her education in the public schools, is of Scotch extraction in the paternal and Irish in the maternal line. Mr. and Mrs. Elwell manifest their re- ligious belief through their membership in the Methodist Episcopal church. He joined the Masonic fraternity in 1890 while a resident of Gallatin, and his local identification with this order is with Capital Lodge, No. 110, A. F. & A. M., Corinthian Chapter, No. 14, Alpha Council, No. I, and Des Moines Command- ery, No. 4, of the Knight Templars. While residing in Boone he was eminent commander of Excalibur Commandery, No. 13. Mr. Elwell is also a member of the Grant Club.
In political matters the support of Mr. Elwell has always been accorded the candidates of the republican party, but as he has never aspired to public honors or the emoluments of office he does not actively participate in civic affairs. He has won many friends during the long period of his residence in this city, and is regarded as a capable and thoroughly reliable man, who can always be de- pended upon to do the honorable thing in each and every business transaction.
SIMON CASADY.
Simon Casady, of Des Moines, where he is now widely known as the presi- dent of the Central State Bank of Iowa, was born June 16, 1852, and is a son of the Hon. Phineas M. and Augusta (Grimmell) Casady, the former one of the most distinguished citizens and statesmen of Iowa. His early education was acquired in the public schools of Des Moines and later he entered the Iowa State University, in which he completed the work of the sophomore year. He has been connected with banking interests throughout his entire business life and has steadily worked his way upward to the presidency of one of the most im-
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portant financial enterprises of the state from that of messenger in the old National State Bank, which he entered in 1871. In 1876 he helped to organ- ize the Des Moines Bank, which in January, 1883, became the Des Moines Sav- ings Bank, with his father, Judge Casady, as the president. A number of years later Simon Casady was called to the presidency of the State Central Bank and is now directing the movements of that institution, which has become firmly established as one of the strongest and most reliable financial concerns of the city.
On the first of June, 1880, Mr. Casady was united in marriage to Miss Sarah C. Griffiths, a daughter of Colonel J. M. Griffiths, of Des Moines. Mr. and Mrs. Casady were the first native couple of Des Moines to be married here. Four children have blessed this union: Thomas, who is now an Episcopal rector in this city ; Phillip Murray, a mechanical engineer connected with the Des Moines Gas Company ; Simon, Jr .; and Rose C., the wife of J. B. Dougal. Mrs. Casady holds membership in the Episcopal church and the family are prominent in the social circles of the city. There have been no spectacular phases in the life record of him whose name introduces this review, but his work has been none the less essential and none the less important. His record is the story of a man's life that seems to have been an orderly progression under the steady hand of one who has been a consistent master of himself and whose organism is har- monious and well balanced. He is eminently a man of business sense and while of conservative habit is not lacking in enterprise of the kind that leads to great accomplishments.
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