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 9

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 9

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In this city, on the 3d of June, 1886, Mr. Reinking was married to Miss Anna Brown, a daughter of Stephen C. and Anna (Brewster) Brown. Her parents came to Iowa from New York state in the early pioneer days, later locating in Des Moines, where they continued to reside until they passed away. One son was born of this union, Hoyt Conrad, whose birth occurred on the IIth of June, 1889, and who was educated in the Shattuck Military School. The family res- idence is at No. 1400 West Thirtieth street.

Being a strong advocate of free trade, Mr. Reinking always gives his politi- cal support to the candidates of the democratic party. He is affiliated with the Masonic order through the medium of Capital Lodge, No. 110, of which his father was one of the charter members. He is one of the well known and pop- ular citizens of the city, which within his memory has developed from a thriving town into one of the commercial centers of this section of the country.

JOSEPH DAY.

Upon the roll of Polk county's honored dead is to be found the name of Joseph Day, who departed this life February 26, 1863. He was born in Eng- land in 1821 and came to America when about seventeen years of age. He was obliged to depend entirely upon his own resources and worked as a farm hand in New York state, subsequently entering a cooper shop where he learned the cooper's trade. In May, 1859, believing that the west presented bright induce- ments for an ambitious man, he came to Iowa and worked at his trade for about

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one year at Des Moines. Being attracted to agricultural pursuits he purchased fifty-seven acres of land in Walnut township which he set about clearing and improving, and he cultivated this farm during the remainder of his life. By his industrious habits and prudent management he acquired a competence for himself and family, also gaining an honorable reputation as a just and upright citizen.

On the 3d day of September, 1848, Mr. Day was united in marriage to Miss Sarah A. Kemp, a daughter of William and Sarah (Goldsmith) Kemp, both of whom were natives of England. Mr. Kemp came to Des Moines in 1857 and was connected for a number of years with the shoe business in this city. He died in 1885, his wife following him to the grave two days later. Seven sons came to bless the union of Mr. and Mrs. Day, namely : William B., who died in New York; Joseph F., who is married and lives in Valley Junc- tion; Franklin H., who is married and lives in Webster township; Charles E., and Wilbur B., both deceased; Elmer Thomas, a farmer of Walnut township; and Robert, who is living with his mother and has charge of the home farm.

Mr. Day, the subject of this review, was affiliated with the Christian church and Mrs. Day is identified with the Baptist church, of which she is an earnest adherent. He gave his support to the democratic party, preferring those prin- ciples of individual liberty as being most consistent with the ideas of the founders of the republic. He served for several years as road supervisor of Walnut township, gaining the respect of his neighbors by the faithful discharge of his duties. Mrs. Day is now eighty-three years of age and is still in the enjoyment of fairly good health. She lives upon the old homestead, which is endeared to her by years of association, and she has many friends in a community where she has been known for more than half a century.

WILLIAM L. BRECHT.

During the years of a successful business career William L. Brecht was in- strumental in developing one of the important industrial enterprises of Des Moines. He gave his attention to brick manufacture and many of the fine struc- tures of the city stand as monuments to his ability and energy in that field. What he undertook he accomplished, for his resolute spirit brooked no obstacles that could be overcome by persistent and earnest effort, and, in fact, difficulties seem but a spur for renewed activity on his part.

Mr. Brecht was a native of Wyoming county, New York, born July 4, 1851. He pursued his education in the schools of that place and there grew to man- hood. In his career the steps of an orderly progression are easily discernible. He did not reach a place of prominence in the business circles of Des Moines by leaps and bounds, but steadily forged to the front, making each day and its labors count for the utmost. In early manhood he learned the carpenter's trade and followed that pursuit until enabled to engage in contracting and manufac- turing interests on his own account. He first became connected with brick manufacturing in 1888. He had for eight years been a resident of Des Moines, arriving in this city in 1880, at which time he sought to secure employment as a carpenter. Soon, however, he began taking contracts on his own account and it was but an onward step when he turned his attention to manufacturing interests. In 1888 he was appointed the superintendent of the Des Moines Brick Manufacturing Company, at that time the largest in the city. After five years' association therewith, during which period he acquainted himself with every detail of the business, in both the departments of manufacture and management, he started in business on his own account in 1893, forming a partnership with H. B. Hedge, under the style of the Flint Brick Company. He

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owned a controlling interest in the company and it was largely through his efforts and direction that the business grew and expanded. It is still carried on by his sons, who are proving worthy successors of their father. In the mean- time, while still working at his trade in which, however, he had steadily ad- vanced, he was made superintendent of construction of the Federal building. He then began general contracting and one of the monuments to his ability in that line was the First Methodist Episcopal church. In all of his business life he manifested marked ability in discriminating between the essential and the non-essential and, quickly discarding the latter, he used the former most effec- tively in accomplishing the ends desired. A few years had brought him to a position among the substantial citizens of Des Moines and after embarking in brick manufacture he became one of the most prosperous business men of the capital, being president at the time of his death of one of the largest brick- making plants of the west.

On September 14, 1877, Mr. Brecht was married to Miss Johanna E. Arm- brust, and unto them were born three sons and two daughters, namely: Will H., Eugene A., Clarence J., Adeline L., and Jennie M. The death of Mr. Brecht occurred April 17, 1904. He was everywhere regarded as a man of upright character, his position at no time being an equivocal one. He announced his course and his policy clearly and stood loyally by what he believed to be right. His business methods were always of a constructive character and his success was never sought at the sacrifice of others' interests. In matters of citizenship as well as in business he sought progress and gave his cooperation to all the movements which he deemed important elements in the welfare and upbuilding of the capital. In politics he was a republican. His life record may well serve as an inspiration to others and it stands at all times as the expression of a high type of American manhood and citizenship.

JEREMIAH HILL MERRILL.

The name of Jeremiah Hill Merrill was notably inscribed on the pages of Des Moines' history when he became interested in the Citizens National Bank and an active factor in the control of financial interests in the capital. He was born in Turner, Maine, October 18, 1820, and is of the eighth generation of the descendants of Nathaniel Merrill, who left his home in Salisbury, England, in 1636 and became a resident of Newbury, Massachusetts. His son Daniel Merrill was born in Newbury, in August, 1642, and became the father of John Merrill, whose birth occurred August 7, 1674. Thomas Merrill, of the fourth generation, was born at Salisbury, Massachusetts, December 18, 1708, and it was there that his son Samuel Merrill was born August 4, 1728. The latter became the father of Abel Merrill, who was born in Salisbury, June 6, 1748, and severing the ties which bound him to Massachusetts, which had been the ancestral home of the family through six generations, removed to Buxton, Maine, where his son and namesake, Abel Merrill, Jr., was born June 26, 1785. The latter married Abigail Hill, a daughter of Nathaniel Hill, and devoted his life to farming, becoming the owner of extensive land interests.

Jeremiah H. Merrill, son of Abel and Abigail Merrill, was educated in the common schools of Maine with perhaps a short period of study in an academy, and in early manhod he engaged in teaching for a time in the Pine Tree state. He made his entrance into business life as a clerk in a general mercantile store and after acquainting himself with commercial methods he established a store of his own at Tamworth, New Hampshire. Subsequently he was joined by his brother Samuel Merrill, afterward governor of Iowa. The brothers carried on a successful general mercantile business and also engaged in the manufacture

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of men's clothing in the east until 1856, when they made their way to Iowa and began business as wholesale and retail dealers in dry goods and groceries at McGregor. After the close of the Civil war they disposed of their mercan- tile interests to turn their attention to the banking business and purchased a con- trolling amount of the stock of the First National Bank of McGregor, which they managed successfully until they sold out in 1873. In that year they be- came interested in the Citizens National Bank of Des Moines, where both brothers then took up their residence, and later Jeremiah H. Merrill also made investment in the stock of the State Savings Bank of Des Moines.

On the 4th of January, 1853, Mr. Merrill was married, at South Boston, Massachusetts, to Miss Ann Elizabeth Dearborn, a daughter of Levi Dearborn. They became parents of six children, four of whom died in childhood; Samuel A., who married Fannie Raney Hyde and is mentioned elsewhere in this volume and Annie Dearborn Merrill, both of whom are now living in Des Moines, com- plete the family.

Mr. Merrill was a lifelong member of the Congregational church and a stanch supporter of all of its activities, giving generously to aid the cause and with personal effort laboring to advance the interest and upbuilding of the church. No good work done in the name of charity or religion sought his co- operation in vain. He was president of the Associated Charities and member of the board of directors of the Home for the Aged. His broad humanitarian- ism made him an anti-slavery worker and his home in New Hampshire was a shelter for the black man fleeing for his life on his way to Canada. The cause of education found in him a stalwart champion and he was a trustee of Iowa. College at Grinnell. The republican party found in him a loyal advocate from its organization and in 1861 he was elected a member of the New Hamp- shire legislature. He possessed a progressive spirit, ruled by more than ordinary intelligence and good judgment; a deep earnestness, impelled and fostered by indomitable perseverance ; and a native justice, expressing itself in correct prin- ciple and practice.

WILLIAM R. DURAND.

It required patience, perseverance and grit for William R. Durand to reach the position he has attained as one of the well-established grocery men of Des Moines. Thirty years ago he entered the business in this city, and after the necessary experience he began for himself. The success which he has gained is evidence of the confidence of his patrons. He was born at Brunswick, Ohio, May 13, 1852, son of Anson N., and Caroline Lauretta (Pritchard) Durand, the latter of whom was born at Waterbury, Connecticut, in March, 1826. The geneology on the mother's side has been traced back in America to 1690, and embraces many stanch men and women who assisted very materially in the development of the country. The father was born at Canandaigua, New York, in 1823, and was a farmer by occupation. At the time of the Civil war he enlisted in the service of the union at Madison, Wisconsin, but was refused the opportunity to go to the front on account of physical disability. There were eight children in the family of Mr. and Mrs. Durand, six of whom are now living, namely: Augusta Caroline, widow of T. B. Haughawout of Montana ; William R., the subject of this review; Sarah E., now the wife of A: W. Car- penter of Des Moines; George Ernest, of Carthage, Missouri; Mary, the wife of Charles Adams of Chicago; and Fred A., of Junction City, Kansas.

William R. Durand received his preliminary education in the public schools of Wisconsin, and in 1868, came with his father to Iowa, the mother having arrived in this state a few months previously. Traveling by wagon in the

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midst of the winter, they crossed the Mississippi river at Dubuque on the ice, and were detained at Grinnell three days on account of a great snowstorm. Des Moines was then a place of sixteen thousand inhabitants, the houses being scat- tered over quite a large territory. Mr. Durand assisted in hauling lumber to build the town of Perry, and subsequently engaged in farming for about four years, and for four and one-half years in the printing business at Carthage, Missouri. For thirty years past, however, he has been connected with the grocery business, the first ten years of this time being spent in the employ of Gus Smith. Since 1894, he has been engaged in business upon his own account, and he now enjoys the patronage of many of the best people of the city.

In 1874, Mr. Durand was united in marriage at Carthage, Missouri, to Miss Frances McCulloch, daughter of Henry C., and Nancy (Lewis) McCulloch. The father was one of the valient defenders of the union at the time of the Civil war, serving as lieutenant. The home of Mr. and Mrs. Durand was brightened by the arrival of two children: Fountain Edgar, born May 6, 1875; and Leah Adelaide, who was born July 25, 1881. Fountain Edgar was mar- ried in November, 1897, to Miss Aurilla Stutz, of Des Moines, and has one son, Donald, who was born in 1902. Leah Adelaide was married June 27, 1907, to Reson S. Jones. She is a graduate of Drake University, having received a degree of A. M. from the department of liberal arts. Mr. Jones is a graduate of the law department of the same university, and is now actively engaged in the practice of his profession in Des Moines, as a member of the firm of Hunn & Jones, with offices in the Good Block.

Mr. Durand, since arriving at the age of manhood, has given his support to the republican party. He is identified with the Woodmen of the World. He remembers selling the first groceries to Drake University at the time of its establishment, having among his patrons the clubs, and also Chancellor Car- penter, Professor Bottenfield, Professor Shephard and Professor Macey. He has witnessed the remarkable development of that institution and also the growth of the city until the latter has become known as one of the attractive and up-to-date municipalities of the west. By integrity and public spirit, Mr. Durand has attained prominent standing as a citizen, and no man more clearly deserves adequate record in this work.

JOHN W. BUDD.

John W. Budd, whose services as city engineer have been of signal value to Des Moines, was appointed to that office under the new plan of government in 1908. The rapid growth of the city and the improvements that have been in- stituted keep him constantly busy with the duties of the office, in which he is proving extremely efficient and capable. He was born in Blackhawk county, Iowa, August 4, 1870. His father, C. W. Budd, a native of Salem, Ohio, came to this state in 1853 when fourteen years of age, settling in Dubuque. When the Civil war broke out he enlisted in defense of the Union cause serving for three years with the Twenty-seventh Iowa Infantry. He took part in all en- gagements of his command, which were many and important, and after the war, returning to Iowa, settled at Waterloo, where he engaged in farming. He was thus identified with agricultural pursuits for many years, but in 1894 came to Des Moines where he turned his attention to the fire insurance business in which he has since become widely known and prominent. He is one of the highly respected men of this city, still in active business at the age of seventy-one years. He has never been an office seeker but has always been an active supporter of the republican party and its principles. He wedded Mary Warner, a native of Maryland.

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In the public schools of Waterloo John W. Budd pursued his education until graduated from the high school with the class of 1890. He then came to Des Moines and pursued a course in engineering at the Highland Park College, from which institution he was also graduated. Later he spent some time in the west in engineering work for the Burlington Railroad, his duties taking him to Ne- vada, Colorado and Wyoming, but at length he resigned and returned to his native state. For some time thereafter he was engaged on engineering work for the short line railroad from St. Paul to Des Moines. In 1902 he took up his abode in Des Moines on account of the illness of his wife and when the time for the city election drew near he was prevailed upon to become a candidate for the position of city engineer and was elected. His capable service during his first term led to his reelection in 1904 and at the close of his second term he retired from office. He did not at that time become a candidate for reelection, devoting the succeeding two years to general engineering work. In 1908, how- ever, he was appointed city engineer under the new "Des Moines plan of gov- ernment." The city is growing rapidly and the improvements instituted keep pace with its growth and development, so that Mr. Budd is a very busy man in the discharge of his official duties. Much important work has been carried on under his supervision including the laying of pavement, the building of sewers and the construction of several beautiful bridges, namely those on Sixth street and Locust street, while the Walnut street bridge is now under construction. The duties of engineer in a city like Des Moines are no sinecure. Efficiency, capacity for organization, unfaltering energy and determination and the exe- cution of well defined plans are all demanded on the part of one who fills this position. Mr. Budd is lacking in none of these requirements and his work speaks for itself.

In 1901 at Waterloo Mr. Budd was united in marriage to Miss Clara Foulk, a native of that place and a daughter of L. F. Foulk. Five children have been born unto them: Helen, John, Susan, Frances and Frank. Mr. Budd belongs to Capital Lodge, No. 110, A. F. & A. M., and to the Odd Fellows lodge and the Knights of Pythias fraternities, and has always given his political allegiance to the republican party. His connection with the office of city engineer now approaches eight years, and he has ever proved a worthy official and loyal to the interests entrusted to his care. His ability in this direction is due to his wise use of opportunity and his constantly broadening experiences.

FREDERICK JAMES WILL, M. D.

In the twenty-seven years of his active connection with the medical profes- sion Dr. Frederick James Will has forged constantly ahead. Long since he has passed the point of success and is fast reaching that of distinction, for his ability is recognized far beyond the limits of the city in which he practices .. He was born at Iowa Center in Story county, Iowa, on the IIth of June, 1859, a son of James St. Clair and Kate (Berlin) Will. His father was a native of New Market, Virginia, born June 13, 1818, and was a son of John Henry Will, a soldier of the war of 1812.

The family was represented in the Revolutionary war by Henry Will, the great-grandfather of the Doctor, who was born in the old feudal state of Hesse- Cassel, now a portion of the German empire. On leaving his native town in 1843 James St. Clair Will removed to Buckhannon, Upshur county, West Vir- ginia, and was married in February of the following year to Miss Lavina Hevener, a member of the old Hevener family of Virginia, who by marriage are relatives of the late Senator Jonathan P. Dolliver, of Iowa. Mrs. Will died in

DR. FREDERICK J. WILL

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March, 1850, leaving two children: Mary Ellen, now the wife of Jesse Bowen, a resident of Maxwell, Iowa; and John William, who died in 1909 and is buried at Iowa Center. In the latter part of 1851 James S. Will was married to Miss Kate Berlin, a daughter of George Augustus Berlin, a granddaughter of Fred- erick Berlin and a great-granddaughter of Abraham Berlin. The last named was a member of the general committee (or standing committee) of corres- pondence of Northampton county, Pennsylvania, for Easton, elected May 30, 1776, and reelected at the end of his term in 1777. The records of the commit- tee, published in the Pennsylvania Archives, second series, Volume 14, from page 600 to 633, abruptly end in August, 1777, but during that time Abraham Berlin was present at thirty-eight out of forty-one meetings of the committee. It is probable that he was chairman of the committee at some time, since in the Journals of Congress, January 1, 1777, to July 31, 1778, inclusive, on page 244 is found the following entry relative to Abraham Berlin's services as such chair- man: "In consequence of an adjustment by the commissioner of claims, the auditor general reports that there is due to Abraham Berlin, chairman of the committee of Northampton county, for his account of rations supplied Colonel Hands' battalion last winter, at Easton, as well as the militia who were on their . way to camp, $834.22-90, and for his trouble and expense in advancing great part of the money and for paying the remainder, $40, the whole amounting to $864.22-90." George W. Berlin, a brother of Mrs. Will, was a delegate to the secession convention at Richmond, Virginia, and was one of the signers of the ordinances of secession of the state of Virginia. Kate Berlin became the wife of James St. Clair Will and died in 1870. By that marriage there were born three sons: Dr. Frederick James Will, of Des Moines; Arthur Lee Will, of Salina, Kansas; and Dr. Harry Clayton Will, of Chicago, Illinois.

Dr. Will, whose name introduces this record, supplemented his common school education by study in the Iowa State Agricultural College, where he re- mained as a student from 1873 until 1876, at which time he was appointed a cadet midshipman in the United States navy. He entered the naval academy at Annapolis in 1876 but resigned from the navy in 1879. This constitutes the extent of his military service save that from May, 1907, until January, 1909, he was surgeon general of the Iowa National Guard. Having decided to adopt the profession of medicine as his life work, he entered the medical department of the State University of Iowa in 1880 and won his degree of M. D. in 1883. In March of that year he entered upon the active practice of his profession at Jewell Junction, Iowa, and in 1885 removed to Eagle Grove, where he remained until 1900, becoming a resident of Des Moines on the 28th of September of that year. Prior to his active connection with the medical profession, how- ever, he had made his initial step in business life, for during his college vacations he had taught school, first in Polk county in 1874 and 1875 and afterward in Story county. Since his graduation from the medical department of the Iowa University, however, he has devoted his entire time to the practice of medicine and has made continuous progress in the field of his chosen labor. Experience and research have heightened his ability and his skill is manifest in the excellent results which continually follow his efforts.

In 1885 Dr. Will was appointed district surgeon for the Chicago & North- western Railway and has filled the position continuously to the present time or for more than a quarter of a century. In 1897 he was elected head physician of the Modern Woodmen of America for Iowa and filled that office until 1901. On the 28th of August, 1900, he was elected medical director of The Bankers Life Association, which position he still fills. He is connected with a number of the most important medical societies of the country, holding membership with the American Medical Association, the American Association of Railway Surgeons, the Tri-State Medical Association, the Iowa State Medical Associa- tion and the Association of Military Surgeons of the United States.

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The official positions which Dr. Will has filled have been in the direct path of his profession save that of postmaster of Eagle Grove, to which he was ap- pointed by President Mckinley. In May, 1907, Governor Albert B. Cummins appointed him to a position on his staff and he was also made surgeon general of the Iowa National Guard. Governor Cummins also appointed him a delegate to the American International Congress on Tuberculosis, which was held in St. Louis during the Louisiana Purchase Exposition. He has been an active worker in the republican party and in 1896 was an alternate delegate to the republican national convention at St. Louis which nominated William McKinley. In 1900 he was an alternate delegate to the national convention at Philadelphia, where William McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt were made the standard bearers of the party.

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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 9

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