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 98

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 98

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Mr. Ash, of this review, possessed advantages of education in the common schools. After laying his books aside he engaged in farming for three years, or from 1887 until 1890. He worked as a section hand on a railroad in 1891 and 1892, thus showing his ability to take hold of any honorable occupation however hard the work until a more favorable opening was presented. In 1893 he be- came a coal miner and for ten years was actively connected with that industry. He became prominent in the miners' organization and served on the pit com- mittee, the executive committee, also as president of the local organization and as delegate to the district, state and national conventions. He is a good organizer, a clear and forcible speaker and has a genial address which attracts friends,

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whom he never abandons. He served four and one-half years as deputy sheriff of the county and then resigned, having been elected a member of the Des Moines commission.

On the 16th of September, 1903, Mr. Ash, at Youngstown, Iowa, was united in marriage to Miss Isabelle Moses, a daughter of John Moses, who served in the Union army at the time of the Civil war. Two children have come to bless this union : Myrtle, who was born February 17, 1905; and Marguerite, born January 28, 1907.

Politically Mr. Ash is in sympathy with the principles of the republican party, although in local affairs he is a stanch advocate of strictly business govern- ment. He is prominent in fraternal orders, holding membership in seven organ- izations, namely, the Masons, Odd Fellows, Elks, Owls, Eagles, Red Men and Yeomen of America. In religious belief he gives his adherence to the Christian church. Beginning as a poor country boy, with innate courage, self-reliance and a strong constitution to depend upon, he steadily won his way against many difficulties to places of prominence and responsibility. His success in the manage- ment of important affairs and in securing the confidence and respect `of his fellow citizens, regardless of creed or political affiliation, is evidence of genuine merit. He is now well established as a factor in the public life of Des Moines and. being comparatively a young man, the future holds forth many promises of continued advancement.

FRANK LEDYARD MINER.

Frank Ledyard Miner, the president of the Bankers Accident Insurance Company of Des Moines, has ably served in that capacity since 1908. His birth occurred in Groton, Connecticut, on the 23d of February, 1860, his parents be- ing John B. and Happy R. (Farnham) Miner, who were likewise natives of that state. Thomas Miner, who came to America from England sometime in the seventeenth century, was the founder of Stonington, Connecticut. Our subject was one of a family of four children, the others being as follows: Grace D., the wife of L. D. Whipple, of Groton, Connecticut; Mrs. Rose Standish Reese, who makes her home with her brother Frank; and Sanford H., who was first mate on a whaling vessel that was lost at sea.

Frank L. Miner acquired his education in the common schools of his native town, where he spent the first fifteen years of his life, while subsequently he was employed for two years as a clerk in the Washington Market of New York city When a youth of seventeen he went to Fort Fetterman, Wyoming, and began working on a cattle ranch, being steadily promoted until he held the position of foreman of the ranch. He had thirty thousand head of cattle and became thoroughly familiar with the life and work of a ranchman, acting as a cook and cow puncher and also breaking bronchos. His ranch experience covered a period of nine years. In 1888 he went to Chicago, there engaging in the grocery business until 1891, when he sold out. Subsequently he acted as special representative of the Insurance Post of Chicago for a period of seven years or until 1898. He next removed to Philadelphia and purchased a half interest in the Philadelphia Intelligencer, an insurance paper, remaining in the Keystone state until 1903.

In that year Mr. Miner came to Des Moines and purchased the Under- writers Review, of which publication he is still the owner. In 1908 he was made president of the Bankers Accident Insurance Company and under his capable direction the business of the concern has steadily grown. He is watch- ful of the innumerable details that are a feature of the insurance business and

FRANK L. MINER

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has displayed marked ability in surrounding himself with a corps of competent assistants.

On the 16th of March, 1888, Mr. Miner was united in marriage to Miss Bessie L. Hewitt, a daughter of Edgar A. and Jane L. (Allen) Hewitt, of Groton, Connecticut. Mrs. Miner has one brother, Charles A. Hewitt, who is con- nected with an insurance journal in New York city.

Mr. Miner gives his political allegiance to the republican party, believing that its principles are most conducive to good government. He is a member of the Grant Club, the Des Moines Club and the Golf and Country Club and has attained the York Rite in the Masonic fraternity, belonging also to the Shrine. He acts as chairman of the board of trustees of the First Baptist church, of which his wife is likewise a devoted member. Mr. Miner is on the finance committee of the Iowa State Baptist Association, a member of the board of directors of the Young Men's Christian Association and a trustee of Des Moines College.

Early in his career he manifested the energy, force and discernment which constitute the foundation for advancement in every individual. He has in his makeup all of the elements of what in this country we term a "square" man- one in whom to have confidence, a dependable man in any relation and any emergency. His quietude of deportment, his easy dignity, his frankness and cordiality of address, with the total absence of anything sinister or anything to conceal, foretoken a man who is ready to meet any obligation of life with the confidence and courage that come of conscious personal ability, right con- ception of things and habitual regard for what is best in the exercise of human activities.

SAMUEL L. WALL.

Among the estimable citizens of Grimes who have been honored by holding some of the highest offices in the municipality must be mentioned Samuel L. Wall, who was born in Marion county, Iowa, on the 30th of April, 1855. He is a son of Abraham and Rebecca (Owens) Wall, the father a native of England and the mother of Pennsylvania. The father, who was a hand loom weaver, came to the United States in 1837, locating at Beaver, Pennsylvania, where he followed his trade until he migrated to Iowa in 1848. Upon his arrival in this state he first located near Burlington, where he obtained a position in the woolen mills, which he retained until 1854 when he entered forty acres of land near Knoxville. After clearing and getting his homestead under cultivation he settled there, continuing its operation in the summer and following his trade at his home in the winter, until 1865, at which time he removed to Warren county and entered the mills of Jones & Company, for whom he worked until 1871, when he returned to Knoxville and entered the woolen mills which had recently been put into operation at that place. He continued in the service of that company until they closed the mills, after which he went to Nebraska, where he resided several months and then returned to Knoxville for a year, at the end of which time he went back to Nebraska. In 1880 he returned to Knoxville, where he lived until 1885, when he and his wife removed to Mount Ayr, where Mrs. Wall passed away in March, 1889. His death took place in January, 1892.

Samuel L. Wall obtained his education in the district schools of Marion county and the public schools of Palmyra, Iowa, remaining a member of the paternal household until he was twenty-three years of age, when he began work- ing for himself. For several years thereafter he worked in the coal mines at Knoxville in the winter, following various trades in the summer months, but in 1885 went to Dallas county where he engaged in farming for seven years. Com- ing to Grimes in 1893 he operated a threshing machine and did teaming until Vol. II-41

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1904, when he entered the employ of the Grimes Canning and Preserving Com- pany, having charge of the store room three years, but at the end of that time he began running the engine. On the 15th of December, 1909, he bought a meat market, which he has successfully conducted ever since. He has a good patronage and as he carries a fine line of meats draws his customers from some of the best homes of the town.

On the 5th of December, 1878, the union between Mr. Wall and Miss Jane Taylor was solemnized. Mrs. Wall was a daughter of Jacob and Mary Taylor, the mother a native of Indiana and the father of Ohio. Mr. Taylor engaged in farming until 1877 when he went to Knoxville, Iowa, where he opened a furni- ture store, which he conducted for six years and then returned to his farm. Here he remained until his demise in 1895. Mrs. Taylor had passed away in . 1886. Six children have been born unto Mr. and Mrs. Wall, five of whom are now living, Corwin. W. having passed away at the age of three years. The others are: Dora May, twenty-nine years of age; Bessie I., who is twenty-three ; Oscar L., nineteen ; Franklin, seventeen; and Lena Belle, who is fourteen. The family affiliate with the Christian church, of which denomination the parents are members.

Ever since attaining his majority Mr. Wall has taken an active and helpful part in local political affairs, always giving his support to the republican party. He has several times been the choice of his constituency for the office of justice of the peace as well as mayor of Grimes, both of which positions he has creditably filled. He has been a thrifty, hard-working man and has met with a fair degree of success in his pursuits. Both he and his family are well regarded in the community, in the social as well as the religious circles of which they mingle. He is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Modern Woodmen of America.

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN KAUFFMAN, JR.

Benjamin Franklin Kauffman, who is well known in Iowa as a successful insurance and real-estate man, is a native of Des Moines, born December 8, 1874. He is a son of Benjamin Franklin and Anna O. (Le Bosquet) Kauff- man, a record of whom appears elsewhere in this work.

Mr. Kauffman of this review received his preliminary education in the public and high schools and later attended the Iowa Wesleyan University at Mount Pleasant, Iowa, and Amherst College of Amherst, Massachusetts. He left college at the age of twenty and entered the employ of the Des Moines Savings Bank, continuing with that institution for three years, in the course of which time he held various clerical positions. In 1898 he associated with P. K. Witmer in the general insurance business, also as operators in realty individually and in behalf of the firm. This firm is now one of the important general insurance concerns of the state and on account of the ability and pro- gressiveness of its management is steadily moving forward to larger activities. Mr. Kauffman is president of the Insurance Association of Des Moines and vice president of the National Insurance Association, being also a member of the board of directors of the Iowa National and Des Moines Savings Banks.

On the Ioth of October, 1900, at Des Moines. Mr. Kauffman was married to Miss Mell Howell, a daughter of J. W. Howell, the family being quite promi- nent in this city. Three children have come to bless this union: John Howell. who was born September 17, 1901 ; Ray Franklin, born November 1, 1905; and Anna Malvina, born March 9. 1907.

Mr. Kauffman served for three years in the Iowa National Guard, becoming first lieutenant of Troop A. Politically he gives his allegiance to the republican

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party and in religious faith he is identified with St. Paul's Episcopal church, in which he serves as vestryman. He takes a great interest in all progressive public movements and was president in 1910 of the Commercial Club and an active member of the Greater Des Moines Club. He also holds membership in the Grant Club, the Country and Golf Club and the New Des Moines Club, being a member of the building committee of the latter organization.

WARREN M. KIMMEY.

The commercial interests of Elkhart find a very able representative in Warren M. Kimmey, who has been conducting a general store here since 1906. He was born in Albany county, New York, on the 28th of December, 1846, being a son of Jacob F. and Catharine (Mead) Kimmey, also natives of Albany county. The father was a farmer, but worked for ten years on a Hudson River boat, subsequently migrating to Illinois. Here he bought a farm, which he cultivated during the remainder of his life, his death occurring in September, 1884, at the age of eighty years. The mother had passed away thirteen years previously, her demise occurring in September, 1871.

Warren M. Kimmey was reared upon the homestead in Illinois in whose district schools he acquired his education. After laying aside his text-books he devoted his entire time and attention to agricultural pursuits, assisting his father in the work of the farm until he was twenty-six years of age, at which time he was married. He came to Iowa in 1876, locating in Greene county, where he purchased one hundred and twenty acres of land, in the operation of which he was engaged until 1893. Disposing of his interests at that time he came to Des Moines, intending to live retired, but always having led an energetic, active life, he found this to be impossible. He was engaged in various pursuits until 1906, when he came to Elkhart and purchased the general mer- chandise business he has ever since been conducting. His stock is large and well selected, he has a fine store and is doing a very good business.

On the 18th of December, 1872, was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Kimmey and Miss Hattie A. Reed, a daughter of Charles and Harriet (Beach) Reed. The parents were natives of Massachusetts, where the father engaged in farm- ing until 1845, when they removed to Illinois, where Mr. Reed continued to be identified with agricultural interests until 1901, when he retired to Belvidere, Illinois. There Mrs. Reed passed away five years later, but he survived until 1910, his demise occurring in November. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Kimmey have been born six children: Olin M., who died on the 16th of September, 1904, at the age of thirty years, death resulting from an accident sustained while on a pleasure jaunt in Arizona; Earl R., who is thirty-one years of age and living in Minneapolis; Alma H., the wife of R. W. Jennings, of Van Meter, Iowa; Charles F., who is twenty-four, living at Poplar, Montana; Grace, who is at- tending Drake University; and Blanche, now in the high school. Although Mr. Kimmey's business is in Elkhart the family live at 1004, Twenty-third street, Des Moines, where they have a very pleasant home, in order that the two younger daughters may attend school.

The family manifest their religious views through their affiliation with the Grace Methodist Episcopal church and Mr. Kimmey is a member of the In- dependent Order of Odd Fellows and the Brotherhood of American Yeomen of Des Moines .. He has always been an ardent republican but as he is not an office seeker does not actively participate in civic affairs. Mr. Kimmey has met with very favorable returns from his various business ventures and in addition to his store and fine residence owns an apartment building at 604 and 606 Second street, and at one time owned eighty acres of land in Douglas

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township, Polk county, but disposed of this when he engaged in business. En- ergetic and enterprising Mr. Kimmey possesses the qualities which make for success in any vocation, when directed along the right channels.

LEOPOLD SHEUERMAN.

Leopold Sheuerman, president of the Capital City Woolen Mills, and also engaged in the manufacture of ladies' and misses' dress and walking skirts, has in both lines of business built up an enterprise of extensive proportions that contributes materially to the welfare and prosperity of the city as well as to his individual success by furnishing employment to many workmen. With the rapid and marvelous development and growth of Des Moines many men have come to the front because of their recognition and utilization of the opportunities which have arisen in connection with the substantial expansion of commercial and manufacturing interests here. The impossibility of placing fictitious values upon industry, determination and perseverance at once proves the worth of the individual who must base his rise upon these qualities. These elements have constituted the salient features in the advancement of Leopold Sheuerman, whose experience has been of wide range, inasmuch as he has progressed from the position of a humble clerkship to the presidency of the Capital City Woolen Mills.

A native of Germany, Mr. Sheuerman was born in Neckar, Binau, in the grand duchy of Baden, December 16, 1837, his parents being Manassa and Sara Sheuerman. The father died over a half century ago, passing away in 1856, and the mother's death occurred in Vinton, Iowa, in 1878. There were five children in their family: Abraham, who was the senior partner of the firm of Sheuerman Brothers, of Des Moines, died in September, 1904; Mrs. Rosa Adler, of Elgin, Illinois, who also passed away in 1904; Leopold, Mrs. B. Frankel and Mrs. Sophie Stern, all residing in Des Moines.

After attending the public schools of his native city, Leopold Sheuerman pursued a two years' course in the Teachers Seminary, equivalent to a normal school, at Karlsruhe, the capital of the grand duchy of Baden. He engaged in teaching during the year 1857, and as there did not seem to be a promising future before him in that profession in Germany, he sailed for America in company with his mother and two sisters, his elder brother and sister having emigrated to the new world and settled in Muscatine five years before. In order to acquaint himself with the English language, with which he was en- tirely unfamiliar, Leopold Sheuerman engaged in clerking for a year in Musca- tine and in Chicago, Illinois. In 1859 he removed with his brother and the other members of the family to Marengo, Iowa, where they engaged in general merchandising, and after profitably conducting that enterprise for a time they acquired the Marengo Woolen Mills and engaged in the manufacture of woolen textiles which were sold to the retailers in Iowa and surrounding states. Both branches of the business were carried on successfully and then, his ambition still urging him on, as does ever that of the progressive business man, Mr. Sheuerman longed for larger fields and better opportunities, and in 1882 he and his brother with their families removed to Des Moines, shipping all of their machinery and other supplies to this place and commencing operations here in that year under the name of the Capital City Woolen Mills. They doubled the capacity of their Marengo plant after coming to Des Moines and the business was successfully instituted and conducted, enjoying a constant growth. In 1902 the firm was incorporated, the four sons of Leopold Sheuerman and two other members of the family becoming stockholders. Mr. Sheuerman was elected to the presidency of the company, which position he still fills. The bus-

LEOPOLD SHEUERMAN

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iness was extended in its scope about that time by the establishment of a factory for the manufacture of ladies' and misses' dress and walking skirts for which their woolen mills produced the goods. Branch factories have been established at Marshalltown and Newton, Iowa, employing four hundred people, and today Mr. Sheuerman is at the head of one of the most important productive enter- prises of the state. While residing at Marengo he was elected vice president of the Marengo Savings Bank, and aside from business took an active part in pub- lic affairs, his fellow townsmen electing him a member of the city council and of the school board, while in various other ways he aided in promoting the best interests of the place. Since coming to Des Moines he has been elected a di- rector of the Des Moines National Bank and of the Peoples Savings Bank, and is one of the charter members of the latter.

Mr. Sheuerman was united in marriage to Miss Matilda Schwartz and they have become parents of ten children: M. L., Jettie, Henry, all at home; and Abe, Mose and Selma, residents of Kansas City, Missouri, the last named being the wife of E. Lyon; Rose, the wife of C. L. Aarons, residing in Milwaukee; Bessie, the wife of M. N. Becker, of Des Moines; and Jake L. and Sol, both of whom are married and live in Des Moines. Mr. Sheuerman and his family are members of the Benai Yeshurum congregation. He also belongs to Capital Lodge, No. 110, A. F. & A. M., of Des Moines, and Marengo Chapter, R. A. M., of Marengo. In politics he is a progressive republican, and since removing to this city has neither sought nor held office, preferring to concentrate his time and energies upon his business affairs, which, constantly growing in extent and volume, constitute now one of the important manufacturing and mercantile enterprises of the city.

NELSON B. FULMER.

Nelson B. Fulmer, who has been a resident of Bondurant for the past six- teen years, is the well known editor and proprietor of the Bondurant Journal. Prior to his arrival in this state, however, he was for a number of years suc- cessfully engaged in the practice of law at Alexandria, Minnesota. His birth occurred in Syracuse, New York, in 1844, his parents being Andrew and Polly Fulmer, the former a native of Germany and the latter of Connecticut. Both passed away in Syracuse, New York.

Nelson B. Fulmer, who was the youngest of eight sons, removed from his native state to Minnesota, where he made his home for thirty years. He studied law under the direction of United States Senator Knute Nelson and subsequently practiced the profession at Alexandria, Minnesota, in partnership with his former preceptor. He held the office of county attorney for six years and on the expira- tion of that period became general agent for the McCormick Harvester Com- pany, representing that corporation in the state of Minnesota for seventeen years. In 1895 he came to Polk county, Iowa, locating in Bondurant, where he has since been identified with newspaper interests as the editor and proprietor of the Bondurant Journal. The sheet has a circulation of five hundred and a large advertising patronage, including a number of business men whose adver- tisements have appeared for ten consecutive years. Its purpose is the dissemi- nation of local and general news and it is conducted in a thoroughly businesslike and progressive manner.

As a companion and helpmate on the journey of life Mr. Fulmer chose Miss Florence Hurlbut, a native of Waukesha, Wisconsin, and a daughter of James M. and Eliza (Kelley) Hurlbut. Their union was blessed with four children, two sons and two daughters. Ione, living at Minnetonka Lake, Minnesota, is the wife of Dr. William Newhall, by whom she has a daughter twenty-two years

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of age. Stewart, who wedded Miss Christina Rasmussen, is the publisher of the Carlisle Optimist at Carlisle, Iowa. B. A. Fulmer, who married Miss Gertrude Fiefield, is engaged in the shoe business at Minneapolis, Minnesota. Florence, living in Lincoln, Nebraska, is the wife of Max Ellenstein, a traveling salesman. Mr. and Mrs. Ellenstein have one son.

In politics Mr. Fulmer is a stanch republican. While a resident of Minne- sota he served on the staff of Governors Merriam, McGill and Nelson. He has ever stood for advancement in citizenship and for substantial progress in his community and in the field of journalism has exerted a widely felt influence in support of beneficial public measures.

ALVIN INGOLLS HOBBS, D. D.

Alvin Ingolls Hobbs, dean of Drake University, was a man whose work in the ministry and in the educational field was of no restricted order. His influ- ence extended out on constantly broadening lines for the benefit of his fellow- men in an effort for higher moral progress, and his labors were a potent force in making Drake University a radiating influence for good. Dr. Hobbs came to Des Moines for pastoral work in 1867, being at that time a young man of thirty-three years. He was born in Cross Plains, Ripley county, Indiana, March 13, 1834, a son of Abner and Electa Ann (Lathrop) Hobbs. His early American ancestors came from England at a pioneer epoch in the development of this country. His great-grandparents in the maternal line were Darius and Lode- mise (Lee) Ingolls. The former died in Canada in 1809 and the latter passed away at Greensburg, Indiana, in 1845, at the age of eighty-eight years. It was their daughter. Delia Ingolls, who became the wife of Erastus Lathrop, and they were the parents of Electa Ann Lathrop. Erastus Lathrop passed away in 1821, while his wife survived until April, 1858, dying in Greensburg, Indiana, after a widowhood of thirty-seven years. Their daughter, Electa Ann Lathrop, became the wife of Abner Hobbs, who made merchandising his life work and in 1837 removed with his family from Ripley county, Indiana, to Greensburg, that state, where he established a business which he conducted for many years. His last days, however, were spent in retirement from business cares in Indian- apolis, Indiana. Following the death of her husband Mrs. Hobbs removed to Ottumwa, Jowa.

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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 98

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