USA > Iowa > Black Hawk County > History of Black Hawk County, Iowa, and its people, Volume II > Part 11
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Mr. Simmons exercises his right of franchise in support of the men and measures of the republican party but is without aspiration for office. He be- longs to the Ancient Order of United Workmen, to the Mystic Toilers and the Bankers Life Association of Des Moines. He is well known in this city, where he has resided for almost a third of a century. He does excellent work in photographic portraiture but makes a special feature of commercial work and the walls of his studio are adorned with various fine specimens of his skill in this connection.
FRED W. POWERS, M. D.
Dr. Fred W. Powers, in former years actively, successfully and extensively engaged in the practice of medicine and surgery has now retired from that professional field and devotes his energies to financial affairs as president of the Black Hawk National Bank of Waterloo, one of the largest and most im- portant moneyed institutions of the city. He was born in Benton county, Iowa, in 1868, and supplemented his public-school education by study at Cornell Col- lege of Mount Vernon, Iowa, thus gaining a broad literary learning to serve as a foundation upon which to build the superstructure of his professional training. Thinking to make the practice of medicine a life work, he entered the Univer- sity of Iowa and completed a course in its medical department with the class of 1889. For twenty years he was one of the leading practitioners of Grundy and Black Hawk counties, spending thirteen years in Reinbeck and seven years in
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Waterloo. His prominence in his profession is indicated in the fact that he served as president of the Iowa state board of health and of the Iowa state board of medical examiners. He kept in close touch with the progress of his profession while in active practice, was most careful in the diagnosis of his cases and was seldom if ever at fault in foretelling the outcome of disease.
Dr. Powers performed his duties with a sense of conscientious obligation, but in 1909 he retired from the active practice of medicine to become active vice president of the Black Hawk National Bank, of which he is now the president. As chief executive officer he carefully directs the interests of the institution, ever recognizing the fact that that bank is most worthy of patronage which most carefully safeguards the interests of its depositors. His progressiveness is tempered by conservatism and the even balance maintained constitutes a potent force in the growing success of the bank, which is today one of the largest financial institutions of Waterloo. It was organized in 1903 and from the be- ginning has enjoyed a successful existence. Dr. Powers is also vice president of the Rice Savings Bank of Smithland, Iowa, and he is a member of the board of directors of the Iowa Life Insurance Company and its medical director.
In 1889 occurred the marriage of Dr. Powers and Miss Pearl E. Thompson, of Reinbeck, by whom he has three children, Gladys Beulah, Evangeline and Fanchon Winifred. At the time of the Spanish-American war Dr. Powers was commissioned colonel by Governor Shaw for medical service at Jacksonville. He is a member of the Waterloo lodge of the Elks, also the Knights of Pythias, the Chamber of Commerce, the Waterloo Club, the Town Criers Club and the Country and Golf Club. He still retains his membership in the medical societies and his interest in sanitary and public health affairs. His acquaintance is wide and favorable. Sociability and unfeigned cordiality have made him popular among those with whom he has come in contact and ability has placed him in the front rank among the representative citizens of Waterloo. He has gained suc- cess, yet it alone has not been the goal for which he has striven, for he belongs to that class of representative American citizens who promote the general pros- perity while advancing individual interests.
FRED S. PETTIT.
Fred S. Pettit, who is ably filling the responsible position of clerk of the district court of Black Hawk county, entered upon the duties of that office on the Ist of April, 1912, having been appointed to fill out an unexpired term, and at the November election of the same year he was chosen by popular suffrage to fill the office for a term of two years and was again chosen in November, 1914, when he polled the largest vote of the election. Those who have watched his course in office speak of him in terms of high commendation.
Mr. Pettit is a native of Long Island, his birth having occurred at Flushing on the 31st of July, 1875, his parents being Gold S. and Julia A. (Weeks) Pettit, who came to Iowa when their son Fred was a boy, settling at Cedar Rapids. In that city Fred S. Pettit was reared and educated, mastering the branches of learning taught in the public schools. In the spring of 1903 he arrived in Waterloo
FRED S. PETTIT
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and on the Ist of May, 1904, he became deputy clerk of the district court, re- maining in that position until he was appointed clerk of the court, as previously mentioned, his experience as deputy well qualifying him for the onerous duties which devolved upon him in his promotion. He has always been prominently identified with the republican party since age conferred upon him the right of franchise and he does everything in his power to legitimately promote its growth and insure its success, for he believes firmly in its principles as factors in good government.
Aside from politics Mr. Pettit is deeply interested in the welfare of his city and puts forth effective effort for advancing its interests, being an active member of the Commercial Club and Chamber of Commerce of Waterloo. He was chair- man of the committee appointed by the Commercial Club and Chamber of Com- merce to participate in the opening of the Russell-Lamson Hotel, the finest hotel in the state of Iowa, and he has been actively connected with many projects which have had to do with the welfare and upbuilding of the city and with the promotion of its civic standards.
On the 6th of November, 1901, Mr. Pettit was married to Miss Josephine Buchanan, of Cedar Rapids, and they have one child, Saxton B. The parents are members of the Westminster Presbyterian church, are active workers in its behalf and generous in its support. Along more strictly social and fraternal lines his connections are with the Knights of Pythias and with the Town Criers Club. Through the eleven years of his residence in Waterloo he has become widely and favorably known and today numbers many of the best citizens among his warm friends.
C. H. NAUMAN.
Success is not a matter of genius, as held by some, but is rather the outcome of clear judgment, experience and indefatigable energy-a fact which has been again and again demonstrated in the lives of prosperous men, men who have risen from humble positions in the business world to places of prominence and prosperity. Such has been the record of C. H. Nauman, president of the Nauman Company of Waterloo, manufacturers of bank and store fixtures, sashes, doors and house trimmings. He is a man of well balanced business capacities and powers, capable of mature judgment concerning his opportunities and those things which go to make up life's contacts and experiences.
Mr. Nauman was born in Waterloo in 1862, pursued his education in the schools of this city and also took a commercial course at Dubuque. He was but two years of age when, in 1864, his father, Henry Nauman, formed a partner- ship with George P. Beck under the firm style of Beck & Nauman and established the business which is now being conducted by the corporation of which C. H. Nauman is the president. It was in 1856 that the father came to Waterloo, at which period there were no railroads in the town. He had to haul all the material used in the building of his house from Dubuque. In the years which followed he became more and more actively and prominently connected with the business interests of his adopted city. The firm which was established in Vol. II-6
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1864 engaged in the manufacture of sashes, doors and mill work, and from his youth C. H. Nauman was in the shops and became familiar with every branch of the business, both in principle and detail. He completed his course in com- mercial college when about twenty-one years of age. At about the same time the foreman of the mill gave up his position, after which C. H. Nauman, to- gether with the pattern maker, had charge of the work. During that winter they got out all of the material for the Irving House and when that task was accomplished the firm retained C. H. Nauman as its foreman. He has con- tinuously been identified with the business and its development since that day.
The papers of incorporation were taken out about 1886 or 1887 under the style of the Daniel & Nauman Company. Following the death of Mr. Daniel some time later the firm name was changed to the Beck, Nauman & Watts Com- pany and in 1899 the Nauman brothers purchased the interests of all the other stockholders and the style was changed to the Nauman Company, of which the officers arc: C. H. Nauman, president ; and G. W. Nauman, treasurer. They have a large plant, which includes buildings on all four corners of Cedar street and Park avenue. They manufacture drug, bank and store fixtures, sashes and doors and all kinds of house trimmings and they employ an average of eighty men. Their output, which is now extensive, is widely shipped and the business is today one of the foremost productive industries of the city. Mr. Nauman is active in its management and control and has formulated many of the plans that have been carried forward to successful completion for the enlargement and . substantial development of the business.
On the Ist of August, 1889, Mr. Nauman was married to Miss Katie Veith, of Waterloo, and they have become parents of two daughters, Helen and Marie. Mr. Nauman is a member of Helmet Lodge, K. P., of Waterloo, and is well known and popular in that organization. He cooperates in many movements for the public good, but his business interests claim the greater part of his tinie and attention, and he has been an active factor in promoting one of the oldest and most substantial manufacturing plants of the city.
G. W. NAUMAN.
G. W. Nauman is the treasurer of the Nauman Company, which owns and controls the oldest manufacturing plant of Waterloo-a business devoted to the manufacture of store and bank fixtures, sashes and doors. Mr. Nauman was born in Waterloo in 1869 and his youthful experiences were such as usually fall to the lot of the lad who divides his time between the work of the schoolroon, the pleasures of the playground and such duties as are assigned him by parental authority. His father had embarked in business in Waterloo in 1864 and founded the enterprise which is now conducted under the name of the Nauman Com- pany. From early youth G. W. Nauman has been associated with the under- taking and as the years have gone on has become more and more active in its management and control. Eventually the interests of the house were taken over by the present proprietors, who have continued the business under the name of the Nauman Company. The plant is well equipped with the latest improved
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machinery and there is every facility to promote the work and add to the excel- lence of the quality.
In 1895 Mr. Nauman was joined in wedlock to Miss Wilda Holman, of Waterloo, and they have one daughter, Josephine. Mr. Nauman has membership with the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks and in Masonry has advanced in the York Rite to the rank of Knight Templar in the commandery. In business connections he enjoys a most enviable reputation. He has been trained insist- ently and carefully in the business with which he is connected and knows thoroughly every phase thereof. He has studied closely its opportunities and by straightforward methods has increased its patronage. Energy and determina- tion have been the salient features in his advancement and his course is one which may well be followed by others.
FRANK T. BENTLEY.
In a record of the representative residents of Black Hawk county it is im- perative that mention be made of Frank T. Bentley, who for three terms or six years has filled the position of county treasurer and at the same time is well known in business circles as manager of the Bentley Brothers Bond & Insurance Company. He is a man of determined purpose, carrying forward to successful completion whatever he undertakes, and at all times his actions have measured up to high standards of manhood and citizenship.
Mr. Bentley was born in Belmont county, Ohio, in 1871 and through the period of his youth was a pupil in the public schools there. On the Ist of Jani- ary, 1894, he arrived in Waterloo and soon afterward became connected with the United States Express Company, which he represented for five years. On the expiration of that period he was called to public office, having been appointed deputy county recorder, in which position he remained for one year. He after- ward spent nine years in the position of deputy treasurer and at the end of that time was elected treasurer. That he proved capable was but the logical result of his previous training in the office and that he has been twice reelected was but natural owing to the promptness and capability with which he has discharged his duties. Abraham Lincoln once said: "You can fool all of the people some of the time and some of the people all of the time, but you cannot fool all of the people all of the time," and when a man is again and again chosen for office it is a self-evident fact that he is a man of worth and that his worth is widely recog- nized. This is certainly indicated in Mr. Bentley's fifteen years' connection with the office of county treasurer. In politics he has always been a stalwart repub- lican, earnest and unfaltering in his support of the party, and as the years have gone on his influence has been felt as a potent force in attaining republican successes.
An equally creditable record has been made by Mr. Bentley in his business connections. He is a member of the Bentley Brothers Bond & Insurance Com- pany, of which he is the manager, and he is also one of the directors of the Perpetual Building & Loan Association.
In January, 1895, was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Bentley and Miss Lottie M. Jackson, a native of Ohio, and they have become the parents of two
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daughters, Lucile K. and Eleanor T. The family attend the First Presbyterian church, of which Mr. Bentley is an earnest and devoted member. He is serving as a member of the session and cooperates in movements which lead to the up- building of the church and the extension of its power and influence. He belongs also to the Chamber of Commerce and Board of Trade and seeks the welfare and upbuilding of the city, its improvement along various lines and the upbuild- ing of its civic standards. Fraternally he is a Knight of Pythias and he also belongs to the Town Criers Club. During the period of his residence in Waterloo, covering twenty years, he has become widely known and high regard is everywhere entertained for him by those with whom he has become associated through political, business or social connections.
ALFRED W. MULLAN.
Alfred W. Mullan, the present efficient city attorney of Waterloo, was born in the city which is still his home, a son of Judge C. W. Mullan, of whom ex- tended mention is made elsewhere in this volume. At the usual age Alfred W. Mullan began his education in the public schools and passed through consecutive grades until graduated from the high school with the class of 1901. He after- ward attended Grinnell College at Grinnell, Iowa, and then in preparation for the practice of law entered the University of Iowa as a law student and won his LL. B. degree upon graduation with the class of 1908. The same year he was admitted to the Iowa bar and has since practiced law in Waterloo with the exception of two or three years spent in traveling. There is no question as to his ability. He is one of the youngest but also one of the most brilliant lawyers of Waterloo and his capability was recognized in his election to the office of city attorney in 1914. He is a member of the State Bar Association and his fellow members of the bar recognize his power and resourcefulness. He was gifted by nature with strong mentality and its development was wisely directed. He also keeps in touch with questions of general interest and thus is broadening the foundation upon which his success in practice is built.
FRANK P. KEANE.
Frank P. Keane, an able attorney at law of Waterloo, has here practiced his profession continuously for the past five years and is accorded an extensive and gratifying clientage. His birth occurred in Buchanan county, Iowa, on the 13th of June, 1881, his parents being John and Ellen (Considine) Keane, the former a native of Ireland and the latter of Iowa. In 1873, on reaching his majority, John Keane crossed the Atlantic to the United States, locating first in Fitchburg, Massachusetts, but subsequently removing to Chicago, Illinois. In 1877 he came west to Iowa, taking up his abode in Buchanan county, where he was married soon afterward and settled down to farming. In 1885 he removed to Black Hawk county, purchasing land in Lester township, where he still makes his home.
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The period of his residence here now covers about three decades and he is well known and highly esteemed as a representative citizen and prosperous agri- culturist.
Frank P. Keane acquired his early education in the country schools and con- tinued his studies in St. Joseph's College of Dubuque and later in Drake Uni- versity. Subsequently he prepared for a professional career in the College of Law of the State University of Iowa at Iowa City and won the degree of LL.B. in 1909. In June of that year he was admitted to the Iowa state bar and located for practice in Waterloo, opening offices in the Lafayette building. Since the completion of the First National Bank building, however, he has maintained his offices there. The zeal with which he has devoted his ,energies to his profession, the careful regard evinced for the interests of his clients and an assiduous and unrelaxing attention to all the details of his cases, have brought him a large business and made him very successful in its conduct.
In 1910 Mr. Keane was united in marriage to Miss Catherine Purtell, of Chicago, Illinois, by whom he has two children, Helen I. and Francis E. Mr. Keane gives his political allegiance to the democracy and is identified fra- ternally with the Knights of Columbus, the Foresters, the Modern Woodmen of America, the Royal Arcanum and the Loyal Order of Moose. Both he and his wife are devout communicants of the Catholic church.
P. J. MARTIN.
P. J. Martin is engaged in the real-estate business in Waterloo and his efforts in that direction have not only been a source of individual profit but also of the city's advancement and improvement. He it was who instituted the first lot sale on the installment plan in Waterloo, and something of the extent of his business is indicated in the fact that he has sold more than one thousand lots in the city. His birth occurred in Hardin county, Iowa, in 1860. He was reared upon a farm there with the usual experiences that fall to the lot of the country- bred boy who divides his time between the work of the fields and the duties of the schoolroom. He remained on the old homestead until twenty-one years of age and then began learning telegraphy. He mastered the business and for thirteen years was employed as an operator by the Chicago & Northwestern and the Iowa Central Railroad Companies. On the expiration of that period he turned his attention to the drug business, conducting a store at Lake City. Iowa, and at other points for about four years.
In 1897 Mr. Martin came to Waterloo, where he opened a real-estate office and has since been actively and prominently engaged in that line of business, buying, selling and platting property: He originated the idea of selling lots on the installment plan, thus disposing of the Grand View addition in 1905. This has proved such a popular and excellent method of disposing of realty that he has now sold more than one thousand lots, enabling many a man to obtain a home who could not have done so if full cash payment had been required. He also handles farm property and Texas lands and has negotiated many important realty transfers in that state as well as in Iowa. Mr. Martin has extended his
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efforts into other fields and is now financially interested in a number of im- portant enterprises in Waterloo.
In 1884 Mr. Martin was united in marriage to Miss Jessie L. Ayres, of Eldora, Iowa, by whom he has three children, namely: Blanche I., Gladys W. and Dorothy M. The parents hold membership in the Universalist church and Mr. Martin is a member of the Town Criers Club. He belongs to the Knights of Pythias lodge and is a very prominent Mason, connected with all the dif- ferent bodies of both the York and Scottish Rites, while upon him has been conferred the honorary thirty-third degree. His prominence in the order is indicated in the fact that he was grand master of the grand lodge of Iowa. He is also an active factor in politics and has filled a number of local offices, in- cluding that of mayor, in which he served for four years, from 1901 until 1905, giving to the city a businesslike and public-spirited administration characterized by advancement and improvement along many lines. The steps in his orderly progression are easily discernible, for from the outset of his career he has gradually worked his way upward, proving his ability in many ways. He is today regarded as a forceful and resourceful business man of Waterloo and one whose efforts have been highly beneficial along many lines.
CLAYTON E. BRONSON.
Wide-awake, alert, enterprising and at all times watchful of opportunities. Clayton E. Bronson has gained a creditable position in insurance circles, is also known as one of the leaders of the republican party in Black Hawk county and was elected state representative in November, 1914. He was born at Raymond, in this county, September 1, 1881, a son of Lyman H. and Frances ( Butterfield ) Bronson. The mother, who was a native of New York, passed away in Novem- ber. 1912. The father, who survives, is a native of Connecticut and in 1858 took up his abode in Raymond, Black Hawk county, where he resided until after the outbreak of the Civil war, when he enlisted at Waterloo in 1863 as a member of the First lowa Cavalry, remaining at the front until the close of hostilities and rendering valiant aid to the cause which he espoused. He voted for Abraham Lincoln in 1860 and has always been a stanch republican, never failing to vote for each presidential candidate of the party since that time save in 1864, when he was on the field of battle. Following his return at the close of the war he became identified with agricultural interests in Black Hawk county and was also president for many years of the Black Hawk County Mutual Fire Insurance Company. In 1900 he came to Waterloo, where he established his present insurance business. He has now resided in this county for more than a half century and has been an interested witness of its con- tinued growth and development. He has always taken an active interest in politics and done considerable to shape the history of the county along that line, yet he has never been an office seeker.
His son, Clayton E. Bronson, pursued a public-school education, which he completed by graduation from the East Waterloo high school with the class of 1903. He afterward became associated with his father in the insurance busi-
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ness under the firm style of L. H. Bronson & Son, conducting a general insur- ance business. This is one of the oldest insurance firms in the city, the business having been established on the Ist of January, 1900, by the senior partner. The insurance which they write annually amounts to a large figure, for they have gained an extensive clientage by reason of their honorable business methods, their well directed persistency and the fact that they represent a number of the most substantial old line companies. Aside from that business Clayton E. Bronson is also interested in several manufacturing enterprises and other busi- ness concerns of Waterloo and his sound judgment and keen sagacity constitute elements in their continued success. He is likewise interested in real estate in East Waterloo, having made investments from time to time until he is the owner of considerable property.
On the 6th of October, 1910, Mr. Bronson was united in marriage to Miss Nina Wangler, a daughter of R. C. Wangler, of Waterloo. . They have one daughter, Esther Jean. Mr. Bronson and his family are widely and favorably known in the city where they reside. He is a member of the Town Criers Club, of the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, of the Commercial Club and Board of Trade-associations which indicate much of the nature of his interests and activities. He has always been deeply interested in politics from his boy- hood days, giving his political support to the republican party, but he was for the first time a candidate for office, when in November, 1914, he was elected representative in the state legislature. Whether in office or out of it, he is loyal to the best interests of his community and belongs to that class of repre- sentative men who are constantly pushing forward the wheels of progress.
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