USA > Iowa > Black Hawk County > History of Black Hawk County, Iowa, and its people, Volume II > Part 12
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WALTER A. BRYANT, JR.
Walter A. Bryant, Jr., is the secretary of the Bryant Asphalt Pavement Company, controlling one of the chief industrial enterprises of Black Hawk county. He is a man of determined purpose, allowing no obstacles or difficulties to bar his path if they can be overcome by persistent, earnest and honorable effort. Energy has been the key that has unlocked for him the portals of suc- cess, and, stepping over the threshold, he has found broader opportunities which he is now wisely utilizing.
A native of Illinois, Mr. Bryant came to Iowa when his parents removed to Cedar Falls, at which time he was a lad of eight years. His youthful days were there spent and the joys and pleasures of boyhood divided his time with the work of the schoolroom. He was comparatively young when he put aside his text-books and began to earn his living as an employe of the Burlington, Cedar Rapids & Northern Railroad, remaining in active connection with that company for five years. He then resigned his position and turned his attention to the lumber business, in which he engaged at Cedar Falls in partnership with his father. The new enterprise prospered from the beginning and W. A. Bryant, Jr., continued in active connection therewith for fourteen years, or until 1907, in which year the Bryant Asphalt Pavement Company was organized and incor- porated with a capital stock of two hundred thousand dollars. Of this company.
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WV. A. Bryant, Sr., living at Cedar Falls, is now the president, with P. L. Bryant as vice president, W. A. Bryant, Jr., as secretary and G. E. Rolston as treasurer. They concentrate their energies largely upon asphalt paving and since the organ- ization of the company they have laid two million yards of asphalt pavement in various cities, over a half million yards being in Waterloo. There is no finer asphalt pavement to be found in any city in the country and Waterloo may well be proud of her public highways.
Mr. Bryant is also interested in the W. A. Bryant & Sons Company, dealers in coal and building materials, and is also a stockholder in the Bryant Motor Car Company. The firms with which he is connected have advanced steadily toward success. It is probable that all of the days in his career have not been equally bright but he possesses the strong purpose and firm determination that win success through honorable effort and throughout his entire career he has ever followed a course which he believed to be right between himself and his fellowmen.
Mr. Bryant has fraternal relations with the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks and is identified with the Chamber of Commerce and the Waterloo Club and also with the Town Criers Club. His nature is by no means self-centered but reaches out in sympathetic and helpful interest to many movements for the world's good and his public spirit finds many tangible proofs in his relation to the community.
MAJOR WILLIAM CULLEN BRYANT.
Major William Cullen Bryant, long an honored and respected citizen of Cedar Falls, where for an extended period he engaged in the drug business, was born in Gilbertsville, New York, April 12, 1841, a son of John and Harriet C. (Gilbert) Bryant, the former a native of Chesterfield, Massachusetts, and the latter of England. The parents died during the early boyhood of their son, William Cullen, after which he resided with an older sister and her husband, who removed west- ward to Oshkosh, Wisconsin, when Mr. Bryant was a little lad of nine years. He was there living at the time of the outbreak of the Civil war and his patriotic spirit was aroused by the attempt of the south to overthrow the Union. Accord- ingly he enlisted at Oshkosh as a member of Company E, Second Wisconsin Regiment, which became a part of the famous "Iron" Brigade. After remaining for a time at the front he obtained a commission as a lieutenant in a regiment of colored troops and ultimately was promoted to the rank of captain, while on the 13th of March, 1865, he was advanced to the rank of major. He remained for six years in the service, for after the cessation of hostilities, which resulted in the preservation of the Union, he served on the frontier in Texas for a time. It was there that he contracted a severe cold which brought on physical conditions that ultimately terminated his life. Having remained in the service for two years after the close of the war he was honorably discharged and mustered out in January, 1867, at Baltimore, Maryland.
Major Bryant then came to Iowa and engaged in the drug business in Des Moines, remaining there for a year or two. On the expiration of that period he
MAJOR WILLIAM C. BRYANT
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came to Cedar Falls, where he established a drug store, which he conducted with growing success until his health failed him and he was thereafter compelled to spend a large part of his time in the south. Accordingly he disposed of his busi- ness and went to Florida, where he remained for several months during each year, but he always regarded Cedar Falls as his home and continued to maintain a residence here until his death, which occurred on the 6th of November, 1905. He became the owner of considerable real estate and his sound business judgment was shown in his judicious investments in property. He was also a stockholder in local banks and his energy, enterprise and sagacity brought him substantial success in business, so that he left his wife in very comfortable financial cir- cumstances.
It was in June, 1868, that Major Bryant was united'in marriage to Miss Vesta A. Bryant, the only child of Dr. Francis A. and Mary M. (Harmon) Bryant. Major Bryant held membership in the Ancient Order of United Workmen and in the Grand Army of the Republic, and Mrs. Bryant is now a member of the Woman's Relief Corps. He was a very prominent, helpful and active member of the Congregational church, held all of the offices in the church and for twenty years was superintendent of the Sunday school, his efforts constituting a vital force in the moral progress and development of the community in which he made his home. He was a man highly esteemed wherever known and most of all where he was best known. His life record was one which would bear the closest investigation and scrutiny and there was not a single esoteric chapter in his history. He was constantly doing good to others and was ever reaching out a helping hand to assist a fellow traveler on life's journey.
O. S. LAMB.
In railway circles O. S. Lamb is widely known, being superintendent of the Waterloo, Cedar Falls & Northern Railway Company. The steps in his orderly progression are easily discernible. He has steadily advanced since starting out on his own account, eventually reaching the position of trust and responsibility that he now occupies.
He was born in Vernon county, Wisconsin, in 1874, and at the age of ten years, his parents moved to South Dakota, where his father engaged in farming. In 1891, his parents moved to Lincoln, Nebraska, where he attended the Normal University, pursuing a four-year course. At the end of that time, he became an employe of the Burlington Railway at Havelock, Nebraska, learning the machinist's trade. He afterward was in the employ of different railways in various parts of the country, until 1905, when he went to Oelwein, Iowa, where he became connected with the Chicago Great Western Railroad, remaining in the shops at that point until the spring of 1907, when he came to Waterloo. where he was made foreman in the shops of the Waterloo, Cedar Falls & Northern Railway Company. Subsequently he was promoted to the position of master mechanic, and afterwards was advanced to the position of superintendent of the road. His long experience, covering many lines of railroad work, had well qualified him for the onerous duties which devolved upon him. He has
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studied every phase of the business with which he has had to do and is thus capable of directing the men who serve under him. He is today regarded as most efficient in railroad circles with which he has been connected.
At one time, he was air-brake inspector for the Mexican Central Railroad, with headquarters at Mexico City, and during the period of the Spanish- American War, he entered the service of the government, enlisting as a member of Company I, First Nebraska Volunteer Regiment, on the 18th day of June, 1898. He remained with that command until honorably discharged at San Fran- cisco, California, on the 23d of August, 1899. During his service he was with the 8th Army Corps in the Philippine islands and during that period, partici- pated in sixteen engagements. His military record is a most creditable one and constitutes an interesting chapter in his life history, having brought him many new experiences.
Following his return from the Philippine islands, Mr. Lamb was married in 1899 to Miss Katic Cuddy, of Lincoln, Nebraska. They have become the par- ents of two children, Kathryn and Virginia. Mr. Lamb is a Mason and a member of the Eastern Star. He is likewise a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and a member of the Commercial Club and Board of Trade. He has thus entered into active connection with organizations which are seeking to upbuild the city. extend its trade relations and advance its im- proveinent in many ways.
FRANK J. EIGHMEY.
Throughout his business career Frank J. Eighmey has been connected with banking interests and has risen from the humble position of messenger to that of president of the First National Bank of Waterloo. He is fortunate in that he possesses character and ability which inspire confidence in others, and the simple weight of his character and ability has carried him into important busi- ness relations. Iowa claims him as a native son, his birth having occurred on a farm in Black Hawk county on the 30th of March, 1862, his parents being Calvin W. and Katharine ( Penne) Eighmey, the former a native of New York and the latter of Germany. The father was a farmer by occupation and in 1849 removed westward to Iowa, settling in Dubuque, whence in 1852 he came to Black Hawk county, casting in his lot with the pioneer settlers. In the ensuing years he took an active and helpful part in the work of general improve- ment and development and continued his residence in the county until his death. which occurred August 6, 1907, when he had reached the age of seventy-six years. He was a son of Leman Eighmey, also a native of the Empire state.
Frank J. Eighmey pursued his education in the country schools and in Til- ford Academy at Vinton, Iowa, from which he was graduated with the class of 1881. He afterward attended a commercial college at Dubuque and entered upon his business career as messenger in the First National Bank of that city. He spent three years in that institution and rose to the position of bookkeeper. He then went to Dell Rapids, South Dakota, where he organized the First National Bank of that place and was made cashier. He spent a year there and
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in 1886 came to Waterloo, where he entered the employ of the First National Bank as messenger. Twenty-six years brought him advancement through inter- mediate positions to the presidency, to which he was called in 1912, and in this connection he is bending his efforts to administrative direction and executive con- trol. This is one of the strong financial institutions of the city, its progressive- ness tempered by a safe conservatism, while its policy is at all times thoroughly reliable. As the years have advanced Mr. Eighmey has thoroughly acquainted himself with every phase of the banking business and his knowledge and ability now enable him to find ready solution for intricate and involved money problems. He is also the president of the Highland Improvement Company of Waterloo and is regarded as a prominent factor in the business circles of the city.
On the 18th of August, 1886, in South Dakota, Mr. Eighmey was united in marriage to Miss Jennie M. Wilson, by whom he has the following children : Gladys K., who is the wife of A. L. Alexander, of Waterloo; Paul W .; and Allene M. Mr. Eighmey belongs to the Ancient Order of United Workmen and to the Royal Arcanum. The rules which govern his conduct are further indicated in the fact that he is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. He belongs to the Commercial Club and cooperates in many ways in the plans and projects for the upbuilding and development of the city. His political allegiance is given to the republican party and he has served as city treasurer of Waterloo on several different occasions and also as treasurer of the school board. Honored and respected by all, there is no man who occupies a more enviable position in busi- ness and financial circles than does Frank J. Eighmey, not alone by reason of the notable success he has attained but also owing to the straightforward and credita- ble business policy that he has ever followed.
J. A. ZOOK.
J. A. Zook is senior partner in the firm of Zook & Bentz, proprietors of the oldest plumbing establishment in Waterloo, and a life of industry, continuous and intelligently directed, has brought to him a substantial measure of pros- perity. He was born in Jackson county, Iowa, April 13, 1861, a son of Jacob and Elizabeth (Goodwin) Zook, who came to this state from Indiana about 1854. The father purchased a farm ten miles from Maquoketa, residing thereon until about 1882, when he removed to Cedar county, where his death occurred a decade later, or in 1892, when he had reached the age of seventy-six years. His wife passed away in 1903, at the advanced age of eighty-one years.
J. A. Zook spent his boyhood days in his parents' home and during that period attended the public schools in the acquirement of that education which has been the basis of his subsequent business advancement. When about eighteen years of age he went to work in a hardware store in Tripoli, Iowa, and in 1882 made his way to Winnipeg, Canada, where he again found employment in a hardware establishment. While thus engaged he took up the plumber's trade, dividing his time between the store and work at the trade for a year or more. Later he returned to Iowa, settling in Cherokee, where he continued work at the hardware business and also at the plumber's trade, remaining in that city
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for five years. On the expiration of that period he came to Waterloo in 1890 and entered the employ of the Cutler Hardware Company, with which he re- mained for three years. In February, 1893, he embarked in the plumbing busi- ness on his own account and for two years operated independently. In 1895 he formed a partnership with George L. Wilber, organizing the firm of Zook & Wilber, and a year later Charles K. Bentz became one of the owners of the business, buying out the interest of Mr. Wilber. Since that time the firm of Zook & Bentz has conducted the leading plumbing establishment of Waterloo, with a business that in volume and importance exceeds all others.
In 1884 Mr. Zook married Miss Nellie A. Monty, of Allison, Iowa, by whom he has six children, as follows: Beatrice, who is the wife of Dr. R. D. Tiffany, of Hollywood, California; Marguerite, at home: Earl, engaged in the insurance business, who is also at home; and Irene, Robert and Jack, who are likewise yet under the parental roof. Irene and Robert are high-school students, while Jack is in the grammar school.
Mr. Zook exercises his right of franchise in support of the men and meas- ures of the republican party but the honors and emoluments of office have had no attraction for him, as he has always preferred to devote his attention to his business affairs. Fraternally Mr. Zook is connected with Waterloo Lodge, No. 105, A. F. & A. M .; Waterloo Chapter, No. 52, R. A. M .; Ascalon Command- ery, No. 25, K. T .; and Helmet Lodge of the Knights of Pythias. In these organizations he is well known and his worth is just as widely recognized in business circles and in social relations.
WILLIAM P. EIGENMANN.
William P. Eigenmann is the president and manager of the Artificial Ice & Fuel Company and, working his way steadily upward since the outset of his career, he has reached a creditable position, his record proving what may be accomplished when determination and energy are the salient traits of character. He has lived in Waterloo for only three years but during this period has made a most commendable record and today enjoys the high regard, confidence and good-will of his fellow townsmen. He was born in 1876, in Rockport, Spencer county, Indiana, where he was reared and educated. He became engaged in the manufacture of ice at Rockport, and there continued in business for sixteen years. In fact, throughout his entire business career he has been connected with this line of activity and there is no feature of the business with which he is not familiar.
In September, 1911, he came to Waterloo and since that time has been most active in developing the interests of the Artificial Ice & Fuel Company, of which he is now the president. The plant was established in 1907, manufacturing ice that year for the first time. In 1909 the business was incorporated with a capital stock of forty-two thousand dollars, Amos Wood, Sr., being the first president. At that time the incorporated name was the Waterloo Artificial Ice Company. In March, 1914, a reorganization occurred and the name of the corporation was changed to the Artificial Ice & Fuel Company. The new company was capitalized
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for twenty-five thousand dollars, with William P. Eigenmann as president and manager and R. W. Gibson secretary and treasurer. They have a capacity of thirty tons, which they expect to increase to forty tons before the close of the year. Their ice business has increased steadily and they also enjoy a gratifying trade in fuel. Their business methods are thoroughly reliable and a spirit of progress actuates them at all times.
Mr. Eigenmann was married in 1903 to Miss Molly Gage, of Grand View, Indiana, and they have one son, Loren Gage. Mr. Eigenmann holds member- ship in the Masonic fraternity, having attained the Royal Arch degree. He also belongs to the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks and to the Commercial Club and Board of Trade. Waterloo is actuated by a spirit of advancement and a great many of her business men are associated in a combined and unified effort to promote the trade interests of the city, with a result that is manifest in the rapid and substantial growth which Waterloo has enjoyed in recent years. With this movement Mr. Eigenmann has become identified and responds readily to every call for the benefit and upbuilding of town and county. 'At the same time he carefully and wisely directs his individual interests and year by year his success is increasing.
JOHN E. O'KEEFE, M. D.
Dr. John E. O'Keefe is the senior partner in the firm of O'Keefe, Brown & Hoffmann, which is one of the leading firms of physicians and surgeons not only of Waterloo but of this section of the state. All three are progressive, energetic young men actuated by laudable ambition to attain high rank in their profession, and already pronounced ability has gained them notable prominence. Dr. O'Keefe was born in Black Hawk county, September 6, 1871, and was reared to farm life until he attained his sixteenth year, attending the district schools. At that period in his life he entered the Waterloo Collegiate & Com- mercial Institute, from which he was graduated when twenty-one years of age or in 1892. In the fall of that year he entered the College of Medicine of the University of Iowa and is numbered among the alumni of that institution of the class of 1896.
Following his graduation Dr. O'Keefe opened an office at Eagle Center, Iowa, and a year later, or in 1897, came to Waterloo. In the intervening period of seventeen years that has brought him to the present he has placed himself in the front rank of medical practitioners in this city. He has constantly read and studied and has drawn logical and valuable deductions from his experience. He is always careful in the diagnosis of his cases and his efforts have been attended with most creditable success. Since 1903 he has given his attention largely to special preparation for surgical work. He took the regular surgical course in the New York Post Graduate School and Hospital in that year and the same year took special work in the New York Polyclinic School and Hos- pital. For several years past he has made it a point to attend each year the leading clinics of the United States and in 1914 he visited the large hospitals and medical centers of Great Britain and Europe, investigating the advanced
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methods of eminent physicians and surgeons of the old world. Ile has kept abreast of the improvement in medical and surgical science at all times and is today ranked among Waterloo's most successful professional men. He belongs to the Waterloo Medical Society, the Black Hawk County Medical Society, the lowa State Medical Society and the American Medical Association. He is likewise a member of the Austin Flint District Medical Society and the Missouri Valley Medical Society, the Clinical Congress of Surgeons of North America and at the present time is a delegate of the last named to the convention which will meet in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1915, having been elected while attending the session of that organization that convened in London, England. He was the first secretary of the Waterloo Medical Society, has also served as its president and has been president of the Black Hawk County Medical Society.
In 1898 Dr. O'Keefe was united in marriage to Miss Dora Wade, of Nor- folk, Nebraska. Dr. O'Keefe belongs to Waterloo Lodge, No. 290, B. P. O. E., to the Knights of Columbus and to the Catholic church. In these are indicated the underlying principles which govern his actions and guide him in every rela- tion. He has ever manifested the deepest interest in his profession, finds joy in adding to his knowledge and in discovering new methods which are of value. As the years have passed on he has progressed by reason of his broad study and increasing experience, and the confidence entertained in his professional ability is indicated in the liberal patronage accorded him.
WILLIAM A. WELTY.
William A. Welty, the inventor and patentee of Welty's fountain pen and now a resident of Waterloo, was born in Ohio in 1873 and comes of German and Scotch-Irish parentage. In early boyhood he acquired an excellent education and at all times during his life has been much inclined to mechanical investigation, even as a boy having equipped a workshop in his own home. He sold books in order to acquire the means that would enable him to pursue a college education and in early life he was also elected by his church as financial secretary of the Ashland University at Ashland, Ohio, and during his incumbency in that office he cleared the university of indebtedness. While traveling throughout the United States in order to raise funds for the school he gained an unusual insight into business affairs which fitted him for the commercial career upon which he after- ward entered.
In 1903 Mr. Welty became connected with the firm of Matt Parrott & Sons as blank book salesman and auditor, at which time he took up the sale of fountain pens as a side line. Continued complaints of dealers and users of leaking, blot- ting and dropping convinced him that something very essential had been missed in pen construction. The public declared that fountain pens never would be a success. Careful investigation disclosed that while hundreds of more or less practical ideas had been used, particularly as to the methods of filling, etc., that absolutely nothing had been done which would improve the feeding of the ink -- right where the real trouble lay.
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The fountain pen industry at that time was only twenty-one years old and most of the factories had been going ahead on the old plug feed idea, taking it for granted that if any improvements could be made, Paul E. Wirt, the original manufacturer, or one of the older organizations, would make them. Some of these manufacturers knew that most of the dropping and leaking was due to a lack of proper air entrance and were trying various ways to control this. These facts were Mr. Welty's inspiration. While others hesitated he pondered, and one Sunday, while resting in a hotel, the comparison of the spasmodic flow from the neck of a bottle suddenly occurred to him. That bubble of air must certainly go up the single feed channel in a fountain pen, as they were then constructed, just the same as it did in the neck of a bottle. He knew that if you held a bottle at an angle to empty it, the flow is less spasmodic than if held straight upside down. Right here dawned the great idea of the air vent in the feed and he at once took the plug feed out of one of his samples and set to work with a pocket knife and file and roughly cut out a model. This worked better and on showing it to several dealers they urged him to obtain a patent, for which he applied December 6, 1904, and which was granted November 7, 1905. To reach a further degree of feed perfection he conceived the idea of the "side or sub ducts," which was patented on October 30, 1906.
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