USA > Iowa > Black Hawk County > History of Black Hawk County, Iowa, and its people, Volume II > Part 15
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HISTORY OF BLACK HAWK COUNTY
Mr. Rodamar not only proved a capable and progressive farmer but also became an active factor in the public life of the community and was prominent in the councils of the people of his township, who honored him with election to the office of county supervisor, in which position he served for a number of years. He was also auditor of the county for nine years and during that time continued to carry on the work of the farm, although he made his home in the city while the incumbent in the office. Following his retirement from official position he returned to the farm and thereon remained until 1910, when he disposed of his land and took up his abode in Waterloo, where he has since lived retired, enjoying the fruits of his former toil.
Mr. and Mrs. Rodamar have become the parents of nine children and the record is a most notable and unusual one in that the family circle yet remains unbroken. The sons and daughters are: Henry Ward, who is now engaged in agricultural pursuits at Hood River, Oregon ; Ira, who is cashier of the Leavitt & Johnson National Bank of Waterloo; Albert, who is engaged in the drug busi- ness in Baker City, Oregon : Emma, the wife of John Mericle, who is conducting a lumber yard at Montevideo, Minnesota; Grace, the head bookkeeper for the Iowa Manufacturers Association, Waterloo; Lottie, the wife of William Moss, who is engaged in fruit-raising in the state of Washington ; Alta, the wife of Ira Blough, cashier of the Iowa State Bank at Waterloo; Lillian, also in the Leavitt & Johnson National Bank, Waterloo; and Hortense, who is a teacher in Iowa Falls.
Mr. Rodamar is today one of the most highly respected residents of Waterloo. He has made his home in the county for forty-five years and has therefore wit- nessed much of its growth and development, while his efforts have been an ele- ment in its agricultural progress. He deserves much credit for what he has accomplished in that he started out empty-handed and through the period of his youth had no special advantages and opportunities. He possessed a resolute purpose, however, and the years have brought a success which is the fitting crown of his persistent, earnest labor.
SIMON J. TEDFORD.
Among the leaders in commercial and financial circles of La Porte City is Simon J. Tedford, president of the Union State Bank. He was born in Preble county, Ohio, on the 30th of April, 1851, a son of John L. and Elizabeth (Joh) Tedford, natives of Ohio and West Virginia respectively. The father gained a livelihood for himself and family by farming and cultivated land in Ohio until 1853, in which year he removed to Tama county, Iowa. He became the owner of a farm there, entering the same from the government, and devoted his time to agricultural pursuits until he retired from active life. For five years before his death he made his home with his son and on the 12th of January, 1902, passed to his last reward. His wife had preceded him many years, departing this life on the 6th of April, 1876.
Simon J. Tedford was but an infant when his parents took him to Tama county and there he passed the days of his boyhood and youth. He entered the
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public schools at the usual age and acquired a serviceable education. He remained upon the farm with his parents until he was twenty-five years of age and then bought eighty acres of fine land in Tama county, which he improved and operated for two years, after which he sold out and removed to Kansas. He remained in the Sunflower state but a short time, however, returning to Iowa and buying a farm in Benton county. He resided upon this property for twelve years and made many improvements upon it in that time. His next removal was to La Porte City, where he engaged in the lumber business for eight years, after which he retired. He has since resided here, enjoying a life of comparative leisure. He is interested in a number of business and financial concerns in the county and is president of the Union State Bank of La Porte City, with which he has been connected for fourteen years. This position entails upon him considera- ble responsibility and demands quite a little of his time, but he is so constituted that a life of inactivity and idleness would be distasteful in the extreme. He is also a stockholder in the Farmers Loan & Trust Company of Waterloo, president of the La Porte City Sewer Company, and a stockholder and director in the Farmers Mutual Insurance Association, which has its headquarters at Waterloo, Iowa. His business acumen and sound judgment have been of great value in the management of these companies and his advice is often sought by those who know his ability to counsel wisely.
On the 2d of March, 1876, Mr. Tedford was married to Miss Sylvia V. Smith, a daughter of Isaac and Eleanor (Marsh) Smith. Her father was a native of New York but at, an early day removed to Michigan and farmed there until 1854, when he made his way still farther west, locating in Tama county, Iowa. He bought land there and devoted the remainder of his active life to its cultivation. He passed away in 1874 and the demise of his wife occurred in 1904. To Mr. and Mrs. Tedford have been born three children: Belle E., the wife of R. H. Gardner, a farmer residing in Eagle township, this county ; Maude, at home; and Ora I., the wife of J. W. Kober, who is engaged in the clothing business in La Porte City.
Mr. Tedford is a progressive republican and at the polls supports the policies in which he believes. He has served upon the city council for four years and for several years has been a member of the school board. There are many in the county who are his loyal friends and those who have known him most inti- mately value his good opinion most highly and his character is of such sterling worth that it is most appreciated where best known.
HOWARD M. SMITH.
Howard M. Smith is general superintendent of the Citizens Gas & Electric Company of Waterloo, in which city he has resided for three and one half years. His birth occurred near Nashua, but across the line in Bremer county, Iowa, in 188.1, and his boyhood days were spent upon a farm in that county, where he lived until he had attained his majority, dividing his time between the work of the fields, the duties of the schoolroom and the pleasures of the playground. At length he entered the Iowa State College at Ames and was graduated on the
HOWARD M. SMITH
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completion of a course in electrical engineering with the class of 1905. Subse- quently he spent six months in Hammond, Indiana, with the gas company of that place and on the expiration of that period went to Mobile, Alabama, where he remained for four and one-half years with a gas company. On severing that connection he took up his abode in Waterloo, where he accepted the superin- tendency of the gas department of the Citizens Gas & Electric Company. Ability, however, won him advancement and since the Ist of January, 1914, he has been general superintendent of the entire plant.
Waterloo is a growing western city. It has developed rapidly in recent years and its outlook for the future is bright. Among the organizations which have been formed to advance its interests and upbuilding are the Commercial Club and Board of Trade, the Chamber of Commerce and Waterloo Club and the Town Criers Club, with all of which Mr. Smith is identified. He likes to be in touch with those hustling activities which are resultant factors in the public welfare and his efforts in that connection have been far-reaching and beneficial.
In 1907, Mr. Smith was united in marriage to Miss Ethel Cagley, of Nashua, and to them has been born a daughter, Dorothy I. The parents are members of the Congregational church and are well and favorably known in Waterloo, having gained many warm friends during the comparatively brief period of their residence here.
BENJAMIN J. HOWREY.
Benjamin J. Howrey is president of the Waterloo Loan & Trust Company and thus figures prominently in financial circles. No matter in how much fantas- tic theorizing one may indulge as to the cause of success, careful analysis always indicates that it is the outcome of persistent purpose intelligently directed, and such has been the case with Mr. Howrey, who has made wise use of his time, talents and opportunities.
He is a native son of Black Hawk county, while his father, J. M. Howrey, was a native of Ohio. The family was founded in Black Hawk county during the earliest period in its development and John Howrey, an uncle of Benjamin J. Howrey, helped build the first log cabin erected in East Waterloo. From that time forward the family name has been closely interwoven with the history of development and progress in this section of the state. After arriving at years of maturity J. M. Howrey was united in marriage with Miss Catherine Winsett, a daughter of Benjamin Winsett, one of the prominent pioneer settlers of this county.
Reared under the parental roof, Benjamin J. Howrey spent his boyhood and youth upon the home farm with the usual experiences that come to the country- bred lad who divides his time and energies between the work of the fields, the duties of the schoolroom and the pleasures of the playground. After attending the public schools and graduating from the high school of Waterloo with the class of 1888 he became a student in Cornell College and still later matriculated in the Iowa State University. In the latter institution he became a student in the law department and also continued his reading with the law firm of Boies, Couch Vol. II-8
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& Boies. He had returned from Iowa City to Waterloo in 1892 and for five years thereafter he devoted much time to school teaching and at the same time was reading law with the firm of Boies, Couch & Boies. At different periods he was a teacher in the rural schools, also taught in both high schools in Waterloo and in the college. In 1897 he successfully passed the required examination that secured his admission to the bar and entered upon the practice of his profession, which he followed in Waterloo for about eleven years. While no longer giving any attention to private practice he still retains membership in both the county and state bar associations and enters into the discussions relative to the profes- sion. Mr. Howrey was made vice president of the Waterloo Loan & Trust Company in 1908, so continuing for three years, during which period he looked after considerable legal work for the company. In 1911 he became president and has assumed various duties from time to time until he is now the directing head and active manager of the institution. On account of his knowledge of law he is better equipped for his present business connections, as many matters come up requiring familiarity with legal lore.
In 1893 was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Howrey and Miss Ada C. McStay, of Waterloo, and to them have been born four children: Harold M., Corinne C., Benjamin G. and Edward F. Mr. Howrey is president of the Commercial Club and Board of Trade of Waterloo. He is also a member of the Town Criers Club and belongs to the Masonic fraternity and the Knights of Pythias lodge. He is a member of the Walnut Street Baptist church, has served for a long period on its official board and for a number of years was president of the board. He was also superintendent of the Sunday school for ten years and has but recently resigned that position. He is thus actively interested in the material, civic, social and moral progress of the community. and his efforts have been attended with far-reaching and beneficial results.
ROYAL A. PERKINS.
Royal A. Perkins, vice president of the First National Bank of La Porte City, is esteemed not only on account of his unquestioned business ability but also because of his force of character. He was born in Ohio on the IIth of September, 1840, a son of Edward and Cynthia (Pixley) Perkins. The father was a native of New Jersey and the mother of Massachusetts, but for many years they were residents of Ohio and in 1866 they removed with their family to Benton county, Iowa. The father gave his active life to the cultivation of the soil and passed away in 1868, being survived by his widow until 1875.
Royal A. Perkins grew to manhood in Ohio and there acquired a common- school education. Upon accompanying his parents to Benton county, Iowa, he purchased land there, which he operated and improved until 1891. In that year he gave up the actual work of the farm and removed to La Porte City, where he has since resided. For fifteen years he was president of the First National Bank and proved a man of resource, energy and good judgment. He retired from that office three years ago but is an extensive stockholder and also vice president of the same institution.
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On the 25th of February, 1875, Mr. Perkins was married to Miss Catherine Gingrich, a daughter of Daniel and Catherine (Hoffer) Gingrich, both born in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania. Her father, who was a carpenter by trade but also farmed in the Keystone state, died there in 1852, and her mother passed away in Iowa in 1887.
Mr. Perkins is a Presbyterian in religious belief and politically is an adherent of the republican party. He is a member of the Masonic lodge and of the Eastern Star and exemplifies in his life the spirit of helpfulness inculcated by the craft. He is a stockholder and director in the Electric Light & Water Company of La Porte City and owns his fine home which he erected. His business ability has gained him the respect of those with whom he has had dealings and they likewise esteem him as a man of probity and honor.
GEORGE E. LICHTY.
Various business and manufacturing interests have felt the stimulus of the cooperation of George E. Lichty, a man of sound business judgment and undaunted enterprise, who forms his plans readily and is determined in their execution. He is well known as the president of the Smith, Lichty & Hillman Company and is an executive officer in various other business enterprises of importance which have contributed much to the substantial development and improvement of the city. For forty-five years he has resided in Waterloo and throughout the entire period has enjoyed an unassailable reputation for busi- ness integrity as well as enterprise.
Mr. Lichty was born in Somerset county, Pennsylvania, in 1857, and was a youth of thirteen years when in 1870 his parents came with their family to Waterloo. His education, begun in the schools of the east, was continued in the public schools of this city. He afterward made his initial step in the business world as a clerk in a clothing store of Waterloo, in which he was employed for two years. He afterward spent five years in a grocery store and on the Ist of October, 1879, engaged in the retail grocery business on his own account. Suc- cess attended the venture and he continued actively therein until the fall of 1889, when he organized the Smith, Lichty & Hillman Wholesale Grocery Company, conducting business at their present location since December, 1896. This has been a growing enterprise. They have advanced steadily, their trade reaching out along ramifying lines until it covers a broad territory, demanding extensive shipments. They have about ninety employes in the Waterloo establishment, with about twelve traveling salesmen upon the road. Mr. Lichty has long been the executive head and promoter of this business as president of the company and yet, important as has been his work in this connection, it by no means limits the extent of his activities, for many other commercial enterprises have benefited by his financial support and by his wise judgment, if not by direct executive control. He is now the president of the Black Hawk Coffee & Spice Company, president of the Waterloo Canning Company, one of the vice presidents of the Commercial National Bank, president of the Waterloo Warehouse & Storage Company and president of the Waterloo Opera House & Theatre Company.
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This gives an indication of the range and breadth of his activities and the diver- sity of his interests and marks him as one of the foremost business men of the city.
In 1881 Mr. Lichty was united in marriage to Miss Annie Derrick, of Water- loo, and unto them have been born six children: Ben R., who is associated with his father in business, as secretary of the Smith, Lichty & Hillman Company ; Josephine, the wife of Fred L. Northey, a manufacturer of Waterloo; Burr G., who is also a partner of his father ; Jeanne, the wife of H. W. White, of Water- loo; Florence, the wife of Charles A. Stewart, of San Francisco, California ; and Robert J., who is attending school at Mercersburg, Pennsylvania.
Mr. Lichty takes an active interest in politics on the side of good government, reform and progress. In Masonry he has attained high rank, being a member of the Consistory, in which he has reached the thirty-second degree of the Scottish Rite. He also has membership with the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks and the Knights of Pythias. He belongs to the Commercial Club and Board of Trade and was one of the incorporators of the latter, being connected therewith for more than a quarter of a century. His position in business circles may be judged from the fact that he was honored with election to the presidency of the National Wholesale Grocers Association for the year 1912-13. This indicates that he is widely known among representatives of that line of business, that he is popular and that his capability is recognized. He belongs to the little group of distinctively representative business men who have been pioneers in inaugu- rating and building up the chief industries of this section of the country. He early had the sagacity and prescience to discern the eminence which the future had in store for this great and growing region and, acting in accordance with the dictates of his faith and judgment, he has garnered in the fullness of time the generous harvest which is the just recompense of indomitable industry. spotless integrity and marvelous enterprise.
LOUIS S. CASS.
A well known figure in railway circles in Iowa is Louis S. Cass, who since the fall of 1895 has made his home in Waterloo and is the president of the Waterloo, Cedar Falls & Northern Railroad Company. Opportunity has been to him the open door through which he has entered to success. He has never over-estimated nor undervalued his chances but has made wise use of his time and native talents and thus step by step has progressed.
Mr. Cass was born in Vernon county, Wisconsin, in 1865, and when but six months old was brought by his parents to Iowa, the family home being estab- lished in Bremer county, where he was reared to manhood upon a farm. He acquired his education in the schools of the county and in the Sumner high school and also attended the Iowa State Teachers College at Cedar Falls and the J. F. Wallace Commercial College of La Crosse, Wisconsin. For some time he was engaged in the lumber business at Sumner and from the outset of his career he has steadily advanced, each forward step bringing him a broader outlook and wider opportunities.
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Mr. Cass became connected with railway interests when in 1883 he entered the employ of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad Company as tele- graph operator, becoming later a brakeman on a freight train. He was con- nected with the Dubuque & Dakota Railroad for some time and later engaged in the retail lumber business, establishing, owning and controlling four retail lumberyards in Iowa. At the same time he engaged in the manufacture of cedar shingles on the Pacific coast, his active connection with the lumber business con- tinuing from 1885 until 1895. During a part of this time he was also connected with the Minnesota & Northwestern Railway and was later with the Chicago, St. Paul & Kansas City Railroad and subsequently with the Chicago Great Western Railway. While with those companies he acted in various capacities. He advanced from the position of brakeman to station agent and later became train conductor, superintendent, assistant general manager, general traffic man- ager, vice president and chief executive officer to the receiver and signed the papers transferring the road to the Chicago Great Western Railroad in August, 1909.
In the meantime Mr. Cass had extended his efforts to other lines of activity, having in 1895 established the Waterloo & Cedar Falls Rapid Transit Railway. In 1896 he extended the system in Waterloo, converted the horse-car line into an electric line and the following year built the line to Cedar Falls. In 1898 he made further extensions in Waterloo and in 1899 purchased the Cedar Falls & Normal Gasoline Road, which was operated with a Patton motor. This he converted into an electric line. In 1901 he built the line to Denver, Iowa, and in 1902 extended it from that place to Denver Junction to connect with the Omaha division of the Great Western. On the 31st of August, 1909, he severed his connection with the Chicago Great Western and since then has devoted his entire time to the Waterloo, Cedar Falls & Northern Railway, successor to the Waterloo & Cedar Falls Rapid Transit Railway. In 1910 he extended the line from Denver Junction to Waverly and in 1912 built the road from Waterloo to La Porte City and the following year from La Porte City to Urbana, while in 1914 the circuit was completed in the extension of the line from Urbana to Cedar Rapids. In the building and development of the interurban railway system Mr. Cass has contributed in large measure to the welfare of those sections through which the road has passed. His plans have been carefully formulated and promptly exe- cuted and in all of his business career he has readily discriminated between the essential and the nonessential.
In addition to his other interests Mr. Cass is a stockholder in the Commercial National Bank of Waterloo, in the Black Hawk National Bank of Waterloo, in the Denver Savings Bank of Denver, Iowa, in the Bank of Sumner at Sumner, Iowa, and in the Tripoli State Bank of Tripoli, Iowa; is vice president of the Iowa Real Estate & Investment Company of Waterloo and vice president of the Cass Farm Company, having two thousand acres of land in Bremer county. These connections indicate something of the nature and range of his interests and of the business ability and resourcefulness which enable him to carefully direct the interests of so many different important concerns.
Mr. Cass is a thirty-second degree Mason, a Knight Templar and a member of the Mystic Shrine. He also has membership in the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks and the Knights of Pythias. He is furthermore connected with
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the Commercial Club and Board of Trade, with the Chamber of Commerce and the Waterloo Club. His pleasant home life had its inception in 1885, in his marriage to Miss Lillian Emmons, of Sumner, and they have become the par- ents of two children : Zathoe C., the wife of W. H. Burke, auditor and treasurer of the Waterloo, Cedar Falls & Northern Railroad Company ; and one son who died in infancy.
Throughout this section of Iowa Mr. Cass is spoken of in terms of admira- tion and respect. His life has been so varied in its activity, so honorable in its purposes, so far-reaching and beneficial in its effects that it has become an integral part of the history of Waterloo and has also left an impress upon the annals of the state. To build up rather than to destroy has ever been his broad policy and he attacks everything with a contagious enthusiasm.
J. O. TRUMBAUER.
J. O. Trumbauer, capitalist, has won distinction among those whose ability has gained them leadership in the financial circles of Black Hawk county and this section of the state. Centuries ago one of the old Greek philosophers said : "Earn thy reward: the gods give naught to sloth." Realizing this truth at the outset of his career, Mr. Trumbauer has led a most busy life and his enterprise and diligence have placed him in a position of leadership in banking circles, for he is now the vice president of the Farmers Loan & Trust Company and vice president of the Leavitt & Johnson National Bank, one of the oldest financial institutions of the state.
A native of Berks county, Pennsylvania, he there spent the early years of his life, coming westward to Iowa in 1879, and settling at Jesup, Buchanan county, where he spent two years upon a farm. He was afterward connected with J. A. Laird of Jesup, one of the pioneer merchants of that section, for about four years and on the expiration of that period went to the west, remaining in different sections of the west until 1890. In that year he returned to Iowa, set- tling at Waterloo, after which he traveled for the Fowler Company until Febru- ary, 1909. On the 7th of January of that year, when the Farmers Loan & Trust Company was organized and began business, he became its vice president and has since been thus identified with the corporation, contributing largely to its success through his sound judgment, administrative direction and executive abil- ity. In 1910 he was chosen vice president of the Leavitt & Johnson National Bank and for eight years he has been a member of the board of directors of the First National Bank of Waterloo. He is also the vice president of the Marsh- Place Company, in which he is associated with C. A. Marsh, A. M. Place, F. J. Fowler and H. B. Plumb. This company erected the Marsh-Place building, a six-story reinforced concrete fireproof structure at the corner of Sycamore and Fifth streets, or in the very business center of Waterloo, and it brings to them a very substantial income in its rentals. Mr. Trumbauer is also vice president of the Leavitt & Johnson National Bank Building Company and is financially inter- ested in a number of the best buildings of Waterloo which have been erected for business purposes. The company is now erecting a fine bank building sixty-five
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