USA > Iowa > Black Hawk County > History of Black Hawk County, Iowa, and its people, Volume II > Part 21
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Joseph A. McNaughton was reared under the parental roof and acquired his early education in the local schools. He later attended Tilford Academy at Vinton, Iowa, after which he returned home and remained upon the farm until the death of his father. He then purchased the interests of the other heirs
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in the homestead and became its sole owner. It comprises two hundred and eighty acres in Cedar township and is a valuable property, as the land is naturally fertile and the farm has been wisely developed. Mr. McNaughton also owns a section of land in Colorado, while the family together hold title to twenty-three hundred acres and are numbered among the extensive land owners of the county. He cultivated the homestead for about a year, or until March, 1914, and then left the farm and removed to La Porte City with the intention of soon returning to the work of an agriculturist. However, he became interested along other lines and has now definitely taken up his residence in La Porte City, where he owns a beautiful home. He is the republican candidate for county supervisor and is devoting a great deal of time to political activity. For twenty years he served as clerk of Cedar township and for about twelve years was treasurer of the school board. In 1910 he was appointed census enumerator and performed accurately and thoroughly the duties of that position. While upon the farm he made a specialty of raising Chester White hogs and Durham cattle and was known as a successful stockman.
Mr. McNaughton is a Presbyterian and bases his rules of conduct upon the teachings of that organization. Fraternally he belongs to the Knights of Pythias lodge and the Knights of Luther. IIe is one of the substantial and representa- tive citizens of the county and is a man of tried ability and integrity, respected and esteemed by all who know him.
OLLIE O. FOULK.
Ollie O. Foulk, a lifelong resident and substantial agriculturist of Black Ilawk county, makes his home on section 31, Cedar township. His birth occurred in that township in January, 1877, his parents being W. H. and Cather- ine (Myers) Foulk, natives of Perry county, Pennsylvania. The year 1867 witnessed their arrival in Black Hawk county, Iowa, and here the father pur- chased eighty acres of land on sections 30 and 29, Cedar township, at once beginning the improvement of the property. As time passed and his financial resources increased, owing to his untiring industry and capable business man- agement, he augmented his holdings by additional purchase until at the present time he owns six hundred acres of valuable land on sections 5, 29, 30 and 31, Cedar township, all of which he is cultivating and which yields him a gratifying annual income. Mr. and Mrs. Foulk, sixty-eight and seventy years of age respectively, have lived in this county for nearly a half century and enjoy a very wide and favorable acquaintance within its borders.
Ollie O. Foulk was reared and educated in Black Hawk county, supple- menting his earlier training by a three years' course of study in the Waterloo Business College. He remained under the parental roof until twenty-three years of age and then started out as an agriculturist on his own account, culti- vating a rented farm for one year. On the expiration of that period he pur- chased a tract of one hundred and twenty acres on section 31, Cedar township. improved the place and has since been busily engaged in its operation. Later he bought eighty acres of the Smith farm on section 29 and this he also culti-
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vates. He is now feeding forty-seven head of cattle and annually feeds one or two car loads, his live-stock interests adding materially to his income.
In January, 1900, Mr. Foulk was united in marriage to Miss Carrie M. Weigle, her parents being John and Susan Weigle, who were natives of Ger- many and emigrated to the United States, locating in Black Hawk county, Iowa, in an early day. The father purchased land in Eagle township and actively continued its cultivation until called to his final rest in 1909. For a number of years he had survived his wife, who passed away about 1893. To Mr. and Mrs. Foulk have been born five children, namely: Harold, Orie, Marie, Edna and Nelda.
In politics Mr. Foulk is a stanch republican, having supported the men and measures of that party since age conferred upon him the right of franchise. For the past four years he has served as school director and at the recent elec- tion was chosen township trustee. His religious faith is that of the Christian church. He has always taken an interest in all that pertains to the upbuilding or development of the community and gladly gives his support to every measure the adoption of which he feels would promote the general welfare.
ANSON THEODORE HUKILL.
Anson Theodore Hukill is superintendent of schools on the west side of Waterloo and has devoted his entire life to educational work, being recognized today as one of the prominent representatives of professional activity of that character in the state. He was born upon a farm in Belmont county, Ohio, October 4, 1858, and is of Holland lineage, the name having been originally spelled Huykl. Little is known of the early history of the family in this country, but his paternal great-grandfather, Joseph Hukill, served in the Revolutionary war. His grandfather, Joseph Cochran Hukill, was born in Pennsylvania and died in Ohio, in 1870, at the very venerable age of ninety-three years. His son, Joseph C. Hukill, was born in Ohio and in early manhood wedded Mary Jane Hall, also a native of that state. In 1861 they came to Iowa, settling on a farm in Iowa county, and in 1890 they removed to Mount Pleasant, where they lived for ten years. In 1900 they became residents of Cedar Rapids, where Mrs. Hukill still makes her home but in 1914 was called upon to mourn the loss of her husband, who passed away on the 21st of April of that year.
Anson T. Hukill was only three years old when the family arrived in this state. He pursued his education in the country schools of Iowa county and afterward attended the Iowa City Academy, where he prepared for entrance to the Iowa State University, from which he was graduated in 1887 with the degree of Bachelor of Philosophy, while in 1890 the degree of Master of Arts was con- ferred upon him by the same institution. On leaving college he at once took up the profession of teaching, becoming superintendent of schools at West Branch, Iowa, where he remained for five years. He afterward spent seven years at Williamsburg, Iowa, as superintendent of schools, and in 1899 he accepted his present position as superintendent of schools on the west side of Waterloo, where he has now remained for fifteen years. He holds to high ideals in his
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profession, is ever advancing and improving his standards and through practical effort has greatly promoted the interests of public education in this city and state.
On the 30th of July, 1887, at Iowa City, Iowa, Mr. Hukill was united in marriage to Miss Josephine Van Meter, who passed away on the 7th of October, 1910, leaving one son, Olin Van Meter. On the 17th of July, 1913, at Waterloo, Iowa, Mr. Hukill was again married, his second union being with Miss Mary E. Mishler.
Mr. Hukill votes with the republican party but has never had aspiration for political office. His military record covers service as captain of Company B (University Battalion), Iowa National Guard, at Iowa City, during his senior college year, to which rank he rose from that of corporal. In Masonry he has attained the Knight Templar degree and he also has membership with the Inde- pendent Order of Odd Fellows and the Knights of Pythias. He likewise belongs to the Fortnightly Club, a literary society of which he has been the president, and he holds membership in the Methodist Episcopal church-relations which indicate the nature of his interests. He correctly values life and its opportuni- ties, sees the chance for progress and improvement along material, intellectual and moral lines and has been an active factor in the movement for general uplift.
B. H. BYVANK.
B. H. Byvank is the president of the Byvank Transfer & Storage Company of Waterloo. He was born in Cook county, Illinois, on the 27th of December, 1860, and is a son of George G. and Jennie (Glass) Byvank. The mother died during the infancy of her son and in 1865 the father came to Iowa with his family, settling on a farm in Bennington township, Black Hawk county, where he con- tinued to reside until called to his final rest.
B. H. Byvank was but five years of age at the time of the removal to this state and in the district schools of Bennington township he pursued his education. At the time of his father's death he was nineteen years of age and upon him at that time developed the management of the home farm. He was married in 1885 and continued to engage in general agricultural pursuits upon the old homestead for three or four years longer. He then bought a farm for himself in Bennington township, continuing its cultivation until 1895, when he removed to Waterloo and for six or seven years was employed by the Cutler Hardware Company, but was ambitious to engage in business on his own account and at the end of that time purchased a team and dray, thus starting in the transfer business. From that humble beginning has been developed his present extensive drayage and trans- fer business until he now utilizes sixteen teams and wagons beside an auto truck. His patronage, which has grown year by year, is extensive and indicates wise and careful management of his affairs and reliable business methods.
In 1885, Mr. Byvank was joined in wedlock to Miss Mary Reinhardt, of Bremer county, Iowa, by whom he had three children, two of whom survive, namely : Clarence A., who is associated with his father in business ; and Elsie, at
MR. AND MRS. B. H. BYVANK
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home. He holds membership in Black Hawk Lodge, No. 72, I. O. O. F., the Modern Woodmen of America, Yeomen and the Waterloo Commercial Club. All this indicates the nature of his interests and the breadth of his public spirit. His has been a busy and active life in which from his school days to the present there have been few idle hours. He recognized the fact that in America labor is king and that he who would rule must win his advancement and demonstrate his worth.
JOHN COOK GATES.
John Cook Gates, a member of the Black Hawk county bar, practicing at Waterloo as the senior partner of the firm of Gates & Liffring, was born at Hopewell, Ontario county, New York, February 16, 1838, a son of Joseph Brown and Pamelia Bishop (Cook) Gates, also natives of the Empire state. The son supplemented his public-school course by study in Genesee College at Lima, New York, from which in due time he was graduated, winning the degree of Bachelor of Science.
In 1864 Mr. Gates came to Waterloo, Iowa, and entered the law office of Bagg & Allen for the study of law, thinking to make its practice his life work. He also secured employment in the office of the county recorder and treasurer and thus met his living expenses while preparing for the bar. In 1866 he was elected county superintendent of schools of Black Hawk county but resigned in 1867 to accept the office of deputy clerk of the courts, which would bring him into more direct connection with the work which he ultimately wished to follow. He served in that position and as deputy county auditor until 1872, when he was elected clerk of the court, remaining as the incumbent of that office for four terms or eight years. In 1877 he was admitted to the bar and when he left the office of clerk of the courts he took up the practice of law, becoming the junior member in 1881 of the firm of Alford & Gates, which relation was maintained until 1900, when Mr. Alford died. Six months later the firm of Gates, Hanson & Liffring was formed and that association was maintained for two years, when Mr. Hanson removed to California, since which time the firm has been Gates & Liffring. They are accorded a liberal share of the work done in the courts and their clientage is not only large but of a dis- tinctively representative character, connecting them with much important liti- gation. The thoroughness with which Mr. Gates prepares his work is one of the strongest elements in his success. He is especially efficient in probate cases, and many times he has been executor or attorney for executors in the settle- ment of estates. Aside from his professional interests and duties he is a director of the Fairview Cemetery Association, a director of the Sans Souci Associa- tion, and a director and treasurer of the Waterloo Chautauqua & Bible Institute.
On the 16th of March, 1864, in Wayne county, New York, Mr. Gates was united in marriage to Miss Adelia St. John, one of his classmates in Genesee College. To them were born five children, two of whom survive: John Howard Gates, a graduate of Iowa University, who is now one of the judges of the supreme court of, South Dakota ; and Fanny Cook Gates, a graduate of North- Vol. II-11
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western University of Evanston, Illinois, of the class of 1894. Later Bryn Mawr College conferred upon her the Ph. D. degree. In 1898 she became pro- fessor of physics in Goucher College at Baltimore, Maryland, and after twelve years spent in that connection she entered the Chicago University for further study. In 1913 she was made dean of women in Grinnell College at Grinnell, Iowa, where she still remains. Mrs. Adelia Gates passed away February I, 1874, and on the 17th of May, 1877, in Rochester, New York, Mr. Gates was again married, his second union being with Miss Sarah Frances Rumsey, who was an intimate friend of his first wife. They have an adopted daughter, Helen Teresa Gates, a graduate of Iowa State Teachers College, later a kindergarten teacher in Galesburg, Illinois, and now a student in Chicago Kindergarten College.
Mr. Gates exercises his right of franchise in support of the men and meas- ures of the republican party. He is a member of the Middle West Chapter of Alden Kindred of America, being a direct descendant of John Alden. He belongs to the Methodist Episcopal church and since 1865 has served on the official board of Grace church, while for a third of a century he was secretary of the board and recording steward. He has been a generous contributor to the support of the church and has done everything in his power to further its interests and extend its influence. He was for fifteen years a member of the Waterloo school board and for nine years of that time he was its president. He is interested in all those plans and projects for the uplift and benefit of human- ity. His life has ever been actuated by broad humanitarian principles that have prompted him on many occasions to extend a helping hand. He is today one of the old-time residents of Waterloo, inasmuch as his connection with the city covers a half century, and throughout the entire period he has been a helpful factor in all that has pertained to its upbuilding.
ANDREW MCELHINNEY.
In presenting the life record of Andrew McElhinney we give to our readers the history of one who was widely and favorably known in Black Hawk county. Although of Scotch ancestry, Mr. McElhinney was born in Donegal, Ireland, March 13, 1829, and was one of a family of eight children, the only survivor being his brother, Charles McElhinney, of Waterloo. Until he was fourteen years old he attended the local schools, performed duties required in the house- hold and grew up with the rude health an active busy life on a farm produces. He made the best use of the limited opportunities for education, which he acquired through reading and contact with affairs.
In the spring of 1850 Andrew and his brother David left the old home and three months later landed in Philadelphia. From May until August they worked on a farm at seven dollars a month and then went to Oil Creek, where they were accepted as employes in the White Oak Mills, where they worked at lum- bering for two years. Their success brought two other brothers, Patrick and William, to join them, and all worked together at Wild Cat Mills for six years. There is no doubt that Andrew was the moving spirit which brought with him Patrick and William on a prospecting tour to the west in 1855. His business
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instinct suggested to him the purchasing of a tract of the fertile land which rolled miles and miles away over the prairie, and the three brothers together secured a section of land in Tama county, Iowa, Andrew entering one hundred and sixty acres in Geneseo township, at one dollar and twenty-five cents an acre. He then went back to the lumber regions but returned to his property in the spring of 1858, broke his land and engaged George Slade, another pioneer, to assist in the building of what was the first frame house put up in the town- ship. That fall found him back again in the Pennsylvania lumber regions. His return in the following year was with his wife, and they settled on his farm in Tama county, which remained their home for thirty-one years.
A man so self-reliant, fearless and capable soon took his natural place among his fellow citizens, and during his residence in that part of the county Mr. McElhinney filled every local office. He served as postmaster, assessor, trustee and school director and declined other positions of greater responsibility, his personal affairs having commenced to weigh heavily upon his time. Having added to his holdings from time to time he became the owner of eight hundred and eighty acres of as fine land as could be found in Tama county and this he brought to a high state of cultivation and added to it many modern improve- ments.
With the desire to better cducate his children and still keep them in the fam- ily circle he retired from the farm in 1890 and removed to Waterloo, where he purchased what was known as the Mabie home on the corner of Lime and High streets, but in July, 1890, he bought the Krapfel home at 427 East Fifth street, where he lived until his death and which is now owned and occupied by his youngest daughter Tressa.
It was back in Pennsylvania that Mr. McElhinney first met his wife and was married January II, 1859, to Nancy Achsah Smith, at Tidioute, Pennsyl- vania. She was an only daughter of Peter Smith and had two brothers, Hugh, now living at Reeds Springs, Missouri ; and John, who died at Guys Mills, Penn- sylvania, December 21, 1912. Mrs. McElhinney was a descendant of the original Smiths of Virginia. She was born in Tidioute, Pennsylvania, June 21, 1834, and passed away at the family home in Waterloo, Iowa, November 9, 1914, leaving two sons and two daughters, while three of her children passed away in infancy. Estella J., the eldest, is the wife of Dr. H. H. Hanna of Waterloo. Fayette F., the oldest son, was married October 12, 1905, to Dessie Anderson and lives in Waterloo. Byron W. lives at Goldfield, Iowa, and was married July 3, 1899, to Fanny Agnes King. Tressa, the youngest, is single and lives in the old home.
In his political views Mr. McElhinney was a stalwart republican, as are also his two sons. Fraternally he was a Mason, having joined the order in 1868, at La Porte City, where he was made a Master Mason. After coming to Waterloo he transferred his membership to the Waterloo lodge and until failing health prevented he was a regular attendant, believing in its principles and adopting them as one of his charts of life. A man of strict integrity, his busi- ness was conducted "on the square." He was a man of upright life and clean past. He will always be recalled as he was in his last moments-kind, genial and even gay, concerned for the comforts of others rather than himself. In his charming home, where he was seen at his best, he spent many happy, restful hours, when with the cares of business laid aside, he would show those attrac-
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tive attributes which made him so dearly beloved by his family and admired by the hosts of friends whom it was his pleasure to hospitably entertain. From boyhood he had been a consistent member of the Protestant Episcopal church, and had long been one of the vestrymen of Christ church, Waterloo, and one of its most liberal benefactors.
Mr. McElhinney was one of the original stockholders in the Union Mill Company and served as a director of that corporation from 1873, when the com- pany was reorganized, until the time of his death and for many years was president. He was also a director of the First National Bank of Waterloo, of which financial institution he was for many years vice president. He was also a stockholder of the Waterloo Improvement Company, which controlled and improved the Logan House property, which is now owned and occupied by the James Black Dry Goods Company. He had other large interests in various business ventures in Waterloo. An important financial interest was the Citizens State Bank of Goldfield, Iowa, which he founded and of which he was president, his successor being his son Fayette until about four years ago, when Tressa was elected president and Byron W. cashier, and they are still serving in that capacity.
Mr. McElhinney never had occasion to regret his determination to come to America when a young man of twenty-one years. He had no unwarranted opinion that fortune was to be had here for the asking, but he became familiar with the eternal principle that industry wins, and he made industry the beacon light of his life. As he passed on his energy and determination overcame many difficulties and obstacles in his path and the honesty of his purpose commanded for him the respect, confidence and goodwill of all. His memory is cherished by those who knew him, for he was not only a progressive and reliable business man but was a faithful friend, a loyal citizen and a devoted husband and father. His wife, too, shared in the high respect which was uniformly accorded to Mr. McElhinney and was indeed a true helpmate. Much of his success he attributed to his loving wife, and they both did many good deeds for those who need assistance on life's journey. Mr. McElhinney passed away at his home July 3, 1903.
Mr. McElhinney was ably assisted in his work by his youngest daughter Tressa, who assisted him for years in looking after his financial interests, and as he grew more feeble she more and more largely assumed the responsibility in business matters and readily showed her splendid executive ability, unfaltering enterprise and keen insight. She acquired her early education in the country school and afterward attended the Toledo high school, of which she is a gradu- ate. Later she pursued a course in the Waterloo Business College, from which she graduated, and she completed a four years Chautauqua and scientific course, doing the reading in her own home. In 1907 finding the need for a practical banking experience she procured employment at the Black Hawk National Bank, having charge of the savings department. She always felt this was a great benefit to her in her private interests as it gave her a broader knowledge of business. She had charge of her mother's business and her own and has large financial interests in Waterloo. She is a stockholder in the Waterloo & Cedar Falls Union Mill Company, and one of the largest stockholders in the First National Bank; also has stock in Rath Packing Company and in the
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Black Hawk National Bank and in the Citizens State Bank of Goldfield, Iowa, being president of the last named. She has worked some in real estate, having built and now owns a number of residences which she rents, deriving therefrom a substantial annual income. She has a half interest in the home farm of eight hundred and eighty acres, her brother Byron owning the other half. She is resourceful, alert and sagacious and is seldom if ever at fault in matters of busi- ness judgment. She readily discerns the possibilities of a situation and advances steadily toward the goal for which she set out.
She possesses a singular modesty and simplicity of manner. There is no ostentation about anything she says or does. When she does a kindness or performs a duty she finds the sufficient reason for it in her own breast and has no desire to have it heralded abroad. She is prominent in club and social circles, having been secretary and treasurer of the Woman's Club, and she is now secretary and treasurer of the fine arts department of the Woman's Club and was president of the Westminster guild of the Presbyterian church and has filled different offices in the Eastern Star.
ALFRED A. HOFFMANN, M. D.
Dr. Alfred A. Hoffmann is practicing in Waterloo as a member of the well known and prominent firm of O'Keefe, Brown & Hoffmann. His ability as a physician has gained him high rank and his skill is being constantly augmented by further reading and broad experience. He was born in Dubuque, Iowa, Feb- ruary II, 1891, a son of Mathias and Mary (Voelker) Hoffmann, both of whom were natives of Dubuque, in which city the father conducted one of the pio- neer undertaking establishments, having now been engaged in business there for thirty-five years. He is a past president of the Iowa Funeral Directors Asso- ciation. His wife also survives and they were the parents of nine children : Leo A., who is now engaged in the undertaking business in Omaha, Nebraska; Martha, the wife of Dr. H. R. Thill, of Dubuque, Iowa; Mary, the wife of M. J. Grace, a deputy clerk of the courts in Dubuque ; Sister Mary Jeanette, of the Franciscan Convent of Dubuque; Mathias M., who has joined the priest- hood and is assistant pastor of St. Francis church at Dyersville, Iowa : Alfred A .; Herbert J., a law student in the Iowa University at Iowa City : Alois M., who is attending Dubuque College; and Martin H., also a student in that insti- tution.
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