USA > Iowa > Black Hawk County > History of Black Hawk County, Iowa, and its people, Volume II > Part 33
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JAMES EDWIN BARRETT.
James Edwin Barrett has been a well known and prominent citizen of Black Hawk county since 1866. He now makes his home in Waterloo but for many years was actively engaged in farming in Lincoln township, where he took up his abode at an carly day. He was born in Canton, St. Lawrence county, New York, August 2, 1840, and resided there to the age of twenty years. His paternal grandfather served as a soldier in the Revolutionary war and in days of peace followed the saddler's trade. His father came from Ireland and mar- ried an English lady. Charles E. Barrett, the father of our subject, was born in Essex county, New York, October 8, 1818, and died in Jefferson, Wisconsin, at the age of seventy-five years. At the time of the Civil war he responded to the country's call for aid, enlisting as a member of Company E, Fourth Wis- consin Cavalry. He was wounded in the hip when scouting after the bush- whackers near Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He later returned to his home in Jefferson county, Wisconsin, and there his remaining days were passed. He was a Universalist in his religious faith and a republican in his political belief. He married Charlotte Olin, who died in New York when their son James was but four years of age, four children being thus left motherless. The father afterward married Charlotte Backus and to them were born five children.
James E. Barrett attended the public schools, in which he studied the com- mon branches. His father was a lumberman and during vacations he worked for him, packing shingles and assisting in sawing and other work as he grew older. In the spring of 1855 the father removed with his family to Jefferson county, Wisconsin, and in the fall of that year he made a trip to Chicago, taking with him three horses. He then drove from Chicago to the town of Jefferson, in Jefferson county, Wisconsin. He purchased a farm of two hun- dred and forty acres situated in the township of Lake Mills and his son, James E. Barrett, assisted in its operation up to the time of his marriage, which was celebrated in May, 1862. The lady of his choice was Miss Mariette Stevens, who was born in Jefferson, Wisconsin, a daughter of Silas and Adeline (Jack- son) Stevens. The young couple established their home with his father and the following year, in response to the country's call for troops, James E. Bar- rett enlisted as a member of Company E, Fourth Wisconsin Cavalry, of which he became a private. He served until the close of the war, his regiment being attached to the Department of the Gulf, and he was honorably discharged at Madison, Wisconsin.
When hostilities were over Mr. Barrett returned home and on the 18th day of March, 1866, he drove into Waterloo, Iowa, having made the journey across the country from his Wisconsin home. When he left Jefferson he had fifty
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dollars in money, a cheap team and a double wagon. He purchased one hundred and twenty acres of land in Lincoln township at four dollars and a half per acre. There was no house or other improvement upon the place and in fact there was no dwelling within two miles. The land had just been burned over and the outlook was not very propitious. He had to get a surveyor before he could establish the boundaries of his place, but with resolute purpose he set to work to develop a farm and prepare a home for his family. His first task was the building of a dwelling. He was accompanied to Iowa by his brother-in-law, WV. H. Stevens, and his wife's uncle, James Jackson. They purchased alto- gether three hundred and sixty acres of land and divided it. Mr. Jackson built a house on his claim and the three men occupied it the first summer. In May Mr. Barrett was joined by his wife, who passed away in July of the same year, leaving him with a little son only nine days old. He then rented his place and took his baby back to the grandmother in Wisconsin. The following spring he came again to Iowa and worked for William Groves and for Dr. C. Whitney, breaking land for them. In this way he turned the first furrows on a tract extending from the Methodist Episcopal church on Fourth street to Eagle Center road down to Hammon street, in Waterloo. The following February he returned to Wisconsin, obtained another team and again came to Iowa. He then located on his farm, on which he spent two years and then once more went to Wisconsin. There he was married in 1870 to Miss Margaret Relberford, of that state, and bringing his bride to Iowa, they began their domestic life upon his farm in Lincoln township. He built a home but his wife died fourteen months later in giving birth to a little son. Mr. Barrett continued upon the place. keeping house for himself and hiring a nurse to care for his baby. Two years after the death of his second wife he wedded Pauline Thompson, of Grundy county, Iowa. He continued upon his place and carefully developed his farm, but again death visited the household in 1903, when his third wife passed away. He was married January 10, 1905, to Miss Jennie Turner, of Black Hawk, where she was reared. Mr. Barrett continued upon the farm, further developing the fields and improving the place until the year 1898, when he removed to his home in Waterloo, where he has since resided. In the mean- time he has disposed of his farm, which consisted of two hundred acres and which is today worth two hundred and twenty-five dollars per acre. On remov- ing to Waterloo Mr. Barrett established his home at Seventh street and Grant avenue, but on the death of his wife he sold that property and spent a year in Spink county, South Dakota, where he owns four hundred acres of land. He also has three hundred and twenty acres in Brown county, that state. After a year passed on his Spink county farm he returned to Waterloo and has since occupied his present home at No. 1128 Washington street.
By his first marriage Mr. Barrett had one child, Merritt J., who is married and is engaged in the raising of full blooded Jersey cattle at Thorsby, Alabama. The only child of the second marriage is Charles J. Barrett. By the third union there were two children: Earl C., a farmer near Waterville, New York, who wedded Miss Mary Trainor, of Waterloo, and has five children ; and Lottie, the wife of George Cranston, of Waterloo.
Mrs. Barrett is a lady of innate culture and refinement and is an active member of the Woman's Relief Corps. Mr. Barrett holds membership in
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Robert Anderson Post, No. 68, G. A. R., of Waterloo, and thus maintains pleasant relations with his old army comrades. His political allegiance has always been given to the republican party. He is an honorable, upright man, kind and charitable, and his life has been filled with many good deeds. Both he and his wife are held in high esteem wherever known and Mrs. Barrett, like her husband, is spoken of in terms of warm regard by their many friends throughout the county.
WILLIAM H. LIFE.
William H. Life is a retired farmer and stock-raiser living in Waterloo. He was identified for a long period with agricultural interests in Tama county but is now enjoying a rest which his former labor has made possible. He was born in Highland county, Virginia, March 18, 1849, and is a representative of one of the old families of Pennsylvania. His paternal great-grandfather was a Pennsylvania man who served in the Revolutionary war but afterward removed to Virginia and spent his last days in Highland county. He was opposed to slavery and this feeling of opposition was carried down through successive gen- erations. His son, Samuel Life, was born in Pennsylvania, December 5, 1792. and removed to the Old Dominion, where he followed farming. On the 24th of December, 1816, he married Anna Waybright, who was born November 6, 1795. Prior to his marriage Samuel Life served as a soldier in the War of 1812, being on duty in the vicinity of Baltimore. Later he and his sons cleared a farm in Highland county, Virginia. The family numbered seven children : the Rev. William Life, who was born December 22, 1817, and married Susan Lamont ; John ; Henry, who was born April 18, 1822, married Fanny Crawford and became a practicing physician ; Abraham, who was born February 22, 1824; Samuel, who was born January 19, 1826, and married a Miss Freeman and after her death wedded Josephine Hodge; George, who was born February 14, 1830. became a minister and married Annie Smith: and Anna, who was born July 26, 1835.
John Life, the father of William II. Life, was born in Virginia and spent the period of his youth there. He learned the cabinet-maker's trade, also car- pentering and undertaking. He continued a resident of Virginia until about 1867, when he came with his family to Iowa, settling in Tama county, where he followed the occupation of farming. He died in that county, February I, 1903, at the venerable age of eighty-three years. His religious faith was that of the Presbyterian church, in which he served as an elder. In politics he was a republican and he filled a number of local offices. He married Elizabeth Colaw, who was born in Virginia, April 21, 1825, a daughter of George and Mary Colaw. Mrs. Life was a devoted member of and an active worker in the Presbyterian church. She was a lady of the old school, always kindly, courteous, a true gentlewoman. Her death occurred upon the home farm in Tama county, September 21, 1902.
William H. Life had not reached his majority when the family came to Iowa, the state in which he had dreamed of locating when a boy, and the trip
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westward was made by rail. The family at that time consisted of father, mother and five children. The father purchased one hundred and sixty acres of land in Geneseo township, Tama county, a tract of wild prairie on which he built a pioneer home. He at once began the work of development and improve- ment and in this was largely assisted by his sons. The farm today comprises four hundred acres of rich and valuable land, equipped with all of the latest improvements and the most modern farm machinery. It is provided with a water works system and every facility for making a farm productive and profitable.
In his boyhood days William H. Life attended the district schools and later pursued a course in a commercial college in Dubuque. He has always made a specialty of studying agriculture and has carried on farming along the most progressive and scientific lines. He thoroughly understands crop production, rotation and all modern methods. He knows the soil and its properties and what is needed for the different kinds of grain. His work has been most care- fully conducted and his labors have brought to him a gratifying return.
Mr. Life went back to Virginia and was there married to an oldtime school- mate, Miss Sarah Rohrbaugh, of Grant county, West Virginia, a daughter of Solomon and Mary M. (Jack) Rohrbaugh. Her father was a farmer, trades- man, miller and lumberman. At the time of their marriage Mr. Life brought his bride to his Iowa home, locating upon the old homestead farm of which he assumed charge. There, in connection with tilling the soil according to the most modern, scientific methods, he also engaged in the raising of cattle, handling some blooded stock and raising others solely for the market. In all of his business affairs he displayed keen discernment and unfaltering enterprise and success naturally resulted.
In 1902 Mr. Life was called upon to mourn the loss of his wife, who passed away in that year in the faith of the United Presbyterian church, of which she had long been a devoted member. She was born August 27, 1858, and was therefore about forty-four years of age at the time of her demise. She left two children, Charles and John. The former, born May 4, 1884, wedded Helen McFee and is a farmer and lumberman, acting as superintendent for Rogers Lumber Company in Saskatchewan, Canada. The younger son, John, born February 27, 1893, is now attending commercial college. Mr. Life was again married October 15, 1903, his second union being with Miss Anna C. Krecklow, who was born near Berlin, Germany, February 3, 1852, and came to the United States in 1856. The family settled in Northumberland county, Penn- sylvania, where her parents died. Her father, Frederick W. Krecklow, was a merchant and married Matilda Losch. Herschel, the great astronomer, was the great-grandfather of Mrs. Life. She was a very small child when her parents landed in New York with their family. She is a lady of liberal education and of innate culture and refinement and is a most interesting conversationalist. She attended the Rye Seminary at Muncy, Pennsylvania, which was founded by Mrs. Susan Life, the wife of the Rev. William Life, who removed the seminary to Rye, New York, and made it a most successful and well attended institution. Miss Amelia F. Krecklow, a sister of Mrs. Life, is now a teacher in that school.
Mr. Life has always taken an active part in church work, holding member- ship in the First United Presbyterian church of Waterloo, of which he was one
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of the builders and is now one of the trustees. He has done everything in his power to advance the work of the church and has been a generous con- tributor to its support. He is a life member of Helmet Lodge, No. 89, K. P., at Waterloo and became identified with the order in Northern Star Lodge at Tracr. Iowa. In politics he is a stalwart republican but has no desire to fill public office. His business affairs have ever been carefully conducted, his duties of citizenship promptly discharged, and in every relation of life he has been found honorable and faithful, thus commanding the respect and confidence of his fellowmen.
ALMON F. GATES.
In commercial educational circles in the United States the name of Almon F. Gates is an honored one. He is the president of the Waterloo Business College, the thorough training of which has fitted hundreds of students for important positions in the commercial world, and as head of the school Mr. Gates is ever advancing its standards and improving its course. A native of Michigan, he was born in Clinton county and was educated in the district schools of that state, followed by study in the Northern Indiana Normal School at Valparaiso and in the Upper Iowa University at Fayette. His entire life since the completion of his own education has been devoted to educational work and he is now at the head of an institution which is a most creditable factor in the intellectual progress of the state. The Waterloo Business College was established in 1884 as the Waterloo College by T. Tobin, who at that time maintained an academic course. In 1886 a commercial college was established by W. H. Burrett, who in 1888 sold out to Mr. Gates, who remained at the head of the school until 1890, when he was joined by W. H. Brown and they bought out Mr. Tobin and consolidated the two schools. This partnership continued until 1891, when Mr. Brown bought out the entire college. He conducted the school until 1893, when J. H. Orcutt took charge and so continued until 1895. Through the succeeding year the school was conducted by Mr. Elliott and from 1896 until 1898 by W. E. Hager, E. L. Corton and Mary S. Horner. After this Mr. Gates returned and took charge and in 1900 the school was incorporated under the name of the Waterloo Business College with Mr. Gates as the president. In 1904 a removal was made to the present quarters and he has built up the school until it now has an annual attendance of three hundred students. It is strictly a business college and is one of the influential institutions of Waterloo. Mr. Gates has greatly raised the standard of instruc- tion, which is such that it meets the full requirements for training for the business world. Its students are capable of holding responsible positions and the work which they do is indicative of the breadth and excellence of the curriculum. Mr. Gates also owns the New Hampton Business College, of which his son has charge. He is likewise a stockholder in different business enterprises.
In 1891 occurred the marriage of Mr. Gates and Miss Mary G. Becker, a daughter of C. D. Becker, one of the old-time pioneer settlers of Black Hawk county, and to them was born one son, Bruce F., who was educated in the Waterloo
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ALMON F. GATES
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schools until graduated from the high school. He also attended the Waterloo Business College and he will complete the liberal arts course in the University of Michigan in 1915. The wife and mother passed away in July, 1914, and her death was deeply regretted by many friends as well as by her immediate family.
Mr. Gates is an active factor in political circles and was the secretary of the first state convention of the progressive party. He belongs to the Masonic fraternity, the Modern Woodnien of America, the Ancient Order of United Workmen and other fraternal organizations. He has membership with the Chamber of Commerce and cooperates in their plans and projects for the up- building of the city. His social nature finds expression in his membership in the Waterloo and Town Criers Clubs. He is president of the National Business Teachers' Association. That his life is guided by high and honorable principles is indicated in his loyalty to the teachings of the First Methodist Episcopal church, of which he is a devoted member. He is also the president of the Young Men's Christian Association and he was secretary of the Business Men's Tem- perance Association from its organization until the spring of 1914. His influence has ever been on the side of right and progress, of reform and improvement, and he has left the impress of his individuality for good upon the lives of many with whom he has been brought in contact.
DAVID GIBSON.
David Gibson, now residing at No. 1217 West Third avenue, is a retired farmer and is one of the pioneer settlers of the county. For many years he has resided in this section of the state and has ever been an interested witness of the changes which have occurred and has borne his share in advancing the growth and development of this part of the state. He was born in County Down, Ireland, on the 22d of June, 1842, and after passing the twenty-second milestone on life's journey crossed the Atlantic to the new world, this being in the year 1865. He first made his way to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where he lived for two years and then came to the west, settling in Dubuque county, Illinois, where he remained for three years.
In the spring of 1869 Mr. Gibson came to Barclay township, Black Hawk county, and purchased eighty acres of land on which he took up his abode. The tract was practically undeveloped and unimproved and he brought the land under a high state of cultivation. He paid sixteen dollars per acre in gold for the property and with characteristic energy began its development with the result that he soon had an excellent farm, highly cultivated and yielding to him a gratifying annual income in the large crops which he harvested and which found a ready sale upon the market. As his financial resources increased he kept adding to his property until he had four hundred acres. In the summer of 1914 he sold one hundred and sixty acres of this for one hundred and forty- five dollars per acre, its value having increased as the result of his develop- ment and cultivation one hundred and twenty-nine dollars per acre. He still retains possession of the old homestead, which is worth at least two hundred Vol. II-17
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dollars per acre. His methods were practical and progressive and as the years passed he won a substantial fortune as the result of his close application and unremitting energy.
Mr. Gibson was married in 1877 to Miss Rosanna Skelly, who was a native of County Down, Ireland, and passed away in 1894. In their family were four children, of whom three sons are yet living: Albert Edward, a resident of Waterloo; Robert William, who is vice president of the Artificial Ice & Fuel Company of Waterloo; and H. C., who is in Canada. The only daughter, Flor- ence M., who was the third in order of birth, has passed away. About 1898 Mr. Gibson was married again, his second union being with Miss Matilda McCammon, who was also a native of County Down, Ireland. In the spring of 1911 he put aside the active work of the farm and removed to Waterloo, now making his home at No. 1217 West Third avenue, where he is most pleasantly and comfortably located.
Mr. Gibson is a valued member of the United Presbyterian church and for a number of years served on its official board. His life has ever been upright and honorable, in accord with his religious professions, and he enjoys the unqualified respect and confidence of his fellowmen. Moreover, he deserves representation in this volume as one of the pioneer residents of the county, where he has now lived for more than four decades. Many changes have occurred within this time and he rejoices in what has been accomplished along the lines of progress and improvement. He bore his full share in the work of agricultural development and his influence has always been on the side of advancement in connection with material, intellectual, social and moral affairs.
WILLIAM BRYAN.
William Bryan is a real-estate dealer and the patentee of the International M & S Automobile Gear. He was born in Raleigh, North Carolina, in 1887 and during his childhood went with his parents to Missouri. He is a son of Frank and Sarah Bryan, the former a native of North Carolina and the latter of Tennessee. The mother died during the early childhood of William Bryan but the father is still living and makes his home in Houston, Missouri.
William Bryan spent twelve years of his youth and early manhood in Mis- souri and at the end of that time came to Waterloo. In the meantime he had acquired an education in St. Louis and had made his initial step in the business world, in which connection he had worked his way upward until he became foreman and inspector for the Iowa Dairy Separator Company of Waterloo. He occupied that position for five years and was correspondent for Sears Roebuck & Company and then in July, 1911, he took up the real-estate busi- ness, in which he has been very successful, handling property to the value of a million and a half dollars in a period of three years. He has dealt largely in farm lands. In 1912 he purchased a half interest in the Ledaour patent on gears for automobiles to substitute differentials and since that time improvements have been made and a new patent taken out under the name of the International M & S Automobile Gear. The late patent was issued in July, 1913, to W. F.
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Muel, who served as the mechanical engineer while the patent was being com- pleted. Mr. Bryan is now one of a company that has been organized for manu- facturing purposes. This company includes: C. C. Wolfe, of Parkersburg ; Louis H. Scurlock, of Kansas City ; Frank Long, president of the Center City Bank of Kansas City; and Mr. Holden, president of the Parke-Davis Company of Detroit, Michigan. This company is known as the M & S Gear Company of Kansas City and the officers are: L. H. Scurlock, president; Frank Long, vice president and treasurer ; with William Bryan, C. C. Wolfe, Louis H. Scur- lock, Frank Long and Frank Epstine as directors. The company has orders for two hundred and fifty thousand of the new gears, to be used in the 1916 cars, and the present outlook of the business is most gratifying.
Mr. Bryan is liberal in his political views and fraternally is connected with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Knights of Pythias. There are no esoteric features in his life record nor spectacular phases. He has worked on persistently and energetically day by day, realizing and utilizing his oppor- tunities as they have come to him, and his ability and strong purpose, guided by sound judgment, have been the salient factors in winning him a place among the successful business men of Waterloo.
GEORGE M. NESBIT, M. D.
Dr. George M. Nesbit, well known as one of the able and successful physi- cians and surgeons in Waterloo, his native city, was born March 6, 1863, a son of James and Mary (Orr) Nesbit, both of whom are now deceased. They came to this city from Rockford, Illinois, in 1855, casting in their lot with the early settlers of Black Hawk county, for at that time Waterloo was a small town and the greater part of the county was largely undeveloped. The father was a stonemason by trade and followed that pursuit in early life but later engaged in farming, owning a tract of land in Barclay township which he brought to a high state of cultivation.
Dr. Nesbit was reared in Waterloo and the city schools afforded him his . early educational privileges, although later he attended the Elgin Academy and Beloit College of Beloit, Wisconsin. His broad literary learning served as an "excellent foundation upon which to rear the superstructure of professional knowledge when in 1885 he determined upon the practice of medicine as a life work and began studying with that end in view. He entered the College of Physicians and Surgeons at Chicago and was graduated from that institu- tion in the spring of 1888. Following his graduation he settled at Mount Auburn, Iowa, where he opened an office and was successfully engaged in practice for seven years. On the expiration of that period he removed to La Porte City, Iowa, where he was likewise accorded an extensive practice during the ten years of his residence at that place. In March, 1905, however, he sought a still broader field of labor and came to Waterloo, where he has steadily advanced until he occupies a foremost position in the ranks of the medical profession of Black Hawk county. Anything which tends to bring to man the key to the complex mystery which we call life is of interest to him and
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