USA > Iowa > Black Hawk County > History of Black Hawk County, Iowa, and its people, Volume II > Part 39
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CHARLES A. FERGUSON.
Charles A. Ferguson is one of the native sons of Black Hawk county who has proven his worth in business circles, being now a partner in the Ferguson Manufacturing Company of Waterloo. He was born upon a farm eight miles northwest of the city, on which his parents settled when they took up their abode in this county in 1868. Much of his education was acquired in the dis- trict schools of Bennington township, supplemented by a course in the Waterloo Business College. No event of special importance occurred to vary the routine of farm life for him during the period of his boyhood and youth and almost as soon as old enough to handle a plow he began to work in the fields, assisting also in the planting and harvesting as the years went on. He lived with his mother upon the old homestead until the family came to Waterloo, after which he attended school in this city for about a year.
Mr. Ferguson then entered the factory of the Kelley & Tannehill Company and there remained for about twelve years, working as a machinist and advanc- ing to the position of shop foreman. His skill and ability gradually increased until he was given a position of large responsibility. After twelve years' con-
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nection with the house, years in which he enjoyed the full confidence and good- will of his employers, he resigned his position and joined his brothers in organ- izing the Ferguson Manufacturing Company for the purpose of manufacturing well drilling machinery and supplies. Charles A. Ferguson is acting as superin- tendent of the factory, in which they employ about twenty men, and he devotes his entire time to this business. The plant is well supplied with modern ma- chinery needed in their line and Mr. Ferguson's practical experience enables him to carefully direct the labors of those in his employ.
On the 30th of June, 1889, occurred the marriage of Mr. Ferguson and Miss Alice Cary, who was born in this county, a daughter of Anthony and Julia (Sheiler) Cary, who came to Iowa at an early period in the development of the central section of the state and settled in East Waterloo township, Black Hawk county. The father secured a tract of land and engaged in farming, making his home upon the farm until his life's labors were ended in death. His widow afterward removed with her family to Waterloo, where she passed away in the winter of 1913. . Mr. Cary held various local offices and served on the board of county supervisors. He was well known as a respected and worthy citizen and both he and his wife had many friends in the county.
In politics Mr. Ferguson is an independent democrat. He does not feel that he is bound by party ties and votes as his judgment dictates. He holds mem- bership in the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and is a consistent member of the Methodist Episcopal church. He is now the owner of good city property in Waterloo, including his present residence at No. 1714 Franklin street, where he and his wife delight in extending the hospitality of their home to many friends.
W. F. EIGHMEY.
Close application to business and intelligently directed effort are bringing to W. F. Eighmey a creditable and gratifying measure of success as a dealer in farm implements, seeds, wagons, buggies and harness. His establishment is located at Nos. 513-15 Sycamore street in Waterloo, and Iowa claims him as a native son, for he was born in Dubuque county in 1855.
His parents were Calvin W. and Katherine Eighmey, the former a native of New York and the latter of Germany. In the paternal line the family is of German and French descent. The parents were married in Illinois, where the father, following his arrival in the middle west, worked by the month as a farm hand. Soon after his marriage he removed with his young wife to Iowa and settled in Dubuque county, where he was employed in the lead mines for a number of years, making his home at Rockdale. Subsequently he came to Black Hawk county and settled upon a farm of eighty acres eight miles south of Waterloo, which he had purchased some years before. He then gave his attention exclusively to agricultural pursuits and was thus engaged up to the time of his retirement from active business. In the meantime he had acquired a substantial competence that was sufficient to supply him with all of the com- forts and some of the luxuries of life throughout his remaining days. He died
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in Waterloo in the seventy-fifth year of his age and his widow still survives at the age of eighty years. In their family were five children, of whom four are yet living: W. F .; Mrs. H. F. Miller, who resides in Waterloo, Iowa; Frank J., who is president of the First National Bank of Waterloo; and Charles H., who is now engaged in the grocery business in Waterloo. A daughter, Jessie May, died at the age of five years.
W. F. Eighmey acquired his early education in the public schools of Black Hawk county, while for several terms he was a student at Lenox Collegiate Institute at Hopkinton, Delaware county, Iowa, and in his youthful days also learned lessons concerning the value of industry and perseverance. After at- taining adult age he purchased a farm of seventy acres near his father's home- stead and began the development and cultivation of his land, living with his parents until his marriage. He then took up his abode upon his own farm and later extended its boundaries by the purchase of an additional tract of one hundred acres. He then operated and improved this farm but five years later he rented his land and removed to Hudson, where he embarked in commercial pursuits, establishing a general store, which he conducted for four years. In 1890 he began clerking in Croak's shoe store, where he continued for a year, and was afterward employed in a general merchandise store for a year. At the end of that time he opened a stock of groceries in Waterloo and conducted busi- ness along that line for several years. Eventually, however, he sold his store to his brother, purchased a tract of land and platted it, making it an addition to Waterloo. After he had practically sold off the entire addition he reentered mercantile circles as a dealer in general farm implements, seeds, wagons, buggies and harness. The business since its inception has proven profitable and is suc- cessfully conducted. He is watchful of all details pointing to prosperity and has ever realized the fact that satisfied patrons are the best advertisements. Ile now owns a good residence and a number of other properties in Waterloo and is also proprietor of a farm of one hundred and forty-seven and a half acres about five miles northwest of Waterloo. His real-estate holdings are the visible evidence of his life of well directed energy and thrift and show what may be accomplished when determination and ambition point out the way.
In 1879 Mr. Eighmey was married to Miss Clara I. Zanuck, a native of Dubuque and a daughter of John J. and Agnes Zanuck, who went to Dubuque with their respective parents in childhood and thus became connected with the pioneer settlement of that part of the state. They were married there but came to Black Hawk county about forty-two years ago and fifteen or eighteen years afterward established their home in Waterloo, where the father engaged in the manufacture of harness until his retirement from active business life. Having acquired a handsome competence, he put aside further business cares and in 1883 removed to Nebraska, where both he and his wife passed away. Mr. Zanuck was a soldier in the Civil war. He enlisted on the 25th of September, . 1861, as a member of the Ninth Iowa Volunteer Infantry and was mustered out in 1864, although he remained in the service until the close of hostilities. Mr. and Mrs. Zanuck were the parents of a large family of children, of whom five are yet living. This number includes Mrs. Eighmey, who acquired her education in the public schools of Dubuque and Waterloo and taught school prior to her marriage, which profession Mr. Eighmey also followed before their
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marriage. Mr. and Mrs. Eighmey have a family of three children: Jessica MI., the wife of George W. Wood, an attorney of Grundy Center, Iowa; Isabel, the wife of David W. Barr, who is connected with the business belonging to her father ; and Earl B., who is a jeweler by trade.
While Mr. Eighmey votes with the republican party, he is nevertheless liberal in his political views and does not consider himself bound by party ties but seeks ever the welfare and best interests of the community and is at all times a public- spirited citizen. He and his family are members of the Methodist Episcopal church and they are highly esteemed in Waterloo and throughout this part of the county. Mr. Eighmey deserves great credit for what he has accomplished in a business way. No special advantages favored him at the outset of his career ; on the contrary he made industry the basis of his success and through the wise use he has made of his time, talents and opportunities he has steadily advanced and is now at the head of a profitable and growing business.
R. W. GIBSON.
R. W. Gibson is the vice president, secretary and treasurer of the Artificial Ice & Fuel Company and in this connection is active in the control of a business that has already assumed extensive proportions and is still growing. He has been a resident of Waterloo for six years but is one of Black Hawk county's native sons, his birth having occurred in Barclay township in 1881. His parents were David and Rosanna (Skelly) Gibson, early settlers of this county. Taking up their abode here in pioneer times, they shared in all of the hardships and privations incident to frontier life and took an active part in promoting the practical development of this section of the state. The father devoted his life to general agricultural pursuits and brought his farm to a high state of cultivation.
R. W. Gibson was reared on the old homestead and supplemented his early educational privileges afforded by the district schools by study in the East Waterloo high school. At the time that he was a student there the family lived in Waterloo but after he had completed his course he returned to the home farm and there remained until about six years ago. He was recognized as an in- dustrious, energetic and progressive agriculturist, carefully tilling his fields year by year and gathering therefrom substantial harvests as the result of the care and labor which he bestowed upon the land. In 1908, however, he put aside agricultural pursuits and again came to Waterloo. Here he engaged in the real-estate business, buying and selling Iowa farm lands. He is still connected with this business and has negotiated many important realty transfers. He is thoroughly informed concerning values and is able to make judicious purchases and profitable sales for his clients. On the Ist of March, 1914. he became in- terested in the artificial ice and fuel business and is now the vice president, secretary and treasurer of the Artificial Ice & Fuel Company, in which connec- tion a substantial trade is enjoyed. He is also interested in the Galloway In- .vestment Company.
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Mr. Gibson takes an active interest in politics and while living in Barclay township served as assessor for two years. He gives his political allegiance to the republican party and keeps well informed on the questions and issues of the day. He belongs to the Commercial Club and Board of Trade, an organization which is for the advancement and upbuilding of the city. His religious faith is indicated in his membership in the United Presbyterian church. He is one of the progressive young business men of Waterloo, possessing unfaltering energy and keen sagacity. He is determined and accomplishes what he under- takes, employing methods which neither seek nor require disguise.
ROGER I. CROWELL.
Roger I. Crowell is owner of an important business enterprise conducted under the name of the Waterloo Ice Cream Company. His record is proof of the fact that success is not a matter of genius as held by some but is rather the outcome of sound judgment, experience and indefatigable industry. He was born in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, on the 17th of November, 1871, a son of Irving O. and Mary (Marden) Crowell, both of whom were natives of the New Eng- land states. With their parents they removed to Wisconsin, the former in 1847 and the latter in 1848, and they were among the pioneer settlers of the section in which they lived. In early life the father became identified with the lumber industry, in which he was later extensively engaged, advancing from a humble place in business circles to one of prominence, his labors being re- warded by affluence. He is now living retired in Oshkosh at the age of seventy- nine years, while his wife has reached the age of seventy years, and both are yet enjoying good health.
Roger I. Crowell was educated in the public and high schools of Oshkosh and in his boyhood days became a wage earner. He never feared work and his industry, determination and boyish ambition led him to undertake any task that presented itself. He carried papers, drove cows to the pasture and did various chores, thus earning about nine or ten dollars per month when a boy of but ten years. Subsequently, at the age of fourteen years, he began learning the candy maker's trade and was identified with that business for four years, during which period he carefully saved his earnings, and at eighteen years of age he embarked in the grocery business in Oshkosh on his own account. Suc- cess attended the venture from the beginning and for ten and a half years he remained in business there. He then sold out and went to Chicago, where for a time he was associated with the Oshkosh Fuel Company. He then returned to the city of Oshkosh and engaged in the bakery business, with which line he was successfully identified for eight and a half years. He was anxious, however, to test the opportunities of the west and, disposing of his business in Wisconsin, he went to Los Angeles, California, spending some time in that city and in the San Joaquin valley. Afterward, however, he returned to his native state, but when a brief period had elapsed went to Houston, Texas, where he intended to establish an ice cream plant. He made some arrangements to that end, but subsequently abandoned his plans and started on a return trip to Wisconsin.
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He stopped off at Waterloo, however, and this growing, enterprising city made such strong appeal to him that he determined to locate here and established his present business, buying out a small ice cream factory which had been opened the season before by a Mr. Perry in a small room in the rear of the present site of the Princess theater.
After purchasing the business Mr. Crowell removed to a room on Sixth street and in 1911 his present commodious plant was built for him at Nos. 418 and 420 East Sixth street, where he has one of the best equipped plants in the state of Iowa. In the process of manufacture the cream is homogenized and pasteurized, Mr. Crowell installing the first homogenizing machine west of the Mississippi river. The plant is equipped with an independent refrigerating system and with everything known to modern science in the making of ice cream. The daily capacity is six hundred gallons and the output is sold over a wide territory. Mr. Crowell has no difficulty in disposing of the product because of its excellence and his reasonable prices. Most sanitary conditions are maintained in the factory and the business is today one of the important industries of the city.
Mr. Crowell was married in 1895 to Miss Jeanette Perkins, of Oshkosh, Wisconsin, and to them has been born a daughter, Dorothy I., who is now a senior in the high school of Waterloo. Mr. Crowell belongs to Waterloo Lodge, No. 105, A. F. & A. M .; Tabernacle Chapter, No. 52, R. A. M .; Crescent Council, No. 16, R. & S. M .; Ascalon Commandery, No. 25, K. T .; and El Kahir Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S., while he and his wife are members of Water- loo Chapter, No. 128, O. E. S. Mr. Crowell is likewise a member of Helmet Lodge, No. 89, K. P., the Knights of the Maccabees, the Mystic Workers, the Waterloo Commercial Club and the Town Criers Club. His political indorse- ment is given to the republican party and he and his wife and daughter are members of Christ Episcopal church, in which he is serving as one of the vestrymen. His entire life has been characterized by advancement since he be- gan to earn his living by selling papers on the streets of Oshkosh. He early recognized the eternal principle that industry wins and industry became the beacon light of his life. He has conducted his affairs successfully without allowing personal interests or ambition to dwarf his public spirit. His is the record of a strenuous life-the record of a strong individuality, sure of itself, stable in purpose, quick in perception, swift in decision, energetic and persistent in action.
J. H. VAN DYKE, M. D.
Dr. J. H. Van Dyke, physician and surgeon of Cedar Falls, to whom success has come as the logical result of broad study, wide experience and the most conscientious performance of professional duties, now ranks among the men most prominent in his calling in this section of the state. He is a western man by birth, training and preference and his life embodies the progressive spirit which has been the dominant factor in the upbuilding of this section of the country.
DR. J. H. VAN DYKE
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Dr. Van Dyke was born in Alexandria, Minnesota, March 12, 1877, a son of Chester B. and Christina B. (Solum) Van Dyke, the former a native of Pennsyl- vania and the latter of Christiansand, Norway. She came to the United States with her parents when a young woman of seventeen years and they settled in Douglas county, ninety miles beyond the terminus of the railroad. There the grandfather, L. O. Solum, took up government land and upon the farm which he developed and improved spent his remaining days. He had been a school teacher in Norway and in the capacity of teacher there devolved upon him the duty of vaccinating the children under his charge, preparing his own vaccine and administering it. This was at an early period following the discovery of the value of vaccination as a preventive measure.
Chester B. Van Dyke was reared to early manhood in Pennsylvania and came west to join General Custer, who at that time was recruiting his forces in the northwest for military service on the frontier. However, his plans were diverted at St. Paul and he joined his brother James, who was then government land agent and located at Alexandria, Minnesota. There Chester B. Van Dyke established the first store of the town and for some years was identified with merchandising there. In 1881 he removed to Evansville, Minnesota, and subse- quently to Detroit, that state, where he had another brother, Milton, who was a practicing physician of that place. In 1890 he returned to Alexandria, where his death later occurred. The Van Dyke family have been prominent in Minne- sota politics. The father was a republican in his political views but all of his sons are equally stanch as supporters of the democratic party. One of the num- ber, Carl C. Van Dyke, is now a member of the United States congress from the St. Paul district and was formerly president of the Tenth Division of Railway Mail Clerks. Another brother, Cleve W., served as county superintendent of schools in Douglas county, Minnesota, and in 1901 was the nominee on the democratic ticket for congress. He subsequently became Governor Johnson's executive clerk and was a member of Johnson's kitchen cabinet. He is now the present owner of the townsite of Miami, Arizona, which has three seven-million- dollar institutions, smelters and concentrators, the district being the second largest porphyry copper district in the world. He owns there the electric light plant, the telephone system, the waterworks and about forty buildings. Another brother, A. A. Van Dyke. is a prominent dentist of St. Paul.
Dr. Van Dyke, whose name introduces this record, completed his more specifically literary education in the State University of Minnesota and in 1899 entered Rush Medical College, from which institution he was graduated with the class of 1903. Following his graduation he returned to Minnesota and became an interne in a private hospital conducted by a Dr. Christiansen. In 1905 he once more went to Chicago, where he taught in one of the minor med- ical colleges of that city, and during the following three years he pursued the practice of his profession there.
On the 14th of April, 1903, Dr. Van Dyke was married in Chicago to Miss Florence Conkey and unto them has been born a son, John Henry. They left Chicago in 1908 and came to Cedar Falls, where in the intervening period of six years Dr. Van Dyke has built up an extensive and gratifying practice. He is a member of the Cedar Falls City Medical Society, the Black Hawk County Med- ical Society, the Iowa State Medical Society and the American Medical Asso- Vol. II-20
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ciation and thus he keeps in touch with the advanced thought of his profession. He belongs to Black Hawk Lodge, No. 65, A. F. & A. M., and he and his wife are connected with the Order of the Eastern Star. He is likewise a member of the Modern Woodmen, the Mystic Workers and the Yeomen, and he and his wife hold membership in the Episcopal church. In politics he is, like his brothers, a stalwart democrat and is city chairman of the democratic central committee. He stands for progress and improvement along all public lines, is a member of the Cedar Falls Commercial Club and is secretary of the Cedar Falls Business Men's Association, Incorporated.
ALBERT JUSTIN NORTHRUP, PH. D., D. D.
Albert Justin Northrup, Ph. D., D. D., the present pastor of Grace Methodist Episcopal church and one of the eminent representatives of the ministry in Iowa, is a native of Ohio and comes of New England ancestry. He was reared upon a farm in Wood county, Ohio, and completed a course at the high school at Bowling Green. He was graduated as an honor student with the degree of Bachelor of Arts from Northwestern University at Evanston, Illinois, and afterward spent four months in travel in Europe, thus supplementing his educa- tion by that broad experience and knowledge which only travel can bring. Hav- ing decided to devote his life to the ministry, he completed the theological course at Boston University and later that institution conferred upon him the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in recognition of original research work accomplished. He also holds the honorary degree of Doctor of Divinity from the Nebraska Wesleyan University.
Dr. Northrup's experience as a minister has covered a wide and varied field. He began preaching in eastern South Dakota and spent six years as pastor in two of the largest churches in northern New England-Garden Street church at Lawrence, Massachusetts, and St. John's church in Dover, New Hampshire. From the latter place he was transferred to the Nebraska con- ference in September, 1908, and was appointed to the Trinity Methodist church of Lincoln, Nebraska. In May, 1913, he was transferred to the Upper Iowa conference and was appointed pastor of Grace church in Waterloo, which is his present connection. He is an earnest, logical and ofttimes eloquent speaker. is always inspiring, and in the prosecution of his labors for his church has not been denied the full harvest nor the aftermath.
W. T. HEADFORD.
W. T. Headford is vice president of the Headford Brothers & Hitchins Foundry Company of Waterloo, owning and operating the largest foundry in Black Hawk county. The business has been one of the foremost productive industries of this section of the state since 1903 and in the intervening period has enjoyed continuous growth, owing to the capable management and enter-
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prise of the officers. Mr. Headford is a native son of Dubuque, born October 22, 1867. There he was reared and educated, passing through consecutive grades in the public schools and supplementing his high-school study by a year's course in a business college. He entered upon the active duties of life as an employe in the Novelty Iron Works of Dubuque, with which he was connected for six years, becoming largely acquainted with business methods as well as the practical phases of that specific interest during that period.
Mr. Headford learned the foundry trade in all lines and in 1892 became one of the organizers of the Headford Brothers & Hitchins Foundry Company, which began business on a small scale in a shop about forty foot square. They remained in Dubuque until 1903 when they acceded to solicitation and removed to Waterloo. They had won a well merited reputation for fine work in castings and the growing business made theirs an institution of value to any community in which their plant would be located. Accordingly, in 1903, they removed to Waterloo and now have the largest foundry in the county. They located on Westfield avenue in a foundry one hundred and twenty by three hundred feet. Their business has steadily grown and after some years they built a second plant on Vaughan street, one hundred and ten by four hundred and fifty feet. This is supplied with all the most modern equipment known to foundry work in the present day. They have everything that recent day invention has brought forth ยท in electric and air hoists and motors. Their business has now assumed extensive proportions and their large annual shipments are sent over a wide territory.
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