USA > Iowa > Black Hawk County > History of Black Hawk County, Iowa, and its people, Volume II > Part 45
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The family is prominently and favorably known in this section of the state. Mr. Finch is a member of Fairbank lodge, A. F. & A. M., and he and his family are members of the Methodist Episcopal church. In politics he has always been a stanch republican since age conferred upon him the right of franchise and he has been justice of the peace and trustee in Lester township, discharging his duties with credit to himself and satisfaction to his constituents.
JOSEPH HACKER.
Joseph Hacker is a hardware merchant, conducting a growing business at No. 809 East Fourth street, in Waterloo. He was born in Germany in 1852, while his parents were there on a visit. He is a son of Fred and Katherine Hacker, both of whom were natives of Baden, Germany, and who in 1846 crossed the Atlantic to America. Soon afterward the father enlisted for service in the Mexican war and was on duty as a marine on a man-of-war. After the cessation of hostilities he settled in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and was married there. In 1851 he and his wife returned to Germany on a visit and in 1853 came again to the new world, once more taking up their abode in Philadelphia, where Mr. Hacker con- ducted a bakery business until 1856. He then came to the west and settled in Dubuque, Iowa. He worked at the bakery business for a time and later was employed in various ways but in 1865 became a storekeeper for the Illinois Cen- tral Railroad Company, in which capacity he continued until 1886. He then retired, since which time he has made his home with his son Joseph. He is now eighty-eight years of age and has lived in Waterloo since 1878, coming to this city at the time the Illinois Central Railroad shops were moved here. He has long survived his wife, who passed away in 1865. In their family were two sons and three daughters, of whom Joseph and Frank, a resident of Friend, Nebraska, are the only ones now living.
Joseph Hacker acquired his education in Dubuque and was employed at various occupations until 1868, when he entered upon an apprenticeship to the copper and tinsmith's trade in the machine shops of the Illinois Central Railroad Company. He worked for that company until 1872, when he went to Cedar Rapids and became foreman of the first copper and tin shop of the Burlington, Cedar Rapids & Northern Railroad Company. He superintended the building of the tin shop and in fact established this branch of the business in connection with the railroad interests at that place. He continued to conduct the copper and tin shop there for two years and then came to Waterloo, where in 1875 he embarked in business on his own account, opening a tin shop together with a small stock of hardware. He has since conducted the business with growing
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success and in this period has changed location five different times in order to secure larger quarters but has always been on Fourth street except for a short time when he was on Sycamore street. He has developed the business from a small beginning to one of the leading enterprises of the kind in Waterloo and is today proprietor of a large and well appointed hardware establishment at No. 809 East Fourth street.
In 1912 Mr. Hacker turned over the hardware business to his two sons, Fred J. and Sidney J., who still continue proprietors of one of the leading hardware stores of the city, vying with their father in making their establishment, like his growing enterprise, a credit to Waterloo. As time has passed and Mr. Hacker has prospered in his undertakings he has built a number of residences and has also become the owner of a number of business properties in Waterloo and from his real estate derives a good rental which adds materially to his annual income. He likewise has property in other towns. He has built two stores and seven resi- dences in Waterloo and his oldest son owns five buildings in the city, while the younger son owns two residences-all of which seems to indicate that the boys have inherited their father's excellent business ability, sagacity and enterprise.
In 1872 Mr. Hacker was united in marriage to Miss Eva Weick, who was born near Davis, Illinois, a daughter of John Weick, who came from Illinois to Iowa in 1869 and settled on the boundary line between Bremer and Black Hawk counties, where he and his wife occupied a farm until they were called to their final rest. Mr. and Mrs. Hacker became the parents of five children : Mary S., who died in early womanhood ; Fred J., a hardware merchant of Waterloo; Frank, deceased ; Clara, the wife of Edward F. Reiley, of Mattoon, Illinois; and Sidney J., who is his brother's partner in the hardware business.
The family are of the Catholic faith and Mr. Hacker gives his political allegiance to the democratic party. In the early 'gos he served as a member of the city council of Waterloo. Fraternally he is connected with the Odd Fellows and with the Ancient Order of United Workmen. He is alert to all those interests that affect the welfare of the community and his co-operation can be counted upon to further measures for the general good; at the same time his activities have been concentrated upon his business affairs and his careful and systematic man- agement thereof has led to his success.
JACOB SCHARES.
Jacob Schares, the popular and efficient cashier of the German Savings Bank of Gilbertville, was born in Fox township, Black Hawk county, in 1871. His parents, William and Barbara (Heiner) Schares, were both natives of Priesen, Germany, which is in the Rhine country, the former born in 1820 and the latter in 1828. The father was an only son and was therefore exempt from the usual military service. He lived in a village but devoted his time to cultivating his truck farm, a short distance from the town, and in this way provided for the support of his family. Upon coming to the United States in 1865 he located in Fox township, Black Hawk county, where he became the owner of three hundred and twenty acres of land. He followed general farming and also raised consider-
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able stock and devoted his whole time to his agricultural pursuits, becoming one of the most successful farmers of his locality. He passed away May 5, 1888, but his widow survived until July 28, 1905. They were communicants of the Catholic church.
Mr. Schares of this review is the youngest of their eight children, seven of whom are residents of this county. He attended a German school in the summer and the district schools in the winter and gained a good education. He also found time to assist his father with the work of the homestead and thus was competent to operate a farm when, at the age of twenty-one, he assumed charge of his mother's farm. Two years later he started out in life for himself and engaged in agricultural pursuits for ten years. At the end of that time he sold his farming interests and with his brother engaged in the implement business in Gilbertville, continuing in that connection for about ten years. He then in com- pany with others organized the German Savings Bank of Gilbertville and it was a high testimonial to his popularity and reputation for integrity and business ability that the entire block of stock was subscribed for in twenty hours. Since the establishment of the bank Mr. Schares has been its cashier and its steady, normal growth has been due in large measure to his financial and executive ability and the close watch which he keeps on all phases of the work of the bank. He is also a notary public and a stockholder in the Waterloo, Cedar Falls & Northern Railroad. He believes in the value of farming lands as an investment and owns two hundred and thirty acres in this county, from which he derives a substantial addition to his income.
In 1908 Mr. Schares was united in marriage to Miss Elizabeth Herrig, a native of Jackson county, this state, and a daughter of William and Katherine (Nemmers) Herrig. Mrs. Herrig is a sister of Father Nemmers, a sketch of whom appears elsewhere in this work. She was born in Germany in 1843 and Mr. Herrig was born in that country in 1829. He was a stonemason and followed his trade in connection with farming for many years. He owns considerable land in Jackson county and is still residing there, respected and esteemed as one of the substantial men of his community and as one who is always willing to do anything within his power to promote its advancement and progress. He and his family were early settlers and experienced the hardships and inconvenience of pioneer life. Mr. and Mrs. Schares have three children, Roman, Bernadette and Ida. The family attend the Catholic church and Mr. Schares is a member of the Catholic Order of Foresters. He is esteemed and respected equally for his busi- ness ability and his uprightness and has many stanch friends in the county where he has resided during his entire life.
H. B. PLUMB.
1
H. B. Plumb is the secretary of the Iowa Dairy Separator Company and vice president of the Associated Manufacturers. Company, which connections win him recognition as a leading business man of Waterloo. He is a native of the state of New York and on leaving the east came to this city in 1900. Here he entered into active association with the Iowa Dairy Separator Company and
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on the incorporation of the business he was elected to the position of secretary, in which connection he bends his efforts to administrative direction and execu- tive control. The business is one of growing importance and his efforts, keen insight and unfaltering energy are elements in its continuous growth.
In 1906 Mr. Plumb was united in marriage to Miss Jessie Ballvett of Water- loo, and they are well known in this city, having here an extensive circle of warm friends. Mr. Plumb is a member of the Commercial Club and Board of Trade and is interested in all the projects and plans for the upbuilding of the city and the extension of its trade connections. In his life he exemplifies the progressive spirit which has been the dominant factor in the upbuilding of the middle west and his efforts have been an element in the city's commercial advance- ment as well as the source of his individual success.
H. S. RAYMOND.
H. S. Raymond is the vice president of the Cement Products Company, con- ducting business at the corner of Concrete avenue and Water street in Waterloo. He was born in the city in which he makes his home in 1868, his parents being E. A. and Sarah E. (Prentice) Raymond, who were natives of New York, in which state they were reared and married. Coming to the west, the father spent a few years in looking over the country in search of a favorable location and finally in 1856, made permanent settlement in Waterloo, which was then a small town, giving little indications of reaching the metropolitan proportions which it today enjoys. For a year he followed teaming and then opened a store on Com- mercial and Fourth streets on the present site of the Black Hawk National Bank. After E. A. Raymond became well established in business here seven of his brothers came to the middle west and embarked in business in various sections of Iowa and Nebraska. They were members of a family of twelve children and their father was a minister in New York state, while one of the brothers also devoted his life to the work of the ministry.
E. A. Raymond, turning his attention to mercantile pursuits, conducted his store until 1883 and won substantial success through his capable management and well directed efforts. He then discontinued the business and retired to enjoy a well earned rest, giving his attention only to the supervision of his property interests in Iowa and South Dakota. Both he and his wife were very active workers and consistent members in the Presbyterian church, contributed gen- erously to its support and did much to further its work, Mr. Raymond serving as an elder thereof for forty years. He died in August, 1909, having for five years survived his wife, who passed away in March, 1904. In their family were three children, of whom H. S. is the eldest. The others are: Fred M., who is conducting a large mercantile establishment at North Yakima, Washington; and Eloise P., a nurse, who was graduated from the Johns Hopkins Hospital of Balti- more, Maryland, and is now practicing her profession in Buffalo, New York.
H. S. Raymond passed through consecutive grades in the public schools of Waterloo until he became a high-school pupil. He also attended Coe College at Cedar Rapids and the Union University at Schenectady, New York, with the class
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of 1893. After completing his education he was in the express service for six years, doing office work during the last four years of that time. In 1899 he turned his attention to the grocery business at O'Neil, Nebraska, in connection with his brother, Fred. Later he sold out there and in 1900 became connected with the Alliance Electric Light Company. Three years later he entered the train service of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad and continued for four years. He then returned and took charge of the night shift for the Alliance Electric Light Company, there remaining until the death of his father in 1909. when he again came to Waterloo to take charge of his father's estate as admin- istrator. While thus engaged he became one of the organizers of the Cement Products Company in 1910 and served as president and manager for two years, since which time he has been the vice president and is one of the largest stock- holders of the company, which is conducting an extensive and growing business that has won classification with the leading productive industries of the city.
Mr. Raymond votes with the republican party, yet is liberal in his views and has never sought nor desired the honors and emoluments of public office. He holds membership with the Alpha Delta Phi, a college fraternity, with the Benevo- lent Protective Order of Elks and with the Presbyterian church, in which he is serving as an elder and as secretary of the Sunday school. He does everything in his power to advance moral progress in the community and is a contributor to the various different lines of church work. His life in every relation has commanded for him the confidence and goodwill of his fellow townsmen and he is one of the highly honored residents of his native city.
FRANK BORNONG.
Frank Bornong has since 1912 been engaged in the implement business in Gilbertville in connection with his brother and the firm has already gained an enviable position in business circles of the town. He is still quite a young man as his birth occurred in 1886. He was born in Poyner township, Black Hawk county, a son of John P. and Mary ( Schmitz ) Bornong, natives of Neider Ker- schen, Luxemburg, and Bad Ems, Prussia, respectively. The father was born in 1843 and passed away in 1911. The mother is still living in Gilbertville, at the age of fifty-nine. John P. Bornong followed farming in Germany and upon emi- grating to the United States in 1875 made his way to this county and settled upon a farm in Poyner township. In his young manhood he served for three years in the German army. After locating in this county he continued to devote his time to agricultural pursuits and at the time of his death owned one hundred and fifty acres of valuable land. He was without political aspirations, and the cultivation of his land received his entire attention.
Frank Bornong is the third in a family of seven children, and his educational opportunities were limited to attendance at the district schools. He remained at home until he was twenty-five years old and then began cultivating a small farm in Poyner township. He was so engaged for a year but in 1912 joined his brother in the conduct of an implement business in Gilbertville. Their store has a reputation for excellent goods and fair prices, and the volume of business is
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steadily increasing. Mr. Bornong is also a stockholder in the German Savings Bank of Gilbertville and is a stockholder and secretary of the Washburn Ray- mond Telephone Company and a director in the Gilbertville Light Company.
Mr. Bornong married Miss Katherine DeMuth, who is a native of this county and a daughter of Bernard and Susan (Deneff) DeMuth, both of whom are deceased. Her father was a farmer in Germany and continued to devote his time to the cultivation of land after coming to this country in 1865. He settled in Black Hawk county and became the owner of one hundred and twenty acres of land. Mrs. Bornong is the youngest of his seven children. Mr. and Mrs. Bornong have a son, Joseph G., born December 31, 1913.
Mr. Bornong's fraternal connection is with the Catholic Order of Foresters, in which he is a trustee. He also belongs to the Iowa Implement Dealers' Associa- tion, as he believes in the value of organization for the betterment of trade condi- tions. He is up-to-date and progressive in all that he does, and the success that he has already achieved in business is but an indication of the greater prosperity which the years probably hold in store for him. 1
J. J. PETERSON.
J. J. Peterson is a well known contractor and builder in brick, stone or frame and also fireproof buildings, his office being No. 807 West Mullen avenue, Water- loo. He was born at Liberty Pole, Vernon county, Wisconsin, in 1869, a son of L. P. Peterson, a native of Denmark, who after coming to the new world followed the contracting business and also engaged in farming in Vernon county, Wis- consin, where he remained until his death, which occurred in 1912. His widow survives.
J. J. Peterson acquired his early education in the common schools of his native state and after he had mastered the branches of learning therein taught he took up the carpenter's trade, becoming a good workman in that field of labor. He followed carpentering in Wisconsin until 1904, when he came to Iowa, and after six months spent in Independence removed to Waterloo, where he continued to work at his trade. He has been connected with the construction of some of the leading buildings of the city in the years which have since come and gone and was superintendent of the construction of the Waterloo postoffice. He also aided in the erection of the First Methodist Episcopal church, the Emerson school and the Whittier school, all of Waterloo, was also the builder of the courthouse in Decatur county and one of the buildings at the State Hospital in Cherokee, Iowa. In the early part of 1914 he began contracting on his own account and is meeting with substantial success.
In 1903 Mr. Peterson was united in marriage to Miss Hattie M. Webster, a native of Independence, Iowa, and a daughter of Saxon Webster. Mrs. Peterson passed away in 1912, leaving one daughter, Elsie Gertrude, who was born in December, 1905, and is now attending school. Mrs. Peterson was a member of the First Methodist Episcopal church and a lady of many excellent traits of heart and mind which endeared her to those with whom she came in contact. Mr. Peterson and his daughter also belong to the same church and they are well known
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socially in Waterloo. Politically he is a republican, but not an office seeker. He has always felt that the pursuits of private life are in themselves abundantly worthy of his best efforts and, therefore, he has concentrated his attention upon building operations and has gained a creditable place among the capable con- tractors and builders of Waterloo.
FRANK F. KNAPP.
Frank F. Knapp, engaged in the real-estate and loan business in Waterloo, was born in Mount Vernon, this county, in 1858, a son of Solomon Knapp, who in February, 1855, started for Iowa from Joliet, Illinois, crossing the Mississippi river on the ice. He took up his abode first in Mount Vernon township, where he carried on farming for several years, but in 1864 removed to Waterloo town- ship, where he again secured a tract of farming land, making his home thereon to the time of his death, which occurred in 1908. He always followed general farming and stock-raising. The land upon which he settled in Waterloo town- ship was a wild and unimproved tract, but with characteristic energy he broke the sod and converted the land into productive fields that are still in possession of his son, Frank F. Knapp. Something of the increase in property values in this county is indicated in a little incident which occurred to the subject of this review. Following his marriage in 1882 he was one day during that year walk- ing with his wife down near the river when a man approached him, wishing to make a sale. He owned a portion of what was later known as the Daily farm and offered the land to Mr. Knapp for five dollars per acre. The same place could not be purchased today for two thousand dollars an acre.
Frank F. Knapp was born and reared in this county and was educated in the district schools. He early became familiar with all of the duties and labors inci- dent to the work of the fields, for through vacation periods he aided in plowing, planting and harvesting. He afterward taught school for ten years in this county and proved a capable educator, imparting readily and clearly to others the knowl- edge that he had acquired.
In 1882, Mr. Knapp was married to Miss Alice M. Janes, of Union township, a daughter of E. L. Janes, who was a native of DuPage county, New York, and settled in Black Hawk county in 1853. Mr. Knapp and his bride began their domestic life upon a farm which they occupied for four or five years. They then removed to Cedar Falls and Mr. Knapp accepted a position as a traveling salesman, remaining upon the road as a representative for Altman Miller & Company nine years. While a resident of Cedar Falls he also served for six years as a member of the city council and exercised his official preroga- tives in support of many plans and measures for the public good. In 1900 he was elected recorder and served in that office for six years and four months. He was then appointed justice of the peace of East Waterloo township and has since occupied that office, discharging his duties without fear or favor. Mr. Knapp has always been active in politics and his position upon important ques- tions has never been an equivocal one. He stands loyally for what he believes to be right and does everything in his power to further the interests and up-
FRANK F. KNAPP
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building of the community in which he lives. He is engaged in the real-estate and loan business in Waterloo and is meeting with well deserved success in those lines.
Both Mr. and Mrs. Knapp own farm property in this county and from their holdings derive a substantial annual income. Their children are: Frank E., who is now engaged in the jewelry business in Waterloo; Myrtle, the wife of Herbert Pett, of Waterloo township; Pearl, who married Joseph Kern, foreman for the Cherokee Manufacturing Company of Cherokee, Iowa; Mamie, who is with the Bankers Accident Insurance Company, of Waterloo; and Bessie, Forrest, Maud and Clair, all at home.
Mr. Knapp holds membership with the Modern Woodmen of America and with the American Yeomen. His entire life has been passed in this county, so that he is numbered among its pioneer settlers, having been a witness of the growth and development of this section of the state for fifty-six years. He has seen many changes during this period and his memory forms a connecting link between the primitive past and the progressive present. His grandfather, Solo- mon Knapp, who arrived in Cedar Falls in 1853, was the pioneer Baptist minister of this section and it has been said that he was the first Baptist minister to preach a sermon in Chicago, which was about the year 1833. Since the earliest arrival of the family in Black Hawk county its representatives have borne a helpful part in bringing about present day conditions of progress and prosperity and Frank F. Knapp is today a well known business man and official, conducting important interests in the field of real estate and loans and at the same time doing important public service in his faithful discharge of his duties as justice of the peace.
GUY N. SEE.
Guy N. See, treasurer of the Waterloo Skirt & Garment Company, has for a quarter of a century been a resident of the city in which he still resides and in which he has won a prominent position in business circles. He was born in John- son county, Iowa, near Iowa City, in 1883, and he has ever been actuated by the spirit of enterprise which has been the dominant factor in the upbuilding and development of this state. His youthful days were spent upon a farm with the usual experiences that fall to the lot of the farm lad as he divides his time between the work of the fields and the acquirement of a public-school education. He felt that he would prefer other pursuits than that of tilling the soil, however, and early in life he took up the study of telegraphy. He was with the Rock Island Railroad Company until 1904, representing that road in various places as an operator.
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