USA > Iowa > Boone County > History of Boone County, Iowa, Volume I > Part 33
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47
E. S. Waterbury came in 1864 and was for a short time in partner- ship with I. J. Mitchell, but he was not successful as a practitioner. He took the view that it was the business of a lawyer to win his case regardless of what was required to be done in order to accomplish that end. He soon lost his practice and moved from the county.
370
HISTORY OF BOONE COUNTY
D. R. Hindman came in 1865 from New York and remained in the practice of law, except eight years that he was district judge. He was a man of more than ordinary ability as an attorney. He was a gentleman in all respects, one whose word could be relied upon in all matters relating to business affairs. He died in 1908.
I. N. Kidder came from Massachusetts in 1868 or 1869 and en- gaged in practice in Boone. He had thoroughly prepared himself for his profession and theoretically was as good, if not the best, lawyer who practiced in Boone County. He was in practice here a number of years and then moved to California, dying in Pasadena about 1885.
C. W. Lowrie, who came from Pennsylvania, served as colonel on Governor Kirkwood's staff during the war. He was very well prepared for his profession, but he was able to see only the side of the case that he represented. He was unable to see the pitfalls ahead of him on the other side until it was too late to prepare himself to meet them, and for that reason was not a very successful practitioner.
J. F. Eckelston was a very fair lawyer and was counted a very good office lawyer, but was not up to the average as a trial lawyer.
Jacob S. Smith came from New York to Boone County. He did but little practice, but was justice of the peace a number of years. When he came he was well advanced in years and was not successful as an attorney.
J. W. Barnhart was a member of the bar and had thoroughly prepared himself for his profession. He was what might be called more than an ordinary office lawyer, but for some reason was unable to carry forward a case at a trial with the success that his ability would seem to warrant. He gave a large portion of his time to the real-estate business.
J. M. Ritchey, of Indiana, was a member of the firm of Hindman & Ritchey for a number of years. He was very diligent in the matter of practice, faithful in every particular to his clients and a fair lawyer in all respects. He died about 1880.
Henry Hudson came to Boone in 1867 and engaged in practice. He was fairly successful. Some years later he was elected circuit judge, served a term of four years and then reentered the practice. He moved from here to Chicago.
E. L. Bittinger came about 1867 and engaged in the real-estate and law business, so continuing for eight or ten years. He did only a fair business and was not regarded as a very good lawyer. How- ever, he was faithful to the interests of his clients.
371
HISTORY OF BOONE COUNTY
E. E. Webb entered the practice in Boone about 1867 or 1868 and became a member of the firm of Webb & Dyer. He moved from here to the State of Alabama and died there about 1895. Mr. Webb was a very fair lawyer, an honorable, upright gentleman, and the firm was regarded as a very good firm of lawyers. S. R. Dyer is still living here and is in practice, as the head of the firm of Dyer, Jordan & Dyer. He is the nestor of the bar in Boone.
M. K. Ramsey, who came here in 1867, as a boy from Illinois, was a member of the firm of Hull & Ramsey for a good many years. He was regarded as one of the best counselors and office lawyers at the bar and was a very good trial lawyer. He continued in practice to the time of his death, which occurred in this city about eight years ago.
R. F. Jordan, who has been referred to above, engaged in practice here about 1869, first as a member of the firm of Ramsey & Jordan, afterward a member of the firm of Crooks & Jordan, later of Jordan & Brockett and still later Jordan & Goodykoontz. Mr. Goodykoontz is still living. Mr. Jordan was a very studious and well informed attorney, a gentleman in all respects and fair in his dealings either in or out of court. He could always be relied upon as a lawyer and never was inclined to lead his clients into litigation. His son is John Jordan, a member of the firm of Dyer, Jordan & Dyer. Mr. Jordan, Sr., died some fifteen years ago.
A. J. Holmes settled in the city of Boone about 1867 and entered the practice of law, continuing in the same until the time of his death, with the exception of six years that he served as a member of Congress from this district. He perhaps was as well informed gen- erally in respect to matters of law as any man who practiced and was a very successful lawyer. He was a man of more than ordinary energy, large, powerful physique and very much of a gentleman. He died about twelve years ago.
L. W. Reynolds came about the same time as Mr. Holmes and they formed a copartnership in practice, continuing until a short time prior to the death of the latter. Mr. Reynolds was regarded as a very good lawyer. He did a limited amount of practice in the courts, but the greater portion of his law business related to practice in higher courts than the District Court. He was well prepared in his profession and remained in practice here until the time of his death, about seven or eight years ago. He built the first street railway here and was more of a speculator than a lawyer. He entered into mat-
372
HISTORY OF BOONE COUNTY
ters of improvement and constructed the street railway from the courthouse to Story Street in the City of Boone.
George C. Hull was a native of Boone County, became a member of the bar in 1871 or 1872 and continued in practice until the time of his death, about three years ago. He was a very good collector, diligent in matters of his practice and fairly well prepared as a law- ver. He was inclined to take cases on speculation and did quite a little business in that direction. He was always honorable and up- right in his dealings.
E. L. Green came from Wisconsin to Boone and engaged in prac- tice here about 1878. He was a very well informed man, of more than ordinary aptitude and was a very successful criminal lawyer. He practiced his profession until the time of his death, which oc- curred about twelve years ago. He was perhaps as successful a lawyer in the defense of criminals as practiced at the bar.
R. F. Dale, who came here from Indiana, engaged in practice here about 1880. He was possessed of an unusual eloquent mind. He was one of the best counselors at the bar, but was not a very suc- cessful trial lawyer. He was a partner of J. R. Whitaker for a number of years. He was justice of the peace ten years and died about five years ago.
John C. Hall came from Ohio to Boone in 1883 and engaged in the practice of law. Soon thereafter he formed a partnership with D. R. Hindman and they continued together until about 1897. Mr. Hall was very well prepared in his profession and was a suc- cessful attorney, particularly in equity practice, more than in any other branch of the law. He moved to Kansas City, where he had a large equity practice and died there about a year ago.
J. J. Southworth was from New York and engaged in the practice of law in Boone County perhaps twenty-five or thirty years ago. His business generally related to matters of collection, being attorney for quite a few business houses as their collector, and he was quite suc- cessful in his undertakings. He was not what would be considered more than an ordinary trial lawyer. He was reliable in regard to matters of financial affairs and otherwise. He moved away from Boone.
E. L. Penfield came to Boone from Nebraska about 1890. Hc was a very careful attorney, but in the preparation of his pleadings he was so doubtful whether or not he had covered the ground suffi- ciently that he recapitulated and would use several different words purporting to mean the same thing. He was a very good office law-
SH
GS.
ORI
TO
POP CORN
STORY STREET, BOONE
-
1
-
--
EIGHTH STREET EAST. BOONE
373
HISTORY OF BOONE COUNTY
yer, but was not a successful jury lawyer. He very seldom tried a case before a jury. He was very careful and conscientious and was very much opposed to any lawyer who would even intimate that he was not trying his case in an honorable, upright manner. He prac- ticed here until about 1907 or 1908 and is now practicing in Fruita, California.
O. M. Brockett came from Angus to Ogden and then to Boone. He settled in Angus about 1890 and stayed there but a short time, then practiced for a short time in Ogden, this county, afterward coming to Boone. He was a member of the firm of Ramsey & Brock- ett, and later of Jordan & Brockett. He was a very fair trial lawyer. In fact, he was a better trial lawyer than he was an office lawyer. He was a capable man in examining witnesses and in presenting his case to a jury. He left here about 1900 or 1901 and is now practicing in Des Moines. There was associated with him at Angus and at Ogden, Clayton Harrington, and after Mr. Brockett came to Boone, Mr. Harrington also came and practiced law alone. He was above the average lawyer and well prepared for his profession. His only defect seemed to be that he was able to see the mountain on the other side and lost confidence in meeting the issues on the opposite side. He is now believed to be in San Francisco in the employ of the United States in connection with the internal revenue service.
J. R. Whitaker entered the practice of law as a member of the firm of Hull & Whitaker and has continued in practice except eight years he was district judge, being regarded among the best trial lawyers in the city. He is still in practice as a member of the firm of Whitaker & Snell. He is a well prepared and capable attorney.
W. W. Goodykoontz, a member of the firm of Goodykoontz & Mahoney, was raised in this city and entered the practice something like twelve or fifteen years ago. He is above the average in ability and has been a very successful practitioner.
M. I. Cooper, of Ogden, entered the practice here about fifteen years ago and so continued for about ten years. He was a man very well prepared for the practice and a fair trial lawyer-rather above the average. He was very courteous with the court and bar, but for some reason he was unable to make the practice a success. While he was capable, yet he was negligent and allowed matters to go along beyond a reasonable time before they were looked after and trials were too frequently put off. He is now deceased.
J. J. Snell entered the practice in this county in 1893 and is now a member of the firm of Whitaker & Snell. He is regarded as one
374
HISTORY OF BOONE COUNTY
of the best probate lawyers at the bar and does more of that business than any other member of the bar. He is a very reliable and honor- able man.
T. J. Mahoney, of the firm of Goodykoontz & Mahoney, has been in practice here since about 1894. He is regarded, taking into con- sideration his age, as good a lawyer as is now practicing at the bar.
Charles 1. Sparks, who was raised in Boone County, prepared himself for practice by attending the law school at lowa City. He began practice in the county about 1895, and so continued here for ten years. He was fairly successful in the prosecution of criminal cases and was a fair lawyer generally. He was county attorney for four years. He is now practicing in Kansas.
John A. Hull, Jr., son of John A. Hull, Sr., above referred to, was raised in this county and prepared for the practice of law at Iowa City. He has been in practice here since about 1894. He is a very reliable gentleman and is fairly successful in all branches of the law.
George Yeaman, who was a resident of Boone up to the time of his removal from this town, was a very successful criminal lawyer practicing in this county from about 1897 until about 1907. He moved to Sioux City and is a resident of that city at this time. For a young man of his age and opportunities he was quite a successful attorney, and was regarded as an honorable gentleman. He was once charged in a criminal case of knowingly accepting money that had been stolen and was tried, but was acquitted.
H. L. Ganoe engaged in practice here about 1897. He was very energetic and quite a successful attorney, a man of high character and an honorable, upright gentleman. He served as county attorney of Boone County for four years.
L. V. Harpel became a member of the bar at Boone about 1898 or 1899 and is still in the practice as a member of the firm of Harpel & Cederquist. He is very studious, giving his cases a great deal of thought and tries his cases above the average lawyer.
C. J. Cederquist is engaged in practice at Madrid and may be classed above the average lawyer for the experience he has had. He was county attorney four years.
Frank Hollingsworth, the present county attorney, has been in practice here about twelve years. He is a very fair trial lawyer and has been a very successful county attorney.
John L. Stevens became a member of the bar of Boone County after serving on the district bench about eight years, forming a part-
375
HISTORY OF BOONE COUNTY
nership with S. R. Dyer about 1896. He is one among the best trial lawyers in practice at this time, and as judge was very successful in the determination of all equity proceedings. He is one of the best equipped lawyers in this section of the country.
H. E. Fry was raised in this county and has been engaged in practice nearly ten years, as a member of the firm of Stevens & Fry and of the firm of Stevens, Fry & Stevens. He is a careful, studious lawyer and, taking into consideration the length of his practice, he is a very good lawyer.
D. G. Baker was raised in Boone County and prepared himself for the bar by attending the law school of Iowa State University, at Iowa City. He entered the practice in Boone several years ago, and has been a successful attorney. His business is largely confined to criminal practice. He is a man of great determination and is a very successful trial lawyer.
John Jordan, son of R. F. Jordan, who was in practice here, has been engaged in practice about seven years. He is a very fine young man and has the making of a good lawyer. In fact, he is a very good lawyer now and is a gentleman in all respects.
Walter Dyer, son of S. R. Dyer, has been engaged in practice about five years, and during the length of time he has been in practice has been as successful as any other man. He is studious and careful and has the making of a good attorney.
Frank Ganoe first entered the practice at Ogden in this county, then formed a copartnership with his brother, H. L. Ganoe. He left here some years ago and now lives at Portland, Oregon. Frank has a very good practice and is a very successful lawyer. He is a man of more than average ability and is a very reliable counselor.
John Stevens, who was a member of the firm of Stevens, Fry & Stevens, is a son of John L. Stevens. He practiced here several years and was regarded as a very studious young attorney and did well in the practice, but lost his health and is now on a farm in Minnesota, trying to regain his health. He was above the average in ability for the opportunities he had to practice at the bar.
Frank Porter, who lives at Ogden, has been a member of the Boone County bar for eight or ten years and has been engaged in general practice, meeting with success.
Earl Billings, editor of the Ogden Reporter, also an attorney, did quite a little practice, but most of his time and attention were given to the matter of the publication of his newspaper. He came here about forty years ago. He was fairly successful as an editor,
376
HISTORY OF BOONE COUNTY
but lost his health and moved to Washington, D. C., about ten years ago, where he is still living.
BOONE COUNTY BAR ASSOCIATION
This society was organized about twenty-five years ago and in- cluded all the members of the bar. It held regular elections provided for by the association, and in case of injury or death of any of the members the association lent its aid and has continued to do so since its organization. It now embraces all the members of the bar of Boone County.
CHAPTER XXXIV THE PRESS OF BOONE COUNTY
By W. H. Gallup -
In 1856, during the first national campaign of the republican party, when "Fremont and Jessie" made the inspiring rallying cry of the party, although Fremont and Dayton were the candidates, a young, enthusiastic republican, with a slight stutter in his speech, hailing from the "Nutmeg" State, came boldly into the then demo- cratic County of Boone, some two hundred miles beyond any line of railroad, and commenced issuing at Boonesboro a republican paper, the first paper printed in Boone County, and called it the
BOONE COUNTY NEWS
Since that date some thirty-five different newspapers have been started in Boone County, but today only about one-seventh of that number is left to carry the news of the county, the state and nation to the county's 30,000 population.
Lute C. Sanders, the name of this pioncer newspaper man, was a part of a Yankee colony, mostly from Connecticut, who settled in Boone County about that time, the majority of them on land just east of Boonesboro, and which now constitutes a part of the town plat of Boone. Old county residents will recognize the names of Charles Pomeroy, A. B. Holcomb, Benjamin Brunning and S. M. Ives as members of this Yankee crowd. Lute C. Sanders, assisted in the office by his brother, N. W. Sanders, soon made for his paper a state reputation that was highly complimentary to his ability as a clear and forceful editor, and one who could drive home a conviction that he was earnest, honest and sincere in his beliefs. In short, he early made it known to the balance of the state that Boone County was on the map and must be counted with when measures of im- portance were before the people. But he was not a strong man Vol 1 -24
377
37>
HISTORY OF BOONE COUNTY
physically ; his mental powers were too great for his bodily strength and he died in 1863. his remains being taken East to his old home for burial. The last two or three years before his death he was able to do but little newspaper work and other names appeared as pub- lishers, or assistants, such as Sanders & Capron and J. F. Alexander. The paper ceased to exist in 1862, a few months before Mr. Sanders' death.
The second paper in Boone County was started by N. W. Denni- son in 1857 and named the
BOONE COUNTY DEMOCRAT
Its publisher, Mr. Dennison, was from Ohio and was a lawyer as well as editor. He was a man of culture and dignity, of pleasing address and polished manners, but unfortunately for a pioneer editor, of a very sensitive nature. He had received much encouragement and many golden promises and bright descriptions of a brilliant future for a democratic editor ; but when he found he could not realize upon them, he became disheartened and died in about three years. His paper was published about two years.
The third paper to make its appearance in the county was given the name of
BOONE COUNTY HERALD
and made its first appearance in 1860. It was published by Cornelius Beal, a lawyer by profession, in politics a democrat, and at that time a member of the Legislature. Mr. Beal was a man of a good deal of note and by some of his quaint speeches gave Boone County a reputation that still brings a smile upon the faces of most of its older citizens. In 1862 Mr. Beal went to Portland, Oregon, where he conducted a law office for many years, dying only a few years ago. Other publishers of the Herald were J. H. Upton, who is still alive and is a resident of Oregon; and Messrs. C. L. & H. M. Lucas, the former an editor of long experience, in after years of Madrid, and the best posted man on the history of Boone County that is living today.
THE BOONESBORO TIMES
was established by John A. Hull in 1861 and was published by spells, as it were. The spell of its publication always seemed to be in the fall of the year when delinquent tax lists were ready to gather at
379
HISTORY OF BOONE COUNTY
thirty cents per description compensation. In principles the Times, as well as its editor, always stood squarely on the democratic plat- form, except as to prohibition, which Mr. Hull favored in public speeches, when the question of constitutional prohibition was before the people. The Times never had any other editor and proprietor than John A. Hull.
In 1863, J. F. Alexander, who was a strong republican and an active farmer and dealer and shipper of fat cattle, with the assistance of N. W. Sanders, a younger brother of Boone County's first editor, and Mr. Cummings established the
BOONESBORO TRIBUNE
At first the paper appeared with the name of J. F. Alexander as sole editor and proprietor. After a few months the name of J. F. Alexander was succeeded by Sanders & Cummings as publishers. It was republican in politics, and with all the county officers demo- cratic, could get but very little if any county business, so that by the fall of 1864 it was taking a rest. A few years after that date Mr. Alexander sold his large farm to the county for a poor farm and moved to Waco, Texas, where he lived the remainder of his days, passing away about fifteen years ago. N. W. Sanders died many years ago, when in the prime of life, while his partner, Mr. Cum- mings, returned to his native State of Vermont.
In December, 1864, W. H. Gallup came to Boonesboro from Marshalltown and purchased the printing material that Sanders & Cummings had put into the Tribune office and the hand press of Mr. Alexander, which he still owned, and with some job printing material, which he brought with him from Marshalltown, com- menced the publication of the
BOONESBORO INDEX
the first number of which appeared February 1, 1865. At that date there was no paper published in Boone County, the News, Democrat, Herald, Times and Tribune all having been laid away in their wind- ing sheets. The county election of 1864, by the aid of the soldiers' vote, having gone republican, there appeared to be a chance for a republican paper to make a living, if the editor was willing to work hard in earning as well as work hard in saving. After publishing the Index about a year in Boonesboro, it was moved to the new town
380
HISTORY OF BOONE COUNTY
of Boone, which had grown from four houses which were on the town plat in March, to a town of 800 population in December. The pub- Fication of the paper was continued until September, 1867, when the office was sold to L. M. Holt, who changed the name of the paper from Index to
MONTANA STANDARD
Montana was the new name Boone had assumed to enable it to get a postoffice, being unable to use the name of Boone, as that name for a postoffice was already in use in the state. Mr. Holt published the paper for about eight months, with the aid of V. A. Ballou a part of the time, then sold his share of the office to W. H. Gallup, and after a short time Mr. Gallup purchased Mr. Ballou's share. He published the paper until September, 1869, when he sold the office to John M. Brainard. The latter associated with him his brother, Justin M. Brainard, and for about a year the firm name was Brainard Brothers. When Justin M. Brainard retired from the Standard he moved to Waterloo and became a traveling man. John M. Brainard continued the publication of the paper until 1902, making a record of nearly thirty-three years of continuous newspaper work on one paper. In 1902 he sold the good will and subscription list to W. H. Gallup, who published the paper alone for a little over a year, then sold the office to E. E. Carter. Mr. Carter continued the paper for a year, then sold a half interest to W. H. Gallup, who, under the firm name of Gallup & Carter, published the paper until June, 1908, when they sold the good will and subscription list to the Boone County Democrat, and the Standard and Index, as the paper was first named, after over thirty-seven years, disappeared from the newspaper field in Boone County. Mr. Gallup, the founder of the paper, and Mr. Brainard, its longest continuous editor, are both liv- ing in retirement in Boone. Mr. Brainard, before coming to Boone, had had newspaper experience at Clear Lake, in Nevada, and on the Daily Council Bluffs Nonpareil. Since retiring from the Standard, he has been curator in the Ericson Public Library. Mr. Holt, before coming to Boone had been editor of a paper in Adel, and after leav- ing Boone started a state temperance paper at Marshalltown. He soon discontinued that and went to California, where he was engaged in various newspaper enterprises, the last, as far as known, being a horticultural paper at Riverside. Mr. Ballou had his first newspaper experience as editor of the Hamilton Freeman at Webster City, and
381
HISTORY OF BOONE COUNTY
after leaving Boone located in Nevada, where he published the Story County Ægis about a year and the Story County Watchman for twenty or more years. He passed away there about ten years ago. Mr. Gallup had his first newspaper experience as publisher of the Marshall County Times from 1861 to 1864, and came to Boonesboro, where he started the Index, afterwards named the Standard in 1865. After leaving Boone in 1870, he published the Nevada Representa- tive over twelve years, the Perry Chief about five years, then returned to Boone and was connected with the Republican five years. He was then for five years more with the Standard. E. E. Carter, who was connected with the Standard five years, is now a lively insurance agent, with headquarters at Des Moines.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.