USA > Iowa > Buchanan County > History of Buchanan County, Iowa, and its people, Volume II > Part 45
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Charles Arnold was reared and educated in the county of his nativity and remained under the parental roof until he had reached his majority. Subse- quently he cultivated rented land for six years and on the expiration of that. period purchased and improved a farm of two hundred acres on section 22, Cono township, which he has operated continuously since. He follows the most practical and progressive methods in the conduct of his agricultural interests and his well tilled fields annually yield golden harvests as a reward for the care and labor bestowed upon them. His holdings include seven acres of timber land in Cono township.
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On the 14th of October, 1903, Mr. Arnold was united in marriage to Miss Carrie Zimpfer, a daughter of Charles and Sophie (Pfadt) Zimpfer, the former a native of Illinois and the latter of Germany. Charles Zimpfer, an agriculturist by occupation, came to Buchanan county, Iowa, in a very early day and has been actively engaged in farming in Cono township to the present time. Mr. and Mrs. Arnold are the parents of three children, namely: Laura and Vernon, who are ten and two years of age respectively; and Genevieve, who is in her first year.
Mr. Arnold gives his political allegiance to the democracy and has served as trustee of Cono township for the past six years, making a most commendable record in that connection. His religious faith is that of the Presbyterian church. His upright and honorable life has commanded the esteem and regard of all who have come in contact with him and he has made substantial contribution to the agricultural development of the township where he was born.
WILLIAM DOPP.
William Dopp, who is successfully engaged in the real-estate and insurance business in Lamont, was born in Madison, Wisconsin, October 7, 1859, a son of George W. and Esther (Williamson) Dopp. The father was born in New York in 1830 and in 1846 went to Wisconsin. Although a carpenter by trade, he devoted a great deal of time to farming and purchased land in Iowa. In 1878 he came to Lamont and followed agricultural pursuits in this county for some time. In 1862 he was drafted into the Union army and was sent to Nashville, Tennessee, but as he was taken sick he was obliged to return home soon after- ward. Although he was eligible for a pension, he never applied for one. He died in Waterloo, Iowa, in January, 1912. His wife was born in New York state in 1833 and in her girlhood removed to the vicinity of Oconomowoc, Wis- consin, where their marriage occurred. She died in 1898. In their family were the following children : Mary ; Julia : Charles, who died in infancy; Louis W .; Edward; G. N .; Ettie; Nellie ; William ; and Frank and Charles, both of whom died in youth. The subject of this review is the only son living, but four daughters survive.
William Dopp attended school in Madison, Wisconsin, and also in this county. He never went farther than the common schools and spent much of his boyhood in farm work, remaining at home until he attained his majority. After starting out in life for himself he purchased a farm of one hundred and sixty aeres of land situated on sections 11 and 12, Madison township, this county. IIe subse- quently sold it and bought eighty aeres on section 35, that township, which he still owns and which his son now operates. He also has twenty acres of timber land in Delaware county. In addition to cultivating his own land Mr. Dopp farmed his father-in-law's place for twenty-five years. In 1902 he gave up farming on account of his health and removed to Lamont, where he engaged in the stock buying business. For the last three years he has been in the real- estate and insurance business and he has negotiated a number of important sales and is well posted as to the realty in market and as to its value.
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Mr. Dopp was married to Miss Addie Sager in 1881. She was born April 27, 1862, a daughter of Conrad and Mary (Puffer) Sager, both natives of New York state. They were married in that state and subsequently went to Belvidere, Illinois, whence they came to Lamont, Iowa, when Mrs. Dopp was but an infant. She was educated in the public schools of this county. To Mr. and Mrs. Dopp were born five children : Mertie, who died when seventeen years of age; Charles, who lives upon a farm north of Lamont and married Miss Mabel Adams, by whom he has two sons, George and Earle; Roy, who is operating his father's farm south of Lamont and who married Miss Sabina Wesley, by whom he has two sons, Verne and Richard; Iva, the wife of Charles Pitman, who lives upon a farm south of Lamont; and Lura, attending school.
Mr. Dopp was reared as a democrat and since age gave him the right of franchise he has supported the candidates of that party. He served as city alderman for six years and also filled an unexpired term as mayor. Fraternally he belongs to Mohawk Lodge, No. 310, K. P .; and Solomon Lodge, No. 594, F. & A. M. He is a member of the Methodist church, in which faith he was reared, and for sixteen years sang in the choir. In all of his business transactions he has been just and upright, and these qualities have gained him the unqualified respect of all who have been brought in contact with him.
ROBERT A. COOPER.
General agricultural pursuits claim the time and energies of Robert A. Cooper, who owns an excellent farm of one hundred and sixty acres on section 21, Cono township. His birth occurred in Linn county, Iowa, February 22, 1874, his parents being William and Fannie (Campbell) Cooper, both of whom were na- tives of Ohio. They took up their abode in Linn county, this state, about 1864 and there the father purchased and improved a tract of land which he operated until 1885. In that year he disposed of the property and came to Cono town- ship, Buchanan county, purchasing two hundred and forty acres of land, which he also improved and in the cultivation of which he was actively engaged during the remainder of his life. He passed away on the 29th of February, 1905, the community thus losing one of its representative agriculturists and respected citizens. The demise of his wife occurred in 1885.
Robert A. Cooper obtained his education in the schools of Linn and Buchanan counties, being a youth of eleven when he came to this county with his parents. After putting aside his text-books he began farming in association with his father and since the latter's death has bought the old home place, which has remained in his possession to the present time and which he is now operating. For two years he was engaged in business as an implement dealer of Walker, Iowa, and for a period of four years there conducted a real-estate and also an automobile business. He likewise operated a threshing outfit for thirteen years and in all of his undertakings has met with a most gratifying and well merited measure of success. His farm comprises one hundred and sixty acres of land on section 21, Cono township, and in addition to the cultivation of cereals he also buys and sells stock.
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In December, 1913, Mr. Cooper was united in marriage to Miss Clara Fuess- ley, a daughter of J. H. and Kate M. (Krapf) Fuessley, both of whom are natives of Germany. They emigrated to the United States in an early day and took up their abode in Linn county, Iowa, where the father is still actively engaged in the operation of a farm. In his political views Mr. Cooper is independent, sup- porting men and measures rather than party. His religious faith is that of the Presbyterian church. He enjoys the confidence and respect of his friends and neighbors and is a forceful factor in his locality in the promotion of progress and advancement.
S. A. WILSON
S. A. Wilson, a prominent representative of real-estate activity in Inde- pendence, is now secretary and treasurer of the Northern Iowa Land Company, which was incorporated in 1903. He has various other business connections, which place him with the representative men of this section, and his enterprise and pro- gressiveness have been features in the city's growth during the period of his resi- dence in Independence. He was born in Dunkirk, Indiana, January 1, 1866. His father, Lewis B. Wilson, was born in Greene County, Ohio, in 1829 and in early manhood wedded Margaret Laird, whose birth occurred in Maryland in 1838. Her father, Ephraim Laird, was an early settler of Maryland and an extensive slaveholder, freeing at one time three hundred slaves. He went to California at the time of the gold excitement in 1849, making the trip around Cape Horn, and was very successful in his search for the precious metal. He then returned to Indiana, where he became a large landowner.
Lewis B. Wilson removed to Indiana with his parents, who settled near Mun- cie, in a district which at that time was a wilderness. The family were among those who assisted in blazing the early trails and the members of the house- hold shared in all of the hardships and privations of pioneer life. When only nine years of age Lewis B. Wilson took a load of wild game, consisting of tur- keys, pheasants and deer, and drove over a distance of one hundred and fifty miles with a six-horse team. He grew up with the country and had the usual experiences of the lad who spends his youth amid country surroundings. Taking up the tanner's trade, he acquainted himself with that business and afterward became interested in pork packing at Marion, Indiana, in partnership with George Steele, who was afterward one of Oklahoma's territorial governors and is now governor of the soldiers' home at Marion, Indiana. Mr. Wilson was like- wise a pioneer merchant of Dunkirk, Indiana, and was one of the owners of the land upon which the town stands and aided in platting the village. In political circles he was likewise prominent, being a recognized leader in the local ranks of the republican party. He was also active in Masonic cireles, holding office in the grand lodge of Indiana, and the Methodist church found in him a loyal. earnest and faithful worker. He died in Dunkirk at the comparatively early age of forty-nine years and in his passing the state lost one of its valued citizens.
S. A. Wilson, whose name introduces this review, began his education in the schools of Indiana and afterward pursued a business course in Dayton, Ohio.
S. A. WILSON
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He was only thirteen years of age at the time of his father's death and soon after- ward started out on his own account, since which time he has been dependent entirely upon his own resources, working his way steadily upward by means of determination, energy and industry. He was fifteen years of age when he worked his way through business school and his desire to secure an education indicated the elemental strength of his character. When sixteen years of age he entered the employ of the Legler Barlow Dry Goods Company of Dayton, Ohio, and after six months went upon the road as a traveling salesman for that house, when only seventeen years of age, remaining in that connection for six years. He next entered the employ of E. B. Robbins, wholesale dealer in hats and caps, for whom he traveled for two years in Ohio and Indiana. At the age of twenty-five he became connected with the C. P. Cole Window Glass Company in the manufacture of window glass, being made manager of the business, in which were employed three hundred men. He was connected with the glass manufacturing business with the Dunkirk Company and on his own account alto- gether for about ten years, spending two years of that time in St. Louis.
In 1902 Mr. Wilson came to Iowa and formed a partnership with H. T. Lynch of Independence in the conduct of a land business. In 1903 they incorporated the Northern Iowa Land Company, with Mr. Lynch as president and Mr. Wilson as secretary and treasurer. The firm carried on extensive operations and suc- cess has attended their efforts from the beginning. Mr. Wilson also has other important business connections, being secretary and treasurer of the Scott & Brady Land Company of Independence and a stockholder and special partner in the Eastern Kansas Oil Company of Moran, Kansas, which owns a refinery producing over five hundred barrels daily. He is likewise interested in the Sherman Smith Manufacturing Company of Independence, manufacturers of gas engines, and is a stockholder in the Iowa State Bank of Hazleton. His business interests have constantly grown in volume and importance and his keen sagacity and enterprise have made his cooperation sought in various con- nections. His judgment is sound, his energy unfaltering and his well defined plans have been factors in bringing success to the different companies with which he is associated.
In 1887 Mr. Wilson was united in marriage to Miss Elizabeth Vineent, a na- tive of this county and a daughter of William Vincent, a pioneer farmer of Bu- chanan county, who arrived here in 1856. Ile was born in Greene county, Ohio, in 1837, and married Elizabeth Barth, who was born in Virginia in 1840. Follow- ing his arrival in Iowa he became the owner of considerable land and was ac- tively identified with the pioneer development of his section of the state. Mr. and Mrs. Wilson have beeome the parents of two sons. Murray V., born in Dayton, Ohio, in 1889, is a graduate of the Independence high school and is now engaged in the land business in Arkansas. Hugh E., born in Dunkirk, Indiana, in 1892, is deputy county clerk at Independenee. He was graduated from the public schools of this city and from the Iowa State University with the degree of Bachelor of Arts and it is his intention to prepare for the bar.
In his political views Mr. Wilson is a progressive but was formerly a stal- wart republican. He was a delegate to the republican national convention of 1912 and in 1890 he was one of the two Indiana delegates to the national meeting of republican clubs in Seattle. He believes in advancement along political lines
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as in every other walk of life and holds that to "stand pat" is detrimental to progression. He is today the oldest member of the United Commercial Trav- elers in Iowa. He became a charter member of Gem City Council, No. 3, of Dayton, Ohio, his membership number being 323. He belongs also to the Odd Fellows lodge, is a charter member of the Knights of Pythias and has member- ship with the Elks lodge at Oelwein, while both he and his wife are connected with the Pythian Sisters and the Rebekahs, and they hold membership in the Congregational church. Theirs is a hospitable home, whose good cheer is greatly enjoyed by the many friends whom they have won during their residence in Independence. Mr. Wilson's influence has been a vital force for good along many lines and in a review of his career it is evident that progress and patriotism may well be termed the keynote of his character.
WILLIAM 1. WARREN.
William I. Warren, the young and efficient cashier of the Aurora Savings Bank of Aurora, is a native of Buchanan county. His father was one of the carly settlers of this region and named the new town of Aurora in honor of his birthplace in the state of New York. He was an extensive landowner, owning the land on which the town was laid out, and it was upon that tract that Wil- liam I. Warren was born on the 12th of January, 1879, his parents being Bishop B. and Alice M. (Walrath) Warren. The former was born in East Aurora, New York, October 13, 1834, was educated in his native state and remained there until he attained his majority, when he came west, locating in Buffalo township, this county. He bought two hundred and sixty acres of land and continued to cultivate it until the time of his death. Upon his property the town of Aurora was laid out in 1886-the year in which the Chicago & Great Western Railroad was built through that part of the county. On the 8th of January, 1862, in Arlington, Iowa, he was united in marriage to Miss Alice M. Walrath, who was born in New York state, October 11, 1846. Her parents, Isaac and Catherine (Zoeller) Walrath, were born May 2, 1813, and March 6, 1817, respectively.
Mrs. Warren came to Iowa with her parents in 1856, and was here educated. To Mr. and Mrs. Warren were born four children: Mrs. Cynthia Broadhead, a resident of Aurora, whose birth occurred July 20, 1865; Mrs. Jessie E. Durfey, of Oelwein, who was born September 27, 1868; Mrs. Hattie G. Martin, of Aurora, who was born January 20, 1875; and William I., of this review. The father died January 31, 1911, and the mother on the 23rd of January, 1912.
William I. Warren was educated in his native town and after graduating from the Aurora high school took a business course in the Cedar Rapids Busi- ness College in 1887-88, after which he worked upon his father's farm until 1905. In that year his marriage occurred and he accepted the position of cashier of the Aurora Savings Bank, in which capacity he is serving at the present time. HIe has a thorough knowledge of business procedure and also a clear understand- ing of the basic principles upon which all banking rests and this fundamental knowledge enables him to discriminate between the practical and impractical in new methods and new ideas that are brought forward from time to time in
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financial circles. Under his management the Aurora Savings Bank has pros- pered steadily and its continued growth is assured. He lives upon the Maple Park Farm, which is located in the southern end of the town.
On the 15th of November, 1905, Mr. Warren was united in marriage to Miss Alice Mae Spensley, a daughter of James and Mary E. (Franke) Spensley. Her father was born in Dubuque, Iowa, January 2, 1842, and during his active life followed farming, but is now living retired in Aurora. Her mother was born in Posen, Germany, September 13, 1844, and died September 2, 1905, in Aurora. To them were born five children : Millie, who was born July 25, 1871, and keeps house for her father; Ernest J., born August, 1873, who married Hattie Addie and resides in Aurora; Alice Mae, the wife of our subject; DeWitt Wesley, born March 15, 1877, who married Mabel McAllister and resides in Grandview, Washington; and Elizabeth E., who was born January 23, 1883, and is now the wife of Norman K. Hollenbeck, of Grandview, Washington. Mrs. Warren was educated in the public schools of Fayette county and in the Upper Iowa University of Fayette. For some time after leaving school she was bookkeeper in a general store in Arlington, Iowa. By her marriage she has become the mother of one child, Alice Mary, born June 8, 1912.
Mr. Warren is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church and contributes generously to its support. Politically he is a republican. He is a director in the bank of which he is cashier and he is one of the rising young business men of Aurora, where he is held in the highest esteem.
JACOB ARNOLD, JR.
Jacob Arnold, who operates one of the best improved and most attractive farming properties in Buchanan county, is the owner of one hundred and twenty acres of land on sections 27 and 28 and also has one hundred and sixty acres on section 21, Cono township. His birth occurred in Du Page county, Illinois, on the 2nd of November, 1862, his parents being Jacob and Katherina (Kautz) Arnold, more extended mention of whom is made on another page of this work.
Jacob Arnold, who was but two years of age when his parents established their home in Buchanan county, obtained his education here and remained at home until he had attained the age of twenty-three years. At that time his father gave him eighty acres of land on section 27, Cono township, and he started out as an agriculturist on his own account, operating the place for four or five years. On the expiration of that period he disposed of the property to his brother and purchased a tract of one hundred and twenty acres on sections 27 and 28, Cono township, which he has improved to a considerable extent and has cultivated continuously since. At the time of his father's demise he came into possession of one hundred and sixty acres more by buying out some of the other heirs, the property lying in section 21. He cultivates the cereals best adapted to soil and climate and also raises thoroughbred Dur- ham cattle, meeting with excellent success in both branches of his business.
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He is a stockholder in the Farmers Land Company of Waterloo, Iowa, and in the Exchange State Bank of Walker.
On the 19th of June, 1889, Mr. Arnold was united in marriage to Miss Josephine Uthe, a daughter of Christopher and Christina (Bushnell) Uthe, both of whom were natives of Germany. The father was one of the king's musicians in that country. He emigrated to the United States in 1854 and first located on a farm near Cleveland, Ohio, while subsequently he came to Buchanan county, Iowa, purchasing and improving a tract of land in Cono township which he cultivated during the remainder of his life. His demise occurred on the 27th of April, 1876, and he is survived by his widow, who has now reached the age of eighty-eight years and makes her home with our sub- ject. Mr. and Mrs. Arnold have three children, namely : Emery J. and Clara E., who are twenty-four and twenty-one years of age respectively: and Herbert J., eight years old.
Politically Mr. Arnold is a democrat, believing firmly in the principles of that party. His religious faith is that of the Presbyterian church, while fra- ternally he is identified with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows at Walker. The period of his residence in this county covers a half century and his record is that of one of its representative agriculturists and publie-spirited and prosperous citizens.
ETHAN SMITH COWLES.
Ethan Smith Cowles, although practically living retired at Lamont, is not content to altogether abandon active work and in the summer of 1914 took a contract for erecting a house at Waterloo, lowa. He has engaged in a number of lines of work during his lifetime, having been a farmer and a railroad eon- tractor and having also served in a number of local offices. He was one of the early settlers of the county, entering land at the western edge of Delaware county, two miles east of Lamont, in March, 1854, and he farmed for a number of years when there was no town at Manchester and when Delhi was his nearest trading point.
Mr. Cowles was born June 25, 1829, in Belchertown, Massachusetts, and can trace his lineage back to John Cowles, who landed in 1630 and located at Hartford, Connecticut, but later settled on the Connecticut river, near South Hadley, Massachusetts, not far from Springfield. The great-grandfather of our subjeet was also named John Cowles and was a captain in the Revolution- ary war. He was married in 1756 to Miss Eliza Schmidt, who was of German descent, and he and his three sons were members of the Belchertown Congre- gational church. The subject of this review has assisted in securing member- ship for several of the family in the Sons and the Daughters of the American Revolution. John Cowles, one of the three sons of Captain John Cowles, was the grandfather of our subject, and the father of three sons, Oliver, Ethan S., and R. J.
Ethan S. Cowles, father of our subject, was born upon the same farm in Massachusetts as was his son, Ethan Smith. In 1844 he brought his family
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west to Illinois and for twelve years resided in Kane county. At the expira- tion of that time a removal was made to Delaware county, Iowa, and the father died there when seventy-two years of age. He was very successful and in his later life lived retired except that he supervised the management of his affairs and loaned money at interest. He was married in Belehertown, Massachusetts, to Miss Sarah Roberts, of Welsh descent, who was born in that section of the Bay state. She also passed away in Delaware county, Iowa. They were Con- gregationalists in their religious belief and he was a republican in polities, serving in various local offices.
Ethan Smith Cowles of this review was the sixth of a family of nine chil- dren and is the only surviving member. He was married in Kane county, Illinois, in 1854, and at once started with his bride for Iowa. In March of that year he entered from the government one hundred and sixty acres of prairie land and forty acres of timber land two miles east of Lamont, in Dela- ware county. For the first forty aeres he paid a dollar and a quarter per acre and he took a preemption claim on the remainder, paying seventy-five cents per acre. The Chicago & Great Western Railroad now runs through a portion of the farm. He began the improvement and cultivation of his land and so continued until 1864, when he enrolled in Company G, Seventh Iowa Cavalry, and served in the Department of Missouri under General Mitchell. This eom- mand was largely instrumental in securing military control of Kansas for the Union army. He was never wounded and received no injury to his health and did not apply for a pension until past seventy-two years of age. At the close of the struggle he returned to his farm and continued to operate it until 1904. He and his wife celebrated their golden wedding upon their homestead, which was located in Richland township, Delaware county. In 1904 he sold the place to a Mr. Matthews for a good price and removed to Lamont, where he now lives.
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