USA > Iowa > Clayton County > History of Clayton County, Iowa : from the earliest historical times down to the present : including a genealogical and biographical record of many representative families, prepared from data obtained from original sources of information, Volume I > Part 66
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 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96
R. R. Clark merits recognition in this publication by reason of his status as a loyal and progressive citizen of Clayton county and as an effective and popular representative of the newspaper fra- ternity and business in this section of the state that has been his home since the time when he arrived on the stage of life and with the imperturbability of infancy blandly faced a frowning world-and that with no semblance of appreciation of the fact that destiny was eventually to throw him into the weird vortex of practical jour- nalism. Mr. Clark is editor and publisher of the well-ordered weekly paper entitled the Strawberry Point Press, at Strawberry Point, and is making the same an effective vehicle for the exploiting and fur- thering of community interests and also for the advancing of the cause of the Republican party, of which he is a stalwart supporter. Mr. Clark was born at Pomeroy, Calhoun county, Iowa, on the 26th of August, 1881, and is a son of George E. and Mary (DeMoss) Clark, the former of whom was born at Haverhill, Massachusetts, on the 4th of August, 1858, and the latter of whom is a representa- tive of one of the pioneer families of Oregon, her birth having occurred at The Dalles, that state, on the 1st of January, 1862. The parents of the subject of this review now maintain their home at Garwin, Iowa, and the father has given the greater part of his active career to hardware and harness business. In the public schools of his native county R. R. Clark continued his studies until he had completed the curriculum of the high school at Jolley, and thereafter he was for one and a half years a student in Tobin College, in the city of Fort Dodge. As a youth he gained his novitiate in the "art preservative of all arts," and he has been an alert, vigorous and popular exponent of the newspaper business in Clayton county since he assumed his present association at Strawberry Point, where he has been editor and publisher of the Strawberry Point Press since 1911. On the 15th of June, 1907, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Clark to Miss Ruth Glass, daughter of William and Soloam (Robb) Glass, of Strawberry Point, and the one child of this union is a somewhat autocratic little son, Jack G.
Seth Clark-That the opulent natural resources of Clayton county have not lacked appreciation on the part of the native sons of the county is clearly demonstrated by their continued associa- tion with the county and its varied interests, and it is specially
73
BIOGRAPHICAL
pleasing to find such a large and vigorous percentage of such citi- zens who are here effectively aiding in maintaining the county's prestige as a center of agricultural industry. Such a substantial and honored citizen is Mr. Clark, who owns and operates the fine old homestead farm on which he was born and reared and which is one of the well improved and valuable landed estates of Wagner township. Here he has resided from the time of his birth and in progressiveness, civic loyalty and worthy achievement he has sig- nally honored the name which he bears and which has been indis- solubly linked with the history of Clayton county since the early pioneer days, in fact, for more than fifty years. Such are the ster- ling citizens who specially merit recognition in this publication. On this present farm, in section 31, Wagner township, Seth Clark was born on the 17th of August, 1860, and he is a son of Milo P. and Mary (Lundbeck) Clark, the former of whom was born in the State of New York and the latter in Ohio, their marriage having been solemnized in the latter state, on the 20th of May, 1849. Upon coming to Clayton county, about the year 1852, Milo P. Clark ob- tained one hundred and seventy-six acres of government land, in what is now Wagner township, where, with characteristic vigor and progressiveness, he set himself to the task of reclaiming a farm from the virgin wilds. The measure of his success was large in the passing years, and he eventually became the owner of a val- uable domain of four hundred acres, all but twenty-five acres of which is now owned by his son Seth, of this sketch, who was the third in order of birth in the family of five children, of whom the first, Amy E., died in childhood; Jacob is now a substantial citizen of Hancock county, this state, his home being in the thriving little city of Britt; Mary is the wife of Jacob Gehring, of Marion town- ship, Clayton county ; and James E. died in infancy. Milo P. Clark was one of the influential and honored pioneer citizens of Clayton county at the time of his death, which occurred March 27, 1901, and his devoted wife soon followed him to the life eternal, so that in death they were not long divided, Mrs. Clark having passed away on the 23d of September of the same year. Seth Clark was reared to manhood on the fine old homestead of which he is now the owner and is indebted to the public schools of his native county for his early educational discipline. He gained an enduring appreciation of the value of honest toil and endeavor and his long and intimate experience has made him a most practical and scientific agricultural- ist and stockgrower, for he has from his youth been closely associ- ated with the work and management of the home farm, of all of which-three hundred and seventy-five acres-he has been the pro- prietor since he was forty-one years of age, the property having come into his possession through direct bequest on the part of his honored parents, the memories of both of whom are held in enduring veneration in the county that represented their home and stage of effective activity for many years. Politically, the father was a staunch supporter of the cause of the Republican party. He whose name initiates this article is likewise unfaltering in allegiance to the Republican party, and he has been loyal and progressive in
Digitized by Google
00
75
BIOGRAPHICAL
number of years, and in 1860 he came with his family to Clayton county and purchased a farm in Sperry township. He became one of the prosperous agriculturalists and highly esteemed citizens of this county and here continued to maintain his residence on his old homestead until his death, though he was visiting his sister in the city of New York at the time of his demise, which occurred in 1906. His cherished and devoted wife did not long survive him, as she was summoned to the life eternal in 1908. They became the parents of six children, all of whom are living, and all were carefully reared in the faith of the Lutheran church, of which her parents were lifelong and devout communicants. Mrs. Clough con- tinued her studies in the public schools of Clayton county until she had completed an effective course in the high school at Elkader. In 1885 she engaged in the mercantile business at Strawberry Point, and here her Bee Hive Store is now one of the principal mercantile establishments of the progressive village, with a substantial trade that has been developed through effective service and fair and hon- orable dealings. Mrs. Clough is an earnest communicant of the Lutheran church and is liberal in the support of the various de- partments of its work. She has a pleasant home in which she finds pleasure in extending cordial hospitality to her many friends, and in which she is lovingly rearing two little girls whom she has taken under her benignant care and one of whom is the daughter of one of her kinsfolk.
Delos J. Crain is one of the most progressive farmers of the younger generation in his native township and is a popular factor in community affairs, influential in connection with public interests and loyal in his support of those things that tend to advance the general welfare. He is the owner of one of the fine landed estates oi Sperry township and it is specially interesting to record that on this homestead he has lived from the time of his birth, which here occurred on the 31st of July, 1879. He is a son of James and Jane (Broker) Crain, both of whom passed the closing years of their lives in Volga. James Crain was born in England, where he was reared to 15 years of age, and he came to the United States in the year 1852. He first located at Lockport, New York, and in 1854 he came to Iowa and numbered himself among the pioneers of Clayton county. He settled on a tract of wild land now included in the well improved farm of the subject of this sketch, and his ability and well ordered enterprise as a farmer enabled him to accumulate a large landed property and to gain substantial success as an exponent of farm industry. He was thrice married, and the two daughters of his first marriage are now married and reside in the village of Volga, this county. Of the two children of the second marriage the elder was William, who died when seven months of age; and the younger is Delos J., to whom this sketch is dedicated. The mother of Delos J. Crain was born February 14, 1853, and reared in the State of New York and came to Clayton county in her youth, her marriage to James Crain having here been solemnized and she having been 52 years old at the time of her death, August 25, 1905. Both she and her husband were earnest members of the Methodist
77
BIOGRAPHICAL
the high regard of all who knew them, the father having given the greater part of his active life to agricultural pursuits. Of the three children the eldest is Edgar, who now resides in the city of Du- buque; Albert N., of this review, was the next in order of birth; and Agnes is the wife of Melvin Ringle, of Rock Island, Illinois. Reared to maturity in Clayton county, Albert N. Crawford did not fail to profit duly by the advantages afforded in the public schools, and when 18 years of, age he entered upon a practical apprentice- ship to the trade of harnessmaker. After he had proved himself a skilled artisan at his trade he began to consult ways and means for establishing himself in independent business, and in 1902 he realized his ambition by opening a harness store at Garnavillo, where he has built up a substantial and prosperous business and has a store that is well equipped with all kinds of harness and saddlery goods demanded by the local trade and where is main- tained an excellent manufacturing and repair department also. Mr. Crawford is one of the enterprising business men and public- spirited citizens of his native county and though he has had no desire for public office of any kind he is found aligned as a staunch supporter of the cause of the Democratic party. Both he and his wife are active members of the Lutheran church at Garnavillo and both have in their native county a circle of friends that is limited only by that of their acquaintances. In the year 1905 was solemn- ized the marriage of Mr. Crawford to Miss Lena Ihde, who, as already intimated, was born and reared in Clayton county. They have no children. Mrs. Crawford is a daughter of Frederick and Sophia Ihde, who were born in Germany and who established their home in Clayton county about half a century ago, here to remain as highly respected citizens until the time of their death. The ca- reer of Mr. Crawford has been marked by earnest industry and careful and honorable business policies, so that he well merits the success he has achieved.
George H. Cunningham is numbered among the representative merchants and honored and influential citizens of the vigorous lit- tle village of Monona, where he is engaged in the hardware and implement business, with a large and well-equipped establishment that is at all times prepared to meet the demands of an extended and representative patronage. Mr. Cunningham is one of the well- poised and substantial business men of the younger generation in his native county and consistently finds individual recognition in this publication. He was born in Giard township, this county, on the 8th of September, 1888, and is a son of Isaac and Frances (Collier) Cunningham, both of whom were born in Holland. Isaac Cunningham came to the United States about the year 1866, and established his residence in the State of New York. About a decade later he came to Iowa and established his home in Clayton county, where he purchased a farm, in Giard township. There he con- tinued his successful activities as an agriculturist for many years, and he and his wife now reside in the village of Monona, where he is living virtually retired and in the enjoyment of the goodly re- wards of former years of earnest endeavor. He is a Republican
78
MEMOIRS OF CLAYTON COUNTY
in politics and continues to take a lively and discriminating interest in the issues and questions of the hour, with well fortified views concerning governmental and economic policies. He is a trustee of the local lodge of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and both he and his wife are zealous members of the Methodist Epis- copal church. They are numbered among the honored pioneer citizens of Clayton county and in the gracious environment of an attractive home and surrounded by a host of loyal friends, they may well feel that their lines are cast in pleasant places. Daniel H. the eldest of their children, is a prosperous farmer in Monona town- ship; Mae F. is the wife of George Hazlett, of Giard township; William died at the age of 31; Carrie P. is the wife of James Camp- bell, of Colton, South Dakota; James is a resident of Monona; George H., the immediate subject of this review, was the next in order of birth; and Hazel remains at the parental home. After completing the curriculum of the public schools of Monona, George H. Cunningham further fortified himself by an effective course in the Toland Business College, in the city of La Crosse, Wisconsin. He passed the ensuing four years as a bookkeeper in the city of St. Paul, Minnesota, and then became a traveling commercial sales- man for the Huber & Furman Drug mills, of Fond du Lac, Wis- consin, with which concern he continued his successful work for four years. In July, 1915, Mr. Cunningham returned to his native county and established his residence in Monona, where he pur- chased the hardware stock and business of the firm of Furguson & Licht. With marked circumspection and progressiveness he has since carried forward this enterprise, and his establishment is well stocked with heavy and shelf hardware, stoves, ranges, etc., with a well equipped department devoted to plumbing and heating appli- ances, for the installment of which he has the best of facilities, besides which there is special attention given to the sale of gas engines, windmills, and farm implements. Mr. Cunningham is pri- marily a business man and though he is emphatically progressive and loyal in his civic attitude and a staunch advocate of the poli- cies and principles of the Republican party, he has manifested no ambition for public office of any kind. Both he and his wife hold membership in the Methodist Episcopal church of Monona and are popular factors in the representative social activities of the community. On the 23d of August, 1910, was solemnized the mar- riage of Mr. Cunningham to Miss Jessie E. Foster, daughter of Bartley and Eva (Wheat) Foster, of St. Paul, Minnesota, and they have two children-Eva Francis, who was born August 10, 1911, and Daphne Lorayne, who was born April 4, 1915.
Albert L. Currie, D. D. S., is an able and representative expo- nent of the profession that involves both a science and a mechanic art and is known as one of the successful practitioners of dentistry in Clayton county, his place of residence being in the attractive and thriving village of Monona, where he has well appointed offices with the best of modern facilities in both the operative and lab- oratory departments. As a skilled workman of punctilious loyalty to his profession and the requirements of all patrons, he has built
-
79
BIOGRAPHICAL
up a substantial and representative practice and is one of the pop- ular and progressive citizens who consistently find recognition in this history of Clayton county. Dr. Currie was born in the city of La Salle, Illinois, on the 28th of August, 1869, and is a son of James and Louise (Fairbanks) Currie, both natives of the State of Ohio. The parents of the doctor removed to Delaware county, Iowa, when he was about 3 years of age. His father is now living retired from active business with his son, after having been twenty- three years in the service of the Illinois Central R. R. as foreman carpenter of the Iowa division. He is a stalwart advocate of the principles of the Republican party and is a member of the Con- gregational church, as was also his wife, whose death occurred several years since. Of their children the first two, Addie Louise and George, are deceased; Charles is engaged in the practice of medicine in the city of Des Moines; Frank L. and Acacia are de- ceased, and Dr. Albert L., of this review, is the youngest of the number. Dr. Currie continued his studies in the public schools until he had completed the curriculum of the high school, and in consonance with his ambitious plans he entered the department of dentistry of the University of Iowa, in which institution he was graduated as a member of the class of 1891 and from which he received his well-earned degree of Doctor of Dental Surgery. For the ensuing four years he was established in practice at Earlville, Iowa, Delaware county, and he then, in 1895, came to Clayton county and opened an office at Monona, where he has since con- tinued in successful practice and where he controls a large and important professional business which is based alike on his rec- ognized technical ability and his unequivocal personal popularity. The doctor pays unswerving allegiance to the Republican party, though manifesting no ambition for public office of any kind, and he is affiliated with the Masonic fraternity, including the adjunct organization, the Order of the Eastern Star. On the 26th of Octo- ber, 1894, Dr. Currie wedded Miss Martha Thomas, daughter of David and Sophia Thomas, of Greeley, this State, and she is the popular chatelaine of their present home, which is known for its generous hospitality. Dr. and Mrs. Currie have no children.
Darrow, George H., telegrapher and station agent of Farmers- burg, Iowa, was born in Joplin, Missouri, January 29, 1870, and is the son of Allison C. and Elvira (Woodin) Darrow, the former a native of New York, and the latter of Pennsylvania. Mr. Darrow, senior, lives in Kansas, where he is engaged in farming, but his wife died November 15, 1896. They had two children: a son George, a sketch of whose life will follow ; and a daughter, Lucinda V., who is the wife of Clarence L. Adams of Cherrydale, Kansas. George Darrow left home at the age of twenty years, going to a school of telegraphy in Janesville, Wisconsin, for seven months, then to Campbell, Minnesota, for another period of study for about the same length of time. After completing his work as a student, he took up the profession of telegraphy, filling positions as operator in Green Valley and Kerkhoven, Minnesota, for about one year, when he was made station agent at Kandiyohi, in the same State.
80
MEMOIRS OF CLAYTON COUNTY
After five years he went to the Pacific Coast, remaining one year, then returned east, locating successfully in Chicago, Ruthven, Iowa, and various other towns, as telegraph operator. After spending about six months each in these places, he went to Whittemore, Iowa, for three years, and to Emmettsburg in the same State for two years, but on November 15, 1904, he accepted the position of station agent and telegraph operator in Farmersburg, Iowa, and is still conducting the business of that thriving station, in a highly satisfactory manner. Mr. Darrow is a man of varied interests. Beside his station work he is also interested in a coal business, and is a director of a grain company of Farmersburg. He was united in marriage to Mary E. Gappa, April 10, 1907, and they are the proud and happy parents of two sons, Clarence A., and Lawrence M. Mr. Darrow belongs to the Democratic party, though not par- ticularly active in political work, and is a member of the Masonic fraternity.
Wilmer W. Davidson has won secure prestige as one of the representative younger members of the bar of Clayton county and is associated with his honored father, with residence in the fine little city of Elkader, the judicial center of the county. Mr. Dav- idson was born in Volga, this county, on the 10th of November, 1874, and is a son of Thomas Marion Davidson and Margaret E. (Wickham) Davidson, both of whom were born and reared in the State of Ohio and the marriage of whom was solemnized January 25, 1864, at which time the young husband was still in service as a gallant soldier of the Union in the Civil war. Thomas M. Davidson arrived in Clayton county, Iowa, on the 25th of October, 1856, and established his residence on a farm near Volga, thus becoming a resident of the county in the pioneer epoch of its history and hav- ing here maintained his home for half a century. When the Civil war was precipitated he subordinated all other interests to tender his aid in defense of the Union. He enlisted in Company F, Six- teenth United States Infantry, with which he proceeded to the front and entered upon his strenuous career as a soldier. While with a supply train en route between Bowling Green, Kentucky, and Nashville, Tennessee, he was taken prisoner by a party of Morgan's historic raiders, but was paroled three hours later. His exchange effected, he continued in active service during three years of the great internecine conflict, the last year having found him as- signed to the position of duty sergeant and his honorable discharge having been received on the 12th of November, 1864. He took part in numerous engagements, including the memorable battle of Shiloh, and proved himself a leal and loyal soldier of the nation, his continued interest in his old comrades having in later years been signified by his appreciative affiliation with the Grand Army of the Republic. After the close of his military career Mr. David- son returned to Clayton county and here he applied himself finally to the diligent study that prepared him for the legal profession, his admission to the bar having occurred in 1878, since which time he has continued in the active practice of his profession, with high standing as an able trial lawyer and well fortified counselor, and
81
BIOGRAPHICAL
with secure vantage ground as one of the leading members of the bar of Clayton county, where he has appeared in connection with much important litigation during the long period of nearly forty years that have recorded his successful labors in his chosen pro- fession. In 1896 he was elected county attorney, and of this office he continued the incumbent eight years, his administration having been marked by efficiency and having added materially to his pro- fessional precedence. His political allegiance is given to the Re- publican party and he has been influential in its councils and cam- paign activities in Clayton county for many years. He and his wife became the parents of four children, the first two being twins, one of whom died at birth, the other twin, Elmer E., dying at Polk City at the age of 9 years. Margaret A. is the wife of Rev. Robert C. Lusk, who is a clergyman of the Methodist Episcopal church and who holds, in 1916, a pastoral charge at Marble Rock, Floyd county, this state; and Wilmer W., immediate subject of this re- view, is the youngest of the children. Wilmer W. Davidson con- tinued his studies in the public schools of his native county until he had completed the curriculum of the Elkader high school, and within a short time after his graduation he entered the law de- partment of Drake University, in the city of Des Moines, in which institution he was graduated as a member of the class of 1901, and from which he received the degree of Bachelor of Laws. He was forthwith admitted to the bar of his native state, and has been actively associated with his father in general practice since that time, with assured and well-proved reputation, both as a resource- ful advocate and conservative counselor. His political support is given unreservedly to the Republican party, and no better voucher for his personal popularity can be found than in his incumbency of the office of mayor of Elkader, to which important municipal position he was elected for the second term in the spring of 1916 and in which he is giving, at the time of this writing, a most pro- gressive and satisfactory administration. Both he and his father hold membership in the Clayton County Bar Association, and in Elkader he is affiliated with Elkader Lodge, No. 72, Ancient Free & Accepted Masons, as well as with the adjunct chapter of the Order of the Eastern Star, and of the De Molay Consistory No. 1, also with the local camp of the Modern Woodmen of America and the Brotherhood of American Yeomen. In November, 1901, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Davidson to Miss Mollie Beer, who likewise was born and reared in this county and who is a daughter of Christian and Marie (Schori) Beer, the former of whom is deceased and the latter of whom still maintains her home in this county. Mr. and Mrs. Davidson have a winsome little daugh- ter, Ruth Marie, who was born April 6, 1911.
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.