USA > Iowa > Scott County > Davenport > History of Davenport and Scott County Iowa, Volume II > Part 20
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years' connection therewith. On the Ist of May, 1892, he became a Master Mason of Fraternal Lodge, No. 221, A. F. & A. M., and for ten years filled the office of treasurer. As a financier he has always counseled a safe and conserva- tive policy rather than that progressiveness which tends toward risk, and his clear insight and sound judgment have constituted valuable factors in the solution of various problems which are continually arising in financial circles. A man of well balanced capacities and powers, correctly judging life's contacts and experi- ences, his ability has carried him into important public relations and the simple weight of his character has won him the honor and respect of all with whom he has been associated.
WILLIAM C. SCHAEFER.
Prominent among those who gain a livelihood from the rich soil of Scott county may be mentioned William C. Schaefer, who owns ninety acres of land in Daven- port township, where he resides, and one hundred and fifty-four acres in Pleasant Valley township, besides other farm and city property. As the name indicates, he is of German birth, his parents being Edward and Mary (Bishop) Schaefer, wlio were pioneer settlers of Scott county. The former was born in Germany in 1810 and came to the United States when a young man, alone. He spent one year thereafter in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and then sought a location in Scott county. He bought forty acres of raw land on the Jersey Ridge road on Duck creek but prior to making the purchase he had built a crude dwelling in the midst of the wil- derness. This house stood on the land which he later bought. It was about this time that he wedded Miss Mary Bishop and they began their domestic life in the pioneer home which Mr. Schaefer had prepared. Mrs. Schaefer had come to the new world with her parents when she was a young girl. To them were born four sons : William C., Fred, Charles and Edward. The two last named are deceased, the former passing away when but fourteen years of age, while the latter was thirty-six years of age at the time of his demise.
When the parents settled in their new home they began work in earnest, toiling from early morning until late at night. It was a long and strenuous task that was presented to them but they met it with a steady, unwavering resolution that was characteristic of the early pioneer settlers. From a wilderness the father con- verted his land into richly cultivated fields and as the time passed and his sons grew in years and strength they rendered valuable assistance to him in caring for his crops, through the sale of which he added to his financial resources and was able from time to time to increase his land holdings. He accumulated two hundred and eighty acres of fine land and in course of years replaced his pioneer home with a more pretentious and modern dwelling. At the time of his death, which occurred March 3, 1900, he left to each of his two living sons a good farm and left his widow in comfortable circumstances as well. She still survives at the advanced age of eighty years. As she looks about her she sees few of the settlers that came here in pioneer times but she has many warm friends among the younger generations
SO MAKE SCH-FEF
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who through their kindly interest and affection help to brighten her path in her declining years.
William C. Schaefer, the elder son, was born on the home farm on Duck creek, February 3, 1854, and in his boyhood and youth shared with the other members of the family in the privations and struggles that surround the early settlers in a new country. He attended the district schools of the neighborhood and later the Ger- man school in Davenport. He has made farming his life work and his home place, which he inherited from his father's estate, comprises ninety acres, this being lo- cated in Davenport township. He also owns five acres across the road from his home and one hundred and fifty-four acres in Pleasant Valley township, while he likewise has city property in Davenport. He carries on general farming and stock raising, his specialty being Poland China hogs and shorthorn cattle.
Mr. Schaefer was married April 17, 1879, to Miss Emma Kurtzfeldt, a daughter' of Mr. and Mrs. John Kurtzfeldt. She was born in Davenport township, her people being among the early settlers of this section. Six children grace the home of Mr. and Mrs. Schaefer : May, Edward, Adolph, Charles, Della, and Lillian. All are at home with the exception of the eldest daughter, May, the wife of William Bertram, who operates her father's farm in Pleasant Valley township. She is the mother of four children, Harold, Esther, Earl and Lucile.
Mr. Schaefer can well remember when he was a boy how this district appeared. Much of the land was still unclaimed, the homes of the settlers were widely scat- tered and many of the present thriving towns and villages were then unheard of. As the years have passed he has seen this section of the county develop into a rich farming center, dotted here and there with modern and attractive homes, and he can take a just pride in what has been accomplished, for he has been an important factor in bringing this about. Today he stands crowned with honors and success, and his honesty of purpose, his clean record and his devo- tion to all that is manly and upright has gained for him many warm friends.
JOHN HEINZ.
Allegiance to a high standard of commercial ethics and intelligent appre- ciation for and improvement of opportunity have gained for John Heinz a credit- able position in the ranks of Davenport's leading business men. Born in this city on the 19th of March, 1860, he is a son of Bonaventura and Margeretha (Trenkenshuh) Heinz, the former a native of Baden, Germany, and the latter of Bavaria. The father came to the United States in 1845 and took up his abode in St. Louis. Soon afterward he enlisted for service in the Mexican war and following the close of hostilities returned to St. Louis, where he remained until 1855, when he made his way up the river to Davenport on the Golden Era. From that time until he retired, at an advanced age, he was connected with river trans- portation and was also wharf master for a number of years. He was likewise active in public affairs and was influential among all classes. He came to be known as a man whose word could be implicitly relied upon and his keen insight made his judgment such as awakened public confidence. His death occurred in
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1901, when he had reached the age of seventy-two years. In St. Louis he mar- ried Margeretha Trenkenshuh and their children were: Fred; Carrie, who died in 1901 as the result of an operation; Henry, who is now the publisher of the Muscatine (Iowa) Journal; and John, of this review.
The last named was a public school student and then became associated in various lines of business with his brother Fred. In 1885 he was appointed United States gauger, which office he still fills, twenty-five years' service in this capacity standing as incontrovertible proof of his trustworthiness and ability. He has embraced his opportunities for the attainment of success through active connec- tion with various business concerns and is now a director of the Farmers & Me- chanics Bank, a member of the firm of L. M. Fisher, and also is successfully en- gaged in the loan business. Whatever he undertakes he carries forward to suc- cessful completion, brooking no obstacles that can be overcome by determined purpose.
In June, 1886, was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Heinz and Miss Emma Kruse, a native of Davenport and a daughter of John Kruse, who was well known in the transfer business here. Their two children, Cora I. and Grace C., are yet at home. Mr. Heinz belongs to the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and to the Knights of Pythias fraternity and is a trustee of the Davenport Turnverein. He was also one of the firemen of this city in the old days of the volunteer department and is a popular and well known member of the Veteran Volunteer Firemen's Association, the Schuetzen Verein, the Davenport Boat Club and the Pastime Club. At all times he has stood for progressive methods in municipal affairs, manifesting a deep interest in those projects which are a matter of civic virtue and civic pride.
JACOB JOHANNSEN.
Jacob Johannsen, who in the years of an active business life followed farm- ing but is now living retired in Davenport, has demonstrated in his life record that success is not a matter of genius, as held by some, but is rather the outcome of clear judgment, experience and intelligently directed industry. He was born in Holstein, Germany, February 6, 1836, and is a son of Jacob and Margarethe Johannsen, who spent their entire lives in their native country. The subject of this review attended school in Germany and through the periods of vacation worked on the home farm. The favorable reports which he heard concerning America and its opportunities led him to the belief that no country held out as great inducement, and accordingly he made arrangements to cross the Atlantic. Bidding adieu to home and friends, he landed at New York on the 25th of May, 1857, but did not tarry on the eastern coast. He at once made his way into the interior of the country, arriving in Davenport on the Ist of June. His lack of financial resources made it imperative that he at once seek employment and he began work as a farm hand, spending five years in that way. He was then mar- ried and rented land until his industry and economy enabled him to secure capital sufficient to purchase a farm. In 1868 he bought eighty acres in Davenport town-
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ship, to which he removed. The farm was improved and he at once began its further development and cultivation, making his home thereon until 1880. In the meantime he had added to the place and retained the ownership thereof until 1885, when he sold. He had retired in 1880, however, and in that year took up his abode in Davenport, where he has since lived, enjoying a well earned rest.
On the 17th of March, 1862, Mr. Johannsen was married to Miss Dora Hein, a daughter of Henry and Catherine Hein, who were natives of Germany. Mr. Johannsen is a member of the German Pioneers association. For more than a half century he has lived in this county and has therefore witnessed much of its growth and progress as the work of development has been carried forward by the enterprising and progressive class of people who came here to enjoy the natural advantages offered. Working resolutely and persistently day after day, Jacob Johannsen at length became the possessor of a comfortable competence that now supplies him with all of the comforts and some of the luxuries of life. He has never had occasion to regret his determination to come to the new world, for he found good opportunities here and in their improvement reached a place among the substantial citizens of Scott county.
MRS. ANNE H. HAGEN.
Germany has furnished to Davenport a large percentage of her citizens and among the number is Mrs. Anne H. Hagen, who, however, has lived in Scott county since her girlhood days. She is the widow of Herman Hagen, who was born in Holstein, Germany, December 5, 1861. He was a son of Jacob and Magdalene (Neimier) Hagen, who came from Germany to Scott county in 1868, with their family of seven children, and settled in Sheridan township. For many years the father devoted his time and energies to general farming and be- came recognized as one of the representative agriculturists of the community. He died in March, 1894, while his wife, surviving him for two years, passed away in 1896. They celebrated their golden wedding, having been married in 1844.
Herman Hagen was the youngest of their seven children and was but six years of age at the time the family crossed the Atlantic to the new world. He pursued his education in the district schools of Sheridan township and in Dun- can's Business College in Davenport. The periods of vacation had been de- voted to the work of the fields and when he put aside his text-books he resumed farming, which he followed throughout the remainder of his life. He contin- ued to assist in the cultivation of the old homestead until about thirty years of age, when his father retired and he took charge of the farm. In 1896 he pur- chased one hundred and sixty acres of land in Sheridan township and removed to that farm, upon which he made his home until March, 1906, when he be- came a resident of Davenport. He was not long permitted to enjoy his city home, however, for his death occurred on the 11th of the following month.
It was on the 30th of January, 1892, that Mr. Hagen was united in marriage to Miss Anne H. Wiese, a daughter of John and Catherine Wiese, of Scott county. Mrs. Hagen was born in Germany and was brought to this county by
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her father during her early girlhood, her mother having previously died in Ger- many, when Mrs. Hagen was but seven years of age. Her father then made arrangements to seek a home in the new world and started for America accom- panied by his three children : Dorothy, who is now the wife of Lewis Specht and lives in O'Brien county, Iowa; Mrs. Hagen; and Emily, the widow of Christ Misfeldt, of Durant, Iowa. The father engaged in farming to some extent in this country. He had been a cigar maker in Germany and had served in the army. He died in 1907.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Hagen were born four children, Hilda, Lillian, Magda- lene and Norma, but the last named is now deceased. Herman Hagen was a member of the German Lutheran church and a man of upright life and sterling qualities, honored and respected by all who knew him. He served as school di- rector while living on the farm and in other local offices, the duties of which he ever discharged with promptness and fidelity. Coming to Scott county when but six years of age, he practically spent his entire life here and his stanchest friends were numbered among those who knew him from his boyhood, a fact in- dicative of a well ordered and well spent life.
MATHIAS PROUDFOOT.
Mathias Proudfoot was for many years identified with the agricultural inter- ests of Scott county but is now living retired, having in former years accumulated a good farming property of two hundred and forty acres, lying in Lincoln, Le Claire and Davenport townships. He is a native of Pennsylvania, born in Cam- bria county, May 24, 1834, and is second in order of birth in a family of seven children, whose parents were Richard J. and Rebecca Proudfoot. In 1861 the father removed with his family, numbering wife and several children, to Scott county and located a farm in Lincoln township, this tract now being owned by our subject. The father erected a good house and outbuildings on the place and in due time had his fields in a cultivable condition, each year harvesting good crops. The farm continued to be his home throughout his remaining years. Both parents lived to be eighty years old and were highly respected in the community. Three of their children died in infancy, while the others are: Richard, who has also de- parted this life; Mathias, of this review; Eliza, the wife of Thomas Douglass and a resident of Wyoming, Iowa; and Emeline, the wife of J. W. Baker.
Mathias Proudfoot was reared in the Keystone state and acquired his education in the public schools. In his early manhood he learned the carpenter's trade, which he followed for a time in the east. In 1861, when a young man of twenty- six years, he came with his parents to Scott county and became identified with farming. His father purchased one hundred and twenty acres of land, which con- stitutes a portion of his present acreage, and after this came into his possession he added one hundred and twenty acres more, so that he now owns altogether two hundred and forty acres, located in Lincoln, LeClaire and Davenport townships. For many years he gave his entire time to the operation of this land and has become a very successful man. He recently put aside business cares and makes
. Hs. Mathias Brandfeel
Mathias Proudfect
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his home with his sister Mrs. Baker. However, he still owns his land, which he rents.
Mr. Proudfoot was married in May, 1884, to Miss Eliza Walker, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. William Walker, of Scott county. Her death occurred ten years later. Mr. Proudfoot votes with the republican party but is not active in public affairs. He has led a busy, energetic and useful life and his labors have been rewarded by a competency that enables him to withdraw from active business.
CAPTAIN ALVAH O. DAY.
One of the best known representatives of the shipping interests on the Missis- sippi river is Captain Alvah O. Day, of Davenport, who has gained a wide acquaintance as commander of river vessels plying between St. Paul and St. Louis. He is the owner of two steamboats, the B. Hershie and the Everett. He was born near Rochester, Dodge county, Minnesota, August 1, 1866, and is a son of Lewis and Pauline (Henry) Day. The father was a native of Deerfield, Ohio, born September 9, 1837. His people had gone to that state from Deerfield, Massachusetts, and the town of Deerfield, Ohio, was named by them in honor of their old home. Captain Day's father retained his residence there until about 1860, wlien he removed with his family to Winnebago county, Wisconsin, where he purchased land and began farming. At the outbreak of the Civil war, how- ever, he put aside all business and personal considerations, enlisting as a private in the Fifth Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry, with which he served throughout the war, his meritorious conduct on the field of battle and his unfaltering valor win- ning nim promotion to the rank of lieutenant. It was about 1864 that the Day family removed to Minnesota and from the government entered land near Roches- ter. At the close of the war the father joined his family there and continued to make his home in that locality until 1871, when he came to Scott county, set- tling at Le Claire. He was also a steamboat man and purchased one of the first boats that floated down the Wisconsin river. He used it in the navigation of Mississippi waters and was one of the early steamboat captains of this section, making his first trip down the river in 1859. The family continued to reside at Le Claire until 1892. On the 24th of March of that year the mother passed away, being then forty-eight years of age, her birth having occurred in Medina county, Ohio, in 1844. After her death Lewis Day retired and made his home with his son Alvah. They were the parents of six children: Alvah O .; Lewis, who is living in Rock Island, Illinois; George, whose home is in San Francisco, California; Alice, the wife of William Kingsbury, of Wyoming; and Zoe and Emma, both deceased.
Captain Day of this review was only about five years old when the family removed from Minnesota to Iowa, so that his early education was acquired in the public schools of Le Claire. He afterward attended Port Byron College, while his training in navigation was received from his father. He obtained his license as master pilot at the age of twenty-one years and has since followed the river, being today one of the oldest and best known river men in Scott county. He
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has not only worked his way upward in positions of increased responsibility, serving as captain for a long period, but has also advanced along material lines, being now the owner of two steamboats, the B. Hershie and the Everett, both of which are stanch river crafts and are liberally patronized by the carrying trade.
Captain Day was married November 16, 1892, to Miss Winifred Davenport, a daughter of James H. and Savilla (Reynolds) Davenport, of Scott county. Mrs. Day was born in Le Claire, Iowa. Her father was the first white child born in Scott county, his natal day being May 4, 1838. His death occurred April 7, 1905. His parents, Adrian L. and Harriet (Lane) Davenport, were among the first settlers in this part of the state and took an active part in the work of pioneer development and improvement, as the rich natural resources of the state were utilized in the effort to plant the seeds of civilization and prog- ress here. Captain and Mrs. Day have two sons: Lewis, born January 23, 1894; and Davenport, born November 4, 1898.
Captain Day is well known in fraternal circles, holding membership with the Modern Woodmen, the Knights of Pythias and the Masons. In the Masonic order he has taken the degrees of the Scottish Rite. He is also connected with the Sons of Veterans and in religious faith is an Episcopalian, belonging to Grace cathedral. Having practically spent his entire life in this county, Captain Day is widely and favorably known, and is recognized as a man of his word who, without sham or pretense in any particular, stands fearlessly in support of what he believes to be right, manifesting a spirit of utmost honor and integ- rity in his business affairs as well as in his social relations.
B. W. GARTSIDE.
B. W. Gartside, who since 1889 has been vice president of the T. W. McClel- land Company, while his identification with the business dates from 1878, was born in New Jersey, a son of Benjamin and Caroline (Measey) Gartside. In his childhood days he accompanied his parents to Davenport and the public schools afforded him his literary education. He afterward studied architecture and in 1878 became connected with the T. W. McClelland Company, which at that time in addition to mill work was conducting an extensive business as con- tractors, architects and designers. Mr. Gartside took charge of the architectural and designing department but of recent years, owing to the increase of their business along other lines, the company has given up the other branches and is now giving undivided attention to the mill work. In 1889 Mr. Gartside was elected to the vice presidency of the company and as the second officer is doing much to shape the policy of the house and extend its business connections. He is a man of unfaltering enterprise and keen discernment, laboring earnestly to se- cure that success which is the goal of all laudable endeavor.
In 1882 occurred the marriage of B. W. Gartside and Miss Emma Van Horne, a native of Galesburg, Illinois. They have one son, Benjamin W., Jr., a young man of promise who is now with the Bettendorf Company. He studied archi-
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tecture and was for some years connected with the McClelland Company, and in the field of his chosen labor he is making substantial progress.
Mr. Gartside holds membership in the Commercial and Outing Clubs. In manner he is unassuming, free from ostentation and display, yet the genuine worth of his character is manifest to all who have business or social relations with him. He places a correct valuation upon life and its opportunities, recog- nizes the obligations and duties of citizenship and manifests his interest in the welfare of Davenport by active and substantial cooperation in various move- ments for the general good.
J. B. MORGAN, D. D. S.
Dr. J. B. Morgan, who enjoys the distinction of being the oldest practitioner in dentistry in Davenport, was also one of the first of Iowa's sons to go to the support of the Union when the great struggle between the north and south was inaugurated. He was born in Erie county, Pennsylvania, July 6, 1839. His father, James B. Morgan, was a native of England and came to the United States when about eighteen years of age. He settled in Pennsylvania and there married Miss Margaret C. Boyd, who in her girlhood days had left Ireland, her native country, and had become a resident of the Keystone state. When Dr. Morgan was but six months old his father died and the mother afterward mar- ried again. In 1844 she came to Iowa, settling in Delaware county, where she continued to make her home until the time of her removal to Dakota a few years prior to her demise.
Dr. J. B. Morgan, who was but five years of age when brought to Iowa, was reared upon the home farm in Delaware county and after mastering the branches of learning taught in the district schools attended Lenox College at Hopkinton. When the first call for troops was issued by President Lincoln he made quick response, enlisting on the 20th of April, 1861, as a member of Company I, First Iowa Infantry. On the expiration of his term of service he was honorably dis- charged August 21, 1861, but soon reenlisted, becoming a private of Company K, Twelfth Iowa Infantry, on the 7th of September. On the 25th of November of the same year he was promoted to the rank of first sergeant. Later he was discharged and reenlisted as a veteran volunteer of Company K, Twelfth Iowa Infantry, February 17, 1864, and on the 5th of February, 1865, he was promoted to the rank of first lieutenant of that company, with which he remained until his military service was ended in March, 1866. The First Iowa Infantry was the only three months' regiment that went from this state. It was organized at Camp Elsworth, Keokuk, and left Iowa, June 12, 1861, being assigned to duty along the Hannibal & St. Joe Railroad from Hannibal to Mason City. The troops were there relieved in order to join General Lyon at Boonville, and an advance was made on Springfield, Missouri, from June 27 to July 5. Dr. Mor- gan participated in the action at Forsyth, Missouri, on the 22d of July and at Dug Springs, August 2, followed by the battle of Wilson's Creek on the 10th of August.
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