History of Davenport and Scott County Iowa, Volume II, Part 38

Author: Downer, Harry E
Publication date: 1910
Publisher: Chicago : S.J. Clarke
Number of Pages: 1166

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Jesse R. Porter, whose birth occurred in Blue Grass township on the 20th of January, 1870, was reared under the parental roof and at the usual age was sent as a pupil to the public schools, completing his preliminary education by his grad- uation from high school. He then pursued a collegiate course at Drake Univer- sity, after which he was engaged in teaching school for two years. With the money thus acquired he was able to take a course of study in the medical depart- ment of Drake University, from which he was graduated with the class of 1897, with the M. D. degree. He at once located in Davenport and has since continued here in the practice of his profession. From the start he has been most successful, becoming well known throughout the city as a conscientious and efficient physician and surgeon, and the extensive practice which has been awarded him is both grati- fying and remunerative. He keeps in close touch with what is going on in the medical world through his membership in the Iowa State and Scott County Medi- cal Societies and has ever remained a close student of the fundamental principles of medicine, anything which tends to form the key to the mystery which we call life being of special interest to him. In addition to a most gratifying private practice he is also acting as examiner for the Washington Life Insurance Company of New York.

Although Dr. Porter has never taken an active part in the public affairs of Davenport, nevertheless he is public-spirited in his citizenship and gives stalwart support to the principles of the republican party. Fraternally he is identified with the Masonic body and is a most exemplary and valued member of that organiza- tion. During his residence in this city he has become well known and honored because of his excellent attainment in the line of his profession, and his fidelity to all principles of honorable and upright manhood has gained him the respect, confi- dence and good will of all with whom he has come in contact in both professional and private relations.

CHARLES KEPPE.

When Charles Keppe first came to Scott county, it was before it had given full evidence of the prosperity which has since distinguished it as an agricultural cen- ter and before Davenport had developed beyond village life. Indeed, one of the vivid memories of his youth, in connection with this locality, is the sight of Mr. Fulton and Antoine LeClaire pushing on wheelbarrows the first two loads of dirt which had been dug preparatory to the construction of the first railroad in this

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state. For many years he engaged in farming successfully upon a large tract of land in Sheridan township, but has now retired from active life and makes his home in Davenport.

Mr. Keppe was born at Neustadt-bei-Magdeburg, Germany, August 1, 1839, a son of Andrew and Elizabeth (Hepfner) Keppe. The former was born in the fatherland in 1797 and could remember many incidents connected with Napoleon's German war and in particular the excitement contingent upon his defeat of 1813. On the Ist of September, 1852, he and his family embarked at Hamburg for the voyage to America. Two months later, on the Ist of November, they touched at New Orleans, and then continued on their way to Davenport, which they reached on the 18th of the month, for their progress up the Mississippi was very slow on account of the ice. From the time they left Germany until they arrived here they had not landed. It had been a long and tedious trip, throughout which, both for his future reference and for the enlightenment of his sons, Mr. Keppe kept a diary in which the weather and the incidents of passage were set down. In the old country he had been a farmer, and when he came to Scott county, after spending one year in Davenport, he bought one hundred and sixty acres of land in Sheridan township, which had been partly improved and for which he paid forty dollars an acre. There the mother died May 25, 1858, in the thirty-eighth year of her age, and there the father resided for twenty-five years, or until he retired from active life and removed to Davenport, where he died at the age of eighty-four. The old homestead has descended to his grandson, Henry Keppe.

Charles Keppe has lived in Scott county since he was about thirteen years of age. He had attended the schools of Germany for five years before the family came to this country, and after they located here he had three months' training in the district schools of Blue Grass township. Until 1861 he remained with his father upon the farm, and then, during the course of the Civil war, worked at the butcher's trade in Davenport in the employ of Henry Kohrs and Heller Brothers. After his marriage he bought one hundred acres of improved land in Sheridan township, upon which he lived until 1895, when he returned to Davenport to occupy the fine residence he had built there. As the years brought him large re- turns for his labor, he invested extensively in real estate until now he has six hun- dred and forty acres of fine arable land in the township which was for so long his home. He also owns two valuable pieces of town property, on one of which he lives.

On the 9th of October, 1867, Mr. Keppe was married to Miss Wilhelmina Richard, a daughter of Christian and Dorothy Richard. She was born in Ger- many, May 18, 1847, and came to America with her parents in 1854. Her life was brought to a close April 20, 1904. The four children who were born to Mr. and Mrs. Keppe have also passed away and all are buried in the cemetery at Oak- dale. Charles, the eldest of the family, married Miss Minnie Wonder, of Daven- port, and left one daughter, Elsie. Emma became the wife of Dennis Curtis, of Davenport, and is survived by five children : Madge, Charles, Nettie, Ralph and Frank. Adeline died unmarried at the age of twenty-five years. Agnes lived to be seven years old.

During the many years Mr. Keppe was a resident of Sheridan township, he was intimately identified with its public life. He was a republican in his political

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views and upon that party's ticket was elected to all of the various offices within the gift of the people. He belongs to the association of the old German settlers and is a man highly esteemed by those who have come into contact with him in public or private life, for honesty and integrity ever marked his acts.

LOUIS WILLIAM STEINBERG.

Louis William Steinberg was born on the 3d of November, 1822, in Mün- den, Hanover, Germany. He came to America with his parents at the age of ten years and landed at Baltimore, where he received his schooling and later went to Cincinnati, Ohio, there following the trade of a tailor and cutter. In 1848 he married Anna Wilhelmine Hagen, who was born in Cuxhaven, Germany, on the 25th of March, 1822. Being left an orphan at a tender age, she was reared in the family of Dr. Ronneberg, of Hamburg. At the age of eighteen she came to America as companion to Mrs. Jackson, a relative of the celebrated statesman, General Andrew Jackson. They landed at New Orleans after being at sea nine weeks, making the voyage in a sail boat. In 1852 Mr. and Mrs. Steinberg came to Davenport, where they resided for nearly fifty years.

L. W. Steinberg was one of the first and most active members of the Maen- nerchor of this city. He was also a member of Scott Lodge of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and was one of a committee of two to translate the con- stitution into the German language for the use of the lodge. Though quiet and retiring in his habits, he was passionately fond of music and flowers, and many there were who enjoyed the hospitality of his home, with its beautiful rose garden. He died November 5, 1895, missed and mourned by all who knew him. His wife, who survived him for ten years, passed away on the 23d of October, 1905, at the age of eighty-three years, honored and revered by all relatives and a host of friends. Five daughters are left to cherish the memory of a loving father and devoted mother. They are as follows: Pauline, the wife of E. H. Schmidt; Bertha, the widow of G. A. Doellinger; Cornelia, the widow of Ed James; Eve- line, the widow of Otto Clausen; and Miss Tillie Steinberg. All are residents of Davenport.

CHARLES MURRAY.

Charles Murray, one of the prominent and highly respected farmers of Daven- port township, was born in Scotland, April 8, 1850, and is a son of Charles and Barbara Murray. In the year 1856 the parents brought their family to the United States, landing at Philadelphia, whence they made their way to Scott county, Iowa, influenced in their choice of a destination by the fact that the father had a brother, George Murray, living in this locality. On reaching Scott county he rented land from his brother George until his savings were sufficient to enable him to purchase a farm, and in time he became the owner of two farms in Hickory Grove township.

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He afterward sold those properties and bought the farm upon which his son Charles now resides. At one time it comprised three hundred and twenty acres of fine land, highly improved, and the parents made their home upon this place until they were called to their final rest, the father passing away at the age of seventy-five years, while the mother was seventy years of age at the time of her death.

Charles Murray, who was one of a family of nine children, has lived in Scott county from the age of six years. He had begun his education in the schools of Scotland, but the greater part of his technical knowledge was received in the public schools of this county. He was trained in the work of the fields under the direc- tion of his father and early became familiar with all the duties and labors that fall to the lot of the agriculturist as he plows his land and cultivates and harvests his crops. Throughout his entire life Mr. Murray has carried on general farming and stock-raising, making a specialty of Poland China hogs and red polled cattle. He now owns eighty acres of arable land and his careful cultivation of his fields enables him to gather rich harvests annually.

In November, 1872, Mr. Murray was united in marriage to Miss Christina Rigg, a daughter of William and Mary Rigg, of Sheridan township, and they have become parents of five children : William C., Margaret, Louisa, Edward and Elsie. Ail are yet at home with the exception of the elder son, William, who is living in Lincoln township. He married Lillie Clay and has two children, Clay C. and Clyde.

Mr. Murray has always been a champion of the cause of education and is now serving as president of the school board. He has also acted for several years as school director, has been road supervisor and township trustee and in these various offices has discharged his duties with promptness and fidelity. He attends the Presbyterian church and holds membership with the Mystic Toilers of Davenport. A resident of the county for more than half a century, he is well known here, many of his stanchest friends being those with whom he has been acquainted from boy- hood, a fact which indicates a well spent and honorable life. Moreover, he has been an interested witness of events which have shaped the history of the county and on many occasions has given his support to movements for the public good.

OLIVER W. KULP, M. D.

Dr. Oliver W. Kulp, physician and surgeon of Davenport, his native city, was born July 4, 1874, the son of Dr. John H. Kulp, who was a native of Sherman, Summit county, Ohio, born on the 21st of June, 1849. John H. Kulp obtained his literary education in the Mennonite Academy at Wadsworth, Ohio, and in 1869 came to Iowa, taking up the study of medicine in the medical department of the University of Iowa, which institution conferred upon him the degree of M. D. in 1872. He had studied under the direction of Professor Robertson, of Muscatine, Iowa, who was professor of the theory and practice of medicine in the University of Iowa. Prior to his graduation he entered the State Hospital for the Insane at Mount Pleasant, Iowa, as apothecary and hospital clerk and after receiving his

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degree he was appointed second assistant physician of that institution, which posi- tion he held for two and a half years, when he was made first assistant. He like- wise spent one season at post-graduate work in Bellevue Hospital of New York city and in 1874 opened an office at Davenport, Iowa, continuing a successful and prominent practitioner of medicine here until the time of his demise. He gradu- ually began specializing in nervous and mental diseases and diseases of women and eventually devoted his attention exclusively to those branches. For more than twenty years he acted as trustee of Mount Pleasant Hospital, was a member of the consulting board of St. Luke's Hospital and served as alienist of the insane depart- ment at Mercy Hospital. He was likewise surgeon for the Burlington, Cedar Rapids & Northern Railroad. For two terms he acted as president of the Scott County Medical Society, while in the Iowa and Illinois Central District Medical Society he was also elected to that responsible position, serving for one term.

On the 24th of September, 1873, Dr. John H. Kulp was joined in wedlock to Miss Mary E. Cauffman, of Mount Pleasant, Iowa, by whom he had two sons: Oliver W., of this review; and Ray Ranney, who is mentioned elsewhere in this work. Both have followed in the professional footsteps of their father. John H. Kulp was a republican in his political views, while fraternally he was identified with the Masons and the Knights of Pythias.

Oliver W. Kulp was educated in the public schools, wherein he continued his course until graduating from the high school. He then entered upon the study of medicine in the Iowa State University and was graduated in the class of 1896, after which he entered his father's office and practiced as his partner until the out- break of the Spanish-American war, when he enlisted as a private of Company B, Fiftieth Iowa Infantry, with which he served until stricken with swamp fever. He still remained an active member of the National Guard, holding the rank of captain until February 10, 1910, when he resigned Since his return home he has devoted his attention to his practice. He is also vice president of the Tri City Concrete Company. He takes a deep interest in public affairs but is not an office seeker. His political support is given to the republican party where national issues are involved but at local elections he casts an independent ballot.

In 1902 Dr. Kulp wedded Miss May Bettendorf, a daughter of W. P. Betten- dorf, and they have one son, John William. Dr. Kulp is identified with the Be- nevolent and Protective Order of Elks and with other fraternal societies.

HENRY DIEHN, SR.

Henry Diehn, Sr., the vice president of the Davenport Cigar Box Company, one of the flourishing industries of the city, was born in Mecklenburg, Germany, June 6, 1837, and is a son of John and Margaret Diehn. He received his education in the public schools of his native land, later finding employment in the brickyards there. In 1868 he determined to try the opportunities for advancement said to be found here and accordingly sailed for America. He landed at New York, came almost immediately to Davenport, where the first employment he was able to secure was in a brewery. He worked there five years and then became connected with

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Moeller's cigar box factory, in which he learned the business thoroughly. He was ever eager to better his fortunes and establish himself securely in the commercial world, and accordingly, about 1884, he and two friends, George Krabenhoffer and Christ Neimand, organized the Davenport Cigar Box Company, with a factory on Western avenue. A year and a half later Mr. Neimand sold his interests to The- odore Krabenhoffer and retired, and in 1896 the present company was incorpo- rated with other stockholders and local capital. From the beginning it has been a prosperous concern, doing each year an amount of business in excess of that of the preceding year and fully justifying Mr. Diehn's confidence in his ability, his sagacity and in his power to wrest from circumstances surrounding him the means for advancement, for he has been largely instrumental in its success.

Before he came to the United States Mr. Diehn wedded Miss Fredrica Vick- bolt, whose birth occurred October 24, 1840. She passed away July 26, 1907, and is survived by five of her six children, Christ, employed in the box factory, married Miss Emma Timming, and they have one son, Julius. Mary became the wife of Herman Goetsch and they have three children, Arthur, Herbert and Ella. Henry, Jr., foreman in the factory, married Miss Louise Schraeder and they have a daugh- ter, Leona. August, a resident of Ottumwa county, Iowa, was married to Miss Charlotte Schoffenburg and is the father of three children, Verona, Barnhart and August. Herman, who lives in Davenport, wedded Miss Dora Ehlers. Louisa is. deceased.

While Mr. Diehn has been most closely identified with the concern of which he is vice president and which he was active in promoting from the beginning, he has not been blind to the business opportunities afforded by other firms, but has become a stockholder in the Farmers Bank and in the Independent Brewing Company. He has always been active in the commercial affairs of Davenport, although of recent years he has taken less part than in the past. He came to the city with the deter- mination to make a place for himself and despite competitors may feel gratified with the success the past has brought him.

RT. REV. JAMES DAVIS, D. D.

The Right Rev. James Davis, bishop of Iowa, was born in November, 1852, in County Kilkenny, Ireland, a son of James and Margaret Davis, who were devoted to their church and their children were reared in a strong religious atmosphere. The eldest, Thomas, who died October 4, 1904, entered the religious order of the Carmelites and rose to the rank of provincial in Ireland. Richard is an esteemed Catholic priest of Louisville, Kentucky. Three sisters are connected with religious orders, one being Superior of Sacred Heart convent at Sag Harbor, Long Island. Another, St. Sebastian, is a member of the same order at Befie, France, and a third, Sister Constance, is Superior of the Immaculate Conception Academy at Newport, Kentucky.

The early religious instruction of Bishop Davis was received under the direc- tion of the very Rev. F. Fogarly, P. P., at Donemagin. He began his studies for the church at Mt. Carmelite College, Knocktopher, under the direction of the Car-

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melite Fathers. After completing his classical courses, he entered St. Patrick's Ecclesiastical College in Carlow, where he completed his theological course. His ordination to the priesthood took place June 21, 1878, the Right Rev. Bishop Welch, of the diocese of Kildare and Longhlain, officiating.

Soon thereafter he came to the United States and entered upon his clerical duties in Iowa, he having been adopted by the Right Rev. Bishop Hennessey, of Dubuque, during the time he was studying in Carlow. After a short period spent at the cathedral in Dubuque, Bishop Davis was assigned to St. Peter's church at Windham, Iowa, where he remained for two years. He was then at St. Mary's church at Oxford, Iowa, for four years, and it was while he was there that the original diocese of Dubuque, then embracing the whole state, was divided and Dav- enport made the see city of the new diocese. The Right Rev. McMullen, D. D., was the first bishop, he being succeeded by the Right Rev. A. Cosgrove, who in 1884 assigned Father Davis to St. Michael's church at Holbrook, Iowa. There he was given full opportunity to demonstrate his ability as an organizer and upon the resignation of the Very Rev. A. Trevis of Cathedral, Father Davis was ap- pointed in November, 1889, to preside over the Cathedral congregation at Daven- port. From the beginning he faced hard work, the erection of the Sacred Heart church. He brought to bear his magnificent powers of organization, worked un- ceasingly with faithful zeal, and had the satisfaction of participating in its dedica- tion. 'After six years of remarkable work, Father Davis was appointed to the office of vicar general made vacant by the death of the Very Rev. A. Trevis, December 18, 1895. In the years that followed he continued to labor faithfully for his church and the people under his charge, and November 30, 1904, he was conse- crated bishop to succeed Bishop Cosgrove.

Probably there is no dignitary of the church in America who is more univer- sally honored and beloved, irrespective of religious beliefs, than Bishop Davis. Learned, experienced and sympathetic, he not only is laboring for the good of his own people but to advance Davenport and Iowa and to maintain the highest pos- sible standard of morality.

D. J. MCCARTHY, M. D.

Dr. D. J. McCarthy, one of the leading members of the medical fraternity in Davenport, has here been engaged in general practice since December, 1900, making a specialty of surgery. His birth occurred in South Groveland, Mas- sachusetts, on the 18th of March, 1874, his parents being Philip and Cecilia (Duffy) McCarthy, the former a native of Ireland and the latter of Massachu- setts. The father is still a resident of the old Bay state.

D. J. McCarthy supplemented his preliminary education, obtained in the public schools of his native state, by a course in Holy Cross College of Worces- ter, Massachusetts. Subsequently he entered Georgetown University at Wash- ington, D. C., where he received the degrees of Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts, while in 1899 the degree of M. D. was conferred upon him. In addi- tion to this very thorough collegiate work he was a believer, as he is still, in the

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doctrine of a sound mind in a sound body; and to this end he became a leader on the athletic field, leading the varsity baseball nine in its now famous victo- ries against the eastern college teams, and being otherwise prominent in athletic circles. After leaving college he served on the university medical staff at Georgetown and the hospital staff at Providence hospital, in Washington, which is known as one of the strongest and most thorough hospitals in the United States. In December, 1900, he located for practice at Davenport, Iowa, and has here since remained, being now widely recognized as one of the most promi- nent representatives of his profession in this city. He makes a specialty of sur- gery and in this branch of practice has established an enviable reputation. He keeps in touch with the onward march of the profession through his member- ship in the various medical societies, and is a member of the board of Mercy Hospital and of St. Luke's Hospital. He is also visiting physician to St. Vin- cent's Orphanage and Immaculate Conception Academy. The splendid prac- tice which he now enjoys has come to him in recognition of his skill and ability in the field of labor which he has chosen as a life work.

Fraternally Dr. McCarthy is identified with the Knights of Columbus and the Knights of Father Mathew. He is a man of marked individuality, of strong character and stalwart purpose, who in citizenship and professional circles and in private life commands the respect of all with whom he has been brought in contact.

WILLIAM M. SMITH.

To William M. Smith, Civil war veteran and survivor of some of its fiercest conflicts, Scott county pioneer, and formerly one of Davenport's foremost busi- ness men, must be accorded a prominent place on the list of her retired citizens: After a well spent, industrious life, it is his happy fate to enjoy the peace and leisure of retirement in his declining years.

He was born in Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, February 25, 1837, and is of German descent, his parents, Daniel and Barbara (Weinkle) Smith, being by birth subjects of the German emperor. The father was educated in the Ger- man schools, learned the trade of a blacksmith and entered the German army, where he served for the prescribed time. When still a young man he became a citizen of the United States, locating in Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, where he followed his trade until 1854, when he brought his family to Scott county, Iowa. In Davenport he engaged in blacksmithing for several years, and both he and his wife died in this city.

William M. Smith received his education in the schools of the county in which he was born and after the family's removal to Iowa worked in sawmills until the breaking out of the Rebellion. In 1862 he enlisted in Company C, Twentieth Iowa Infantry, his service continuing until the close of the war. Joining the regi- ment at Clinton, Iowa, he went into camp with it at Camp Mcclellan for a short time. It was then ordered to St. Louis, Missouri, and after remaining there for a time, was in active service in that state. It subsequently participated in a number

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History of Davenport and Scott County Iowa, Volume II, Part 38

Author: Downer, Harry E Publication date: 1910 Publisher: Chicago : S.J. Clarke Number of Pages: 1166

Author: Downer, Harry E
Publication date: 1910
Publisher: Chicago : S.J. Clarke
Number of Pages: 1166