USA > Iowa > Scott County > Davenport > History of Davenport and Scott County Iowa, Volume II > Part 54
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He was born in Upper Alton, Illinois, March 19, 1874, his parents being Captain Joseph H. and Martha M. (McGill) Weeks. The former was a native of Oyster Bay, New York, and was a contractor and builder. He removed to Upper Alton, Illinois, in 1860, where at the opening of the Civil war he en- listed as private in Company F. Seventeenth Illinois Volunteer Infantry. He served throughout the years of the great struggle and attained the rank of cap- tain. Returning to his home after its close, where he passed the remaining years of his life, thirteen years of which time he was postmaster. His death occurred July 13, 1907. His wife is still living in Upper Alton.
Harvey E. Weeks, who was the first son of the four children born to his parents, was reared in the city of his birth, and, after having completed the course prescribed in the public schools, he became assistant postmaster at Upper
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Alton, Illinois, serving in that capacity for four years. This was necessitated by the fact that his father's health was so impaired by seven months confine- ment in Andersonville prison during the Civil war that he was incapacitated for active business. During those four years, Mr. Weeks took special studies in Shurtleff College. In 1895 he received the appointment of committee clerk in the state senate of Illinois, serving during the session of 1894-5. On June 1, 1895, he entered the employ of the public service corporations which after- ward were merged by J. F. Porter under the name of Alton, Granite & St. Louis Traction Company. He remained with that concern until June, 1906, having steadily risen in those years until he was secretary of the company. When he severed his connection with them he came to Davenport as secretary and treasurer of some of the more important companies which are developing the resources of the city and serving the needs of its citizens. He has filled his position with credit to himself and to the satisfaction of those who placed con- fidence in his ability, trustworthiness and business acumen. He has already made a place for himself among his associates. His career has been a steady advance from one responsible position to another, and as it has been the result of his own efforts he has every reason to feel a gratification in the guerdon the years have brought him. In addition to the concerns mentioned at the opening of this sketch, Mr. Weeks is secretary and treasurer of the Davenport Gas & Electric Company of Davenport, the Peoples Power Company of Rock Island and Moline, East Moline and Watertown Railway Company of Moline; and he is also a director in the Cottage Camps Company of Davenport.
On the 27th of June, 1895, was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Weeks and Miss Lutie Vashti Pope, a native of Kane, Illinois, and daughter of Jacob G. and Susan C. Pope. Two sons have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Weeks : Harold Parker and George Edward.
The family belongs to the Calvary Baptist church. Mr. Weeks has always been an adherent of the political principles of the republican party. He is a member of the Davenport Commercial Club and Davenport Outing Club. Fra- ternally he is affiliated with the Modern Woodmen of America. He is secre- tary and treasurer of the American Street & Interurban Railway Accountants' , Association, an association composed of the accounting officers of all the street and interurban railways of the United States, Canada and Mexico, which posi- tion he has held for three years. Hard working and popular, he has attained to a respected position among the people of Davenport.
CHARLES EDWARD GLYNN, M. D.
The demands made upon the members of the medical fraternity are in some respects greater than perhaps upon any other class of citizens. If the minister is reserved and austere we imagine that it is because he is engaged with thoughts far beyond our mental ken; if the lawyer is brusque and crabbed it is considered a mark of genius. There is demanded unfailing geniality and courtesy from the physician, however, and to his broad professional knowledge
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he must add sympathy and a quick, almost intuitive understanding of the mental phases which he sees represented before him. Meeting the various requirements of the practitioner of medicine, Dr. C. E. Glynn gives his entire time to his professional service and is now president of the Davenport Hospital, one of the best appointed establishments of this character in the state. He was born in Scott county, January 9, 1873. His father, Thomas J. Glynn, was a native of Ireland and came to the United States with his parents when a child of six years, spending his boyhood days in Indiana. He afterward removed to Scott county, Iowa, and became a prosperous farmer and stock-raiser, closely asso- ciated with the agricultural interests of the county until 1892, when he sold out and has since lived retired, making his home in Davenport, Iowa. He has always been active in affairs of the county, contributing to public progress through his cooperation in many movements for the general good. He is, more- over, recognized as a leader in local democratic circles and was elected and served as chairman of the board of supervisors. He married Anna M. Ennis, a native of Canada and of Irish parentage.
The public schools of this county afforded Dr. Glynn his early educational advantages and later he attended St. Ambrose College in Davenport, from which he was graduated in the class of 1888. He afterward taught school for two years but throughout that period had in view the object of eventually becoming a member of the medical fraternity. He entered the College of Physicians and Surgeons at Chicago, from which he was graduated in 1902. He then began practice in Davenport and, in association with Dr. J. Siewert Weber, he has organized and built the Davenport Hospital for the treatment of medical and surgical cases. This is one of the best appointed and most modernly equipped hospitals in the state, lacking in none of the up-to-date accessories known to medical and surgical practice at the present time. He is president of the hos- pital and is also a member of the various medical societies, whose object is to advance the efficiency of the medical fraternity by the dissemination of knowl- edge acquired through original research and experience. He is likewise as- sistant medical director in the Guaranty Mutual Insurance Company and aside from his hospital work has a good private practice.
Dr. Glynn was married November 22, 1905, to Miss Blanch J. Langan, a native of Dewitt, Iowa, and in this city they have many friends. Dr. Glynn is a member of the Knights of Columbus and other fraternal orders. He is a member of the American, the Iowa State, the Iowa and Illinois and the Scott County Medical Societies.
JOHN EGEL.
John Egel, who for about thirty years was one of the leading agriculturists of Buffalo township, and, now, having given up the arduous work of the farm is residing in Blue Grass, was born in Germany, 1831. In 1854 he crossed the Atlantic with the intention of making a place for himself in this land of op- portunities. For several years he made his home in the east, for the most part
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in New Jersey, and then the fame of the richness of the Iowa lands having reached him, in 1869 he came to Scott county. For many years he operated rented land and it was not until 1882 that he purchased his first tract, which embraced one hundred and twenty acres in Buffalo township, and then as success attended his efforts he bought forty acres more, so that he owned a quarter of a section. On it he engaged in farming until 1899, when he leased the farm to a tenant and removed to Blue Grass, for he felt that the success he had gained entitled him to a rest.
While living in Brunswick, New Jersey, Mr. Egel wedded Miss Barbara Isenacher, who was also a native of Germany and was born in the same year as her husband, that of 1831. Their union was celebrated in 1857 and in the course of years was blessed with ten children, five sons and five daughters, all of whom married and were well established in life. Louis, died in 1890; John Chris wedded Miss Rosa Schroeder and lives in Muscatine county, Iowa; Henry married Miss Catherine Kippe and also resides in Muscatine county. George married Miss Annie Zeyer, of Buffalo. Charles married Miss Paulina Bak- man. Louisa became the wife of Henry Brown. Mary is the wife of James Carpenter, of Buffalo township. Catherine is the wife of William Platt. Mrs. Nellie Hovenagle is a widow and lives in Blue Grass.
When Mr. Egel was admitted to citizenship in this republic he looked to the democratic party for political guidance and has since given to it his un- swerving support. While he ever exercises his right of franchise at election times, he has never aspired to public office, nevertheless exhibiting an interest in the welfare of his fellowmen and being ever ready to exert himself in their behalf.
HENRY SCHROEDER.
It is meet that when one is well advanced in years the opportunity should come to put aside the more arduous cares of active business life and rest from further labor. In youth energy and ambition are dominant and in mature years these are guided by that wisdom which comes through experience and apprecia- tion of surrounding conditions. If one's opportunities are wisely used success follows and a competence for the evening of life is secured. Such has been the record of Henry Schroeder, formerly well known as a merchant of Davenport but now living retired.
He was born near Hamburg, in Holstein, Germany, December 22, 1831, and is a son of John H. and Margaret Schroeder. The father served in the war with France, and Detlef Schroeder, a brother of our subject, was in the Hol- stein-Denmark war of 1850, giving his life in defense of the principles in which he believed during the progress of that struggle. The father was a farmer and brewer in his native country, where both he and his wife spent their entire lives.
Henry Schroeder acquired his education in the schools of Germany and afterward served in the Danish army from 1853 until 1855. He then began learn- ing the brick-mason's trade, but the favorable reports which he heard concerning the business conditions and opportunities in America led him to the determina-
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tion to establish his home on this side the Atlantic. It was in 1857 that he heard and heeded the call of the western world and boarding a sailing vessel spent thirty- two days on the water ere he landed at New York. He did not remain in the east, however, but carte direct to Davenport with a party of friends, with whom he had crossed the Atlantic and who had friends in this city. In his native country Mr. Schroeder had learned the brick-mason's trade and on reaching Davenport be- gan working at his trade, which he followed for about two years, his first work be- ing on the sewer on Iowa street. He afterward assisted in building the schoolhouse at Bettendorf, then Gilberttown, which is still standing. Subsequently he went to Le Claire, where he aided in the erection of a number of buildings. He was first engaged on a store for Mr. Becker and, remaining in Le Claire, he worked in the store for Mr. Becker, thus gaining his first experience along mercantile lines. He spent three years in that way and gained valuable knowledge of the methods of managing commercial interests.
While in Le Claire Mr. Schroeder was married November 20, 1860, after which he returned to Davenport with his wife and has since made this city his home. He first entered the employ of Beiderbecke & Moeller in the wholesale and retail grocery business and was with them for five years, when he had opportunity for making a forward step by engaging in business on his own account. Removing to the corner of Third and Fillmore streets he took charge of a grocery store there with Henry Brandt as a partner. In 1868 they purchased the store of Kasper Foster and conducted the business until 1903, when Mr. Schroeder sold his inter- est in the grocery and retired. After about ten years in the trade he and his partner purchased the property which they had previously rented.
Various enterprises in time claimed the attention of Mr. Schroeder, who for twenty-two years conducted stockyards and was connected with a large number of industrial and commercial concerns. He was also one of the directors of the Iowa National Bank for seventeen years after aiding in the organization and establishment of the bank. He then resigned but is still one of the directors of the Davenport Security Insurance Company, which he aided in organizing in 1889. His connection with business interests of Davenport has been of an im- portant character and of far-reaching benefit to the city inasmuch as his labors have constituted an element in the promotion of commercial and financial ac- tivity. He has been quick to see and utilize advantages, recognizing the fact that the present and not the future holds his opportunity. He was also a stockholder in the glucose works and was one of the company to establish the Davenport Can- ning Factory, which was afterward changed to the manufacture of tin cans. He was one of the organizers of the Davenport Foundry & Machine shop, of which he is still a stockholder ; was a stockholder in the Masonic Temple when it was erected; and also a stockholder in the Davenport Works Company, besides being interested in other industries.
As previously stated, it was on the 20th of November, 1860, that Mr. Schroeder wedded Miss Elizabeth Schwen, of Le Claire, who was born in Bavaria, Ger- many, in 1834 and came to this country with a lady friend in 1856. By her marriage she became the mother of eight children: Henry A., of Seattle, Wash- ington, who married Grace Rose and has one son, Frederick; Jennie, the wife of John Fahrner, of Davenport, and has one son, Waldo; Hugo, who is also liv-
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ing in this city ; Pauline, deceased; Laura, who became the wife of Henry Kohrs, Jr., and died leaving a son, Robert; Lewis, deceased; John L., whose home is in British Columbia; and Amelia, the wife of William Hetzel, of Davenport, by whom she has one son, Wilbur. The death of Mrs. Schroeder occurred October 8, 1909, when she had reached the age of seventy-five years, eight months and two days.
Mr. Schroeder is a member of the Turners and of the German Shooting Society. He has always been a man of influence among Davenport's residents of his own nationality, nor has his leadership been confined alone to people of the Teutonic race. He has long been regarded as a man of sound judgment and keen discrimination and his opinions have carried weight in business circles and in matters relating to the public life of the city. There is no more loyal resident of Davenport than this adopted son, a man never so busy with private affairs as to neglect the duties of citizenship nor so concerned with public interests that his private business has suffered. In fact, he has been at all times a man of well balanced capacities and powers and his intelligently directed effort has given him place among the leading and influential citizens of Scott county.
WILHELM WULF.
Wilhelm Wulf, one of Hickory Grove township's leading men, is German by nativity, his birth having occurred in Holstein, February 1I, 1858. When only about sixteen years of age he and his brother Charley became imbued with the desire to try their fortune in "the land of promise," and upon landing on our shores came at once to Davenport, where they have since resided. His parents were John and Doris (Hass) Wulf. His father died when he was a lad of about six years of age, responsibility in consequence falling upon his shoulders at an unusually early age. The mother, born July 26, 1816, followed her sons to American in 1875 and made her home with Charley, her death occurring April 19, 1909. Although advanced in years she enjoyed good health nearly to the time of her demise and took much pleasure in her American home and friends. In the family were six children as follows: Mrs. Louisa Thomson, of Daven- port, widow of Christ Thomson; Lena, who married William Groht and is de- ceased; Christina, the wife of Peter Stropfen, a retired farmer living in Daven- port; Doris, the wife of John Hass, of Durant; Charley, a citizen of Cleona township; and Wilhelm, the subject of the sketch.
Wilhelm Wulf was reared on a farm and its wholesome, independent life has appealed to him sufficiently to induce him to cling to agriculture all his life, He spent his first five years in this country as a farm hand, but in 1880 rented property which he managed successfully for a number of years. In 1895 he bought one hundred and sixty acres in Cleona township and four years later sold this to become the owner of his present homestead in sections 30 and 31, Hickory Grove township. This first consisted of two hundred and fifty-seven and a half acres, but Mr. Wulf has added to it until it now amounts to three hundred and thirty acres. On this very desirable tract he engages in general
WILLIEEM WULF
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farming and stock raising and his advanced agricultural methods have been productive of the best results.
In 1887 Mr. Wulf was united in marriage to Miss Theresa Siebke, daughter of Marx and Louise Siebke, natives of Holstein, Germany. She was born No- vember II, 1867, in Muscatine county, Iowa. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Wulf have been born the following children : Henry, Herman, Amelia, Mata, Ella, Rudolph and Helda. Louis, the third child is deceased.
Mr. Wulf has many friends and is happy in all the relations of life. He is recognized in the community as a man whose support is always ready for any measure likely to prove conducive to the public good. Among other interests he is a stockholder in the Farmers' Elevator Company of Walcott.
JOHANNES THEDE.
A prosperous farmer of Liberty township, who is contemplating retiring from the active pursuit of his calling, and intends to take up his residence in the village of Dixon, is Johannes Thede, who was born in Liberty township, June 28, 1860, about one and a half miles north of the farm on which he is now living. His parents were Peter and Marie (Sierk) Thede, both natives of Schleswig, Ger- many, where the former was born April 27, 1832, and the latter February 15, 1828. In 1857, singly and alone, they came to America, locating in Kempton, Illinois, where they were married. Three years later, in the spring of 1860, they came to Liberty township, this county, where Mr. Thede engaged in farming. He was successful beyond the ordinary and as he saw opportunity invested in land so that at his death he held five hundred and sixty acres in that township. Toward the close of his life he relinquished the heavier cares and his death oc- curred January 4, 1909. His wife had died some years previously, for she passed away in Dixon, May 8, 1903. They were the parents of six children : Peter, of St. Louis, Missouri; Johannes, the subject of this sketch; Henry, who died in 1893 at the age of twenty-one; Mary Lenora, who became the wife of George Pahl, both now deceased; William, a resident of Liberty township; and Erna, the wife of Charles Frey, of Davenport.
Johannes Thede was less than one year old when his parents removed from his birthplace to the farm on which he now lives and which has since been his home. He attended the public schools of the district, in which he obtained a fair education, but his practical preparation for life was received during the time he assisted his father in the cultivation of his land. A tiller of the soil from choice as well as from inheritance, he has been one of those who have won a conspicu- ous success from his vocation. Besides the homestead in Liberty township, con- sisting of two hundred and forty acres on sections 35, 36, and 25, he owns an equal amount of arable land in Springfield township, Cedar county, and five hundred and sixty acres in Oldham county, Texas. The place which he makes his home is well improved and its fields excellently adapted to general farming which he has pursued. For the past fifteen years, however, he has made a spe- cialty of stock feeding, feeding about one hundred head annually. He was one
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of the prime promoters of the Dixon Savings Bank, in which he is a large stock- holder.
On the 8th of April, 1884, Mr. Thede was married to Miss Katharine Peter- sen, who was born in the same house that was the birthplace of her husband, January 23, 1864. Her parents, Henry and Wiepke (Klink) Petersen, were both natives of Schleswig, Germany. They were married in the old country and came to America about 1856, locating first in Illinois. 'About five years later they came to Scott county, which remained their home for the rest of their lives. Mr. Petersen was actively engaged in farming but, having obtained a gratifying income, retired to Dixon, where his death and that of his wife occurred. He owned at one time seven hundred acres of land in Liberty township. Five chil- dren were born to Mr. and Mrs. Petersen : Mrs. May Ohde, a widow living in Seattle, Washington; George, of Liberty township; Charles, a resident of Dixon; Mary, who is unmarried and makes her home in Dixon; and Katharine, the wife of our subject.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Thede have been born seven children: Lydia, now the wife of Adolph Lensch, of Liberty township; Peter J., of whom extended men- tion is made elsewhere in this volume. Henry R. and Millie, at home; Ella, a student in Brown's Business College; Verna, at home; and Maloney, who died at the age of three years.
Since he has obtained such a pronounced success from his chosen vocation, Mr. Thede has determined to retire fross active life and live in Dixon. With this end in view he is building a house, which he intends shall be the finest in the village, both in its construction and in the many appointments that will make it modern and convenient.
PETER A. BOYLE.
Peter A. Boyle, a Harvard man whose liberal educational advantages well qualified him for a successful professional career, continued in the practice of law in Davenport for a number of years and is now giving his attention to the supervision of important property interests. He was born in New Haven, Con- necticut, on the IIth of October, 1847, and is a son of John R. and Mary J. (Copley) Boyle. His parents were natives of County Kilkenny, Ireland, but were of English descent. The father's birth occurred May 15, 1815, and the mother was born on the 12th of March, 1812.
John R. Boyle came to the United States in 1839 and settled in New England, where he conducted an extensive business as a contractor and builder of canals and railroads. He was married in New York city in 1842 and in 1850 came to the middle west, where he was engaged in the building of the Michigan Southern Railroad. Two years later the family came to the west to Ottawa, Illinois. In 1854 they removed to Muscatine, Iowa, coming thence to Scott county in 1865. The father assisted in building many of the western railroads, including the Union Pacific and others. After taking up his abode in Scott county he pur- chased land in Davenport township and settled upon a farm, his remaining days
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being given to general agricultural pursuits. His life was one of untiring business activity and his strong purpose enabled him to carry forward to successful com- pletion whatever he undertook. He died September 16, 1895, while his wife survived until the 16th of May, 1902. They were the parents of two children : C. R. Boyle, who is now living in New York city; and Peter A., of this review.
Peter A. Boyle spent the first five years of his life in New Haven, Connecti- cut, and afterward attended school in different places as his parents removed from one point to another, the father's business calling him to different localities. At length he was graduated from Griswold College in the class of 1870 and with broad general information to serve as the foundation upon which to rear the superstruc- ture of professional learning, he took up the study of law in Harvard University, from which he was graduated with the class of 1872. He then returned to Daven- port and entered upon active connection with the profession as a law clerk in the office of Davison & Lane, formerly well known attorneys of this city. After ten years devoted to the practice of law, he turned his attention to his property interest, which now claim his attention.
On the 5th of June, 1884, Mr. Boyle was united in marriage to Miss Jessie A. Boyle, of Birmingham, Alabama, and unto them were born two children: Mary Lee, who died in 1898; and John R., who is now a high-school pupil. The parents are members of the Episcopal church and are prominent socially in the city, theirs being one of the attractive and hospitable homes of wealth and cul- ture. Mr. Boyle belongs to the Commercial Club and has other social relations, being usually seen where the most intelligent men of the city gather.
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