USA > Iowa > Scott County > Davenport > History of Davenport and Scott County Iowa, Volume II > Part 58
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Mrs. Bluedorn has experienced the many hardships which fell to the lot of those courageous men and women who sought to make a home for them- selves in this county in the early years of its settlement, but she has also sur- mounted all the trials of that period and in addition to being well situated now she has the satisfaction of knowing that her children have grown to a useful maturity and, having profited by her teachings, hold honorable positions in their respective communities.
WILLIAM WARNOCK BAILEY, M. D.
Dr. William Warnock Bailey is engaged in the general practice of medicine in Le Claire and stands high among the members of the medical profession in Scott county. He was born just across the Mississippi river in Rock Island county, Illinois, January 23, 1866, a son of James and Margaret (Warnock) Bailey, and is of Scotch-Irish descent. The father was born in County Down, Ireland, January 7, 1829, and came to the United States when a youth of nine- teen years, accompanying his parents, Robert and Jane (Campbell) Bailey. The family home was established in Rock Island county and Robert Bailey being a stone mason by trade, became a pioneer in this line in that county. He also en- tered eighty acres of raw land there, which he later improved, making his home thereon until the time of his demise. This place eventually came into possession of his son James, who for a number of years engaged in general farming and cattle raising, and as his financial resources permitted he extended the boundaries
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of his farm until it comprised two hundred and forty acres. He became one of the influential and enterprising men of that community, where he lived until 1897, when he was called to his final rest, his death occurring on the 18th of August of that year. He was a member of the United Presbyterian church and held various official positions, taking an active and helpful part in all departments of the church work. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Margaret Warnock, was likewise born in County Down and was a little maiden of seven years when she accompanied her parents, John and Mary (Campbell) Warnock, on their trip across the Atlantic to the United States. 'After a long and wearisome journey of twelve weeks on the water they located in St. Louis, Missouri, the year of their arrival there being 1848. In the following spring they continued their journey to Rock Island county, Illinois, where the father purchased land. This tract was situated in Rural township and Mr. Warnock thus became identified with the early development of the locality as an agriculturist, and both he and his wife passed away on the home farm.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. James Bailey were born eight children, as follows : Mary, who is still at home; Anna, who holds the principalship of the Ridgeview school in Moline, Illinois ; William W., of this review; Jennie, the wife of Roland Metz- ler, a farmer of Rural township, Rock Island county; John, who also resides in that township; Hugh W., who graduated from a veterinary college in Chicago and is now engaged in practice in Orion, Illinois ; Ella, the wife of Roy Ferguson, of Henry county, Illinois; and Betsey, a teacher in the schools of Rural township, Rock Island county.
Dr. William W. Bailey was reared to the pursuits of the home farm during the period of his boyhood and youth and in the meantime he pursued his studies in the district schools near the homestead in Rock Island county. He remained under the parental roof giving his father the benefit of his services until he had attained his majority and then for five years engaged in teaching. He used this means of livelihood merely as a foundation for a higher calling and having de- cided upon the profession of medicine as a life work, to this end, in September, 1894, he entered Marion Sims Medical College, the medical department of St. Louis University. He pursued a three-years' course, graduating from that insti- tution in April, 1897, standing fourth highest in a class of ninety. During the vacation seasons he did special work in Rebecca Hospital of that city and thus gained a practical knowledge of medicine. Soon after his graduation, May 30, 1897, he opened an office in Le Claire and from that time to the present has engaged in general practice. In the years that have passed he has built up a good patronage and is numbered among the successful physicians of Scott county.
The Doctor was married December 27, 1894, to Miss Anna Mae Deal, a daughter of Henry and Sarah A. (Sinclair) Deal, residents of Rural township, Rock Island county, Illinois. They have one daughter, Grace.
Dr. Bailey is a Mason, belonging to Snow Lodge, No. 44, at Le Claire and to the Mystic Shrine at Davenport. He likewise holds membership relations with the Woodmien of the World, Modern Woodmen of America and the Court of Honor. In politics he is a republican and is a member of the town council and is president of the school board, while he is financially interested as a stock-
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holder in the Le Claire Savings Bank. He is a man of culture and sense, gener- ous to friend or foe, and his life of industry has brought a rich reward in the high estimate his acquaintances place upon him as a physician and a man.
CHARLES W. LAU.
A well developed farm of one hundred and sixty acres, owned by Charles W. Lau, forms one of the attractive features in the landscape of Lincoln town- ship. This is the old home place of the family and. it was in this township that Charles W. Lau was born, March 26, 1855, his parents being Peter N. and Maria (Süehl) Lau, who were early German settlers of Scott county. They were both born in Holstein, Germany, and were there reared and married. The father fol- lowed the occupation of farming and had charge of a large estate in his native country, where he continued to reside until after the birth of four of his chil- dren. He then brought his family to the United States, landing at New York on the 22d of May, 1853. Two of his children, William and Fritz, had died at sea and their remains were interred in a cemetery at Brooklyn, New York. The family then continued on their westward way to Davenport, making the journey by rail to Chicago and thence by prairie schooner. They arrived in June, 1853, and Peter N. Lau purchased prairie land. He left his family for about a half year in Davenport, while he prepared the land for cultivation, built a house and otherwise placed his farm in condition for a family home. With the exception of a brief period spent in the city, he continued a resident of Lin- coln township from the time of his arrival until called to his final rest. As the years passed by he prospered and at one time was an extensive landowner. Later, however, he disposed of much of the property and at the time of his demise owned only a half section. He was prominent in community affairs, serving in a number of township offices, including that of school director and trustee. His last years were spent in retirement from active business and he died on the 5th of March, 1884, at the age of sixty-four years. His wife passed away in 1897, at the age of eighty-one years. In their family were six children, four of whom are yet living: Henry, of Lincoln township; Margaret, of Davenport; Charles W., of this review; and Elizabeth, of Davenport.
Charles W. Lau has spent his entire life in Lincoln township and his early education, acquired in the district schools, was supplemented by study in Gris- wold College. He then returned home and assisted his father in the cultivation of the farm. In 1881 he married and took possession of the farm, while his parents retired and removed to Davenport. Here Charles W. Lau has resided continuously since, devoting his time and energies to the further development and improvement of his land as the years have gone by. He is diligent and perse- vering in all that he undertakes and his farm is one of the highly developed prop- erties of the locality. He makes a specialty of raising alfalfa and has given much time to introducing the crop here. He also carries on general farming and keeps a number of cows, making a specialty of the production of butter. The house which he occupies was erected by his father in 1866 and is one of the old
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landmarks of the county. The father purchased this place when it was all wild prairie land, not a furrow having been turned nor an improvement made upon it, but as the years went by the labors of father and son have transformed it into one of the best properties of this section of the state.
It was on the 10th of March, 1881, that Mr. Lau was married to Miss Eliza- beth Kreiter, a daughter of Charles and Marie Kreiter, of Davenport township. Her parents, of German birth, came to the United States about 1866. Her father died in 1906, at the age of seventy-four years, and the mother is still living. Mrs. Lau was born in Wheeling, West Virginia, and by her marriage has become the mother of six children: Alfred H., at home; Oscar M., who wedded Ethel Down and makes his home in Des Moines, Iowa; Carl S., who recently enjoyed a trip around the world and is now at home; Elmer H., who is in the navy; Cora M., who is a high-school student; and Victor Charles.
In addition to his farming interests Mr. Lau is serving as vice president of the German Mutual Fire Insurance Company and has been active along many lines whereby the interests of the community and the county at large have been promoted. He has served as a trustee of the township and for about eleven years was school director. He is a prominent member of Grange No. 2029, of which he is master and he is also master of the Pomona Grange, and president of the Farmers Cooperative Association. He was one of the organizers of the Grange, has always taken a prominent part in its meetings and has been actively identified with the Farmers Institute work, which he helped to organize, serving on the board of directors. He is likewise identified with the Gerinan Pioneer Society of Scott county. His labors have been practical and effective and the material interests of this portion of the state have been greatly enhanced through his efforts. His labors have resulted not only to his own benefit but have been of material assistance in promoting general progress.
HENRY STENDER.
Henry Stender is a member of the Holstein, Germany, colony, which may be said to be a section of that old-world province transplanted within the limits of Scott county. He was born in Neumunster, Holstein, March 19, 1854, his parents being Hans and Margaret (Harder) Stender, good German citizens who followed farming and passed their whole lives in their native land. They had the following five children : Dietlieb, who died in Germany ; Lina, a resident in Germany ; Henry, of this sketch; Julius, who came to the United States in 1884 and is at present a citizen of Montana, and Mary, who died in Germany.
When a young man twenty years of age, Henry Stender came to the new world as so many of his associates had done before him. He first set foot on American soil June 27, 1874, no doubt a somewhat forlorn and doubtful youth, for he had been courageous enough to come quite alone. By advice, he journeyed west to Scott county, Iowa, and was so well pleased with the associations he formed here that he has remained ever since. For the first seven years he earned his livelihood as a farm hand and then found himself in a position to contemplate matrimony.
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HENRY STENDER AND FAMILY
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Upon his marriage in 1881 he began the cultivation of a rented farm and was engaged in this fashion for the next eight years. In 1888 he purchased the farm upon which he now resides, a tract of two hundred acres located in section 28, Hickory Grove township, and at present a fine piece of property in a high state of improvement. He prospered sufficiently to add to his holdings a farm of one hundred and twenty acres on section 35, the same township, which he rents to another.
Mr. Stender was married in 1881 to Miss Cecelia Arp, a native of Hickory Grove township, where she was born May 1, 1860, and where she has always made her home. Her parents were Hans and Abel (Vieths) Arp, natives of Holstein, Germany. Her father came to America when eighteen years of age and her mother when twelve, their marriage being celebrated a few years later. Mr. Arp became a landholder and he and his wife were the parents of ten children, five of whom are living. The father was born January 3, 1835, and died October 12, 1907, while the mother, who was born June 4, 1834, passed away January 12, 1906. To Mr. and Mrs. Stender have been born seven children: Hans, who died at the age of three months; 'Amanda, who died when one year old; Louis, at home; Ru- dolph, residing at Avoca, where he holds the position of assistant cashier of the Avoca State Bank; Hugo, Henry, and Hilda, at home.
Mr. Stender gives loyal support to the men and principles of the democratic party. He has been honored with several of the public trusts and for the past decade has been treasurer of the Fairview school district, No. 3. For two years. he has been one of the directors of the Farmers Savings Bank of Walcott. His life record is inspiring, for without means he came to a strange land and has become a man of influence and property.
JAMES B. PADGHAM, M. D.
Dr. James B. Padgham, who has recently taken up the practice of medicine in Donahue, Allens Grove township, was born at Inland, Cedar county, Iowa, March 30, 1883, a son of Dr. George W. and Magdalena (Rager) Padgham. The father was born near Troy, New York, in 1849, but as a mere child came to Iowa with his parents, settling in Scott county. He received his early education in the public schools, after which he attended the State University of Iowa, from which he obtained his medical degree. For a number of years he practiced in Cedar county, then removing to Scott county, made his home in Dixon for ten years, after which he returned to the former county, where, in the town of Ben- nett, he spent the last four years of his life. His death occurred July 4, 1898. His wife was born near Johnstown, Pennsylvania, in 1848 and was about four- teen years of age when her parents located in Cedar county, Iowa, where she grew to maturity. She is now living in Dixon, Scott county. Five children were born to Dr. and Mrs. George Padgham: Mary Myrtle, who died at the age of seventeen years ; John T., a physician in Dayton, Iowa, who attended the high school at Davenport and later the State University of Iowa, from which he was
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graduated June 16, 1909; Laura Edith, the wife of P. R. Bell, of Bennett, Iowa; Benjamin Walter, a resident of Dixon; and James B., the subject of this sketch.
James B. Padgham was about three months old when his parents left their Cedar county home and removed to Dixon, Scott county, where he attended the public schools. Later he was a student in the State Normal School at Cedar Falls for one year and having determined to make the practice of medicine his profession he was enrolled as a student in the State University of Iowa, from which he received his degree of M. D. June 16, 1909, at the conclusion of a four years' course. On the IIth of August of that year he took up his residence in Donahue, and in the few months he has been here there have been many occa- sions on which he has proved his efficiency. As he is becoming better known daily there is every reason to believe that in less than a year he will have built up a large practice.
Shortly after his arrival here, Dr. Padgham was married, September 8, 1909, to Miss Ida Louise Battey, who was born in Hodgeman county, Kansas, July 18, 1886. Her grandfather, William C. Battey, had been a physician, practicing in the vicinity of Muscatine, Iowa, while her father, Dr. Francis H. Battey, was also a member of the medical profession. He wedded Miss Minnie Kniffen and shortly after their union moved to Kansas, where the family lived until 1896, when they returned to Iowa, taking up their residence at West Liberty, Musca- tine county. Mrs. Padgham received her early education in the public schools of Hodgeman county, Kansas, later attending the high school at Springdale, Cedar county, Iowa, and at West Liberty, from both of which institutions she obtained a diploma. She was also a pupil in the business college at Muscatine. For a period of four years she was telephone girl at the West Liberty exchange and for the two years prior to her marriage was a stenographer, spending half of that time in the employ of Dr. E. T. Kischner, the superintendent of the State Sanitarium for the Treatment of Tuberculosis, at Oakdale, Iowa. She is a young woman of many attainments who should prove of valuable assistance in advancing the interests of Dr. Padgham in Donahue.
WILLIAM T. GOERING.
William T. Goering, one of the influential men of Hickory Grove township, was born in Blue Grass township, December 9, 1870, and is a son of Henry G. Goering, a native of Prussia, whose birth occurred June 11, 1829. The pater- nal grandfather was John Goering. Henry Goering had a natural penchant for books and study and loved nothing better than to delve in a library. In con- sequence, although he never had any regular schooling, he acquired a great deal of useful knowledge and was better educated than the majority of men. Upon coming to America he was advised to locate in Iowa and for the first nine months of his residence here found employment on a farm in Blue Grass township. For the next three years he rented land and by prudent management found himself in a position to buy a farm, the nucleus of his present property of six hundred and forty acres in Blue Grass township. He has a timber tract in addition to
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this splendid tract of cultivated land, and makes his home on section 10. He was married in 1855 to Mary E. Robison, and they became the parents of thir- teen children, of whom seven sons and four daughters are now living.
William T. Goering resided under the parental roof until 1893, when he re- moved to Colorado and for five years engaged in agricultural pursuits on his own responsibility on a farm fifty miles north of Denver. In 1899 he returned to Iowa and the following year began cultivating his present homestead, al- though only as a renter. Later he purchased this and is now the possessor of some two hundred acres of valuable land, one hundred and twenty in Hickory Grove township and eighty acres in Blue Grass township. He has met with great success in general farming and stock raising.
Mr. Goering was married January 30, 1895, to Miss Mary Gasseling, who was born on the present home farm, April 7, 1871, her father being J. H. Gasse- ling. Five children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Goering, namely: Ger- trude, Naomi, Aloysius, Harvey and Madeline. Both as a progressive agricul- turist and a conscientious man Mr. Goering is a valuable asset to the community.
WILLIAM A. BARNES.
Among the important farmers and stockmen of Blue Grass township is William A. Barnes, a son of Isaac and Lucinda (Speer) Barnes, both natives of Pennsylvania. The father, who was a son of William Barnes, was born in 1816, while his wife, whose birth occurred in Apollo, Armstrong county, was born in August 1830. On the Ist of April, 1865, they came to Scott county, Iowa, where Mr. Barnes bought one hundred and fifty-five acres of land on the boundary between Blue Grass and Buffalo townships. He followed farming and as success attended his efforts he invested quite extensively in land, until at his death, July 1, 1889, he was the possessor of five hundred and fifteen acres. Two sons and two daughters were born to him and his wife: William A., the subject of this sketch; John D., who married Minnie Vance, a daughter of Richard Vance, of Muscatine county, Iowa, and is now engaged in the drug business in Chicago, Illinois; Nancy, who became the wife of M. E. Moorehead; and Ella S., who makes her home with her brother William A. The mother died November 15, 1908.
William A. Barnes was born in Armstrong county, Pennsylvania, January 30, 1859, but received the greater part of his education, however, in Scott county, for he was little more than six years of age when his parents removed to this state. Reared to the life of a farmer, he has followed it as his vocation, and on the death of his father inherited one hundred and fifteen acres of the old homestead, on which he is now living. He has also purchased forty acres of tim- ber land in Muscatine county, which he has held as an investment. It is from his arable fields that he has derived his success, for he has tilled the land with care and diligence, and, being thoroughly conversant with agricultural methods, has known the character of crops best adapted to the soil. While he has con- sistently followed diversified farming, he has devoted considerable time to the
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stock business, making a specialty of raising shorthorn cattle and Poland China hogs. This branch of his business has proved most profitable, so that he well deserves to be numbered among the successful men of Blue Grass township.
It was in 1890 that Mr. Barnes was united in marriage to Miss Minerva Burn- sides, a daughter of Amos Burnsides, of Buffalo township, and a descendant of one of the early families of Scott county, for her grandfather, James Burn- sides, was one of its pioneers. Three children have been born to them, namely: Chester, Wilma and Roland, all of whom are at home.
Mr. Barnes is a consistent member of the republican party and for the last twenty-five years has served as school treasurer. With a realization of the advantages of educational institutions of high grade, he has steadily given his support to progressive measures and everything that is calculated to ad- vance the welfare of his fellow citizens. While he is ever interested in public affairs he has never sought any public office.
MAURICE F. DONEGAN.
Maurice F. Donegan, a practitioner at the Davenport bar since 1901 and now filling the office of city attorney, was born in Welton, Clinton county, Iowa, on the 2d of September, 1871. As the name indicates, he is of Irish lineage. His father, Jeremiah Donegan, a native of the Emerald isle, came to the United States when seventeen years of age and after living in various parts of the coun- try went to California in 1849, attracted by the discovery of gold on the Pacific coast and the business opportunities incident thereto. After a few years spent in the west he returned to Ireland on a visit but in 1853 again came to America and settled in Clinton county, where he secured land and followed farming until his death, which occurred in 1895. He wedded Miss Mary Lucey, who was born in England but was of Irish lineage.
Maurice F. Donegan was reared on a farm with the usual experiences and environment of rural life and pursued his early education in the district schools, after which he continued his studies in Dewitt high school and in Creighton University at Omaha, Nebraska, from which institution he was graduated with the class of 1895, the degree of Bachelor of Arts being then conferred upon him. He afterward pursued a post-graduate course in Georgetown University in the District of Columbia, where he won the degrees of Master of Arts and Doctor of Philosophy. He pursued a two-years' law course in the same institution and continued his preparation for the bar in the Iowa State University, from which he was graduated with the class of 1901.
Immediately afterward Mr. Donegan located for practice in Davenport, where he has since remained. He was in partnership with E. M. Sharon from 1903 until 1908, and the firm enjoyed a liberal clientage. In the latter year, however, he withdrew from that association, having been elected city attorney, which positon he now fills. He entered upon active practice thoroughly qualified for his chosen profession. The local press has said of him: "The thorough prep- aration for his work which his scholastic years gave him and the ambition to
M. F. DONEGAN
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succeed which that preparation evinced, were high recommendations to the friendship and assistance of his employer. A close association proved him not only willing and anxious to succeed by hard work but, having unusual character and traits of individuality, made the association as partner agreeable and eventu- ally beneficial."
On the 29th of November, 1905, Mr. Donegan was married to Miss Mary I. Martin, a native of Davenport and a daughter of C. D. Martin, of this city. They now have one son, Charles Maurice, who was born July 5, 1907. Mr. Donegan is prominent in the Knights of Columbus lodge. He has served as its recorder and has held the office of chancellor for three years. His standing in his profession is indicated in the fact that in 1904 he was called to the presidency of the Davenport Bar Association, a position which he filled with dignity and credit. He is modest and quiet in demeanor, free from ostentation and display, yet is a congenial companion and one whose true worth gains him many friends. His strong intellect and the analytical trend of his mind are evidenced in the success which he has achieved and in the excellent service which he is now giving to Davenport as its city attorney.
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