USA > Iowa > Scott County > Davenport > History of Davenport and Scott County Iowa, Volume II > Part 78
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For two summers Mr. Feddersen worked as a farm hand and then in conjunc- tion with another bought one hundred and sixty acres of prairie land in Liberty township. The two men put up a frame house and operated the place for two years, the wife of Mr. Feddersen's partner keeping house for them. Then the land was divided and after Mr. Feddersen's marriage he built a house upon the eighty acres which was his share, in which he and his wife lived for nine years subsequent. During that time, as he found opportunity, he purchased one hundred and sixty acres more. In his endeavor to get ahead he overworked, so that he was compelled on account of ill health to give up active farming. Accordingly he sold his property in Liberty township and purchased the fine tract he owns in Davenport township and removed to the city. He bought first a residence on Eighth and Warren streets, in which he lived for five years, when he sold it and bought Washington Garden, where he lived until 1885 and then removed to his present property on Vine street. In 1885 he erected the fine large residence he has since occupied.
On the 9th of November, 1859, Mr. Feddersen was united in marriage to Miss Katherina Dora Thea, a daughter of John Thea, who lived and died in
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HISTORY OF SCOTT COUNTY
Germany. Mr. and Mrs. Feddersen have had three children. Kate made her home with her father and died November 9, 1909. Peter, president of the Dav- enport Malting & Grain Company, married Miss Elizabeth Von Doehren and they have two sons, Richard and Edgar. Mary became the wife of P. B. Fuh- lendorf and lives in Davenport with her father. Mrs. Feddersen died March 8, 1898, at the age of sixty-six years. She came to Davenport when twenty-six years old and the subsequent forty years were passed in Scott county.
Mr. Feddersen is a member of the Old German Settlers Society and a stock- holder in the German Savings Bank, the Iowa National Bank and in the Daven- port Malting & Grain Company. A man of laudable ambition, he is now one of the substantial citizens of the city and county. He spared no effort to accom- plish his desires even to the detriment of his own health.
GUSTAV H. POSTEL.
Farming has constituted the life work of Gustav H. Postel, who is now the owner of a good tract of two hundred acres in Winfield township. He brought to his work the sterling qualities of the German race-industry and economy- when as a youth of sixteen he started out in this country to earn his livelihood, and it is to those qualities that he largely owes the success that has attended his undertakings. He was born in Holstein, Germany, June 20, 1853, a son of Franz and Minnie Postel, also natives of the fatherland, where the father was engaged in farming. He came to the United States with a part of his family in 1869, and the last years of his life were spent in Scott county.
Gustav H. Postel came to America a few months before his father, and on landing in New York came direct to Scott county, Iowa, where a brother was living. He was able and eager to work and after his arrival lost no time in se- curing employment, working for two years as a farm hand. Then he rented land in Cleona township, which he operated for twelve years, at the end of which time his circumstances justified his investing in real estate. Accordingly he purchased from John Bruhn what was known as the old August Brandt farm and it has remained his home to the present. In the intervening years, however, he has made many improvements which have greatly changed the ap- pearance of the place, for he has cleared away considerable timber, has tiled his fields, put up buildings for the shelter of grain and stock and done other things to make it a model farm of the twentieth century. Nor did he neglect the soil, but through study of its properties and through careful and systematic cultiva- tion he has brought it to a high state of productiveness. In consequence he annually gathers and markets rich harvests, which bring him large returns for his labor.
At Davenport, on the 27th of February, 1877, was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Postel and Miss Mary Barker, a daughter of John and Sophia Barker, and they have become the parents of four children, namely: Alvina, now the wife of William Radlef, of Eldridge; Clara, the wife of Chris Van Dorn, of Eldridge; Theresa, at home; and Gustav, also at home. Mrs. Postel was born in
MR. AND MRS. GUSTAV H. POSTEL
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HISTORY OF SCOTT COUNTY
Buffalo, New York, and her parents were among the early settlers of Walcott, Iowa.
Mr. Postel deserves great credit for what he has accomplished, for he came to this country a poor boy with nothing to aid him in the battle of life in a new country, where even the language was strange to him, save the power and will- ingness to work. The large farm which is now his, therefore, shows the youth of today what may be accomplished by pluck, industry and perseverance.
CHARLES S. SIMPSON.
Charles S. Simpson, while maintaining his residence in Davenport, is well known as the president of the Le Claire Savings Bank at Le Claire, Iowa. He was born in Miami county, Ohio, near the city of Troy, January 1, 1856, and comes of a family of Scotch ancestry founded in America by his great-grand- father, who, leaving the land of hills and heather, sailed for the new world and became one of the early settlers of Miami county, Ohio. He entered land near Troy and C. S. Simpson still owns eighty acres of the original tract and has the old parchment deed signed by James Monroe, then president of the United States. Benjamin Simpson, the grandfather, and David W. Simpson, the father of our subject, were both born on the old homestead in Ohio and in the same locality occurred the birth of Fannie Martin, who became the wife of David W. Simp- son. She died in 1899, at the age of sixty-five years, and is still survived by her husband, who yet makes his home in Troy, Ohio, where he was born May 17, 1831. They were the parents of six children : Olidia, now the wife of Frank Ross, of Dayton, Ohio; Charles S .; Laura, the wife of William Hayner, of De- troit; Samuel, of Dayton; Amanda; and Ida, the wife of R. T. Shepperd, of Hamilton, Ohio.
Charles S. Simpson acquired his education in the public schools of Troy and when he put aside his text-books engaged in the nursery business, which his father and his grandfather had previously followed. Later he devoted his at- tention to agricultural pursuits and in 1894 came to Scott county, Iowa, where he has since made his home.
It was on the 20th of November of that year that Mr. Simpson was married to Miss Amelia Gross, a daughter of Joseph and Margaret (Schweine) Gross, of Le Claire. Her father was born January 26, 1824, at Alsace on the Rhine, at that time a province of France. Coming to America in 1851, he located in Le Claire, Iowa, and the following year married Miss Margaret Schweine, by whom he had seven children, but only two of the number are now living: Mrs. Nelson M. Smith, of Le Claire; and Charles S. Simpson, of Davenport. Mr. Gross was a cabinetmaker by trade and for over twenty years was engaged in the fur- niture and undertaking business in Le Claire, selling out two years prior to his death, which occurred March 16, 1888. He had made his home in Le Claire for thirty-seven years and was honored and respected by all who knew him. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Simpson have been born two children but Charles A. died
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HISTORY OF SCOTT COUNTY
in early life. The living son is Albert G., who was born October 8, 1898. Mrs. Simpson is a native of Le Claire.
Mr. Simpson was one of the organizers of the Le Claire Savings Bank, which was established in 1901 with about thirty stockholders, the capital stock of ten thousand dollars being all taken by people of that locality. C. S. Simpson was elected president, with Dr. Gamble as vice president and J. E. Park as cashier. On the board of directors, in addition to the officers, were W. P. Headley, N. M. Smith, S. E. Bammer, R. Hose, F. F. Schutter and John Wilson. The present officers are : C. S. Simpson, president ; W. A. Shirk, vice president ; T. C. Michael, cashier ; and H. T. Gault, assistant cashier.
Mr. Simpson is a member of the Odd Fellows society of Troy, Ohio, and has attained the thirty-second degree in the Scottish Rite in Masonry and the Knight Templar degree in the York Rite. He served as alderman of Le Claire for eleven years during the fifteen years of his residence there, being elected on the republican ticket. He has always been an earnest republican with firm faith in the principles of the party and in all matters of citizenship he takes a progressive stand, believing that the best interests of good government are conserved thereby. In his life he exemplifies the spirit of the modern business man who is watchful and appreciative of opportunities, knowing that he must be ever alert and enter- prising in this age where competition is great. He is seeking success along care- fully defined lines of labor and has made the Le Claire Bank one of the safe and substantial financial institutions of the county.
HENRY THODE.
Henry Thode, who worked his way upward from a humble beginning and gave proof in his life that success is the outcome of clear judgment, experience and indefatigable energy rather than the result of fortunate circumstances or propitious environment, was born in Neustadt, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, February 15, 1828. In his youthful days he learned the wagon maker's trade, which he followed in his native country until he came to America in 1852. Crossing the Atlantic on one of the old-time sailing vessels, he landed at New Orleans on the 3d of October and made his way northward to Iowa. At Rock Island he secured employment, there working at his trade for a year. On the expiration of that period he came to Davenport where he opened a wagon maker's shop and conducted business on his own account. For a time after his arrival he was in partnership with a Mr. Linke in the ownership and conduct of a blacksmith shop on Harrison street, continuing in the business for eight years. He afterward formed a partnership with his father-in-law, Mr. Goss, who was a wagon maker by trade and came to this country from Holstein, Ger- many, in 1851, at the age of fifty-five years. He entered the wholesale liquor business in 1866, in connection with Mr. Langfeldt, on West Second street, under the firm name of Langfeldt, Thode & Company. The partnership was dissolved in 1874 and Mr. Thode continued to carry on business in that line until his death.
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HISTORY OF SCOTT COUNTY
On the 28th of October, 1854, was celebrated the marriage of Henry Thode and Miss Augusta Goss. Her father died many years ago but his wife lived until about 1893, when she passed away at the venerable age of ninety-one years. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Thode were born eleven children, eight of whom yet live, namely : William, Laura, Carl, Hugo, Edward, Dora, Mary and Emma, the last named being now the wife of H. J. Garstang. The death of Mr. Thode oc- curred October 18, 1893, after a residence in Davenport of about forty years. He was well known in the Odd Fellows society, holding membership in Scott Lodge, No. 37, and in the encampment, No. 3. He was also an honorary mem- ber of the Schuetzen Society. He was much interested in the German schools of Davenport and in his fellow countrymen, whom he assisted in many ways. His life stood to them as an example of patriotic American citizenship and of enter- prise and energy in business affairs, for the success he achieved in life was at- tributable entirely to his own labors.
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GUSTAVE A. AND RUDOLF SCHROEDER.
The gentlemen whose names introduce this sketch are enterprising and well known farmers of Buffalo township, where they own a valuable farm compris- ing two hundred and twenty-three acres. They are sons of J. H. and Mina (Hoffman) Schroeder, both of German birth, the former a native of Wernings- hausen, Saxony, born September 13, 1840, and the latter born in Baden on the Ist of January, 1845. They came to the United States in early life and were married in Davenport. Prior to his marriage the father lived for a time in Black Hawk, Iowa, which is now a part of Davenport. He is a cabinet-maker by trade and followed that pursuit after coming to the new world. Eventually, however, he took up farming on the Locust road but is now living a retired life in Davenport, enjoying in ease the fruits of his former labor.
Gustave A. Schroeder was born on the home farm in Scott county, January 20, 1873, while Rudolf, two years his junior, was born on the 2d of October, 1875. They were trained to the duties of the farm during the spring and sum- mer months, while in the winter seasons their time was devoted to the acquire- ment of an education in the district schools. In 1888 the family removed to a farm near Mount Joy in Scott county, and the sons remained on the homestead there until 1896, when, ambitious to start out upon an independent venture, they purchased their present farm of two hundred and twenty-three acres in Buffalo township. This tract is well improved, having on it substantial buildings, while the land is in an arable state and their knowledge of farming is such that each year they harvest good crops as a reward for the labor bestowed upon the fields. From the time of early spring planting until their crops are harvested in late autumn they are busily engaged, and their work is ever carried on according to the most honorable business principles.
The Schroeder brothers have one sister, Miss Lizzie Schroeder. In politi- cal belief they are democrats, believing firmly in the principles of the party. They are stockholders in the Buffalo Savings Bank, of which Rudolf is a direc-
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tor. Alert to every opportunity presented for advancement, they are steadily working their way upward and are classed with the representative farmers of Buffalo township and Scott county.
JAMES A. HANLEY.
There has been no esoteric phase in the life record of James A. Hanley, who has always resided in Scott county, his history, therefore, being a familiar one to his fellow citizens, who instinctively accord him respect and honor for what he has accomplished. It is often under the stimulus of opposition and the pressure of adversity that the best and strongest in man is brought out and developed-a truth which finds exemplification in the life of Mr. Hanley, who, thrown upon his own resources at an early age, is today one of the successful and able mem- bers of the Davenport bar, capable of crossing swords in forensic combat with the most learned members of the profession.
Mr. Hanley was born in Le Claire, this county, on the 8th of March, 1863, and is the fifth son and sixth child of Dennis and Bridget (O'Shaunessy) Han- ley, natives of Ireland, where they spent their youth and were married. They then determined to seek their fortune in the new world and on crossing the Atlantic established their home in Le Claire. The father was a laboring man, diligent and industrious, but his death occurred on Christmas day of 1869, when his son James was but six years of age. Two children had been added to the family after the birth of our subject, but the daughter died in infancy. The support of the family of seven sons and one daughter then devolved upon the mother, who was a noble-hearted, self-denying woman, her whole ambition be- ing to rear her sons to be good men, well qualified for life's work. She con- sidered no sacrifice on her part too great if it would promote the happiness or welfare of her children. She lived to see her ambition gratified for all became successful and respected men. Four of her children, Thomas B., James A., Wil- liam H. and Kate E. became school teachers. Later Thomas B. became a prom- inent attorney, settling in Tipton, Iowa, where he practices as a member of the firm of Wolf & Hanley. He has served as mayor of Tipton and in other prom- inent positions, and is recognized as a leading lawyer of that place. Dennis Hanley, Jr., engaged in boat-building until his death in 1878. Daniel R. and Michael L. took up steamboating and became licensed engineers and successful business men. William H. turned his attention to the profession of law and has attained a gratifying position as a member of the bar of Dubuque, Iowa.
The mother taught her children to be self-reliant, reliable and trustworthy, also frugal and industrious. She encouraged thrift and economy by taking care of the wages of her sons as they were able to start out in life and sup- port themselves. James A. Hanley pursued his early education in the schools of Le Claire and when in his fourteenth year began earning his own livelihood, becoming cook on a raft boat on the river at what would seem ridiculously low wages at the present time. The working season lasted seven months each year and from his earnings he saved enough to enable him to attend the country
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HISTORY OF SCOTT COUNTY
schools three months each year. He won gradual advancement until he became clerk on one of the river boats and the utilization which he made of his oppor- tunities for promoting his knowledge enabled him at the age of eighteen years to secure a teacher's certificate. He then engaged in teaching through the win- ter months in the district schools, while in the summer seasons he was upon the river until twenty-two years of age, when he left the river and matriculated in Ames Agricultural College, his scanty earnings being supplemented by a sum of money which he borrowed from his mother. He left that institution at the end of a year on account of his limited financial resources, but was eager to obtain an education and prepare for a professional career, and in September, 1886, began a two years' law course in the State University of Iowa, which granted him his diploma on the 19th of June, 1888. This admitted him to prac- tice in the state and federal courts. Up to this time his had been a very laborious life but his ambition had sustained him.
On completing his law course Mr. Hanley returned to Le Claire, where he arrived with a single dollar in his pocket, while his indebtedness to his mother amounted to two hundred and fifty dollars. He immediately opened an office and began practice, applying himself most diligently to the legal work that was entrusted to him. Realizing the necessity for thorough preparation, which he never failed to give, he won recognition in the courts as an able, earnest lawyer, whose reasoning was sound and whose application of legal principles was cor- rect. Feeling that his efforts were circumscribed by the narrow confines of the village, in April, 1891, he removed to Davenport, where he has since made steady progress in his chosen profession. One of the local papers said of him: "The habits inculcated by a good mother have given him a business, social and moral stamina which is the best possible foundation for his life work. Honest, trustworthy and ever with a deep respect for the law and an eye single to his clients' interests he has won the good opinions of his fellow members of the bar and of the public, and is frequently consulted by the former and unhesitatingly trusted by the latter." While Mr. Hanley still continues in general practice his attention is largely confined to civil business and mainly to office work.
Mr. Hanley has also gained a notable place in political circles, not by reason of the fact that he has been very active as an office seeker but owing to his stal- wart advocacy of principles in which he firmly believes. He has delivered many campaign addresses and is a popular speaker, whose arguments carry weight and whose statements are a clear exposition of the isues of the cam- paigns. In 1903 he was elected alderman at large for a term of two years and in 1892 was appointed the president of the commission on insanity of Scott county, in which position he still continues. He has never allowed office hold- ing, however, to interfere with his practice. To this he gives his attention very largely but is also known in financial circles as a director of the Citizens Trust & Savings Bank.
On the 14th of December, 1892, Mr. Hanley was married to Miss Ida B. Davisson, a native of Michigan, and they have two daughters, Bernace and Eloise. The family find their chief enjoyment in their home and their greatest happiness in the society of each other. Mr. Hanley belongs to the Commercial Club and is well known in fraternal circles as a Knight of Pythias and an Elk.
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HISTORY OF SCOTT COUNTY
He also belongs to the Modern Brotherhood of America. In manner he is genial, with a pleasant word and smile for everyone, and his social qualities have made him deservedly popular. He is never too busy to be cordial or too cordial to be busy and is, in fact, a man of well balanced character and interests, whose strug- gles and trials in earlier years have given him force and determination, enabling him to correctly judge of life's values.
FRANK HOLM.
Frank Holm, the recorder for Scott county, was born in Davenport, December 15, 1864, a descendant of sturdy German parents. His father, Theodore Holm, was born in Hamburg, Germany, but came to Davenport in 1856, where he pursued his trade as a decorator. He had gained a proficiency in this line of work in the land of his birth and was accounted one of the most artistic as well as successful men here. He was also a musician, and when the Civil war broke out, on the Ist of August, 1861, he volunteered and served in the regimental band of the Forty- fourth Illinois Infantry, until September, 1862, when he was discharged. As the war was not yet over, he reenlisted, being assigned to one of the hospital corps for a time. It was as a citizen of Davenport, however, that he will be longest remembered, for he was ever actuated by a large measure of public spirit. He was one of the active members of the original hook and ladder company and in the late '50s was one of the organizers of the Davenport German theater, so that in his death the city lost one of her valued and respected citizens. He married Miss Caroline Baurose, who was also of German nativity but came to Daven- port with her parents in 1846 when she was only two years old. The family landed in New Orleans and ascended the Mississippi river to this city, where Louis Baurose, her father, found employment at his trade of a stone-mason. Like Mr. Holm he was one of the original volunteers of the fire department of Davenport. Unto Theodore Holm and his wife were born four children: Frank, the subject of this review; Mamie, now Mrs. Plamback, of Omaha; Ludovig, who died in infancy ; and Louise, who is at home.
Frank Holm, who has proved himself worthy of every responsibility assigned to him, attended the public schools of Davenport, and after he had completed the prescribed course of study began his commercial career. He was associated first with the Petersen Dry Goods Company, in the minor position of cash boy, but through diligence and application rapidly rose in their esteem until at the end of the six years he spent with them he held the position of salesman. He then entered the employ of the Wadsworth Wholesale Dry Goods Company, with whom he remained eleven years, at the end of that time returning to his former employers, the Petersen Dry Goods Company. He was associated with them for the second time for about eight years, when, in 1906, he was elected on the democratic ticket to the office of county recorder. He had always been active in political matters from his young manhood, although he had not previously re- ceived any indication of the confidence his fellow voters placed in his judgment, his ability and his integrity.
FRANK HOLM
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HISTORY OF SCOTT COUNTY
In 1896 Mr. Holm was united in marriage to Miss Emma Soechtig, a native of South Bend, Indiana, and unto them has been born one daughter, Thelma, whose birth occurred January 7, 1902. Mr. Holm belongs to several of the German and other organizations of a fraternal and social character in Daven- port, among whose members he is very popular. Indeed his genial personality, and his willingness to exert himself in assisting others, united with his wide busi- ness experience, make him a most efficient official.
RUDOLPH SCHUETT.
Scott county numbers among its native sons Rudolph Schuett, a representa- tive and progressive farmer, whose birth here occurred on the 5th of March, 1873, on the farm which is still his home. He is a son of Theodore and Anna (Meier) Schuett, who were both born in Schleswig-Holstein, the former on the 18th of January, 1848, and the latter on the 30th of December, 1850. Coming to America in 1867 in search of better business opportunities than were offered in Germany, the father made his way at once to Scott county, Iowa, where he purchased a farm upon which he continued to reside until 1906, when he re- tired from the active duties of business life and removed to Davenport, where he is now living retired in the enjoyment of well earned rest. He took an active part in community affairs, holding the office of trustee of Blue Grass township for some time and later serving as township clerk for a number of years.
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