USA > Iowa > Des Moines County > History of Des Moines County, Iowa, Volume II > Part 2
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Besides being the directing head of this constantly increasing business, Colonel Higbee has been the president of the Gas & Electric Company for the past twenty-one years, a company which also owns the street car lines of Burlington. He is likewise president of the Burlington Savings Bank, which position he has occupied for an ex- tended period. He remained at the head of the Murray Iron Works as president until he was succeeded by his son, George G. Higbee. He is now seventy-eight years of age and has practically retired from active business management.
Colonel Higbee was married in 1876 to Miss Frances Nealley, of Burlington, and they became the parents of three sons and a daughter. Two of the sons have passed away, while the surviving son is George G., who is now president of the Murray Iron Works.
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In his political views Colonel Higbee has long been a stalwart republican, and he is a member of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States, and the Masonic fraternity. No man in Burlington has done more for the city or been more loyal to its best interests. At a cost of sixty thousand dollars he built the Young Men's Christian Association building and presented it to Burlington as a memorial to his deceased sons, John Ames and Howell Nealley. It is situated on North Fourth street and is a beautiful structure. The corner-stone was laid with fitting ceremonies and in the handsome block of granite were placed photographs of Colonel and Mrs. Higbee and their deceased sons, in whose memory the building was erected. Colonel Higbce is an active Spiritualist and counts as per- sonal friends many of the world's leading figures. His book, "En- franchisement," contains Three Birthday Addresses by Brevet Lieu- tenant-Colonel George H. Higbee. With the growing west as his theater he has played well his part in life and has come to occupy a leading position on the stage of action. Burlington has long num- bered him among its foremost men and most honored citizens-a position which has not been won by his wealth, but through the worth of his character; through his observance of the highest standards of life; through his contribution to the work of public progress.
CLAY MILTON WAITE.
Clay Milton Waite is the business manager and part owner of the Burlington Hawk-Eye, with which paper he has been identified for more than a quarter of a century. He was born in Burlington, October 9, 1866, a son of John Leman and Letitia C. (Williams) Waite. The public schools afforded him his early educational oppor- tunities and later he attended Elliott's Business College. He after- ward taught bookkeeping and had charge of the business exchange in the business college for one year. He made his initial step in the business world as bill clerk for the Drake Hardware Company and afterward accepted a clerkship in the Burlington postoffice, where he remained for four years. He then came to the Burlington Hawk- Eve as bookkeeper in 1888 and advancement in recognition of his ability made him assistant business manager. In 1904 he became business manager and has since controlled the commercial interests of the paper, of which he became a part owner in 1908.
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On the 9th of March, 1892, at Burlington, Iowa, Mr. Waite was united in marriage to Miss Ida May Southwell, a daughter of Calvin Bradley and Lydia Southwell. Mrs. Waite is very active in both church and club work, ofttimes taking a position of leadership in those connections. Both Mr. and Mrs. Waite are Methodists in religious faith and he is a member of the official board of the church. For fifteen years he was a member of the Burlington Boating Asso- ciation until it disbanded and at the present writing he has member- ship with the Golf Club, which indicates something of the nature of his recreation. In politics he has been a lifelong republican, never swerving from the standards of the party. His position upon any vital question is never an equivocal one and his indorsement of a measure is a strong influence in its support.
THEODORE SCHINZEL.
There is no biography in this history which is more truly that of the self-made man than that of Theodore Schinzel, the vice pres- ident of the Schramm & Schmieg Dry Goods Company. Starting out in early boyhood in a most humble capacity, he soon recognized the fact that industry and perseverance arc indispensable elements of advancement and success, and his life has been the embodiment of those qualities, which have brought him eventually to his present position of prominence in the commercial circles of Burlington.
Mr. Schinzel was born in Austria, December 4, 1874, and is a son of Theodore and Helen Schinzel, who remained residents of their native country until 1879, when they made the voyage across the Atlantic to New York, remaining in that city until the following year, when they came to Burlington. The father was a cabinet- maker by trade and became an active factor in industrial circles here, but death called him in 1884. His widow survives and yet makes her home in Burlington. They were the parents of four chil- dren: Amelia, now the wife of U. J. Johnson, a resident of Gales- burg, Illinois; Josephine, the wife of Frank Skeva, living in West Burlington; Theodore, of this review; and Edward H., who is now a traveling salesman for the Schramm & Schmieg Dry Goods Com- pany and resides in Burlington.
Theodore Schinzel was a little lad of less than six years when the family came to Burlington. Here he began his education in the public schools, but his opportunities in that direction were some-
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HISTORY OF DES MOINES COUNTY
what limited, for at the age of thirteen years he started out to earn his own living, his father having died in the meantime, leaving the family in somewhat straitened financial circumstances. He has ever been a close student in the school of experience, however, and is today prominent among the broad-minded, capable, resourceful business men of the city. He was first employed by the firm of Miles White & Company, with whom he remained until he reached the age of six- teen. He then entered the service of Schramm & Schmieg as stock- man and, gradually advancing, came to have an interest in the busi- ness, and for many years has been one of the directors. On the 2d of April, 1912, he was elected to the vice presidency of the company, which controls one of the chief mercantile enterprises not only of the state but of the upper Mississippi valley. At the outset of his career he made it his purpose to thoroughly master every task as- signed him and he lost no opportunity to thoroughly acquaint him- self with the different phases of the business. He studied not only the stock, but the methods of the house and through the exercise of effort increased and heightened his efficiency so that he was called again and again to positions of greater responsibility.
On the 17th of August, 1903, Mr. Schinzel was married to Miss Ida M. Wolf, of Burlington, a daughter of Robert and Anna Wolf, the former a furniture manufacturer. They have become parents of two children, Theodore Robert and Camilla. The parents are members of St. Paul's Catholic church and Mr. Schinzel gives his political allegiance to the democratic party. Practically his entire life has been passed in Burlington, where he has become widely and favorably known. Ability commands respect and confidence every- where, and in this connection Mr. Schinzel has made for himself a most creditable and honorable position in the business circles of the city.
SAMUEL P. GILBERT.
Samuel P. Gilbert, as secretary and treasurer of the Gilbert- Hedge Lumber Company, figures prominently in the conduct of a business which has contributed to the reputation of Burlington as one of the centers of the lumber trade of the Mississippi valley. He was born November 25, 1863, in the city which is still his home, a son of John Webster Gilbert, who for many years was a most forceful factor in Burlington's development, ever regarded as one of its lead-
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ing citizens and a man whom to know was to respect and honor. As his father advanced in years Samuel P. Gilbert relieved him more and more of the care and responsibility of his business affairs and is now the representative of the Gilbert interests in the lumber company organized by the father almost two-thirds of a century ago. The business was incorporated in 1900 and since that time Samuel P. Gilbert has been secretary and treasurer. He likewise became his father's successor in the German-American Bank and is still one of its officers.
On the 30th of October, 1891, occurred the marriage of Mr. Gilbert and Miss Winifred Lewis, of Iowa City, and they are the parents of two daughters and one son, Ruth P., Harriet H. and James I. Mr. and Mrs. Gilbert are members of the Congregational church and they have a wide and favorable acquaintance in Bur- lington, where the former has spent his entire life and where he has so directed his energies as to gain a place among the representative business men.
JOHN L. WAITE.
The name of John L. Waite has figured conspicuously and honor- ably in connection with the history of journalism in Iowa. He is today one of the veteran editors of the state, and who can measure the influence that he has exerted through his editorial writings and his championship of many measures and projects which he has be- lieved to be for the benefit of the commonwealth? He was born in Ravenna, Ohio, August 29, 1840.
The ancestry of the family is traced back to England, and the name seems to be of English lineage. A contemporary biographer has written the family history as follows: "The word 'Wait,' an- ciently spelled Wayghte, Waiet, Wayte, and with other variations, is derived from the Old High German Wachten (to keep watch) , and, in the sense of guard or watchman, is common to all the Teu- tonic languages. The original Waytes were found in England, im- mediately after the Norman Conquest, only among the retainers of the king, princes and great barons; and among their other functions was that of music and minstrelsy. The name frequently occurs in the British records. In A. D. 1075, William the Conqueror gave the earldom, city and castle of Norwich, in England, to 'Ralf de Waiet,' who married Emma, sister of Roger, Earl of Hereford,
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JOHN L. WAITE
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cousin of the Conqueror. The earliest record found, and the source from whence all by the same name seem to trace their origin, was Ralf de Waiet. There is no question among genealogical gleaners but that Ricardus Le Wayte, of County Warwick, who was in 1315 escheator of counties Berkshire, Wilts, Oxford, Bedford and Bucks, was a lineal descendant of Ralf. Thereafter the name was written Wayte almost exclusively until others of the name came to New England, when that was discarded and Wait, or Waite, used instead. The Wayte families were pretty well distributed over the central portion of Southern England, extending thence to Northern Wales, and from there some of them migrated to New England. Among these were three brothers: Richard, the eldest, born in 1596; Gama- liel, in 1598; and Thomas, in 1601. They were cousins of Thomas Wayte, who was a member of parliament, and one of the judges who signed the warrant in 1649 for the execution of Charles the First. The late Morrison Remick Waite, chief justice of the United States, traced his lineage to Thomas Wayte, the Regicide. Colonel John Wait, the fifth justice of the supreme court of Rhode Island, was a great-grandson of Thomas. The three brothers arrived in Boston in 1634. Richard, who became marshal of the colony, and Gamaliel remained in Boston. Thomas settled in Rhode Island. The third son of the latter was Sergeant Benjamin Wait ( 1644-1704), a soldier and scout, who lived at Hadley in 1665, at Hatfield in 1668, in west- ern Massachusetts. He was engaged in various Indian wars, and was slain in the battle between the colonists and the French and Indians at Deerfield in 1704. The New England Historical and Genealogical Register, Marshall Field's Genealogy of the Field Family of Conway, Craft's History of Whately, and numerous local records, tell of the exploits and heroism of this intrepid Indian fighter. One of the most interesting of his experiences, recounted in prose and verse, is the story of the Indian attack upon Hatfield, Sep- tember 19, 1677, the capture of Benjamin Wait's wife and children by the Indians, who took them to Canada, his long and determined pursuit, and final recovery of them. The mother gave birth to a daughter while in captivity who was named 'Canada,' and one of whose descendants founded Smith College, at Northampton, Massa- chusetts. Several generations of the family remained at Hatfield, Whately and vicinity, various members serving in the colonial wars and the War of the Revolution. Each of the descendants of Ben- jamin, in the line of this local sketch, bore the name of 'John' in suc- cession. John, born at Hatfield, Massachusetts, 1680, died there in 1744. He, like his father, was a sergeant and commander in many Vol. II- 2
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excursions, and was in the fight with the French and Indians at Deerfield when his father was slain. John, born at Whately, Massa- chusetts, 1703, died there in 1776. John, born in 1743, served in the War of the Revolution, and died at Norwich, New York, in 1801. John, born at Whately in 1777, lived at Norwich and Oaks Corners, New York, and Chesterfield, Michigan, and died at the home of his son at Ravenna, Ohio, November 5, 1863. He served in the War of 1812. He married Abigail Cranson, who was born May 7, 1781, and died at Chesterfield, February 11, 1854."
John Waite, of the seventh generation, was born at Oaks Cor- ners, New York, where he followed farming and afterward learned the cooper's trade. He removed to Ravenna, Ohio, and on the 9th of April 1835, wedded Martha Amelia Clark, daughter of Ephraim and Ala Amelia (Sperry) Clark, who were among the early immi- grants from Connecticut to the Western Reserve. Mr. Waite after- ward engaged in the marble business and took contracts for the con- struction of railway water tanks. In 1867 he removed to Burlington, Iowa, and became senior member of the grocery firm of Waite, Trenor & Company, while later he conducted a commission busi- ness under the firm style of Waite & Leebrick. He afterward turned his attention to farming in Flint River township and there resided until his death, which occurred while he was visiting a daughter in Peru, Kansas, June 11, 1894. He was a Methodist in religious faith, a republican in his political belief, and his influence and aid were always on the side of progress, reform and improvement.
His son, John Leman Waite, began his education in the public schools of Ravenna and afterward attended a private academy and a commercial school in Chicago. He made his initial step in the business world in connection with telegraphy, serving as operator at Lebanon and Cleveland, Ohio; in Chicago, Illinois, and in Burling- ton, Iowa, advancing in that connection until he was made superin- tendent of the Burlington & Missouri River telegraph line in 1863. In 1869 he became connected with newspaper publication as city editor and market reporter on the Hawk-Eye, then owned and pub- lished by the firm of Edwards & Beardsley. He afterward devoted three years to the development of the A. T. Hay electrical and metallurgical discoveries and inventions, but in 1874 again entered upon active connection with the Hawk-Eye as associate editor under Frank Hatton, who had purchased the paper. Mr. Waite became managing editor as the successor of Robert J. Burdette, who in 1876 resigned to enter the lecture field. Mr. Waite continued in that con- nection until 1882, when he resigned, having been appointed post-
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master of Burlington by President Arthur. He filled that position for four years and on the 27th of July, 1885, assumed the manage- ment of the Hawk-Eye as editor and publisher. He was again called to the position of postmaster through appointment of President Mc- Kinley in 1898 and served two subsequent terms through appoint- ment by President Roosevelt in 1902 and 1906.
On the 21st of September, 1864, Mr. Waite was united in mar- riage to Miss Letitia Caroline Williams, who was born in Burling- ton and is the editor of the woman's department of the Hawk-Eye and the author of a booklet on religious topics called "By the Thorn Road." The family numbers a son and two daughters: Clay Milton, business manager of the Hawk-Eye, who married Miss Ida May Southwell on the 9th of March, 1892; Jessie Benning, who on the 15th of April, 1902, became the wife of William Henry Davidson, managing editor of the Hawk-Eye, by whom she has two children, Barbara Waite and William Waite; and Lola, who completes the family.
Mr. Waite has always been a stalwart advocate of the republican party and his efforts have been an effective force in shaping its policy and guiding its interests in this state. His editorials have placed him among the well known and distinguished journalists of the middle west, maintaining the high standard which has ever been synonymous with the name of the Burlington Hawk-Eye. He and his family hold membership in the Methodist Episcopal church and their activity along church and philanthropic lines has been far-reaching and resultant.
HON. LA MONTE COWLES.
ยท In different positions of honor and trust La Monte Cowles has demonstrated his loyalty to the best interests of city, county, state and nation and at the present writing is serving as a member of the Iowa senate. He has long been an influential factor in the ranks of the republican party in Des Moines county and of the state, and in the solution of intricate government problems and the directing of polit- ical situations he displays that keen analytical power which has made him so successful as a member of the bar. His birth occurred in Oskaloosa, Iowa, September 30, 1859, and he is descended from one of the old American families that has been represented on this con- tinent since 1636. Many of his ancestors served with valor in the
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Revolutionary war. His father was the Rev. W. F. Cowles, a Meth- odist Episcopal minister who for a half century was active in the work of the church. He also served as revenue collector for the fourth district of Iowa under President Lincoln, being twice ap- pointed to that position, and the papers bearing the signature of Abraham Lincoln are now in possession of the subject of this review. In the later years of his life the Rev. W. F. Cowles retired from the active work of the ministry and spent his last days in Burling- ton, where he passed away July 16, 1899. He wedded Maria Eliz- abeth La Monte, who belonged to one of the old colonial families.
La Monte Cowles is indebted to the public-school system of Iowa for the educational opportunities which he enjoyed in early life. His course, however, was not pursued in a single town, owing to the itin- erant custom of the Methodist ministry, which led to the frequent removal of the family from place to place. At a later date he be- came a pupil in the Iowa Wesleyan University at Mount Pleasant, completing his course there with the class of 1879, at which time the degree of Bachelor of Arts was conferred upon him. Still later his alma mater gave him his honorary degree of Master of Arts.
Following his graduation Mr. Cowles went to the west, spending four years as a civil engineer in the employ of the Union Pacific and the Burlington & Missouri Railroad Companies, locating and constructing their lines in Colorado, Idaho, Kansas and other west- ern states. His desire, however, was to become a member of the bar and in preparation for practice he began studying in the office and under the direction of Judge Power, of Burlington, who directed his reading for three years, within which time he gained compre- hensive knowledge of the principles of jurisprudence, so that he was able to pass the required examination for admission to the bar. Be- ginning practice, he formed a partnership with C. B. Jack, who eighteen months later removed to Salt Lake City, Utah. Since that time Mr. Cowles has been alone in general practice and has been accorded an extensive clientage. In this connection a contemporary biographer said: "Absolute fidelity to the interests of his clients, a wonderful capacity for hard work, and systematic preparation of all cases entrusted to his care, have been some of the noteworthy factors in the achievement of his success. It is long since he has had much leisure, and it is fortunate for him that he can find genuine enjoyment, as he does, in the line of endeavor which he has chosen as his special work. Early in life he learned the hard but neces- sary lesson that 'nothing of value can be gained without its equiv- alent,' and therefore when he entered upon the practice of law he
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brought to bear all of the talents with which nature had liberally endowed him, industry and perseverance being among these." In addition to his professional service in behalf of many private indi- viduals, Mr. Cowles is general solicitor for the German-American Life Insurance Company of Burlington and is attorney for the Gen- eral Agency Company of Burlington and many of the large business corporations of the city. Moreover, he has various business con- nections and investments which are bringing to him substantial re- turn, and a number of these figure prominently in the commercial development of the city.
On the 15th of September, 1886, Mr. Cowles was married to Miss Hattie E. Kane, but on the 11th of November, 1889, was called upon to mourn the loss of his wife, who passed away on that date, leaving a little daughter, Ethel M. It was not until the 24th of November, 1898, that he was married again, at which time Miss Ida M. Miller, of Burlington, became his wife. The following year he erected a pleasant and commodious residence at No. 810 North Fifth street. Mr. and Mrs. Cowles occupy an enviable position in social circles, the hospitality of the best homes of the city being cordially extended them. Mr. Cowles is identified with several fraternal organizations, including the Masons, the United Workmen, the Woodmen of the World and the Elks.
Aside from his profession Mr. Cowles is perhaps best known as one of the leading republicans of the first district of lowa and has had much to do with shaping the policy and directing the course of his party in the state. His opinions carry weight in its councils and on one occasion there appeared in a leading newspaper of lowa the following: "La Monte Cowles, chairman of the first district republican committee, finds deep satisfaction in the results at the polls. He had made it his personal endeavor to conduct an effective campaign under conditions which largely eliminated public meet- ings, street parades and brass bands. The usual concomitants of a presidential campaign were not in vogue this year. Here, as else- where in the United States, the chief reliance of both parties was in organization, leaving political discussion chiefly to the press. Mr. Cowles quietly, but sedulously, conducted the campaign along less spectacular lines, and he has the gratification of seeing Mr. Hedge reelected by nearly five thousand plurality, the largest ever given a candidate in this district." He has been chairman of both the city and county central committees, was chairman of the congressional committee of the first district for ten years and was for four years a member of the state central committee, and during campaigns has
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been frequently heard in the discussion of the foremost questions and issues of the day. His opinions are always sound and logical and are clearly and tersely presented.
For two years Mr. Cowles was city attorney of Burlington and after his retirement from that position served as referee in bank- ruptcy for six years. In 1904 he was again elected city attorney and remained in the office for two years. In 1910 he was made his party's nominee for the senate and conducted the campaign so capably that the people came to know his position upon vital public questions and felt that his service in the senate would be of value and ben- efit to them. Accordingly he received a majority at the polls and is now sitting in the upper house, of which he will be a member until 1915. As lawyer and lawmaker he deserves mention among the rep- resentative residents of the state and in all of his public service he has been actuated by a fidelity to public good that has caused him to subordinate personal aggrandizement and partisanship to the gen- eral welfare.
W. O. KAISER.
W. O. Kaiser is proprietor of a drug store at No. INIO North Eighth street, and a spirit of enterprise and advancement actuates him in the conduct of his business affairs. He was born near Prince- ton, Bureau county, Illinois, August 5, 1863, a son of David and Rebecca J. (Mellen) Kaiser. The father was a native of Pennsyl- vania and died in the year 1905. The mother was born in Rhode Island and departed this life in 1906, the remains of both being in- terred at Newton, Iowa. They had a family of five children : Belle; Emma ; Retta; W. O., of this review; and Carrie.
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