USA > Iowa > Des Moines County > History of Des Moines County, Iowa, Volume II > Part 22
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The Doctor and his children are members of the Presbyterian church, and fraternally he is connected with Washington Lodge, No. I. I. O. O. F. His political allegiance is given the democratic party,
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and he is a member of the Crystal Lake Hunting & Fishing Club-a connection that indicates something of the nature of his interests and recreation. In the strict path of his profession he also has member- ship connections as he belongs to the local and state dental societies. A lifelong resident of Des Moines county, he is widely known to its citizens and his record, at all times honorable and upright, has, won for him the high regard, confidence and goodwill of his fellow citi- zens, while his ambition and ability have placed him in the front rank among the practitioners of dentistry.
FRANK M. MELLINGER.
Frank M. Mellinger is engaged in the real-estate and insurance business, but his activities have been of broader scope and wider significance than those of the real-estate man who merely, buys and sells property or negotiates realty transfers. He has studied condi- tions and utilized opportunities to the benefit not only of his indi- vidual success but of the community as well, and it is this spirit of initiative which has made him a leading factor in the reclamation of twenty thousand acres of land lying just across the river in Hender- son county, Illinois. Burlington is his native city and the year of his birth was 1854. His father, S. Mellinger, came to Burlington in 1850 and here first engaged in the tin and stove business, with which he was connected for about fifteen years. In 1865, however, he turned his attention to real-estate operations, establishing the business now conducted by his son, Frank M. Mellinger. The father was at the head of the undertaking until 1897, when he was succeeded by his sons, although he still continued to work along the same line until his death, which occurred in November, 1911. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Emeline Marshall, passed away in September, 1912.
The early home of the family stood on Hawkeye creek and it was there that Frank M. Mellinger was born and spent his early youth. At the usual age he entered the public schools of Burling- ton and after passing through consecutive grades he further qualified for the practical and responsible duties of life by pursuing a course in the old Business College of Burlington, now known as Elliott's Business College. He made his initial step in the business world as an employe of the William Bell Dry Goods Company, wholesale dealers, in the capacity of bill clerk. He remained with that house
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for ten years, working his way steadily upward, and at the end of that time he entered the employ of the Buffington Wheel Company. Again advancement came to him in recognition of his ability and trustworthiness and ultimately he became secretary of the company, which controlled the first wheel manufactory west of the Mississippi river. At length that company was absorbed by the trust and then Frank M. Mellinger entered the real-estate field with his father, becoming his successor in the management and ownership of the business in 1897.
He largely deals in farm lands although he handles considerable city property and also writes a large amount of insurance annually. Fifteen years ago he began agitating the question of reclaiming the marsh lands across the river in Henderson county, Illinois, but met with little encouragement. Notwithstanding the difficulties that confronted him he persisted and as the result of his continued efforts he succeeded in getting the people and the moneyed interests to take hold of the proposition in 1911 and now they are reclaiming about twenty thousand acres through scientific drainage. The tract was divided into two drainage districts under public control and Mr. Mellinger was the first man to be appointed on a commission when residing in another state from that in which the work is being car- ried on. The citizens of Henderson county, Illinois, however, got up a special petition that he be appointed by the courts and this was done. He is now the active director of the undertaking, which is proving of the utmost value to that region. In the beginning of the work he assumed a large part of the responsibility, both financial and otherwise.
On the 25th of September, 1884, Mr. Mellinger was united in marriage to Miss Lou A. Stubbs, of Mount Pleasant, Iowa, who was educated in the schools of that city. They have become the parents of four children: Frank S., who married Hazel Merle, of Omaha, Nebraska, and is engaged in the practice of dentistry in that city; Mabel, the wife of Dr. Clarence Steen, of Scott's Bluff, Nebraska, where he is filling the office of mayor; and Grace and Maric, who arc attending high school. Dr. and Mrs. Steen have three children, a son and two daughters.
Mr. and Mrs. Mellinger are prominent in social circles of Bur- lington and are also active members of the Congregational church. His club relations are with the Hawkeyes and the Elks, the Carthage Lake Fishing Club and the Silver Lake Fishing Club. His political allegiance is given to the republican party and he is thoroughly con- versant with the leading questions and issues of the day but has never
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been a politician in the sense of office seeking, feeling that the pur- suits of private life are in themselves abundantly worthy of his best efforts. In his business career he has won notable success and his initiative spirit has been of direct value to the community in which his efforts have been put forth.
F. W. RASCHE.
F. W. Rasche is a partner of E. H. Hoelzen in the real-estate and insurance business, in which connection they have secured a large clientage, although the firm has been in existence for only about two years. Mr. Rasche is a native of Missouri, his birth having occurred in Kahoka, Clark county, on the 12th of February, 1875, his parents being Frederick and Caroline (Heneke) Rasche. The father, a native of Germany, came to the United States in boyhood and entered the ministry of the German Evangelical church, after which he engaged in preaching in various sections of Missouri, Iowa and Illi- nois. He married Caroline Heneke, a native of Missouri, and her death occurred in 1894, while the Rev. Frederick Rasche survived until October 9, 1912, passing away in this state. His work was closely identified with the moral development of the middle west and his efforts proved an influencing element in advancing the interests of the church in many ways.
F. W. Rasche acquired a parochial school education and also attended the public schools at Franklin and at Creston, Iowa, before entering Elmhurst College near Chicago. He afterward entered into the mercantile business as a clerk at Creston and thus gained the initial experience which qualified him for later responsibilities of that character. He embarked in merchandising on his own account in Des Moines in 1894. The same year his mother died and the family then removed to Burlington. In this city Mr. Rasche again engaged in general merchandising, conducting a store for two years, at the end of which time he sold out. He then began clerking in the St. Louis Store in Burlington and was also employed in other establishments of this city until 1909, when he secured a position with the Parsons Realty Company, with which he was associated until 1912. In that year he joined E. H. Hoelzen in forming a partner- ship for the conduct of a real-estate and insurance business and the firm of Hoelzen & Rasche has made for itself a credit- able place in this field of business activity. They have negotiated
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many important property transfers and have secured a good clientage in insurance as well, writing many large policies each year.
In 1899 Mr. Rasche was united in marriage to Miss Lydia M. Schaefer, of Burlington, a daughter of Captain Charles Schaefer, and they now have two sons, Walter and Milton. The parents are members of the German Evangelical Zion church and Mr. Rasche' has membership with the Ancient Order of United Workmen, the Red Men and the Commercial Exchange. In politics he is a pro- gressive, having allied himself with the movement which in recent years has sought freedom from all machine rule and attempts to further through concerted public effort the best interests of the country. He is a typical man of the period, alert and energetic, realizing that in this age of keen competition success can only be won through intense business activity, and that he is most diligent, energetic and determined is manifest in the results which are attend- ing his labors.
O. M. BURRUS.
Whatever there is glorious in this world is the product of labor, either of body or mind. History is but the record of work. The halls of art display the exquisite touch of the hand of the sculptor and artist, cultivated fields blossom and wave under the hand of toil ; busy marts, rising cities, are the treasure house of its deeds. The Creator has made work the all-regulating law of men, obedience to which promotes the harmony and happiness of the state and society. All work is noble that has for its end the improvement of the work- man and his fellows; for it is in the line on which the glorious Archi- tect and Sculptor of the Universe is working. The symbols most pleasing to Him and expressive of the civilization and elevation of man, are not the sword, the cannon, not the regal crown, but the square, the compass, the mallet and chisel, the palette and brush, the hammer, the forge and the plow. The men in all ages who have gone forth with the implements of all work, governed by the prin- ciples of truth and justice revealed by the God of Heaven, are the pioneers, the builders, the reformers, the noblemen of earth.
As a representative man of industry as applied to art, we select him whose name heads this sketch.
Prominent among the energetic, farseeing and successful business men of Burlington is the founder and promoter of the extensive busi-
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ness conducted under the name of O. M. Burrus & Brother. They are wholesale manufacturers of fine monumental work and have a business that covers a wide portion of the western territory. Progress- ive methods, unabating energy and unrelaxing attention to the busi- ness in principle and detail, are the strong features in the success which has come to the firm.
Mr. Burrus is a native of Illinois. He was born December 11, 1860, of the marriage of Robert R. and Louisa Burrus, the former a cabinetmaker by trade. Hc acquired a country-school education and afterward learned the marble cutting business. The year 1876 wit- nessed his arrival in Burlington, where he was employed in the line of his trade until 1887, but he was ambitious to enjoy the benefits of his own labors and in that year embarked in business on his own account with a capital of sixty-five dollars. From that small beginning he has steadily advanced. He possesses a high degree of skill and efficiency in marble cutting and, moreover, he is most energetic. Upon these qualities as a foundation he has builded his success. In 1904 he was joined by his brother, R. R. Burrus, who had formerly been a traveling salesman for a furniture house, and in 1907 the busi- ness was incorporated with O. M. Burrus as president and manager.
The company now has the largest plant west of New England and their ground space has a frontage of three hundred feet on Jefferson street and one hundred and seventy feet on Valley street and extends through the block. Something of the immensity of the business is gleaned from the fact that he pays twenty-eight thousand dollars per year on incoming freight alone. He now employs eighty mechanics and pays sixty-five thousand dollars annually in wages. The output is sold all over the territory west of the Mississippi river. Electric power from the Keokuk plant is used and the equipment is thor- oughly modern in every particular. They own ware rooms and fac- tory and have their own side track, which runs at the rear of the factory and also into the factory. There are three steel traveling cranes, two steel derricks, three surfacing machines, seventy-five plug drills and pneumatic tools and three polishing mills. The plant is thoroughly equipped for handling the highest class of monumental work and the ware room fronting on Valley street contains more finished granite monuments in nearly all the standard granites than can be seen in any other one place in the United States. The ware- house is built of Bedford stone and equipped with three steel travel- ing cranes extending over the side track. Their work is seen through- out all sections of the west and is thoroughly artistic in design and workmanship. They use light and dark Barre, Woodbury, Missouri
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red, dark Quincy, Saint Cloud red, Winsboro blue, blue pearl and other standard granites.
On the 18th of September, 1887, O. M. Burrus was united in mar- riage to Miss Ida M. Brown, of Burlington, and they became parents of three children, but the only one now living is Norman, who is attending Ames College and has won fame on the athletic field. Mr. Burrus is independent in his political views, supporting men and measures rather than party. He belongs to the Crystal Lake Club, the Golf Club and the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, and is popular in those organizations. He deserves much credit for what he has accomplished, for he started out in life empty-handed, learn- ing a trade which he thoroughly mastered and in which his skill and efficiency, coupled with laudable ambition, has brought him to sub- stantial success, making him one of the foremost business men of his adopted city.
PHIL LEICHT.
Phil Leicht is conducting a profitable business as a retail dealer in liquors and cigars in Burlington. He was born in this city, May 18, 1861, a son of Philip Leicht, whose birth occurred in Germany in 1831 and who at the age of twenty-four years crossed the Atlantic to the United States. He landed at New Orleans and after a brief period spent in the south made his way up the Mississippi to Bur- lington, where he arrived in 1857. Here he entered the employ of the Gilbert-Hedge Lumber Company, with which he was connected for about eight years, and then with the capital which he had acquired from his industry and economy he embarked in business on his own account in 1865 as a dealer in liquors. His wife, Mrs. Wil- helmena Leicht, who was born in Germany in 1840, passed away at the age of forty-five years.
Their son, Phil Leicht, was educated in the parochial schools of Burlington to the age of thirteen years, after which he pursued a business course in the old Bryant & Stratton school. He bought his father's business and became his successor on the ist of May, 1882. He has been on the same corner for thirty-two years, occupy- ing a three-story brick building which he owns. He conducts a retail trade and is liberally patronized, his business being a source of grati- fying profit.
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On the 29th of November, 1883, Mr. Leicht was united in mar- riage to Miss Annie K. Klein, of Burlington, who was educated in the parochial schools of this city. She holds membership in St. John's Catholic church and takes a most active and helpful interest in its work. By her marriage she has become the mother of two daughters : Anna H. and Blanch P., both of whom graduated from the parochial and high schools of Burlington and are accomplished musicians. Mr. Leicht is identified with several fraternal and club organizations, belonging to the Eagles, the Moose, the Gobblers, the Carthage Lake Fishing Club and the Silver Lake Club. He is a communicant of the Catholic church. In politics he is a democrat and is always inter- ested in the city's welfare, cooperating in many movements for its material improvement.
FRANKLIN WILCOX.
At a period when it was as common to see Indians as it is today to see representatives of European nationalities Franklin Wilcox be- came a resident of Iowa. He did not remain permanently following his arrival in 1837 but after a few years took up his abode in Burling- ton, where he remained to the time of his death. He witnessed the events which characterized the most remarkable period in the history of Iowa-that which transformed it from a great broad prairie region, unsettled and uncultivated, into one of the populous states of the Union, leading in the vanguard of civilization.
Mr. Wilcox was born in Whiting, Vermont, June 24, 1810, a son of Pliny and Mary ( Remele) Wilcox, the former a native of Litch- field, Connecticut, of Welsh descent, and the latter of Rhode Island, of Holland descent. In 1813 they removed to the Western Reserve, settling in what is now Copley, Ohio. There the father died and the mother spent her last days in Burlington at the home of her son Franklin, who was but fourteen years of age at the time of his father's death. The children of Pliny and Mary (Remele) Wilcox were four in number: Philora, who became the wife of Peter Starr and was thereafter a resident of Akron, Ohio; Elizabeth, the wife of Dr. Isaac Galland, with whom she made the trip across the plains to Cali- fornia with ox teams in 1852; John R., who attended the West Point Military Academy and after his graduation spent his life in the army, being for a time commander of Fort Edward, Illinois, where he
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passed away; and Franklin. The mother's death occurred in Fort Madison at the home of her daughter, Mrs. Galland, July 18, 1849. Dr. Galland was a very prominent factor in settling difficulties con- cerning what was known as the Half Breed Tract land troubles.
Following his father's death Franklin Wilcox returned to Ver- mont and resided for a time with an uncle. At the age of nineteen he took up the profession of school-teaching in the Green Mountain state and when about twenty years of age he was united in marriage to Miss Maria Johnson. They afterward went to Ohio and one night when they were attending church their house with all of its contents was destroyed by fire. The year 1836 witnessed their arrival in Iowa and they located in Lee county, purchasing two thousand acres of land of what was known as the Half Breed Tract. In 1838 Mr. Wilcox sold his land and went to Commerce, afterward called Nauvoo, Illinois, but in 1841 returned to Lee county, Iowa, and took up his abode in Montrose, where he conducted a store. Every evi- dence of pioneer life was to be seen. The work of settlement and improvement had scarcely been begun in the state and the Indians far outnumbered the white settlers. Mr. Wilcox became acquainted with Black Hawk, who left all of his belongings with Mr. Wilcox when he went to Washington, D. C., to see the president. At differ- ent periods the Indian chief spent considerable time with his white friend. Mr. Wilcox described him as "a perfect man physically" and it was evident that he responded to the kindness shown him on the part of his white brother.
In 1839 Mr. Wilcox established an extensive trading business which extended on the Ohio and Mississippi rivers between St. Louis and Cincinnati. He devoted about a year to that undertaking and on two different occasions he made trips between Vermont and Iowa on horseback. On one of these trips he led two horses in addition to the one which he rode all the way from New England to his western home. In October, 1841, he made his way to Warsaw, Illinois, where he joined his brother, Major John R. Wilcox, who was a West Point graduate, but later he returned again to Vermont. He lost his first wife in 1844 and in 1845 he was married a second time, Miss Harriet Eliza Weeks, a native of the Green Mountain state, becoming his wife. Her father, John M. Weeks, of Salisbury, Vermont, was a direct descendant of John Alden and Priscilla Mullins, who came to America as passengers on the Mayflower in 1620. Mr. and Mrs Wilcox made the trip to the Mississippi valley by way of the Eric canal and by river, one month being consumed en route. They spent the first winter in Keokuk and in the following spring, 1846, Mr.
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Wilcox purchased a farm six miles west of Burlington, on the upper Augusta road. With characteristic energy he began to clear the land and develop the fields and resided thereon until during the Civil war, in 1863. He then sold his farm and removed to West Hill, where he remained until 1864, when he purchased what has since been the fam- ily home at No. 715 Maple street in Burlington.
The remainder of his life was devoted to public service. He served for three years as a member of the state legislature and was appointed justice of the peace, a position which he occupied for fif- teen years, making a most ereditable record in office. His decisions, which were strictly fair and impartial, "won golden opinions from all sorts of people," and he made an equally creditable record during the long years in which he served as United States commissioner, which position he occupied to the time of his death, on the 3d of De- cember, 1900, when he had reached the advanced age of ninety and one-half years. His wife passed away in 1895, when seventy-five years of age, and in their demise the county lost two of its most worthy and highly esteemed pioneer residents.
By his first marriage Mr. Wilcox had three children. Henry F., born in 1834, resided at Quincy, Illinois until his death, December 26, 1914. He enlisted in May, 1861, as a member of Company K, Thirty-third Illinois Infantry, served for three years, veteranized and remained with the army until the close of hostilities. He married Harriet Hedges, who died in 1879, leaving two sons and a daughter. Pliny died in infancy. Pliny, the second of the name, was born March 3, 1842, and in 1861 enlisted for service in the Union army as a member of the First Iowa Cavalry. He was killed at Bloomfield, Missouri, by the falling of a tree, while in the service, when but nineteen years of age. By his second marriage Mr. Wilcox also had three children : Marie, who became the wife of Hiram Parker and died in California in April, 1901; Mary Elizabeth, residing on the home place; and Harriet Lucy, the wife of Dr. S. E. Nixon, of Burlington.
In his political views Mr. Wilcox was an ardent whig and on the dissolution of that party he joined the ranks of the republican party, with which he was identified until his demise. For a brief period he served as sheriff of Des Moines county and in that position made a record as creditable as he did in the other offices which he filled. He was one of lowa's first settlers, and his name is indelibly inscribed upon the pages of her history. He lived to see notable changes. When he first came to this state even the territorial organization had not been effected and it was some years afterward before Iowa was
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admitted to the Union. He took great pride in what was accom- plished as the years went on and cooperated heartily in the work of general development and upbuilding.
JOSEPH R. SUTTER.
Gradually working his way upward and winning success which is the logical outcome of determination, close application and wise management, Joseph R. Sutter is now a well known druggist of Bur- lington, his native city, where he has an interest in and conducts two of the leading drug establishments of the city. He was born April 14, 1873, and is a son of Robert and Christina (Dahlinger) Sutter. The wife and mother passed away in 1877 and the father afterward mar- ried Anna Meile, who, like her husband, was a native of Switzer- land. Robert Sutter was a son of Ambrose and Amanza Sutter and in the land of the Alps was reared until, in company with his three brothers, Bonifaz, Meenrad and Anton, he came to the United States. Not long afterward they were joined by their parents and all settled in Burlington. Robert Sutter was a cabinetmaker by trade and fol- lowed that pursuit for many years, leading a busy, active and useful life. He died in Burlington in 1901 and is survived by his widow. He had five children, of whom three were born by the first marriage and two of the second, namely: Emma, who died in infancy ; Joseph . R., of this review; Anna, the wife of Felix Rittler, of Burlington ; Ida, who married Clarence Oakley, also of Burlington; and Robert, who is married and makes his home in this city.
Reared in Burlington, Joseph R. Sutter pursued his education until he had mastered the branches of learning taught in the high school. He then sought employment and obtained a position in the Witte Drug Store, with which he was connected for fourteen years, a fact that indicates clearly his fidelity to duty as well as his capability. During that period he carefully saved his earnings until his industry and economical expenditures made him the possessor of capital suf- ficient to enable him to embark in business independently. He then purchased the drug store of William Cochran, in the Tama building, in 1903 and conducted it under his own name at No. 310 Third street. After two years he admitted Erwin Ludman to a partnership and a removal was made to Nos. 307-309 Third street. There the business was successfully conducted and in 1909 they opened a new store at No. 403 Jefferson street, remaining proprietors of both stores to the pres-
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