USA > Iowa > Des Moines County > History of Des Moines County, Iowa, Volume II > Part 28
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In 1858 Captain Kinnear was united in marriage to Miss Sarah
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A. McLaury, of McGregor, Iowa, who died in 1911, leaving a daughter, Mary A., who is now acting as housekeeper for her father. Captain Kinnear belongs to the Masonic fraternity and attends the Congregational church. He exercises his right of franchise in sup- port of the men and measures of the republican party and has ever been interested in its success, believing that its principles contain the best elements of good government. Few men of his years remain so active a factor in the world's work as does Captain Kinnear, who has now passed the seventy-eighth milestone on life's journey. Prac- tically his entire life has been passed in the Mississippi valley and there are few phases of its development or chapters in its history with which he is not familiar.
JOHN A. AND FRANK J. RENNER.
John A. and Frank J. Renner are proprietors of the business con- ducted under the firm style of John Renner & Sons and as such occupy a prominent position in commercial circles of Burlington. It is true that they entered upon a business already established, but in enlarging and controlling this many men of less resolute spirit, defi- cient in diligence and lacking in enterprise, would have failed. They deal in wall paper, paints and artists' supplies and do an extensive contracting business in interior decorating.
The present members of the firm are twin brothers, born in Bur- lington on the 6th of November, 1885, their parents being John and Lena (Neff) Renner. The family name indicates their German lineage. The father was born in southern Germany, July 8, 1852, and was a son of Johannes and Elizabeth (Katz) Renner. He attended school in his native land and afterward began working at the trades of painting, paper hanging, decorating and upholstering. He served a regular term of apprenticeship and gained expert knowledge of those lines of business. After working as a journey- man in various cities of Germany, France and Switzerland, he came to America, attracted by the opportunities of the new world, land- ing in New York on the Ist of March, 1881. He maintained his residence in the eastern metropolis until the 3d of July, 1882, when he arrived in Burlington. From that time until his death he was closely connected with the business interests of his adopted city and became the founder of the enterprise which is now continued by his sons. He first entered the employ of Wyman & Rand in their
JOHN RENNER
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upholstering and carpet department and after three years, or in April, 1885, he embarked in business on his own account. Two or three removals were made in order to meet the growing demands of the business. He began dealing in wall paper, paints and artists' supplies, selling to both the wholesale and retail trade, and he fur- ther extended the scope of his business to include contract work in interior finishing and decorating.
Not only did his business become one of the foremost in its line in Iowa but in the field of invention Mr. Renner also made a credit- able name and place for himself, making many valuable contribu- tions to the mechanical world. He possessed much natural genius, to which was added thorough scientific knowledge of mechanics and architectural engineering and drafting. This enabled him not only to make his own plans but to embody them in tangible form. He invented and patented an ironing board on the 16th of August, 1887, and in 1903 he secured a patent on his ball-bearing window shade adjuster, having patents in the United States, Canada and England. After securing his patent he began the manufacture of the shade, sending his output throughout the three countries mentioned. On the 7th of January, 1902, he patented a device for locking the axle on shade rollers. This is dust proof and can be applied to any mechanical contrivance of any size. He was also the inventor of another lock patent for a window bracket and is the inventor of a wire bracket for the correct adjustment of the window cord.
Mr. Renner was married April 2, 1881, to Miss Lena Neff, a daughter of Johannes and Mary (Hellestern) Neff. Their only children are the twin sons whose names introduce this record and who, becoming their father's partners in business, are now owners of the establishment. Mr. Renner held membership in the Court of Honor and with the Woodmen of the World. His was an active, useful and well spent life and through the long period of his resi- dence in Burlington he enjoyed the confidence, goodwill and high regard of all with whom he came in contact. His death occurred October 17, 1913. His wife, Mrs. Lena Renner, has always taken an active part in social and church work and is president of the St. Franciska Society for Married Women.
Her sons, J. A. and F. J. Renner, have always been residents of Burlington. The former attended the German and public schools of this city and afterward entered the Gem City Business College of Quincy, Illinois, in which he completed the course in seven months, being the first student from this state to complete the course in such a short time or with such honors, for his scholarship gave him an Vol 11-18
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average grade of ninety-six and two-sevenths in seven studies and a standing of one hundred in bookkeeping. The commercial training of Frank J. Renner was pursued in Elliott's Business College of Burlington. Their practical training in business was received in the establishment and under the direction of their father and on attain- ing their majority they were admitted to a partnership under the firm style of John Renner & Sons. Since the father's death the two sons and their mother continue as owners of the business, each hav- ing a third interest. They are conducting a retail and jobbing trade in wall paper, paints, picture frames and window shades and they employ a large force of men in paper hanging, painting and decorat- ing, having been awarded many important contracts for interior fin- ishing and decorating of buildings.
Not only do the sons possess excellent business ability, as mani- fested in the capable conduct of their interests, but both have been endowed by nature with artistic and musical taste and talent. They give much time to the study of oil painting and various kinds of decorating and have also received liberal instruction in music. They are, moreover, lovers of athletics and have charge of the basket ball team of St. John's Catholic church, which won the pennant in the year 1914. They are also active in the dramatic society of the church and their wide interests and talents have made them most popular in social circles. Of them it may well be said they are never too busy to be cordial nor too cordial to be busy, for the interests of their lives are well balanced forces. It is their ability to concentrate upon the interest or activity of the moment that has led to their success in everything that they attempt and most of all in business, where their power and insight are manifest in successful management and keen sagacity.
FRANCIS ALDEN WALKER.
Francis Alden Walker was at the time of his death, which oc- curred on the 13th of May, 1897, a resident of Mediapolis, where he had been living retired for about five years. Previously he had been actively identified with farming interests in the county for an extended period, and as a business man and citizen occupied a high position in public regard, his being a well spent, active and useful life.
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He was born in Hillsboro, New Hampshire, February 6, 1831, a son of Alden and Susan (Grimes) Walker, both of whom were natives of New England and spent their entire lives in New Hamp- shire. The latter was a sister of United States Senator James W. Grimes, of Burlington. In their family were three children : Francis Alden; Rear Admiral John G. Walker, of the United States Navy, who received his appointment to the naval institute through his uncle, Senator Grimes; and Betsy Ann, who died at the age of twenty years.
Francis A. Walker remained with his parents upon the old home- stead farm in New Hampshire until he came to the west in 1852 when twenty-one years of age. The remainder of his life was passed in Des Moines county and he always followed the occupation of farming, owning an excellent tract of land of three hundred acres three miles northeast of Northfield in Yellow Springs township. He bent his energies to the development and improvement of the place and converted his land into productive fields, from which he annu- ally gathered good harvests. In 1892 he left the farm and retired to Mediapolis, where his remaining days were passed in the enjoyment of a well-earned rest. He had been extensively engaged in stock- raising, making that a special feature of his business, and his farm in its neat and thrifty appearance indicated his careful supervision over his business affairs and his practical, progressive methods.
On the 25th of March, 1858, Mr. Walker was united in marriage to Miss Martha C. Blake, who was born in Franklin county, Ver- mont, June 28, 1833, a daughter of Charles R. and Lydia (Austin) Blake, who were natives of Massachusetts and Rhode Island, respec- tively. They came to Iowa in August, 1849, making the journey westward by canal, lake and river to Chicago, and thence across the state of Illinois to Iowa. They established their home in Yellow Springs township, Des Moines county, and here their remaining days were passed. The father had three brothers, Francis, Luther and George Blake, who came to this county in the '30s, all settling on farms in this locality, so that the family has been prominently identified with the pioneer development and later progress of the county. He also had a brother Calvin, who settled in Illinois. Mrs. Walker is the younger of two children. Her brother, Worthington S. Blake, made his home with Mrs. Walker most of the time until his death, which occurred in 1909. To Mr. and Mrs. Walker were born three children: Oscar H., now living in Kansas; John G., a resident of Mediapolis; and Charles R., who is located at Oakville, Iowa.
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Mr. Walker was a republican in his political views but never sought nor desired office. He always concentrated his energies upon his business affairs until he retired from active life to spend his re- maining days in Mediapolis in the enjoyment of well-earned rest. Here he passed away on the 13th of May, 1897, at the age of sixty- six years, and his demise was the occasion of deep and widespread regret to many friends, who had learned to respect and honor him.
Mrs. Walker still makes her home in Mediapolis. She has been a member of the Methodist Episcopal church for more than forty years, having become identified with that denomination at North- field, after which she transferred her membership to the Mediapolis church when they retired from the farm. She has a clear mind, her hearing is good, and she is a well-preserved lady of eighty-one years. She now occupies a nice home which she erected since becoming a widow. She built this in a central location, that she might be near the church. Everyone speaks of her in terms of kindly regard, of friendship and of love. Hers has indeed been a well-spent life, fraught with many kindly actions and good deeds, and in Mediapolis and wherever known she is held in the warmest esteem.
REV. B. J. FITZSIMONS.
Rev. B. J. Fitzsimons, pastor of St. Patrick's Catholic church, of Burlington, was born in Mullagh, County Cavan, Ireland, in 1870. After attending the public schools he entered Cavan College, from which he was graduated. He is also a graduate of All Hallows College, of Dublin, of the class of 1893, and having therein pre- pared for the priesthood he was ordained to holy orders in the same year. Soon afterward he came to the new world, making his way to Des Moines, Iowa, where he was appointed assistant of the Church of the Visitation, with Father Nugent as pastor. For a year he was connected with that church, and then returned to Ireland, where he acted as assistant rector of a church for a few years. In 1899 he again came to Iowa and was made pastor of St. Paul's church at Baird, where he continued for seven years. He was next transferred to the pastorate of St. Mary's church at Nichols, Iowa, where he re- mained for nine years. He came to Burlington on the 11th of Jan- uary, 1914, as pastor of St. Patrick's church. The parish is planning to erect a new house of worship and a new school building. There are between two hundred and fifty and three hundred families in the
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congregation, and in addition to the church, the parish supports a parochial school with an attendance of one hundred and fifty pupils under the care of six teachers.
A. F. ANDERSEN.
A. F. Andersen is the cashier of the Commercial State Bank at Mediapolis, and is well established as one of the progressive and representative business men of the town. With the exception of the first ten years of his life, he has always been a resident of Iowa. He was born in Denmark in 1878, and in 1888 arrived in Avoca. He crossed the Atlantic and made the journey from New York to Iowa, where he joined an uncle. He afterward attended school, and later had the benefit of instruction in a commercial college at Des Moines, thus qualifying for the duties and responsibilities of business life.
In 1903 Mr. Andersen aided in organizing the Bentley Savings Bank at Bentley, Iowa, of which he was made cashier, and was prac- tically the manager of the bank during the early years of its existence. In 1907 he came to Mediapolis to accept the position of assistant cashier of the Citizens' State Bank, in which capacity he continued for two years. He then went to Adams, Nebraska, where he was cashier of the Farmers' State Bank for more than a year. Upon the organization of the Commercial State Bank of Mediapolis, he returned to become cashier in the new institution. He is also presi- dent of the Sperry Savings Bank, which was organized about the same time as the Commercial State Bank. The two banks are owned by the same stockholders, numbering about one hundred and fifty men, all of whom are farmers and business men living in this imme- diate vicinity. The combined deposits of the two banks are over three hundred and thirty thousand dollars. The two institutions were organized in 1911 and have enjoyed a profitable existence since that time. The growth of the business is indicated in the fact that the deposits have increased more than forty thousand dollars in the last year. The capital stock of the Commercial State Bank is fifty thousand dollars, its surplus three thousand dollars and its deposits two hundred and fifty thousand dollars. The capital stock of the Sperry Savings Bank is twelve thousand dollars and its deposits amount to ninety thousand dollars. In addition to his other inter- ests, Mr. Andersen has a good farm in Yellow Springs township.
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He acted as the first postmaster at Bentley, Iowa, and also engaged in the mercantile and banking business there.
In 1908 was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Andersen and Miss Laura Rudiger, a native of Pottawattamie county, Iowa, who was assistant in the bank at one time. To them have been born three children, Eugene, Paul Arthur and Dorothy Lucille.
In his political views Mr. Andersen is a republican, but has never sought nor desired political office. He has served, however, as school treasurer and is interested in all plans and measures for the upbuilding and benefit of the community in which he makes his home. Fraternally he is identified with the Masons, the Odd Fellows, the Elks, and the Woodmen, and his religious faith is that of the Presbyterian church. His life has ever been guided by prin- ciples that everywhere command respect. There is no esoteric phase in his entire career. He has worked his way steadily upward by determined purpose and indefatigable energy, prompted by laudable ambition, and to those who know him his name has become a syno- nym for business integrity, as well as progressiveness.
E. F. LA FORCE, M. D.
Dr. E. F. La Force, who since 1904 has been engaged in the active practice of medicine in Burlington, was born in Agency City, Iowa, November 5, 1873, his parents being Dr. Daniel Alexander and Mahala (Dudley) La Force. The father was a graduate of the Keokuk Medical College and devoted his life to the practice of his profession. He was a son of William La Force, a native of Kentucky, who removed to Indiana, in which state the family were living at the time of the birth of Dr. D. A. La Force. William La Force, accompanied by his family, came to Iowa in pioneer times, arriving in the early '40s, after which he carried on both farming and merchandising. In the early '70s Dr. Daniel A. La Force prac- ticed medicine for a short time in Burlington. Later he lived for some time in Agency City, and about 1882 removed to Ottumwa.
Dr. E. F. La Force entered the public schools at the usual age and continued his studies until graduated from the high school. He spent two years in study in Mount Pleasant, Iowa, and later entered the State University at Iowa City, where he won the Bachelor of Philosophy degree in the class of 1897. Having decided upon the practice of medicine as a life work, he then entered Rush Medical
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College, of Chicago, and is numbered among its alumni of 1900. He afterward became interne in the Illinois Charitable Eye and Ear Infirmary, where he remained for a year, and for two years he prac- ticed as first assistant to Dr. F. C. Hotz, of Chicago. He likewise served on the staff of the infirmary and subsequently was clinical assistant at Rush Medical College for two years. He thus gained broad experience, gleaning therefrom valuable knowledge which has been of the utmost worth to him during the period of his practice in Burlington. Coming to this city in 1904, he has here since re- mained, and his professional service has established him high in public regard. He attends many clinics, and there is a constant de- mand made upon him for his professional service, such being the degree of efficiency to which he has attained.
On the 2d of November, 1904, Dr. La Force was married to Miss Edith Ferguson, of Chicago, a daughter of Frank and Mary (Frasier) Ferguson. They became the parents of two children, Kath- erine and Edward Francis, but the former is now deceased.
Dr. La Force votes with the progressive party. His religious faith is that of the Congregational church, and in fraternal circles he is well known as a Knight Templar Mason, as a member of the Mystic Shrine and as a member of the Elks lodge. He also has member- ship with the Golf Club, while along strictly professional lines he is connected with the Des Moines County Medical Society, the Iowa State Medical Society and the American Medical Association. Con- tinuous reading and investigation have placed him in a prominent position among the representatives of the profession in Burlington.
PHILIP E. STRUCK.
Philip E. Struck is the secretary of the John A. Gregg Com- pany, conducting a hardware jobbing business in Burlington. He is a young man, alert, wide-awake, energetic and ambitious. He was born in this city, March 8, 1892, a son of Fred and Bertha (Dettmer) Struck. The father was a native of Oquawka, Illinois, while his father was one of the pioneer settlers of that state. Fred Struck is a woodworker by trade and in his boyhood days became a resident of Burlington. He afterward went to Fort Madison, Iowa, where he remained a few years during the period of early manhood, and in that period he was married. Later he returned to Burlington, and still continues a resident of this city, where for thirty years he
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has been connected with the Embalming & Burial Case Company. He is now well known in business circles of his city and well merits the high regard in which he is uniformly held. His wife is a native of Fort Madison and a daughter of one of the pioneer settlers of this state. To Mr. and Mrs. Struck were born four children: Hen- riette, at home; Henry J., living in Burlington, who is employed as a clerk in the office of W. D. Eaton; Bertha B., at home; and Philip E., of this review.
The last named attended St. John's parochial school and Elliott's Business College, and then, putting aside his text-books, entered the employ of the John A. Gregg Company in 1909. It was not long before he had demonstrated his worth and ability and gradually was advanced until 1911, when he became a member of the firm and was elected its secretary. They do a jobbing hardware business, repre- senting ten of the leading hardware manufacturers of the country, and their trade covers a number of counties surrounding Burlington.
Mr. Struck was reared in the faith of the Catholic church and is a parishioner of St. John's. He also holds membership with the Knights of Columbus, which organization is composed only of mem- bers of the Catholic faith. In politics he is a democrat. While a young man, he has already become well established as an important factor in business circles here, for he possesses the energy, determina- tion and ambition which have brought him to the front and which will secure for him still greater successes.
G. G. HIGBEE.
G. G. Higbee, the president of the Murray Iron Works, of Bur- lington, was born on the 19th of March, 1878, in the city which is still his place of residence, a son of George H. Higbee, of whom extended mention is made elsewhere in this volume. He attended private schools and was a student at St. Mark's, Southboro, Massa- chusetts, a preparatory school, before entering Harvard University as a member of the class of 1901. He there pursued a course in me- chanical engineering but did not graduate. Returning to Burlington he has since been identified with the business interests of his native city, and in 1911 became the president of the Murray Iron Works, in which connection he is controlling and directing one of the im- portant productive enterprises of the city. His is a splendidly equipped plant, and the output finds a ready sale on the market,
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owing to the excellence of the product and the thoroughly reliable business methods of the company.
In April, 1904, Mr. Higbee was united in marriage to Miss Mary Branniger, of Burlington, a daughter of M. W. Branniger, and they have two children, Mary and Caroline. Mr. Higbee belongs to the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, and along recreative lines he is identified with the Shoquoquon Boat Club, the Golf Club, and the Tennis Club-associations which indicate the nature of his interests during the hours of leisure. He has membership also in the Com- mercial Exchange and he exercises his right of franchise in support of the men and measures of the republican party. His interests and activities are broad and varied and do not exclude active participation in affairs or projects for the public good. On the contrary, he stands for advancement in all municipal interests, and at the same time he gives due attention to his business affairs, so that his course has been attended by continuous advancement in industrial fields.
C. E. BURCHAM.
C. E. Burcham is the general manager of the Cooperative Supply Company, of Burlington, in which connection he is active in a business that largely embodies his ideas concerning life, for he be- longs to that class of men who believe in helping one another and in a more equal distribution of this world's goods, and he is ever ready to embody his ideas in practical effort.
Mr. Burcham is a native of Missouri, his birth having occurred in Wyaconda on the 2d of February, 1879. He remained in his na- tive town to the age of eighteen years, and there acquired his pre- liminary education, while later he attended a business college in Guthrie, Oklahoma. For four years he was a resident of the latter city and came from there to Burlington, where he entered the em- ploy of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad Company, with which he was connected for thirteen years. On the expiration of that period he resigned his position to become general manager for the Cooperative Supply Company, dealers in coal, wood and groceries. He is now active in controlling this business and has studied every phase of it. Investments are judiciously made, and sales bring a fair but not exorbitant profit, and the business has been largely promoted through the efforts and enterprise of its general manager.
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In 1906 Mr. Burcham was united in marriage to Miss Lillie Lind, of Burlington, who was educated here. She holds member- ship in the Baptist church and is connected with its Ladies' Aid Society. To Mr. and Mrs. Burcham have been born three children : Carroll, Dorothea, and Wendell, all of whom were born in October. Carroll, the eldest, is now in school.
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