USA > Iowa > Des Moines County > History of Des Moines County, Iowa, Volume II > Part 8
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Both the father and son are supporters of the democratic party, the latter having cast his first presidential vote for William J. Bryan, now secretary of state. The name of Stadtlander has long been a synonym for business activity and reliability in Burlington. Both father and son have been active, industrious men, willing to work at anything that promised advancement and thus steadily proceeding toward the goal of success. The father is one of the pioneer settlers of the city, having for sixty-one years lived in Burlington, and he has many warm friends among the older generations here, as well as among the young.
SAMUEL K. TRACY.
Samuel K. Tracy is an able member of the Burlington bar en- gaged in general practice. He was born in Washington, Iowa, Au- gust 25, 1848, and is a son of Samuel Kenny and Antoinette (Stone) Kenny. The father arrived in Iowa in 1843 and settled at Washing- ton following his removal from Baltimore, Maryland, where up to that time he had made his home.
Reared in Burlington, Iowa, Samuel K. Tracy acquired his early education in the public schools and was afterward graduated from the Burlington Collegiate Institute with the class of 1868. Attracted toward a professional career, he began reading law in the office of and under the direction of Judge Joshua Tracy, his stepfather, and Thomas W. Newmann and was admitted to the bar in 1872. He then practiced in Burlington until 1880, when he was appointed assistant general solicitor of the Burlington, Cedar Rapids & Northern Rail- way Company. In 1881 he was advanced to the position of general solicitor and served the company in that capacity for twenty-one years, at the end of which time the road was sold to the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railway Company and Mr. Tracy resumed the private practice of his profession in Burlington. He had in the meantime resided for ten years in Cedar Rapids. He is an able lawyer and has gained distinction at the bar. While he has concen- trated his efforts upon civil law, he is well versed in all departments of jurisprudence, and it is characteristic of him that he prepares his cases with the greatest thoroughness and care, so that he enters the court well qualified to defend his position as well as attack that of his opponent.
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SAMUEL K. TRACY
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Aside from his law practice Mr. Tracy has figured prominently in business connections. He has been interested in steamboating on the Mississippi river and was president of the Laclede Packet Com- pany, which owned the steamboat packets Pauline and Matt F. Al- len, both well known and popular boats used in passenger and freight traffic on the Mississippi river. He has always been interested in such transportation out of love for the river and has done much for its development, and is naturally greatly interested in what is being done throughout the country for the conservation of navigation. Hc has always been proud of the fact that he was duly licensed by the government of the United States as a pilot and master of steamboats. Long experience has taught him the possibilities and worth of navi- gation interests, and he believes in utilizing the country's opportuni- ties along that line to the fullest and best possible advantage.
In September, 1872, at Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Mr. Tracy was united in marriage to Miss Virginia Josephine Hayden, who died at Burlington in 1881. They were the parents of three children: Mrs. Florence J. Coldren, now living in Chicago; Mrs. W. E. Wheeler, a resident of Telluride, Colorado; and Hayden, a graduate chiro- practic, who is now engaged in active professional work at Algona, Iowa.
Mr. Tracy is connected with the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks and the Fraternal Order of Eagles at Burlington. His political indorsement has always been given to the democratic party, and he has been a recognized leader in its ranks. He was the candidate for congress from the fifth congressional district of Iowa in 1904, and in 1906 he was nominated for the office of district judge in the same district. Throughout his entire life he has studied the questions which affect the general interests of society and which bear upon community, state and national welfare. He holds to broad and en- lightened opinions and upon all vital and significant problems has kept abreast with the best thinking men of the age.
GEORGE W. CAMPBELL.
George W. Campbell, conducting a general contracting business, with offices in Burlington, operates largely in the erection and sale of California bungalows, the most attractive style of architecture lending itself readily to the adornment of lawns and all phases of landscape gardening. Mr. Campbell is a native of Lebanon county,
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Pennsylvania, his birth having occurred near Harrisburg, Septem- ber 3, 1868, and his parents being Daniel and Leah (Gingrich) Campbell. The father was also a native of Pennsylvania and at an early period in the development of Burlington and this section of the state he came to Iowa and learned the blacksmith's trade in Bur- lington. He was one of the defenders of the Union cause in the Civil war and now rests in a soldier's grave in Aspen Grove ceme- tery, his death having occurred in the Soldiers' Home at Milwaukee, Wisconsin. His wife, who was born in Lebanon county, Pennsyl- vania, in 1842, still resides in Burlington. In their family were eight children, of whom four are yet living: Milton, who makes his home with his mother; George W .; Edward, a resident of Los Angeles, California; and Frank Campbell, of Des Moines, Iowa.
George W. Campbell was quite young when his parents removed to the west. He pursued his studies in the Madison school of Bur- lington and first began to earn his living by stripping tobacco for a salary of a dollar and a half per week. He was afterward employed in various sawmills for several years and during that period assisted his parents. Later he engaged in prospecting in the west for a time and in 1892 returned to Burlington, where he took up the business of painting and general contracting. He is still engaged in the lat- ter line and has built a large number of fine houses in the city. He has also platted an addition to Burlington, and, submitting the plans to the city officials, it was accepted and is called Burlington Heights. It comprises twenty-nine lots and the houses in that dis- trict are all built in the style of California bungalows. Mr. Camp- bell works with his men, so that the best results are achieved. He makes the plans and directs the labors of those in his employ and is thoroughly acquainted with every phase of bungalow building and has made Burlington Heights a most attractive residential section. As soon as one of his houses is completed, and sometimes long before, it is sold. The buildings are all up-to-date in every particular, and he closely studies comfort and convenience as well as utility and beauty in his building plans.
On the 16th of October, 1895, Mr. Campbell was united in mar- riage to Miss Lydia Ahern, a daughter of John and Frances (Sim- mons) Ahern. Her father was born in Ireland in 1828, made farm- ing his life work and passed away in 1906, his remains being interred in Missouri. His wife, who was born in Portsmouth, Ohio, in 1836, passed away in 1905 and was also buried in Missouri. In their fam- ily were nine children, of whom six are yet living: Fannie, the wife of Will Herrick, a resident of Quincy, Illinois; Will, a farmer liv-
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ing in Missouri; Margaret, the wife of Jacob Culler, of Missouri; Thomas, also of that state; Mamie, the wife of Chesley Norris, of Oklahoma; and Mrs. Campbell.
To the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Campbell four children have been born, all natives of Iowa: Hazel A., the eldest, born Septem- ber 16, 1896, is a graduate of the South Hill school and for three years was a high-school pupil in Burlington. She is a vocalist of considerable talent and has been a member of the choirs of both the Episcopal and Grace Methodist churches. Charles Wilson, born July 16, 1898, is a graduate of the South Hill school and also attended high school. He is a vocalist of more than ordinary ability and as soloist has carried the first alto part, but is now a baritone. He has traveled from one end of the United States to the other with Henry B. Roney, who with five boys, under the name of "Roney Boys" Con- cert Company of Chicago, has toured the country. He has sung in public from the age of five years, has been a member of the Congre- gational church choir and has taken part in some of Walter Stone's plays. John D., born May 16, 1900, attends the William Salter school. Milton L., born December 10, 1902, also possesses superior musical talent. He sings contralto and has been with Henry Roney for four months. He is now soloist in the company known as Roney's Lecture and Concert Company. Mr. and Mrs. Campbell certainly have every reason to be proud of their family and the superior musi- cal talent displayed by their children.
Mr. Campbell is a republican in politics but not an office seeker. He and his wife are devoted members of the Grace Methodist Epis- copal church, in which he has served as a trustee and steward, while his wife is now filling the office of steward. From his boyhood days Mr. Campbell had to work to assist his parents, and he received no financial assistance, nor had he aid from influential friends. Grad- ually in business, however, he has worked his way upward until he is today one of the leading and resourceful contractors of the city. He and his family occupy a modern home at No. 629 Central avenue, which he erected in 1909, and he is expecting to build a more ele- gant residence in the near future. He is a great advocate of young men buying homes instead of paying rent, and has done much to assist young men in that way. He endeavors to have his employes own homes, however small, believing that it stimulates further in- dustry. Mr. Campbell is today only forty-six years old, and less than twenty years ago he was comparatively a poor man. He has, by economy, honest effort and well-developed ability, made rapid prog- ress. He has never allowed obstacles to bar his path, nor has he ever
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lost sight of the goal toward which he is striving. His course has ever been such as would bear the closest investigation and scrutiny, and his friends are numerous, while high respect is entertained for him by all.
J. W. DIXON, M. D.
Dr. J. W. Dixon, engaged in the general practice of medicine in Burlington, arrived in this city on the 15th of August, 1891, and almost immediately thereafter opened his office. He has since made continuous advancement in his profession and his practice is now extensive and of an important character. He was born in Brickville, Canada, September 5, 1864, and is a son of George and Jane (Mc- Cullough) Dixon, the former a farmer by occupation.
Dr. Dixon supplemented a public school education acquired in his native city by study in the Athens Collegiate Institute and later he entered the Queen's University as a student in the medical depart- ment. He later attended Trinity Medical College and was graduated with the class of 1890. He afterward acted as interne in Bellevue Hospital of New York city, and in the General Hospital at Kingston, Canada, and in that broadening experience added much to his skill and ability. For fifteen months he engaged in active practice at Frankville, Canada, after which he came to Burlington and since the 15th of August, 1891, or for a period of about twenty-four years, has been a practitioner in this city. He was the first man in the United States to rebel against the American Medical Association. Through- out his professional career he has been a wide reader and a deep thinker, and the logical trend of his mind has enabled him to deduct many valuable truths from his professional experience which he has used for the benefit of his patients. He is most conscientious, prompt and faithful in his practice and his ability is attested by the heavy professional demands made upon his time.
On the 10th of October, 1894, Dr. Dixon was united in marriage to Miss Anna Lane, of Burlington, a daughter of George Lane, and they have become the parents of three children: George Lane, who is now a medical student in the lowa State University; Edith Antoi- nette, at home ; and John Wesley, who is attending school.
The Doctor is a charter member and now the president of the Launch Club of Burlington. He is also a charter member of the Mississippi Valley Power Boat Association and served as its president
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in 1910. There are now over six thousand members and Dr. Dixon is the only one who has been an officer in the organization since it was established. He has held all of the different official positions and is now chairman of the race committee. He has been very prominent and active in boat-racing circles and the association was instrumental in getting congress to place buoys all along the river. Dr. Dixon is the owner of The Ladd, which is the only gasoline boat to make the run from St. Paul to New Orleans and return. In this boat he cruised seven thousand five hundred miles in 1911 and 1912, accompanied by his family, covering the waters of the Great Lakes and the gulf as well as many of the rivers. He has ever believed in encouraging manly outdoor sports and there is no one who has done more to stim- ulate an interest in boating along the Mississippi than has Dr. Dixon. He is a most genial and companionable gentleman, his cordial man- ner, his intellectual strength and his character worth making him very popular wherever he is known.
H. B. BUHRMASTER.
H. B. Buhrmaster, secretary of the Drake Hardware Company and thus identified with one of the leading commercial enterprises of Burlington, was born August 30, 1872, in the city which is still his home, his parents being F. W. and Catherine ( Meyer) Buhr- master, the former a native of Germany and the latter of Muscatine, Iowa. The father was one of the pioneer residents of Burlington, arriving in this city in the '40s. He was a wagonmaker by trade, and organized the Burlington Wagon Company, which has been one of the successful and important productive industries of the city for the past forty-four years, Mr. Buhrmaster being widely recognized as one of the leading and enterprising manufacturers of Iowa.
H. B. Buhrmaster was the third in order of birth in a family of ten children. He supplemented his public-school education by graduation from Elliott's Business College in the class of 1890, and, thus qualified by commercial training, he started out in the business world, determined to win success if it could be done by persistent, honorable effort. He made his initial step as an employe in the hard- ware establishment of Charles F. Schmidt and in that connection gradually worked his way upward so that when the business was in- corporated in 1900 he was elected its secretary. On the ist of July, 1907, that business was consolidated with the Drake Hardware
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Company, and Mr. Buhrmaster remains as secretary of the new or- ganization. This is one of the extensive wholesale enterprises of the city, and Mr. Buhrmaster is familiar with every phase of the busi- ness. He has done every service almost in connection with the trade from clerk upward, has represented his house upon the road as travel- ing salesman, and is now bending his efforts to administrative direc- tion and executive control as the secretary.
In April, 1896, occurred the marriage of Mr. Buhrmaster and Miss Emma Kruemmel, of Burlington, a daughter of Frederick and Bertha Kruemmel, the former one of the pioneer residents of the city. To them have been born three children, Frederick, Milton and Frances. The parents are members of the Methodist church and are always loyal to its teachings and generous in its support. Mr. Buhrmaster is independent in politics, yet with republican prefer- ences. He does not, however, consider himself bound by party ties and votes as his judgment dictates. He has been a lifelong resident of the city in which he makes his home, and he has the goodwill, high regard and friendship of many with whom he has been brought in contact from his boyhood days to the present time.
EDWARD P. LITZRODT.
Edward P. Litzrodt is the owner of a drug store at No. 918 Maple street, Burlington, and the careful conduct of his business affairs is bringing to him the success which is the merited and legiti- mate reward of his labors. He was born August 12, 1874, in Des Moines county, a son of Rev. F. L. and Mary (Oberle) Litzrodt. The father was born in Saxony, Germany, in 1846, and now resides in Burlington, a retired minister. He came to America with his parents when three years of age, the family home being established in Davenport, Iowa, and he was educated in the Wesleyan Univer- sity, a Methodist school at Warrenton, Missouri. For forty years he was a successful pastor in various churches in the state of Iowa, and for a long period was the beloved minister of the Methodist church at Central avenue and Locust street, in Burlington. He was recognized as one of the strongest preachers in the conference and a most untiring worker in the cause, but in 1912 he was stricken with paralysis and has since been an invalid, so that he can neither talk nor walk. He is confined to a wheel chair and largely spends his time in reading. He appeared to be one of the strongest and healthiest
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of men but his affliction came on on a Monday morning after he had preached several powerful sermons. Notwithstanding his condi- tion of health, he is cheerful and happy and is never forgotten by his many German Methodist friends. His example now, as well as while he was active in the ministry, is one well worthy of emula- tion, and he displays remarkable fortitude. His wife was born in Bedford, Indiana, in 1856. They became the parents of six children, of whom only two are living, the younger being Edith, who is living with her parents and is organist at the Presbyterian church. She studied under Mrs. Fred Boesch and at the Augustana College at Rock Island, and also under Professor Virgil, of New York. She has given lessons on the pipe organ in New York, but owing to her father's illness she returned in order to care for her parents.
Edward P. Litzrodt attended the public schools and a commer- cial school in Des Moines, being graduated from the latter about 1890. He afterward was a pupil in the St. Louis College of Phar- macy, from which he was graduated with the class of 1897. He spent the succeeding two years as a clerk in drug stores in St. Louis, Council Bluffs, Rock Island and Des Moines, and in 1899 embarked in business on his own account as proprietor of a drug store on Maple street, a few doors east of his present location. He now has a modern, well-appointed store, the best on South Hill. For several years his store has been one of the sub-postal stations of the city, known as station No. 4, and here he conducts business for "Uncle Sam," han- dling from seven to eight thousand dollars a year in stamps.
In October, 1904, Mr. Litzrodt was united in marriage to Miss Jennie Marshall, who was born in 1876 in Des Moines county, a daughter of Daniel D. and Jennie (Thomson) Marshall. The father was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, about 1847 and is now living retired in Burlington. He was for years a carriage painter with the Bennett & Frantz Carriage Manufacturing Company. During the Civil war he served as a member of the Ninth Michigan Cavalry, joining the army at the age of sixteen. His wife was born in Ire- land about 1848, and they became the parents of five children : Anna, who is now a teacher in the Prospect Hill school; Daniel, assistant cashier of the bank at Oakville; James Y., who is general manager of the egg and produce department for Swift & Company of Chi- cago; Jennie, now Mrs. Litzrodt; and John, who is territorial man- ager for the Hibbard, Spencer & Bartlett Company of Chicago.
Mrs. Litzrodt was graduated from the Burlington high school and from the Normal Training school, and previous to her marriage taught in the kindergarten department of the Prospect Hill and South
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Hill schools. To Mr. and Mrs. Litzrodt were born three children : Marshall E., whose birth occurred October 11, 1905, and is now at- tending the William Salter school; Audrey M., born April 20, 1907, also attending school ; and Jean L., who was born in September, 1909, and passed away in 1910. The family residence is at No. 540 South Central avenue.
In politics Mr. Litzrodt is a republican, active in the local coun- cils of the party, where his opinions carry much weight. He has served as committeeman of his ward for seven or eight years. Fra- ternally he is a Royal Arch Mason and belongs to Burlington Lodge, No. 1, A. F. & A. M., the oldest in the state. He was a charter member of the Orchard City Fishing Club and the Lone Tree Club, and is now secretary and treasurer of the Silver Lake Hunting and Fishing Club, of Henderson county, Illinois, which was organized July 1, 1914. His only pastime is fishing and hunting. He has always been a busy man and well deserves the proud American title of self-made, as his education was largely secured through his own efforts, while his success in business has been won by upright dealing, fair treatment of his patrons and enterprising methods. He has won many friends through trade connections, as well as in social circles, and is accounted one of the wide-awake, energetic business men of the city.
WILLIAM W. COPELAND.
It is a trite saying that "There is always room at the top," and the discerning man is constantly impressed with this fact, and wisdom and ambition frequently lead him to advance to the higher planes wherein competition is less great and where success is assured. Such has been the record of William W. Copeland, who at the age of six- teen years started out in commercial circles on his own account and has advanced step by step in an orderly progression that has brought him at last to a position among the foremost business men of Bur- lington connected with and controlling interests which are most im- portant factors in the upbuilding of the city's commercial greatness as well as the enhancement of his individual fortunes.
A native of Pennsylvania, Mr. Copeland was born in Mifflin, Juniata county, on the 7th of October, 1856, and is descended from English ancestry although the family has been represented in Penn- sylvania from an early period in the colonization of that region.
WILLIAM W. COPELAND
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The grandfather, Willis Copeland, who became one of the pioneer settlers of that state, spent the remainder of his life there, devoting his attention to general agricultural pursuits. His son, John M. Copeland, was there born and reared and for many years has been in the employ of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company as storekeeper at Mifflin. He defended the interests of the Union in the Civil war and in politics has always been a democrat, having been elected on the ticket of that party for the office of treasurer of Juniata county in 1888. He wedded Katherine Hartmann, also a native of Juniata county and a daughter of William Hartmann, of German descent. The religious faith of the family is that of the Lutheran church.
At the usual age William W. Copeland began his education as a public-school pupil. His youthful days were spent upon the home farm to the age of sixteen years, when he started out in the business world as a clerk in a general store. He was ambitious and energetic and his close application, willingness and fidelity soon won him ad- vancement. He gradually worked his way upward and by the time he had attained his majority had saved from his earnings a sufficient sum to enable him to purchase a stock of goods and engage in general merchandising on his own account. His previous thorough training and experience well qualified him for the conduct of the business, which proved profitable from the beginning.
However, he heard the call of the west and in 1887 arrived in Burlington, Iowa, where he has since made his home. After travel- ing for a brief time for the Standard Oil Company he established himself in the commission business in Burlington as the senior part- ner in the firm of Copeland & Martin, carrying on business under that style until 1903, when by purchasing his partner's interest he became the sole proprietor of a large fruit and commission business, his trade being hardly surpassed throughout this section of the coun- try. He conducts his business at the corner of Front and Valley streets in a large building where he has excellent shipping facilities that enable him to unload direct from the car to the house. His business is exclusively in the wholesale field and he handles his goods in carloads, buying from and shipping to all parts of the United States. The house is represented on the road by a number of travel- ing salesmen and the business has grown steadily until it is now one of great volume, due to the enterprising efforts, persistency of pur- pose and indefatigable energy of Mr. Copeland, who throughout his entire career has borne an unassailable reputation by reason of the fact that he has never incurred obligations that he has not met nor made engagements that he has not kept. In all of his business affairs Vol. II-6
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