USA > Iowa > Dubuque County > History of Dubuque County, Iowa; being a general survey of Dubuque County history, including a history of the city of Dubuque and special account of districts throughout the county, from the earliest settlement to the present time > Part 56
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96 | Part 97 | Part 98 | Part 99 | Part 100 | Part 101 | Part 102 | Part 103
JAMES W. BEATTY, prominently identified with the banking interests of Cascade, is a native of Jones county, Iowa, his birth occurring in the year 1850. He is a son of David and Jane (McCartney ) Beatty, natives of County Down and County Tyrone, Ireland, respectively, and a grandson of James and Agnes (Dick- son) Beatty, who were also natives of the Emerald Isle. The grandparents immigrated to the United States in 1848, and for the inost part resided in Jones county, Iowa. They were the parents of nine children, named David, James, John, Dixon, Alexandria, Benjamin, Sarah, Margaret and Esther, one of whom only is now living. David Beatty married in Philadelphia in 1846, and the same year moved to Iowa and took up government land at $1.25 per acre. At this time the locality to which they moved had very few
513
HISTORY OF DUBUQUE COUNTY
settlers and those few were widely scattered. Clearing and improv- ing with the rude implements of husbandry in those days was laborious in the extreme, and markets, a long distance away. afforded but scanty returns for the work performed. Here Mr. Beatty lived the greater part of his life, surviving to see the unbroken prairies transformed into prosperous farms and peaceful homes. Although of foreign birth, his love for his adopted country led to his enlistment for the integrity of the Union as a member of Company I, Twenty-first Iowa Volunteer Infantry. He was early a Whig in politics, but later helped to found the Republican party i11 Iowa, of which he was an ardent supporter. He was an honest worker for the cause of education and a member of the Baptist church. The latter part of his life was passed in Cascade, where he died in1 1907, at the age of eighty-four years, preceded by his wife in 1903, also aged eighty-four. Both have their final resting place in the cemetery at Cascade. They were the parents of James W .. Samuel B., Mary A., Eliza, Sarah B. and Elizabeth. The education of James W. Beatty, the subject of this review, was obtained in the district schools, the old academy at Cascade and at Lenox. He followed the occupation of farmer until 1878, when he embarked in the furniture and undertaking business with Thomas Crawford, whom he succeeded as postmaster in 1884, subsequently serving also a number of years as town clerk. He finished his education at Lenox College, and since 1892 has been in the banking business in Cascade. Mr. Beatty is a member of the Masonic fraternity, tlie Modern Woodmen of the World and in politics is a Republican. In 1878 he married Edith, daughter of Richard and Lydia (Horn- buckle) Rafferty, who died in 1902. For his second wife he mar- ried in 1896 Miss Mary Elliott, and to this union one daughter, Thelma Elliott, has been born.
JAMES L. LANGWORTHY was born in Windsor, Vermont, in 1800, and there remained until he was twenty-one years of age. He then came to Illinois, but soon afterward went to St. Louis, where he worked in a steam mill three years. In 1824 he went to the Galena lead mines. He engaged in mining with Orin Smith and they soon struck a large lead. He was thus occupied, also in merchandising, until 1830, when his fortune had melted away to about $10,000 In 1827 he participated in the Winnebago war and in 1832 was attached to a spy battalion. He participated in the battle of Bad Axe. In 1830 he and his brother Lucius came to Dubuque and soon struck a lead in the northwestern part of the city, where they soon took out 100,000 pounds, for a portion of which they received as high as $6.50. They were driven away by troops from Fort Crawford, but returned in 1833. In 1837 he built a good house and in 1840 married. Under a contract with the United States agent he laid out and made the military road from Dubuque to Iowa City
514
HISTORY OF DUBUQUE COUNTY
-a work of great importance at that time. He probably explored more mineral land and raised more ore than any other man here.
JOHN WILLIAM STUBER, engaged in the electrical contracting business in Dubuque, with offices at 1135 Main street, was born in this city July 13, 1886, the son of John, Jr., and Emma Stuber and a grandson of the old pioneer, John Stuber, Sr., who was born October 18, 1832, in Solithorn, Switzerland, and came to America, via New York city, in 1851. He located for a time at various cities in the East, and in 1857 came to Dubuque, where he was employed by the Jo Newburgh Company, and later as head painter by the old Sioux City & Dubuque railway, now part of the Illinois Central system. In 1867 he and fourteen other men organized the Dubuque Cabinet Makers' Association for the manufacture of all kinds of furniture, in which company he held a prominent position until his death. He died in 1909 at the age of seventy-six years, and was buried in the family lot in Linwood cemetery. His son, John Stuber, Jr., was born in Dubuque, July 15, 1860. He is a musician of some prominence and in 1882 organized, and has ever since served as manager of the Dubuque Military Band. Mr. Stuber was at one time identified with the Dubuque Cabinet Makers' Asso- ciation, and at present is manager of the musical instrument depart- ment of the Harger-Blish Company. He has been the cornetist in the Grand opera house ever since 1880. John William Stuber, the immediate subject of this memoir, received his primary education in the Audubon school and finished his scholastic training with a course in the local high school. He then began to learn thoroughly all details of the electrical business, and when twenty years old opened an establishment of that nature on Main street, where he has since been successfully engaged. Mr. Stuber is independent in his political views and socially is identified with the Independent Order of Eagles. He is a member of St. Luke's Methodist Epis- copal church. On February IS, 1907, he was united in marriage with Miss Louise Bechtel, daughter of George and Louisa Bechtel, and to them one daughter, Margaret Louise, was born on December 14, 1907. The family residence in Dubuque is located at 1088 Main street.
REV. ARTHUR M. CLARK, present chaplain of the Mount Carmel Catholic convent, was born at Framingham, Middlesex county, Massachusetts, on August 3, 1853, and is a son of James W. and Catherine (March) Clark. Both branches of the family trace their ancestry back to early Colonial times and have had much to do with the growth and development of the United States. Hugh Clark, the progenitor of the Clark family in America, was a native of Scotland and immigrated to America in 1640, settling in Salem, Massachu- setts. Peter Clark, grandfather of Rev. Arthur M., served as a
515
HISTORY OF DUBUQUE COUNTY
lieutenant of the marines during the Revolutionary war and partici- pated in the battles of Lexington, Bunker Hill and Valley Forge, and was also present at the surrender of Yorktown. He was a farmer by occupation and at the conclusion of the struggle with the mother country returned to his home near Hopkinton, Massa- chusetts, where James W., the father of our subject, was born. James W. Clark was a dry goods commission merchant at Boston, and died in 1892, aged ninety years, and was followed by his wife in 1893 at the age of seventy-eight years. Both are buried at Framingham. The March family, from which Rev. Arthur's inother was descended, are among the earliest of the pioneer settlers on the eastern shores of America, and have distinguished themselves as a race of prominent physicians and surgeons. Dr. Alden March, a grand-uncle of our subject, was at one time president of the United States Medical Society, and David March, maternal grand- father of Rev. Arthur M., was a surgeon in the War of 1812. Thus it will be seen that Rev. Arthur M. Clark is descended from notable ancestry on both sides of his family. In youth he attended the public schools of his native town and later attended St. Paul's school at Concord, New Hampshire, until 1873. He then went to Hartford, Connecticut, where he spent four years in Trinity Col- lege, succeeding which he studied for the Protestant ministry and was ordained in 1882 at Nashville, Tennessee. He then returned East to Boston, and some six months later changed his religious beliefs and espoused Catholicism. After spending six months in Europe he studied under the Paulist Fathers at New York for the Catholic priesthood, and was ordained on June 19, 1886. He then traveled on missions throughout the United States with the Paulist Fathers, continuing until he answered the call to his present position. Father Clark has been ten years with the people of Mount Carmel, his work has been for the upbuilding of the church, and he has already become endeared in the hearts of all who know him.
REV. FATHER JOHN S. BAUMANN, chaplain of St. Francis Con- vent and Orphans' Home, Dubuque, Iowa, was born February 15, 1846, at Columbus, Ohio, and is a son of George and Maria Sibilla (Ehrenhardt ) Baumann. The father, a jeweler and watchmaker by trade, was a native of Rottweil, Germany, and came to America in 1832, his wife following four years later. He located at Co- lumbus, Ohio, and there died in 1868, aged sixty years; his widow died in 1890, at the age of seventy-eight years. Both are buried at Columbus. Rev. Father John S. Baumann, the immediate subject of this review, attended the parochial schools of his native city until fourteen years old, and then spent two years in Notre Dame Uni- versity, South Bend, Indiana. Succeeding this he attended one year at St. Joseph's College. Teutopolis, Effingham county, Illinois, and
516
HISTORY OF DUBUQUE COUNTY
finished his scholastic training at Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and was ordained to the priesthood in 1871. For a time thereafter he was located at various places throughout the state of Iowa, among which was Worthington. Upon coming to Dubuque he was a professor in St. Joseph's College, and also pastor of the Sacred Heart Roman Catholic church, building during his pastorship the church, Sister house, and Marquette hall. In October, 1905, he became chaplain of St. Francis Convent and Orphans' Home and has been thus con- nected ever since. Father Baumann has done much good and made many friends during his residence in Dubuque, and bears the respect and esteem of all who know him.
JOHN J. FINN, a well known farmer and stock raiser residing in Cascade, was born in 1844, in County Galway, Ireland, where also his parents, Thomas and Sabina Finn, were born. The family immigrated to the United States in 1851, and were at Dubuque at the time of the cholera epidemic. The mother died of the scourge, the father later removing to Jones county, Iowa, with his children, locating near Temple Hill. He subsequently moved to a farm on section 20, Whitewater township, in 1866, where he died in 1883 when seventy-three years old. He and his wife were the parents of six children: Patrick, Mary, Bridget, John J., Ann and Catherine. Mary and Bridget and now dead. John J. Finn was brought up to do hard work on the farm and in early years attended school at Temple Hill, continuing to make his home with his father until the latter's death. His entire life has been passed in farming, stock raising occupying no little share of his attention. He has worked hard, dealt squarely with his fellowman and is recognized as one of the substantial, progressive and up-to-date men of the community. In 1886 he was united in marriage with Miss Ellen MeLaughlin, a native of Jackson county, Iowa. Mrs. Finn is the daughter of James and Mary McLaughlin, who were natives of Ireland and Massachusetts, respectively. James McLaughlin came to the United States when a young man, and after his marriage in Massachusetts moved to Iowa, where he passed the remainder of his days an honored and respected citizen. He died in 1896, aged seventy-four years, followed by his widow in 1906, aged eighty-one. They were the parents of Mrs. T. L. Donovan, Mrs. John J. Finn, Mrs. P. T. Brady, Mrs. E. W. Doherty and Mrs. R. E. Curoe. All these are now living.
There has been four children born to Mr. and Mrs. Finn, as follows. Sybil, Stephen, Irena and Viola. Aside from his fine farm and Hereford cattle, Mr. Finn is a stockholder and director of the Farmers' & Mechanics' State Bank of Cascade. Few families stand higher in the estimation of the surrounding com- munity than that of John J. Finn.
517
HISTORY OF DUBUQUE COUNTY
LUCIEN R. HYDE, assistant secretary of the Kretschmer Manu- facturing Company, Dubuque, since 1909, is a native of this city and the son of Charles H. and Emma Hyde. The Hyde family came originally from England, but for many generations have resided in the United States. Since 1875 Charles Hyde has been connected with the H. Mehlhop Company, wholesale dealers and importers of teas and cigars, and both he and wife reside in Dubuque. Lucien R. Hyde was born on May 23. 1883, and received his education in the local public and high schools. He left the latter in 1901 and immediately thereafter was employed as chief order clerk by the Farley-Loetscher Manufacturing Company, which position he held until he purchased an interest in the Kretschmer Manufacturing Company. He was elected assistant secretary, is a director and represents the firm in western territory. Socially Mr. Hyde is identified with the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, the Modern Woodmen of America and the Dubuque Traveling Men's Association, and in religious views is a member of St. Luke's Methodist Episcopal church. He is one of the younger generation of Dubuque's business men and is highly regarded by all who know him. He resides at the family home at 31 Fairview place.
GEORGE L. NIGHTINGALE died in Dubuque, May 29, 1859, after a long and severe illness, aged forty-four years. He was born in Herefordshire, England, and in youth was taken by his widowed mother to Boulogne, France. At the age of nineteen years he went to sea and visited all parts of the world. About 1836 he came to the United States and located in Dubuque. He became a merchant, justice of the peace, lawyer, member of the legislature and mavor of Dubuque in 1856-7. The bench and bar here passed suitable resolutions at his death. He left a widow and five children.
PETER WAPLES was born in Delaware in 1814 and came to Dubuque in 1838, and the next year built the Waples hotel, after- ward called the Julien House. He it was who was chiefly instru- mental in building the old Waples cut from the old levee to the main channel of the river. He bore much of the expense and the cut bore his name for many years. He became wealthy and at one time owned three stores. His daughters married R. A. Babbage and C. J. Rogers. His wife was formerly Elizabeth Burton. He was a Presbyterian and one of the best citizens. Dr. W. H. Waples was his son. Suitable resolutions were passed by the old settlers. He died about 1870.
GEORGE SCHMID, SR., founder of the Eagle Valley Works, Dubuque, was born at Lawrenceburg, Indiana, February 16, 1855. and is a son of Joseph and Theresa Schmid, who were natives of
518
HISTORY OF DUBUQUE COUNTY
Germany. The father first came to the United States in the forties and being of an adventurous spirit served as a volunteer soldier of this country in the war with Mexico. He subsequently returned to his native country and concluded final arrangements for his per- manent removal to America in the early fifties. For a number of years after his return he worked in various localities throughout the country, and during the Civil war served his adopted country as a member of the Fifteenth Missouri Volunteer Infantry. He died in Dubuque in 1898 at the age of seventy-five years, followed by his widow two years later.
George Schmid, Sr., came with his parents to Dubuque in his infancy and here received his early schooling. At about the age of fourteen he went to Ohio and there learned cabinet making and from 1877 to 1882 worked at his trade in Dubuque as a mechanic. In the latter year he became foreman of the Dubuque Furniture & Burial Company, continuing as such until 1888. Associated with his brother, Otto, he then organized the American Silver Plate Com- pany at Chicago in 1889, but three years later disposed of this and founded in the same city the Schmid Manufacturing Company, selling out his interest to his brother the following year. In 1900 he opened a similar business at San Francisco, California, but in 1901 returned permanently to Dubuque and in October of that year founded his present establishment which is one of the substantial business concerns of the city. Mr. Schmid is a member of the Sacred Heart Roman Catholic church, the Knights of the Macca- bees and the Dubuque Traveling and Business Men's Association. February 16, 1876, he married Miss Magdalena Hafner, daughter of George and Louisa Hafner, and to them have been born four sons and one daughter, as follows: George, Jr., Titus A., Edward H., Natalie, the wife of Leo M. Fengler, and Alvin J. J. The first two named are associated with their father in the Eagle Valley Works.
GEORGE SCHMID, JR., the oldest son of George Schmid, Sr., is the manager and part owner of the Eagle Valley Works. He was born in the city of Dubuque on March 19, 1877, and the greater part of his life has been spent in this locality. After receiving a practical education he assisted his father in various enterprises, and, aside from his holdings in the company, has acquired substantial interests in other concerns. In order to provide a suitable entrance to Eagle Point Park he donated to the city a tract of land now used for that purpose. He is the owner of a half interest in the valuable patents invented by his father which have attained substantial recognition in the world of mechanics. He is a member of St. Mark's Lutheran church, and in politics votes for the man rather than the candidate of any particular party. October 26, 1904, he was united in mar- riage with Miss Fannie Henrietta Sinholdt, daughter of Theodore
SAM PATTERSON
519
HISTORY OF DUBUQUE COUNTY
and Julia Sinholdt, pioneer farmers of Mosalem township, and they have one son, Earl G. T. The Schmids, senior and junior, are among the best and most deserving citizens of Dubuque.
SAMUEL PATTERSON, like many of the people in and around Cas- cade, is of Irish nativity, and is a son of Richard and Esther ( Daily ) Patterson. They came to Pennsylvania in 1842 and in the early fifties the parents, with their five sons, Thomas, Henry, George, Samuel and John, came west for the purpose of securing a better home and more favorable opportunities for their children. The father came first to view the outlook, the balance of the family coming later. They resided for a time in Pennsylvania, where a girl, Mary, was added to the number of children. For eight years they resided in the Keystone state, where the father worked in a rolling mill. They then removed to Dubuque county, Iowa, where for fifteen years Mr. Patterson rented and farmed. Having accu- mulated $500, he purchased 200 acres of land, and being industri- ous, continued to add to this property until, at the time of his death, he owned 810 acres. In addition his children had also acquired extensive real estate holdings. These old settlers were deserving of much credit because of their thrift and excellent citizenship. Mr. Patterson, at the age of seventy-five, died in 1875, followed by his widow in November, 1895, when eighty-five years old. The chil- dren all lived at home and were a credit to their parentage. George served in the Civil war as a member of Company I. Twenty-first Iowa Volunteers, and was killed at the siege of Vicksburg; Thomas married Anna Hill, and died, leaving two sons, Robert and Thomas ; Henry served his country in the same company and regiment as his brother and died from the effects of the service after the close of the war, unmarried; John, the youngest, was associated with Samuel in many undertakings and died an untimely death at the age of thirty-five, when youth and hope yet beckoned. Samuel Patterson, whose name heads this sketch, is a man of practical education and endowed with more than ordinary attainments. His life has been passed in agricultural pursuits and stock raising, and his ownership of several hundred finely improved acres of Iowa's best land attests his success in life. He married Mary Jane Groves, daughter of John and Jane (Doily) Groves, in January, 1891. Mrs. Patterson was born January 29, 1862, and has borne her hus- band six children, as follows: Mary A., born November 23, 1891 : John R., January 13, 1893; George S., September 13, 1894; Wil- liam H., August 19, 1895 ; died January 15, 1896; James H., Sep- tember 24, 1897, died October 13, 1897; Leroy G. W., February 7, 1899, died January 14, 1901. Mr. Patterson is on general princi- pals a Republican in politics, but he most frequently votes for the man instead of his party. He and family are members of the Presbyterian church.
520
HISTORY OF DUBUQUE COUNTY
EDWIN A. FENGLER, president of the Eagle Point Lime Works, was born in the city of Dubuque, January 26, 1868, the son of George and Alice M. Fengler. The father was prominent among the early settlers of the county, and was the founder and one time owner of the above mentioned lime works. In 1862, in answer to his country's call for volunteers to help defend the Union, lie enlisted in Company A, Twenty-first Iowa Volunteer Infantry, and served until the close of the war. He participated in the following battles and campaigns: Knoxville, Port Gibson, Champion Hill siege of Vicksburg, Clarksville, Big Black River, Jackson (where he was wounded), Higgin's Cross Roads, and Port Berkeley. On July 26, 1865, after a long and creditable military career, he was honorably discharged by the War Department and immediately returned to his home in Dubuque. Here he resumed his commer- cial activities and on April 28, 1900, when fifty-eight years old, passed away, a man greatly beloved and respected by all who knew him. His widow is yet living, aged sixty-six years, and resides at 1059 Garfield avenue. To them twelve children, two dying in infancy, were born, as follows: Oscar, died in 1880, aged thrce and a half years; Richard, died in 1888, aged twenty-one : Melvina, wife of H. L. Gross, the oldest mail carrier in service in Dubuque ; Edwin A., the immediate subject of this review ; Olive, married Herman Mauer, lumber dealer, of Gunnison, Colorado; Hattie, treasurer of Eagle Point Lime Works; George, Jr., boat builder, Muscatine, Iowa ; Alice, married Frank Beutin, a coal, wood and sand merchant of Dubuque ; Octavia, married Thomas A. Feyen, of Minneapolis ; Leo M., secretary of Eagle Point Lime Works, appro- priate mention of whom appears elsewhere in this work ; Randolph, also with above mentioned firm; and Orrin H., blacksmith at the C., M. & St. P. shops.
Edwin A. Fengler was educated in the public schools of Du- buque, finishing his schooling with a course in Bayless Business College. In 1884 he started to learn the furniture and upholster- ing business, but when the firm for which he was working went out of business he gave up the idea and became a clerk on a Mis- sissippi river steamboat. In 1887 he secured employment in his father's establishment, but in October of that year went to work as a fireman on the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad. After four years and three months spent thus, he was promoted to loco- motive engineer and held that position until his father's illness and subsequent death. He then took charge of the business and upon its incorporation in 1903 was elected president, which position he has since held. Under the able management of the present personnel the business has grown and prospered and at present the Eagle Point Lime Works is regarded as one of the solid and substantial concerns of Dubuque. Mr. Fengler is a member of the Masonic fraternity (Savannah, Illinois, lodge), the Eagles, the Locomotive Engineer
521.
HISTORY OF DUBUQUE COUNTY
Brotherhood, and a regular attendant at the Presbyterian church. He was married in Dubuque, May 28, 1891, to Miss Catherine Brown, a native of Burton, Wisconsin, and the daughter of Archi- bald and Elizabeth Brown, old settlers of Dubuque. Her father died in 1905, and the mother four years later. Mr. Fengler and wife reside at 872 Rhomberg avenue.
Leo M. Fengler, secretary of the Eagle Point Lime Works, is a native of Dubuque, his birth occurring September 8, 1881, and is one of the family of twelve children born to the old pioneers, George and Alice M. Fengler. He received his education in the public schools of this city, and upon the death of his father in 1900 became one of the heirs to the Eagle Point Lime Works, founded and owned by the elder Fengler. For three years, with his brother, Edwin A., he conducted the affairs of this concern, and in 1903, when it was incorporated, he became secretary and has held that position to the present time. Mr. Fengler is a member of the Eagles and of the Third Presbyterian church. To his marriage with Miss Nathalia Schmid, daughter of George and Magdalene Schmid, the following named children have been born: Leona Nathalia, March 19, 1903; Herbert Theodore, November 8, 1904; and Alta Magdalene, July 26, 1906. Mrs. Fengler's father was the proprietor of the Eagle Valley Works and an old pioneer in Dubuque. The family residence is located at 2340 Rhomberg avenue.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.