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 67
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LORENZO O. HILLYARD, president of the Midland Chemical Com- pany, of Dubuque, Iowa, was born in Clay township, Wayne county, this state, September 4, 1874, a son of Benjamin and Mary J. Hill- yard, both of whom were of English ancestry. Benjamin Hillyard was a native of Springfield, Illinois, and his parents were among the early pioneers of that state. He was a farmer for thirty-four years. but late in life moved to St. Joseph, Missouri, where he died in January, 1906, at the age of sixty-seven years, preceded by his wife, July 6, 1905, aged sixty-five years. Their final resting place is at Corydon, Iowa. The early career of Lorenzo O. Hillyard was passed in attending the country schools. When twelve years old he went to live with his sister, Mrs. W. C. Mulford, at Omaha, Nebraska, where he carried the Omaha Bee as a newsboy and attended commercial college, paying his way through the latter by the proceeds derived from washing dishes in a restaurant. During his early life in Omaha he was employed by Dr. Charles Rosewater to answer telephone calls and for this was given room rent and $4 a week. The privations, humiliations and heartaches of the young man served as incentives for greater efforts and were undoubtedly the groundwork of his later success in life. From Omaha he went to St. Joseph, Missouri, where he drove a wagon for the Standard Oil Company three years, and from which he was promoted to traveling specialty salesman, continuing as such for three years. In 1898 he became the general tank wagon superintendent for eleven states for the above named oil concern, occupying this position until his voluntary resignation in 1901. During this time he made a careful study of disinfectants, and in 1901 began manufacturing in a small way on Second street in Dubuque. By careful and con- servative management the business prospered to such an extent that four years later it was deemed necessary to incorporate. Since then
A. Heel
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it has increased wonderfully and is now recognized as one of the largest disinfectant and germicide establishments of the country. The concern employs eleven traveling salesmen and its product is to be found in every state in the Union. Mr. Hillyard is a member of St. Luke's Methodist Episcopal church, and of the Elks; he is an independent Republican in politics. June 22, 1905, he married Miss Clara Raforth, daughter of Frederick Raforth, one of the pioneers of this section. To Mr. and Mrs. Hillyard there has been born one daughter, Sibyl Jane.
ANTHONY F. HEEB, secretary and treasurer of the Dubuque Brewing and Malting Company, is a native of Dubuque, his birth occurring December 21, 1867, and the son of Anton and Katherine Heeb. The father was born in the Province of Hesse-Nassau, Prus- sia, Germany, in the year 1812, but immigrated to the United States in 1850 and in a small way embarked in the brewing business at Dubuque. As occasion warranted he added to his establishment and at the time of his death the yearly output was 15,000 barrels. Mr. Heeb always took an active interest in local public affairs of importance and served as alderman from his ward and as county supervisor. After a long and useful life of seventy-six years he passed away, and was followed by his wife September 29, 1901, at the age of seventy-two years. Both now lie at rest in Mount Cal- vary cemetery, but their memory will long linger in the hearts of their many friends and neighbors.
After attending St. Mary's Parochial school, Anthony F. Heeb, the immediate subject of this memoir, entered the Canissius College, Buffalo, New York, and subsequently further pursued his studies in the College of the Sacred Heart at Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, graduating from the classical course of the latter institution when eighteen years of age. He then returned to Dubuque and entered his father's employ as bookkeeper, remaining thus occupied until the consolidation of the A. Heeb Brewing Company and the Glab Brothers, Schmid Brothers and Western Brewing companies, at which time Mr. Heeb was elected secretary and treasurer. He has been thus associated down to the present time, being also a director of the firm and vice-president of the German Trust and Savings Bank. In religious views Mr. Heeb is an adherent of the Roman Catholic faith, being identified with St. Mary's church, and socially is a member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. To his marriage with Miss. Lulu M. Rhomberg, solemnized in Dubuque, April 9, 1890, three children were born, as follows: Gussie May, who died in infancy ( 1892) ; Lou May, born March 24, 1894; and Anthony A., born February 20, 1898. Mrs. Heeb is the daughter of L. A. and Margaret Rhomberg, who came to Dubuque in 1860; the father died in 1893, aged fifty years, and the mother in 1907, aged sixty-two years.
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JOHN W. SCHWIND, president of the Dubuque Brewing and Malt- ing Company, was born in this city March 1, 1866, and has known, practically, no other home. His parents, Jacob and Maria Schwind, were natives of Baden-Baden, Germany, and Bavaria, respectively, but in 1850 they immigrated to America, locating at Dubuque, where the father for years was prominently identified with the brewing interests. He passed away December 15, 1881, at the age of fifty- four years, and his loss was mourned generally throughout the county. His widow still survives. After attending the public schools of Dubuque, John W. Schwind finished his education with a course in Bayless Business College, and then for two years was employed as bookkeeper by the Western Brewery. Succeeding this, in 1884, he associated himself in the brewing business with John W. Tschirgi, and this partnership continued until 1892, when he asso- ciated himself with his brother, B. J. Schwind, and the Western Brewing Company was formed. This company continued only for four months, when the Dubuque Malting Company was formed by the consolidation of the A. Heeb Brewing Company, Glab Bros., Schmid Bros., and the Western Brewing Company. They employ in the neighborhood of 200 people and their business covers a wide range of territory, including the states of Iowa, Illinois, Wisconsin, the Dakotas, Minnesota and Nebraska. Mr. Schwind is also a director of the Citizens' State Bank and is president of the East Dubuque Supply Company. Aside from the business cares of life he is identified with the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, the Eagles, and in religious views a member of St. Anthony's Roman Catholic church. On September 15, 1886, at Dubuque, he was united in marriage with Miss Mathilda, daughter of George and Martha La Brune, pioneer residents of Dubuque, and to them two children have been born, as follows: Edna, a graduate of St. Clara College; and John W., now attending St. Joseph's College. Mr. Schwind began life's battle at an early age, and has always been an active member in the different companies with which he has been connected, and always had the respect and esteem of his fellowinen.
CHARLES P. SKEMP was born in the city of Dubuque, Iowa, June 26, 1862, being the second in a family of eight children born to P. W. and Esther W. (White) Skemp, who were of English nativity and who came to the United States in 1853, and about the year 1858, respectively. P. W. Skemp located in Dubuque upon his arrival in this country, was here married, and for twenty-three years was a dry goods merchant in this city. In 1879 he bought a farm within a short distance of Dubuque, in Grant county, Wis- consin, where he and wife live at the ripe ages of eighty-four and seventy-five years. The names of their children, all born in Dubuque, are as follows: Joseph, who died unmarried when fifty
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Jacob Schwing.
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years old: Charles P., the subject of this sketch; Harry L., mar- ried Grace Iler and lives in Dubuque; May E., the wife of J. E. Headley, of this city; Samuel P., married to Amelia Kunz, who survives him. He was killed in a railroad accident in 1906; Thomas W., who married Catherine Schwerdt and resides at La Crosse, Wisconsin : Emily W., now Mrs. James C. Jones, of Oelwein, Iowa; and Frederick A., who married Elizabeth Duetscher and operates the farm owned by his father in Wisconsin. Charles P. Skemp attended the public schools in boyhood but at the age of fifteen years became a clerk in his father's store, continuing thus until his father retired to the farm. From that time to 1897, he was engaged in steamboating on the river, then became clerk in the mailing division of the Dubuque postoffice. He has ever since con- tinted in the employ of the government and is at present officiating as city distributor. In 1896 Mr. Skemp was united in marriage with Miss Hannah E. Walter, daughter of Peter and Maria (Reis) Walter, natives of Germany. Peter Walter came to America with his parents when eleven years old, their first home in this country being at Upper Sandusky, Ohio. He came to Dubuque in 1854, but in 1856 embarked in the furniture and undertaking business at McGregor, Iowa, in company with a brother. He there died on November 20, 1907, when seventy-four years old, and is survived by his widow. Mrs. Skemp was born August 26, 1868, and is the youngest in the family of eight children. To Mr. and Mrs. Skemp two children have been born : Helen, born July 29, 1897, and Marie, born February 4, 1899. Mr. Skemp is a member of the Independ- ent Order of Foresters, a Republican in politics, and he and wife belong to the Westminster Presbyterian church.
BERNHARD C. SCHERR, engaged in the retail grocery trade at 899 Clay street, Dubuque, is a son of Franz Scherr, who came to America from his native country, Wurtemburg, Germany, in 1853, and established a home in Dubuque, Iowa. Franz Scherr was born in 1830, and after receiving a practical education in the schools of his native country learned the intricacies of the brewing business. After coming to Dubuque he was identified with the Schmid & Scherr Brewery, but in 1864 went to Cassville, Wisconsin, and built what was known as the Schmitz & Scherr Brewery. In 1877 he sold out and removed to Fort Dodge, Iowa, where he continued in the same line of business. Four years later he returned to Du- buque and was, for the greater part of the remainder of his life, engaged in retail mercantile pursuits. At Dubuque, on March 4, 1862, he married Margaret Fleischman, a native of Nuremberg, Bavaria, who came to Dubuque in 1858. Mr. Scherr died April 4, 1909, survived by his widow, who is now seventy-one years old, and six children : Bernhard Conrad; Mrs. Anna Schaefer; William;
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Conrad Bernhard ; Albert ; and Mrs. Clara Merz. One child, Frank- lin, died in infancy.
Bernhard C. Scherr was born in Dubuque, December 14, 1862, and is the eldest of a family of seven children. Until nineteen years of age he worked in the brewery, then became a clerk in a retail grocery store, subsequently becoming his father's partner in that tine. In 1904 he acquired stock in the Hasler Grocery Company, then owning five retail stores, but six years later purchased his present establishment from the Hasler Company, which he has since operated witli success. He was married in the fall of 1889 to Miss Theresa Bieg, daughter of the old and well remembered settlers, Bernhard and Magdalena Bieg, natives of Germany. Mrs. Scherr was born November 20, 1866, and is the third in a family of five. To Mr. and Mrs. Scherr there have been born five children : Leona, the wife of Carl Wunderlich, of Rock Island, Illinois ; Harry G., Henry J., Lucile and Mildred M. The family belong to St. Mark's Lutheran church of Dubuque. Mr. Scherr is a member of the Masonic fraternity, Modern Woodmen of America, Wood- men of the World, Fraternal Order of Eagles, and the Orioles.
ALBERT HUGO SMITH, superintendent of the city railways of Dubuque, is a native of this city as are also his parents, Nicholas and Lena (Ruh) Smith, his paternal grandfather being one of Dubuque's first settlers. Nicholas Smith was of French and Ger- man extraction and was the oldest of six children. In 1870 he mar- ried Lena Ruli, of German descent and the second in a family of fourteen. For thirty-seven years he was foreman for the E. W. Albee Cracker Company, but in 1902, after this firm was bought by the National Biscuit Company (burned out in 1904), he was em- ployed by the McFarland Cracker Company. He and wife are now living at 2216 Couler avenue, this city, and are the parents of the following: John J., married Eleanora Guerlich, has two children and lives in Dubuque ; Nicholas William, making his home with his parents ; Mary M., the wife of D. M. Yant, the mother of one child, home in Dubuque; Albert H., the immediate subject of this sketch; and Pearl Josephine, a graduate of the Dubuque High School and of Bayless Business College, an accomplished musician and now employed as a stenographer in this city. Albert H. Smith was born November 23, 1877, and until fourteen years old attended the parochial schools. He entered the employ of the Chicago & Great Western Railway Company as call boy and continued with this company in different capacities for a period of twelve years, during which time he learned telegraphy and became a train dis- patcher. He left the employ of the C. & G. W. to accept a similar position with the I. C. R. R., a positon he occupied until he, with many others, was released when a general reduction of the work- ing force was ordered. He then accepted employment as motorman
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and conductor of the City Street Railway, of which concern he is now superintendent. In May, 1901, he married Miss Lola Olive Lichtenberger, who was born November 10, 1881, a daughter of Frank and Ruth Lichtenberger, natives of Illinois, and of German and Scotch-Irish descent, respectively. Mr. Lichtenberger, in early life, was a telegrapher, but of late years has followed carpentering. He and wife reside in Chicago, and the three children born to them are: Lola O., Dallas B., who married Cora Corby and resides in Dubuque, and Harry Louis. To Mr. and Mrs. Smith four children have been born: Olive Lola, Lucile Pearl, Marguerite Helen and Genevieve LaVerne. Mr. Smith is a Democrat and a member of the Knights of Pythias and the Modern Woodmen of America. He and wife are affiliated with the Methodist Episcopal church. Mr. Smith is also a graduate of the Lincoln-Jefferson University of Hammond, Indiana, in the study of law, but has not yet asked for recognition in this city or state, preferring his present occupation to the practice of law.
PETER RIDER and his wife, Mary (Authier) Rider, were among the best people of Dubuque county. Peter Rider was a native of Germany and after coming to America in 1848 located in Dubuque county, Iowa, where he married and engaged in farming in Table Mound township. He died in 1874 at the age of thirty-six years and was buried in Center Grove cemetery. He and wife were the parents of four children, as follows: George W., Renne H., Catherine and Anna. The mother, in 1879, married Michael Rider, a brother of her first husband, and he died in 1894, at the age of fifty years, being also laid at rest in Center Grove cemetery. One daughter, Melinda C., was born to the second marriage. She is a graduate of the Dubuque High School, the State University of Wis- consin and the School of Music at Madison, and is at present em- ployed as teacher in the Dubuque High School.
JOHN B. WILLIAMS, for the past thirty years engaged in the boot and shoe business at Dyersville, is a native of England, born July 29, 1841, and is the son of John and Eliza Williams. John Williams immigrated to America with his family in 1850 and lo- cated first in Chicago, Illinois, where he died January 1, 1868, aged sixty-two years, and was buried at Freeport, Illinois. His son, John B. Williams, the immediate subject of this sketch, attended the Chicago public schools until twelve years old, then for four years was employed as bell boy in one of the hotels. Succeeding this he began an apprenticeship to the shoemaker's trade under the tutelage of his father, and also was butcher for his father three years. He then returned to the shoe business, and in 1868 located at Dyers- ville, Iowa, and here made boots and shoes. He soon was enabled to open a small store, and as time passed and his business increased
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he was forced to enlarge his premises, and today his establishment is regarded as one of the best of its kind in the locality. Mr. Will- iams is a Republican in politics. In 1872, at Dyersville, he was united in marriage with Miss Hattie J. Bagley, daughter of Lovel and Mary Bagley, whose father, a millwright by occupation, came to Dubuque county in 1855. He died in 1866, aged forty-seven years, and his wife in 1892, aged seventy-one years, and they are buried at Dyersville and Edgerton, Wisconsin, respectively. To Mr. and Mrs. Williams three children have been born and named, as follows: Dora Isabelle, died June 5, 1902, aged twenty-five years : Francis Joseph and Raymond Skay, who are clerking in their father's shoe store. The family home is located in the city of Dyersville.
JOHN A. RITTSCHER, born at Galena, Illinois, July 30, 1852, re- siding at 1069 White street and engaged in retail mercantile pur- suits at 1217 Iowa street, Dubuque, is a son of John A. and Cath- erine (Kenicker) Rittscher, who were among the early pioneers in this locality. Both parents were born in Germany, married in Illi- nois, and about the year 1845 settled in Dubuque county, Iowa, and here the father engaged in the retail meat business. Both parents are now dead. Ten children were born to them. John A. Rittscher was the third in the regular order of birth in this family. He lived at home with his parents until eighteen years old, then be- gan working for wages in the meat business. He continued thus in different localities for five years, then returned to Dubuque and for the succeeding twenty years was employed by the William Ryan Packing Company. Since then he has been conducting a retail meat market on his own responsibility. In 1884 he was united in mar- riage with Miss Mary Eischen, who was born in Luxemburg, in 1856, and came to America when a young girl. Mr. Rittscher is a Democrat in politics and a member of the Lutheran church. Mrs. Rittscher is a Roman Catholic in religion.
GEORGE DE FOREST ROSE, since 1904 secretary and treasurer of the Spahn & Rose Lumber Company, was born in Freeport, Illinois, September 16, 1879, the son of George P., Jr., and Susie (De Forest) Rose. Both sides of the family can trace their ancestry back many generations in the history of the old world. The father's people were Hollanders, and the mother's natives of Nor- mandy and France. About 1650 the latter family, owing to the Huguenot disturbances of the times, left their native county, and. by way of Holland, came to the United States, and settled in Con- necticut. Here they experienced the trials and hardships incident to pioneer life, but. inheriting the thrift and industry of their forefathers, they grew and prospered and, as the years went by, scattered and became useful citizens of the land of their adoption.
Peter Aflower.
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George P. Rose, Jr., early in life left New York state and immi- grated west to Chicago, but the great fire of 1871 destroyed his property and drove him to Freeport, Illinois, from which place, in 1884, he came to Dubuque. He was at one time a jeweler by trade, but after coming to Dubuque opened and has since been operating a machine shop. George De Forest Rose, the immediate subject of this review, came with his parents to Dubuque at the age of five years, and after attending first the public schools, finished his education by a course in the high school. He then as office boy entered the establishment of the Carr. Ryder & Adams Company, and gradually, as merited, was promoted until after six years he became a salesman. Shortly thereafter in company with Mr. J. T. Adams he went to California and for two and a half years was assistant general superintendent of the West Side Lumber Com- pany. At the expiration of that time he and his present partner, Mr. Spahn, organized the Spalin & Rose Lumber Company and they have since been actively and successfully engaged in that line of business. In politics Mr. Rose is a Republican; in religious views a member of the Westminster Presbyterian church; and socially he is identified with the Masonic fraternity. At Minne- apolis, May 7, 1907, he was united in marriage with Miss Clara Louise Bayless, daughter of V. W. and Clara Bayless, pioneer residents of that city, and to them one daughter, Dorothy Louise, has been born.
PETER KLAUER. The life of Peter Klauer, president of the Klauer Manufacturing Company, is conclusive proof that the aver- age poor boy of today, if he possesses the qualities of integrity and thrift, may ultimately rise to a position of honor and respect among his fellowmen. Mr. Klauer started out in life a poor boy, without money or influential friends, and by his own unaided efforts had accumulated a competency and become prominent and a factor in the commercial life of Dubuque. His parents, John and Mary Klauer, were natives of the Province of Rhenish Prussia, Germany, but in 1854 left the mother country, emigrated to America and settled in Dubuque. The father was a potter and fol- lowed that trade until his death in 1883, at the age of eighty-five ycars. His wife passed away in 1872, aged sixty-two years. Both now lie at rest in Mount Calvary cemetery, but their memory still remains near and dear to the surviving old settlers who knew them to be kind neighbors and excellent, God-fearing citizens. Their son, Peter Klauer, the immediate subject of this memoir, was born at Baumbach, near the city of Coblenz, Germany, on November 28, 1842, and until twelve years old attended the public schools thereof. He then came with his parents to America and Dubuque, and while employed in various positions attended night school in an effort to better his education. When seventeen years of age he became an.
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apprentice to the tin trade in the establishment of Thomas Heney and for some time remained there as a journeyman. In 1870, how- ever, he embarked in the tin and stove business on his own account, starting in a small way on Iowa street and increasing his stock as occasion warranted. These premises he has long since vacated and they are now occupied by his son-in-law, Mr. A. P. Kress. In 1890 Mr. Klauer erected the buildings now standing between Thirteenth and Fourteenth streets and organized the Klauer Manufacturing Company, Mr. Klauer being the president, and this concern has since become widely known throughout the middle West. Aside from the above interests Mr. Klauer is president of the German Trust and Savings Bank and vice-president of the Iowa Coffin Company, of which latter concern he was for a time manager. In politics he is a Democrat, has served as a member of the board of supervisors, and was chairman of the committee that had charge of the erection of the Dubuque county court house. He was also one of the first trustees and directors of the new library of Dubuque city. In his religious views Mr. Klauer espouses the beliefs of his forefathers and is a member of St. Mary's Roman Catholic church. On September 26, 1864, at Dubuque, he was united in marriage with Miss Anna F., daughter of Fidelius and Bernharta Buechler, old pioneer residents of this county, now at rest in Calvary ceme- tery, and to their union eleven children have been born, as follows : Rose, who died when five years old; Albert, who died at two years of age; one who died in infancy: William H., associated with his father in business: Benjamin F., teller in the German Trust and Savings Bank; Aloise N., also with father; Joseph, with father ; Amalie, a sister of St. Francis: Angeline, at home; Gertrude, the wife of A. P. Kress, of this city; and Mary, at home with her parents. The Klauer family is well and favorably known through- out the county, and Mr. Klauer can point with pardonable pride to his steady rise up the ladder of life.
JAMES J. DUFFY, agent for the Illinois Central Railway at Dyers- ville since 1909, was born at Omaha, Nebraska, August 20, 1878, and is the son of Michael and Margaret Duffy. The father was a native of County Kings, Ireland, and came to America in 1859. locating for two years at Xenia, Ohio, where he followed farming. He was also a railroad contractor, and after locating in Omaha, Nebraska, followed that business for thirty years. He is at present engaged in farming near Council Bluffs, Iowa. James J. Duffy attended the public and parochial schools of his native city until fourteen years old, then completed his studies with courses in the Omaha and Iowa Business colleges, graduating from the latter in 1898. He then became connected with the Illinois Central Rail- way Company as station agent at Masonville, Iowa, where he remained six years, succeeding which he was for two years located
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