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 77
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In 1864 he was united in marriage with Miss Frances Lang- worthy, a member of one of the oldest and most respected pioneer families of Iowa. They have two sons, Clark Langworthy and Horace Stephens, now in business in Chicago.
WILLIAM R. TIBBALS, who has lived a retired life in Dubuque since 1904, was born in Bennington, Vermont, on June 27, 1832, and is a son of Charles S. and Emaline (Spencer ) Tibbals. The parents came West to Chicago at an early date and four years later went to Elgin, Illinois, and there engaged in the hotel business. In 1852 they removed to Galena, same state, and there also conducted a hostelry. Their son, William R., the immediate subject of this memoir, received his education in the common schools and at the age of twenty entered the river traffic as a pilot on a steamboat. This he followed until 1904. his last service being as captain of the Diamond Jo steamer "Quincy," which plied between St. Paul and St. Louis. In 1895 Mr. Tibbals was appointed by President Cleve- land Supervising Inspector of Steamboats, which position he held four years. On August 6. 1856, Mr. Tibbals was united in mar- riage with Miss Catherine R. Black, who was born in Pennsylvania and educated in Indiana, and to them two children were born, William O., residing at the Larches, four miles north of Dubuque, and Catherine M., now Mrs. William M. Clewell, of Dubuque. In politics Mr. Tibbals espouses the policies of the Democratic party, and in religious views is an Episcopalian. In 1904 he retired from the active business cares of life and is now residing with his daugh- ter at 1660 Iowa street, his wife having passed away in 1906. He
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is one of the pioneer settlers of Dubuque and bears the respect and esteem of all who know him.
CHARLES F. ARENDT, present humane officer of Dubuque, was born in Germany on November 15, 1858. the son of Charles F. and Amelia (Conrad) Arendt, both of whom were natives of that country. The grandfather was at one time a wealthy brewer, but became involved in government affairs, lost his property and escaped to Switzerland, where the father of the subject of this sketch took up the trade of shoemaker, in which he continued until 1867, when he crossed the Atlantic to America, where he believed that chances for success were much greater, and the first two years worked at his trade in Cleveland, Ohio. In 1869 he came to Dubuque county, and with the money he had saved bought a farm in Table Mound township which he conducted until his death in 1899. His son, Charles F., Jr., received his education in the public schools of his native country, also of this, and later attended high school two terms and the Epworth Seminary two terms, defraying his ex- penses at the latter by teaching school. In 1875 he went to Charles City, Iowa, to learn the cabinetmaker's trade, and four years later returned to Dubuque and practiced same two years. He then traveled for various commercial houses until 1890, when he again took up the cabinetmaker's trade as foreman of the cabinetmaking department of Carr, Ryder & Adams Company, with whom he remained until May I, 1902, when he was elected City Recorder ; he was reelected in 1904 and served until 1906. The following year he received the appointment of local humane officer and still holds this position. He is a Republican in politics, a Congrega- tionalist in religion, and socially is identified with the Masonic fra- ternity, the Eagles, the Orioles and the Modern Woodmen of Amer- ica. To his marriage with Miss Caroline Capretz, of Wisconsin, solemnized in 1880, Charles C., Bartholomew, Henry (deceased ) and Harold have been born. Mrs. Arendt was the daughter of Bartholomew Capretz, who served in the Civil War as a member of the Eighty-first Wisconsin Volunteers, participating in the Mis- souri and Red River campaigns, and died in 1904. He and wife were early settlers of Wisconsin.
LEONARD P. ALLEN is one of the more recent additions to the population of the city of Dubuque, and is presenting before the people of the county the new system of analyzing the symptoms and adjusting the physical cause of disease known as the chiro- practic idea. The basic principles of this system are that the source of bodily health or disease is to be found at a point at the base of the skull, where the nerves of the brain converge with the spinal cord, and along the spinal cord with its attending nerve filaments. Chiropractic affords an exact and scientific method of determining
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the location of any vertebra which on account of its misalignment is responsible for nerve compression, and also an original, unique and most effective manner for correcting this abnormal condition by means of the hands alone, using either the spinous or transverse processes of the vertebrae as handles or levers. Shortly after com- ing to Dubuque Dr. Allen formed a partnership with Dr. Glen L. Chamberlain, but this firm has since been dissolved and Dr. Allen has continued the practice of his profession alone. He was born in Cache county, Utah, June 16, 1885, the son of Andrew B. and Susan (Preece) Allen, and is of the ninth generation directly descended from Charles Allen, who came from England to the American colonies in 1630 and settled in Massachusetts. Dr. Allen was reared and primarily educated in Utah, subsequently entering the Palmer School of Chiropractic at Davenport, Iowa, from which he was graduated June 1, 1909. He practiced inter- mittently at several points until his location in Dubuque the fall of 1910. To his marriage with Miss Lena M. Wallace, solemnized in 1909, one daughter, Eva, has been born.
ROBERT YOUNG, foreman of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul passenger car shops, is of Scotch-English extraction, and was born June 8, 1857, in Newbattle, near Edinburgh, Scotland. His father, Robert Young, was a native of Scotland, and the mother, whose maiden name was Alice Bond, was born in England. Robert Young, Sr., was a surveyor and mining engineer in the service of the British Government and his duties carried him to nearly every portion of the civilized world. After attending the public schools Robert Young, the immediate subject of this memoir, learned the cabinetinaker's and carpenter's trades, and in 1882 came to America by way of New York, stopping for a short time in the state of Pennsylvania. He then decided to cross the States to Seattle, Washington, with the intention of journeying west to Australia, if not pleased with his prospects in the rapidly growing city of the Northwest, but stopped off at Dubuque and has since made this city his home. He secured employment in the shops of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul road, and in 1884 was made foreman of the passenger car department, in which capacity he has remained ever since. Mr. Young has been twice married. His first wife, Mary Johnstone, of Bonnyrig, near Edinburgh, Scotland, was a descend- ant of the Johnstones of Annandale, and a second cousin to Sir Charles Johnstone. She died in 1891 and was buried in Linwood cemetery. One daughter, Janet, was born to them. She is now the wife of Rev. Albert Vonder Lippe, of Kansas City, Kansas. In 1893 Mr. Young married Miss Julia Rose, of Dubuque, and one son, Robert E., was born to them. Aside from business affairs Mr. Young takes great interest in church work, and was one of the organizers of the Third Presbyterian church of Dubuque, of which
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he is now superintendent of the Sunday school. . He is also a mem- ber of the Modern Woodmen of America.
FRANCIS H. DERSCH, foreman of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul railroad shops. Dubuque, was born in Reading, Pennsylvania, January 31, 1851, the son of Caspar and Elizabeth (Hoffmaster ) Dersch. The father was born in Tsweibach, Germany, November 10, 1810, and the mother was a native of Reading, Pennsylvania. The father followed railroading all his life and died November 10, 1886. At the age of eleven Francis H. Dersch entered the cotton mills of his native state as spinner. His savings were in- vested in books and all spare time was spent in reading, which was practically the only education he ever had. The habit of study has followed him all through life, and he is today called a well-educated man, although he had but little actual schooling. When thirteen years old he secured employment in the roundhouses of the Phila- delphia & Reading Railroad, where he remained until his twin brother was killed by accident and then decided to give up road work. He entered the foundry of the same road, and fifteen months later was transferred to the machine shops as an appren- tice. By close attention to business he mastered the details of that department, and at the age of eighteen was made gang foreman and had under his charge fifteen machines. In 1878, owing to the depressed times in the East, he came West and became a machinist in the shops at Hannibal, Missouri, remaining there about three years. Succeeding this he spent seven months as brass finisher in the Wabash shops at Moberly, Missouri, and in 1881 came to Dubuque, where he was made foreman in the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul shops, having charge of 120 men and 75 machines. In 1870 Mr. Dersch married Miss Katherine Trace, of Reading, Penn- sylvania, and to them have been born: Elizabeth (Daggendorf) ; Frank T .; John: Kate (Ludwig) ; Henry; Herman; Minerva ; Winifred (Volue), and Irene. Several tools and machines per- fected by him are used extensively in the various shops throughout the country, but he never patented any of them. In forty-five years of active work he has lost but thirty-eight days, which fact speaks well for his bodily health. He was the founder of the Mutual Relief Society of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul shops in Dubuque, which started in 1883 with seventy-five members and now has 650 members. Every member pays as dues twenty-five cents per week, and receives four dollars per week during sickness and seventy-five dollars for funeral expenses. In religious views Mr. Dersch is a Presbyterian; socially he is a member of the Masonic fraternity, in which he has attained the rank of Knight Templar; he also is identified with the Ancient Arabic Order of Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, and holds membership in the Modern Woodmen of America.
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JOSEPH L .. FOBER, farmer and stock raiser, and president of the Farmers' Insurance Company, was born August 6, 1866, on the farm on which he now resides. Joseph Fober, his father, was a native of Ontario, Canada, his birth occurring May 1, 1830. The family came originally from France. When a small lad Joseph Fober was left an orphan by the death of his parents. He grew to manhood in New York state with but limited advantages of any kind. He learned to be a mechanic, especially as applied to wood- working, and for many years was employed in the government arsenal at Springfield, Massachusetts, was there married to Ellen Tate, the mother of the subject of this sketch. In 1864 he came to Dubuque county, Iowa, and bought a farm of sixty acres on section 35, Cascade township. He there farmed until 1888, when he retired to the village of Cascade and there died March 3, 1903. He was a Republican and for fifty years a member of the Baptist church. His wife was born February 22, 1829, in County Antrim, Ireland, and died September 30, 1908. Joseph and Ellen Fober had the following children: Anna, born February 2, 1853, married E. Moore, and died in 1885; Margaret, born June 11, 1854, died when ten years old; Martha, born July 8, 1855, married E. Moore, her deceased sister's husband : Mary, born December 14, 1856, died the following July ; William, born May 24, 1864, died February 4, 1877; Joseph L., the subject of this sketch; Albert, born May 24, 1869, died May 20, 1870; Mabel, born October 8, 1871, died Octo- ber 12, 1872.
Joseph L. Fober was educated in the public schools and the Central University at Pella, Iowa. Farming has always been his occupation and he has always resided on the old homestead, until March 1, 1911, when he sold the old farm and engaged in the real estate and insurance business. March 18, 1891, he married Miss Hattie Battey, who was born in Jones county, Iowa, October 4, 1865, the daughter of Alexander and Mary (South) Battey. Mr. Fober is a Republican, a member of Cascade Lodge No. 127, A. F. and A. M. : Black Jack Camp No. 1077, Modern Woodmen, and of the Mystic Workers No. 161. In connection with farming he de- votes considerable attention to dairying.
LEONARD L. LIGHTCAP, engaged in the real estate business in the city of Dubuque, is a native of Wisconsin, his birth occurring Sep- tember 29, 1853, the son of Solomon and Sarah (Low) Lightcap. The father was born in the state of Pennsylvania in 1804, and when but eighteen years of age came West to Galena, Illinois, and there became the proprietor of a grist mill. In 1832 he was married to Miss Low and the year following removed to Hazel Green, Wis- consin, to continue the milling business, and there passed their re- maining days. The parents of Mrs. Lightcap were among the early settlers of Vermont, but later came to Illinois and settled on
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a tract of 160 acres, now a part of the city of Chicago, which they were forced to leave because of the climatic conditions, subsequently removing to northwestern Illinois. The boyhood days of Leonard L. Lightcap were spent in assisting his father with the work of the home farm and mill and in attending the public schools. He entered the Normal school at Platteville, Wisconsin, and later took a classical course in the State University at Madison. For thirty years thereafter Mr. Lightcap was identified with the field of education. He was one time superintendent of schools at Boscobel, Grant county, Wisconsin, and later principal of the Lincoln school in Dubuque. In the year 1906 he gave up his school work and embarked in the real estate business in Dubuque, and has been thuis successfully engaged ever since. On August 12, 1890, he was united in marriage with Miss M. C. Culton, and to them the follow- ing named children have been born: Anna and Lena. Mr. Light- cap takes an interest in church work and is superintendent of the Methodist Sunday school, is a Republican in politics, a director of the Young Men's Christian Association, and a Knight Templar Mason.
GUSTAV H. BOLDT, deceased, the founder of the Boldt confec- tionery and catering establishment, Dubuque, was a native of Ger- many, his birth occurring in the Free Town of Hamburg on Febru- ary 16, 1850. He was one of five children born to the union of Johan Heinrich and Maria Elizabeth (Widemann) Boldt, who were born and reared in the fatherland and there died after long and honorable lives. After attending the common schools of his native country Gustav H. Boldt took a course in languages and also one in bookkeeping at a commercial college. Succeeding this he served for three years in the German navy, but in 1870 came to the United States with a view to bettering his condition in life. He first located at Galena, Illinois, and for three years followed bookkeep- ing, but in 1873 came to Dubuque, and here was employed as purser by the Diamond Jo steamboat line for a period of about nine years. He then accepted a position as bookkeeper with Mr. Hugh Smyth, and later was employed by the firm of Myers, Cox & Co. as bookkeeper and was thus engaged for six years. In 1890 Mr. Boldt spent six months in traveling throughout Europe, visiting the scenes of his childhood and recovering his health which had for some time been failing. Upon his return to Dubuque he opened a confectionery and catering establishment, which in 1904 was incor- porated for $10,000 under the name of Boldt's (Inc.), retaining the following personel : Gustav H. Boldt, president and general man- ager ; Louisa C. Boldt, vice president, and Alfred Claussen, secre- tary and treasurer. Under the excellent business management of Mr. Boldt this concern prospered and is now recognized as one of the solid and substantial commercial houses of the city. On No-
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vember 5, 1908, after a long and useful career in the land of his adoption, Mr. Boldt passed away, and now lies at rest in Linwood cemetery. To his marriage with Miss Louisa C. Claussen, solemn- ized in 1885, the following named children were born: Herbert H., connected with the firm founded by his father, born July 29, 1886; Carl F., born January 3, 1889, also with firm; Alfred H. (deceased), and Cecelia, also deceased. Mr. Boldt was one of Dubuque county's best citizens and his loss was greatly mourned by all who knew him.
CHRISTOPHER H. BERG, senior partner of the long established printing firm of Berg & Briggs, is a native of the state of Pennsyl- vania, his birth occurring March 15, 1841, at Pittsburg. He was the son of William Francis Berg, a clerk on an Ohio river steam- boat, who disappeared during the Civil War, leaving no clue by which his family could ever trace him. They have never been able to determine what happened to him. In 1852 the family came to Galena, Illinois, and here our subject learned the printing trade in the office of the Galena Gasette. In 1861, when the memorable struggle between the North and the South became imminent, Mr. Berg enlisted for the preservation of the Union in Company A, Ninety-sixth Illinois Volunteer Infantry, and after being mustered in at Camp Fuller, Rockford, Illinois, the regiment was ordered to Kentucky and afterwards joined the Army of the Cumberland. He served under Stedman, and it was his division that saved the day at Chickamauga. After an honorable military career he was mustered out by the War Department of the United States Govern- ment at Nashville, Tennessee. in June. 1865, and immediately came to Chicago, where for a short time he worked as compositor for the Chicago Republican. In August. 1865, he came to Dubuque, and for eighteen months followed a similar line of work in the office of the Dubuque Times. He then was instrumental in organizing the Palmer, Winall, Bott & Berg Printing Company, which associa- tion erected the building now occupied by Mr. Berg and his partner. Later he acquired by purchase the interests of his former partners, and with Mr. Briggs organized the present firm of Berg & Briggs, which has since become one of the largest concerns of its kind in Dubuque. Aside from the above mentioned business interests Mr. Berg is vice president of the Dubuque National Bank, a director of the German Trust & Savings Bank, and president of the Berg- Arduser Jewelry Company. As a Republican in politics he has served as alderman from his ward one term, and in 1898 was elected Mayor of the city, serving as such eight years in all. So- cially he is identified with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and the Iowa Legion of Honor.
In 1867 he was united in marriage with Miss Ella C. Helm, a
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native of Illinois, and to them the following named children have been born: Charles E., of the Dubuque Electric Supply Company ; Harry, associated with his father in the jewelry business, and Pay- son, with the Times-Journal. Mr. Berg is one of the representative men of Dubuque and has made life a success.
JOHN ADAM KOCH, deceased, long a resident of the city of Dubuque, and a man well remembered for his many sterling quali- ties of mind and character, was born in St. Louis, Missouri, Janu- ary 8. 1830, the son of Captain Henry Koch. During the Mexican troubles of 1846 the father was instrumental in raising a company of volunteers, entirely at his own expense, which was later known as Company B, First Regiment, St. Louis Volunteers, and which won distinction in that struggle. As a member of his father's com- mand John Adam Koch, the immediate subject of this memoir, served throughout that war. He later went with the family to Galena. Illinois, and shortly afterwards came to Dubuque and accepted a position with the firm of Hammond & Markle. In 1849, with two associates, he was sent by this firm, by team and wagon. to California, but later returned to Dubuque. For a time he then had charge of a land office at Fort Dodge for Mills & McClure, but subsequently was offered and accepted the position as clerk in the postoffice. He then took a position as bookkeeper in the hardware establishment of Westphal & Hinds. He spent eighteen years traveling for this firm, and was then admitted to partnership, but after twenty-four years' connection with that firm and a year or two as financial manager for A. A. Cooper, retired from the active business cares of life, and in 1890 moved to Guttenberg, Clayton county. Iowa, to spend his remaining days near a widowed daugh- ter. As a Democrat in political views Mr. Koch was ever active in local affairs of importance ; he served as City Auditor for several terms, and during President Buchanan's administration clerked in the postoffice under Postmaster O. M. Heath. He was united in marriage with Miss Sophia Koepfli, daughter of Dr. C. M. Koepfli, and to them were born the following named children: Hugo (de- ceased ), Bertha, Alice (deceased), and Robert L., of Spencer, Iowa. On November 27, 1894, Mr. Koch answered the final sum- mons, and with his death Dubuque lost one of her loyal citizens. He was a self-made man and ever ready to assist by any means within his power enterprises which he considered worthy and for the good of his home and country.
JAMES F. SEGUR, superintendent of the A. Y. McDonald Manu- facturing Company, Dubuque, was born in Connecticut, November 17, 1853. His parents, John and Jane (Trowbridge) Segur, were also of Connecticut nativity. John Segur was a machinist by trade and occupation. He moved West to Rockford. Illinois, and until
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he retired from the active labors of life in 1895 was superintendent of the machinery department of Emmerson & Talcott, of that city. Mrs. Segur died at Rockford in 1900 at the age of seventy-three years. James F. Segur is the eldest of the two children born to his parents, his sister Sarah being the widow of Judge J. C. Garver, of Rockford, Illinois, who died in 1902. He attended the public schools in youth, and when eighteen years of age began serving an apprenticeship at the machinists' trade. In 1879 he came to Du- buque as machinist for the A. Y. McDonald Manufacturing Com- pany, serving as such one year. then becoming superintendent, in which capacity he has since affiliated. At Rockford, in 1876, he married Miss Nellie E. O'Connor. The parents of Mrs. Segur, James and Mary O'Connor, were natives of Ireland and came with their respective parents to America when young and were married at Buffalo, New York. They later moved to Wisconsin and be- came the parents of eight children. Mrs. Segur was the sixth in the family, her birth occurring in February. 1851. She was teach- ing school at Rockford immediately preceding her marriage. To Mr. and Mrs. James F. Segur one son and one daughter have been born, named Clare P. and Bessie, both living in Dubuque, the latter married. Mr. Segur is a member of Dubuque Lodge No. 297, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, is a Republican in politics and he and wife belong to the First Congregational church of Dubuque.
DR. M. J. MOES is one of the rising generation of Dubuque's medical practitioners. He is a native of this county, his birth occurring January 22, 1882, and a son of Mathias J. and Anna (Arnoldy) Moes, the father being a native of Luxemburg. Ger- many, and the mother of the state of Iowa. The elder Moes came to America at an early date. and in 1866 located at Rockdale, where for a period of forty years he engaged in merchandising. He served as postmaster of that place for twenty-five years and is now living a retired life with his wife in their home there. Their son, Dr. M. J. Moes, the immediate subject of this memoir, received his early education in the Dubuque public schools, and subsequently attended the Dubuque high school, graduating from the latter in 1902. As he grew older the study of medicine appealed more strongly to him than any other profession, and accordingly he entered, and in 1906 was graduated from, the medical department of Northwestern University of Chicago, with the degree of Doctor of Medicine. He served eighteen months as house physician and surgeon in the Cook County Hospital, Chicago, and then came to Dubuque, where he has since been actively and successfully engaged in the general practice of his profession, making a specialty of the diagnosis of disease. Although a comparatively young man, the doctor has, by hard and conscientious work, won the confidence of
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the public and at present enjoys a large and pleasing clientele. He is a member of the Illinois State Medical Society, the Iowa State Medical Society, the Dubuque County Medical Society, of which he is the present secretary; the American Medical Association, and the Cook County Hospital Alumni Association. In his political views he is a Republican; in religion he is an adherent of the Roman Catholic faith, and socially he is identified with the Knights of Columbus and the Alpha Kappa Kappa college fraternity. He is one of the present local examiners on the United States Pension Board, as well as local examiner for a number of insurance com- panies. Dr. Moes is unmarried, takes an active interest in local politics and affairs of importance, and has offices in the I. O. O. F. Building.
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