USA > Iowa > Franklin County > History of Franklin County, Iowa, a record of settlement, organization, progress and achievement, Volume II > Part 9
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Mr. Carhart has been married twice. On the Ist of August, 1872, he wedded Miss Addie M. Wright, of Clarence, Cedar county, Iowa, by whom he had two sons. She passed away at Grin- nell in 1878, and in December of the following year Mr. Carhart was again married, his second union being with Miss Nettie B. Bryan, a distant relative of the present secretary of state. By this marriage there are four sons. The six children of Mr. Carhart are as follows: Edward B., assistant cashier of the Goodman & Com- pany Bank at Napa, California; Herman L., assistant cashier of the Sheffield Bank; Charles C., secretary, treasurer and general man- ager of the Sheffield Brick & Tile Company and general manager and owner of the Sheffield Electric Light & Power Company ; Harry H., who is engaged in the automobile business at Minneapolis; For- rest F., who represents the Sheffield Brick & Tile Company as sales- man; and Ralph R., a bookkeeper in his father's bank.
In politics Mr. Carhart is a stanch republican and his fellow townsmen, recognizing his worth and ability, have chosen him for positions of public trust. As mayor of Sheffield he gave the city a progressive and beneficial administration, and he also did valuable service as a member of the council, while many years he was on the school board. For several years, as treasurer and director, he was active in the work of the Camp Meeting Association, holding Chautauquas at Clear Lake. Both Mr. and Mrs. Carhart are devoted and consistent members of the Methodist Episcopal church.
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He is a handsome and vigorous gentleman and has won many friends in the various walks of life by reason of his unfailing courtesy and unfeigned cordiality.
JOHN A. WADDINGTON.
John A. Waddington has been engaged in the hardware and general merchandise business in Geneva for almost a third of a cen- tury and throughout the entire period has maintained a reputation as an enterprising merchant and reliable business man, his commer- cial methods being at all times commendable and trustworthy. He was born in Yorkshire, England, June 9, 1848, and is a son of Joseph and Ellen (Heigh) Waddington, also natives of England, who came to America in 1849, locating in southern Illinois. They afterward moved to Fort Dearborn, now Chicago, thence to Jo Daviess county, that state, where the father engaged in railroad work until his death, which occurred in September, 1882. His wife died in September, 1910, at the age of ninety-four. To their union were born eleven children: Sarah, the widow of Ezra Turner, of Galena, Illinois; George and Will, deceased; Catherine, the wife of Alfred Bobst, of Reeve township; John A., of this review; Martha, the wife of E. Courtney, of Freeport, Illinois; Mary, twin to Martha and the wife of A. J. Young, of Nora, Illinois; Joe, of Chicago; Ellen, twin to Joe and the widow of Dr. Stauffer, of Nora, Illinois; Albert L., of White Rock, South Dakota; and Gilbert C., twin to Albert L., and a resident of Nora, Illinois.
John A. Waddington left home at the age of twenty-one and began working as a farm laborer, continuing thus for one year. At the end of that time he went to Kansas, where he secured a position as a cattle driver and also took up a homestead claim, upon which he resided for a number of years. For about two years prior to his marriage, which occurred in 1880, he was engaged in the hardware and tinning business with his brother-in-law, A. J. Young, at Nora, Illinois. Soon after his marriage he disposed of his interest at Nora and came to Franklin county, locating at Geneva, where he bought a hardware store. He afterward added general merchandise and has since conducted both branches of the business very successfully. He carries a full line of stock and has built up a large and profit- able concern. In addition to his store he owns eight hundred and sixty-five acres of land lying mostly in Reeve and Geneva townships,
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this county, and upon this property he specializes in breeding high- grade stock. He has a fine herd of Jersey cattle and his animals took eight blue ribbons and four red at the fair held in 1913.
On October 14, 1880, Mr. Waddington was united in marriage to Miss Louise Lawrence and they have become the parents of two children: Ellen Louise and Ray Allen. Mr. Waddington is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America and his political sup- port is given to the republican party. He served for a number of years as school treasurer. During the long period of his residence in Geneva he has contributed to the progress of the city along com- mercial lines and in other ways has supported movements for the general good. His many excellent characteristics have given him high standing in the community, and he is accounted a substantial and representative citizen.
HANS SCHONEMANN.
Hans Schonemann, one of the self-made men of Franklin county who has risen by his own efforts to a place of importance and prom- inence in agricultural circles, was born in Denmark, April 3, 1854. He is a son of Jeppe and Mary Schonemann, both of whom died in Denmark.
Hans Schonemann came to America when he was twenty-eight years of age and settled first in Cerro Gordo county, Iowa, where for two years he worked by the month upon a farm. At the end of that time he moved to Franklin county and bought a farm of one hundred and sixty acres on section 5, Richland township. At the time this came into his possession it was only slightly improved but Mr. Schonemann has carried forward the work of its development with characteristic energy, and he has today a valuable and pro- ductive farm. It is equipped with substantial buildings and modern machinery and reflects in every department the care and supervision of the owner, who is a progressive and practical agriculturist. Mr. Schonemann recently purchased another farm of one hundred and twenty acres in this township and intends to give this over to the management of his son.
Mr. Schonemann married Miss Elsie Marie Petersen, a native of Denmark, and they have become the parents of eight children : Christina, the wife of Nels Raun; Marie, who married Albert John- son ; Henrietta, the wife of Richard James; Lauritz, who will oper-
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ate his father's newly purchased farm; Elisa; Sina; William; and Henry.
Mr. Schonemann is a member of the Lutheran church and gives his political allegiance to the republican party, taking an intelligent interest in public affairs. Starting out in life a poor man, he has by his own efforts worked his way upward to success, contributing to the agricultural development of this locality two fine farms, which are a visible evidence of his life of industry and thrift.
JOHN WUNN. "
John Wunn, one of the well known and respected citizens of Sheffield, has here been continuously engaged in business as a black- smith for the past thirty-five years, and his labors have been a factor in the growth and upbuilding of the city. His birth occurred in Pennsylvania on the 12th of June, 1853, his parents being Nicholas and Catherine (Jenewein) Wunn, both of whom were natives of Rhenish-Prussia, Germany. The father, who as a boy emigrated to the United States in company with his mother, brothers and sisters, grew to manhood and was married in Pennsylvania. He was a car- penter by trade and in 1855 established his home in Platteville, Wis- consin. His demise occurred in Grant county, that state, when he had attained the age of sixty-seven years, while his wife there passed away at the age of seventy-nine.
John Wunn, who was but two years of age when taken to Wis- consin by his parents, spent his boyhood in Grant county, that state. His father believed that rural surroundings were best in youth and therefore purchased a farm, sending our subject to the district schools. As a young man John Wunn began to learn blacksmithing and had not yet thoroughly mastered that trade when he came to Sheffield, Iowa, in 1878. He joined his brother-in-law in 1879 in a partner- ship, subsequently purchasing the latter's interest. He has here remained in business continuously for more than a third of a century and is an experienced workman, enjoying a gratifying and profitable patronage. At the time of his arrival Sheffield was a town of two hundred inhabitants. The railroad had been built through several years before, but the country was still new and prairie fires were fre- quent. The district was sparsely settled and, as no tiling had been done, was one vast swamp in the springtime. In the winter Mr. Wunn has seen as many as forty men shoveling snow to keep the rail-
JOHN WUNN
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road track clear. On one occasion he saw a man killed while looking out of the door of a box car, the door, which was caught on a bank of snow at the side, being pushed shut and crushing the man's skull. The dangers and hardships of pioneer days are only a memory now, for the work of progress has been carried steadily forward and the conveniences and comforts of modern civilization have long been known here. When Mr. Wunn came to Franklin county the Mc- Cormick self-rake and another harvest machine called the Buckeye were in use. Next was introduced the Marsh harvester, on which he bound for some time. Mr. Wunn also remembers the Manny reaper used in Wisconsin, a man walking behind the machine and raking the grain off with a fork. Then came the John P. Manny reaper, on which the farmer could seat himself. Since his youth Mr. Wunn has been a hard-working, industrious man, and the prosperity which he now enjoys is indeed well merited.
In this county Mr. Wunn wedded Miss Sarah Greer, now deceased, by whom he had four daughters, as follows: Eliza, who is engaged in teaching at Charles City, Iowa; Pearl, who follows the profession of teaching at Beloit, Wisconsin; Mamie, at home; and Carrie, who is employed as a stenographer at Beloit, Wisconsin. For his second wife he chose Miss Minnie Eno.
In his political views Mr. Wunn is a republican, exercising his right of franchise in support of the men and measures of that party. He has ably served as a member of the city council for nine years and for a period of ten years was on the school board. His religious faith is indicated by his membership in the Methodist Episcopal church, while fraternally he is identified with the Odd Fellows and with the Masons, having belonged to Pearl Lodge, No. 426, for thirty years. Energetic, diligent and persevering, he is always found reliable in all his business connections and stands for the progressive element in citizenship and for trustworthiness in every relation.
S. H. HOLMES.
S. H. Holmes was actively and successfully identified with gen- eral agricultural pursuits in Franklin county for more than a third of a century, and still owns two hundred acres of valuable land in Richland township, but is now living retired in Sheffield. His birth occurred in Wayne county, Ohio, on the 18th of May, 1848, his par- ents being George and Eliza (Harting) Holmes, who were born,
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reared and married in Pennsylvania. They were among the early set- `tlers of Wayne county, Ohio, and there spent the remainder of their lives. When fifty-two years of age the father was killed by a falling tree. The mother, who married a second time, died when past sixty.
S. H. Holmes was a lad of nine years at the time of his father's tragic death. His retentive mind recalls many of the scenes and happenings of his boyhood. His father was engaged in the man- ufacture of pumps, chopping logs and boring the holes with a bit. One evening he failed to come home but, thinking he had gone on a visit to the home of a neighbor, his wife and children felt no anxiety. After midnight, however, the wife sent her two sons into the woods with a lantern to seek their father. They found him with his chest and head crushed. It seems that a pin oak tree which he had chopped down had lodged, and when he attempted to dislodge the same, it had fallen and caught him beneath it. S. H. Holmes was often sent after cattle and horses when a boy of but seven or eight years. His father refused to give him a halter or bridle, fearing he might attempt to ride young horses and be injured. Not to be thwarted, however, he was accustomed to cut the limber branch of a tree, making a crotch which he put over the horse's neck after jump- ing on him. The horse, thinking there was something to hold him, would then go along peacefully. One day, while the horses were drinking from a brook at the base of a steep cliff of overhanging slate rock, the cliff gave way and frightened the animals, and he was thrown into the water by the young horse on which he had been sit- ting.
Mr. Holmes remained with his mother until about twenty years of age and subsequently worked at the carpenter's trade in Indiana, also spending a short time in the lumber woods of Wisconsin. He was married in Jo Daviess county, Illinois, at the age of twenty-two years, and spent the first year of his wedded life in Michigan, while during the next four and a half years he and his wife resided on a homestead in Kansas. On the expiration of that period they drove from the Sunflower state to Wayne county, Iowa, and at the end of a year came to Franklin county, this state, making the journey in a covered wagon. The year of their arrival was 1877. Mr. Holmes came here with only a dollar and a half in cash and would have had less than that had he not accepted the hospitality of kind people encountered en route. He cultivated rented land for a number of years or until 1893, when his savings enabled him to purchase a tract of one hundred and twenty acres in Cerro Gordo county. However, as there were no buildings on this farm he sold it after two years
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and bought land in Franklin county. He remodeled the buildings on the property and developed an excellent farm, also augmenting his holdings by additional purchase, so that he now owns two hun- dred acres. In the spring of 1913 he put aside the active work of the fields and moved to Sheffield, where he has since remained in honorable retirement, owning a comfortable and attractive home on West Main street.
On December 22, 1870, at Gratiot, Wisconsin, Mr. Holmes was joined in wedlock to Miss Mary Ormrod, who was born in Stockport, England, on the 23d of May, 1852, her parents being James and Eliz- abeth Ormrod. They emigrated to the United States during the infancy of their daughter Mary, whose first birthday anniversary was spent on the ocean. They first resided at Newport, Rhode Island, afterward removed to Warren, Illinois, and in 1880 came to Shef- field, Iowa, where both passed away. Their son, James Ormrod, of Hampton, is an ex-sheriff of Franklin county. Mr. and Mrs. Holmes have three living children, as follows: Mrs. Fred Cockram, who resides in Richland township; James, assistant cashier of a bank at Steamboat Rock, Iowa; and Arthur, who lives on the home farm. The parents are devoted and consistent members of the Methodist Episcopal church, which they joined prior to their marriage. Mr. Holmes has always supported the men and measures of the republi- can party and cast his first presidential ballot for Grant when for the second time he was elected chief executive of the nation. Both Mr. and Mrs. Holmes have an extensive circle of warm friends in this county, enjoying the high regard and esteem of all with whom they have come in contact.
C. M. KELLEY.
C. M. Kelley is president of The Hampton-Kelley Canning Company, one of the largest productive industries of Iowa. In Hampton, where he makes his home, he is recognized as a business man of force, of broad experience and resourcefulness. He forms his plans readily and seldom fails to carry forward to successful completion whatever he undertakes. It is true that he entered upon a business already established, but in enlarging and extending its scope he has proven that, like his father, he possesses a spirit of initiative, supplemented by unfaltering enterprise.
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Mr. Kelley was born in Bushberg, Missouri, August 18, 1869. and is a son of Henry B. and Rosalinda (Murray) Kelley, the for- mer a native of New York and the latter of Vermont. In his early years the father was a farmer and vineyard owner and was associated with Isadore Busch in the wine business near St. Louis, Missouri. He first became connected with the canning industry when in 1872, in company with a brother-in-law, they began evaporating sweet corn at Foster, Warren county, Ohio. Later their plant was located near South Lebanon, Ohio, until 1880. In that year he and his asso- ciates embarked in the canning of sweet corn, and in 1882 he began operating a canning factory in Lima, Ohio. The following year he became general manager of the Watson corn and tomato plant at Vinton, Iowa, where he remained until 1891. During the fall of that year and the succeeding spring he perfected the organization of and incorporated the Kelley Canning Company at Vinton, now known as the Iowa Canning Company, operating four plants, one at Laporte City, Iowa, one at Shellsburg, one at Garrison and the fourth at Vinton. In 1889 he went to Waverly, Iowa, where he organized the Kelley Canning Company, and the family still retain their interests there. The business which he successfully organized and instituted grew to be an immense concern, the largest of the kind in the state, and Mr. Kelley was active in its management and control until his death which occurred at Waverly, in June, 1903. He had for many years survived his wife, who passed away March 31, 1883. They were the parents of four children : C. M .; Horace G., manager of a canning plant at Iowa City; George R., manager of a cannery at Grinnell; and Milo F., manager of a cannery at Belle Plaine.
C. M. Kelley was reared at home and started out in business life as a dealer in blooded horses and Jersey cattle. He was thus engaged until 1890, when he disposed of his interests of that char- acter and joined his father in the canning business, establishing the plant at Waverly. In 1902 they built another factory at Forest City and in 1910 C. M. Kelley established the plant at Hampton. He had charge of the Waverly plant from his father's death and gave to it his undivided attention until 1910, when he organized and incorporated The Hampton-Kelley Canning Company at Hampton, Iowa. This plant during six weeks of the busy season, from the 15th of August to the Ist of October, employs two hundred and eighty people. In 1913 they packed the product of between fifteen and six- teen hundred acres of corn, which aggregated one hundred and twen- ty-five thousand cases, with twenty-four cans to the case. This was
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packed under the names of the Cluster brand, Up Town brand and Kelley brand. There is considerable local capital interested in this venture, which has proven to be a most fortunate investment to those who have become interested therein. The plant is one of the most modern and sanitarily equipped plants in the country, having every possible device to aid in the saving of labor and time and to utilize the material to the best advantage in the production of a marketable product. In addition to his connection with The Hampton-Kelley Canning Company as its president Mr. Kelley is vice president of the Forest City (Ia.) Canning Company and is identified with a number of other firms and corporations as an officer or director. Concentrat- ing his energies, however, largely upon the Hampton business, he superintends every detail and under his able management this has ex- panded rapidly and is today one of the largest concerns of this kind in the state. His position at its head has made frequent demands upon his energy, resourcefulness and sound business judgment and upon those qualities he has founded a success which ranks him with the leading business men of his section of the state.
In 1890 Mr. Kelley was united in marriage with Miss Emma B. Brocken, a native of Benton, Iowa, and both are well known in Hamp- ton. Mr. Kelley is a member of the Methodist church and is connected fraternally with the Knights of Pythias and with the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks at Mason City. He gives his political allegiance to the republican party, and while a resident of Waverly served on the city council. He occupies a prominent position in business circles of Franklin county and his interests are of a character that contribute not alone to individual success but also to public prosperity and commercial activity.
PHILO L. LOSS.
For a period of over thirty years Philo L. Loss has been closely connected with agricultural interests of Franklin county as the owner of a farm of one hundred and sixty acres on section 12, Lee town- ship. During the years he has cultivated this property he has made many substantial contributions to development and progress and has taken his place in the front ranks of progressive and successful agriculturists. He was born in Dane county, Wisconsin, October 7, 1848, and is a son of Lucius and Mary Ann (Kent) Loss, natives of New York. They came to Iowa in 1867 and located near Hampton. Both have passed away, the father dying May 23, 1896, and the
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mother in 1908. To their union were born five children: Malvina, deceased ; Philo L., of this review; Ida, the wife of O. A. Cummings, of Hampton; Charles, residing in Minnesota; and Frank, of Hamp- ton.
Philo L. Loss came to lowa with his parents in 1867, remaining at home until he was twenty-one years of age. He purchased a tract of one hundred and sixty acres on section 12, Lee township, in 1879, and upon this property has carried forward the work of cultivation and improvement for thirty-four years. As a result the farm is in excellent condition, equipped with substantial barns and outbuildings and with everything necessary for the proper conduct of the property along modern 'and progressive lines.
On the 15th of February, 1876, Mr. Loss was united in marriage to Miss Mary J. Fraser, a daughter of John W. and Jane M. (Mc- Intyre) Fraser, natives of New York, of Scotch descent. The parents came to Franklin county in 1870 and located on a farm on section 1, Lee township. The father died October 5, 1888, and the mother September 9, 1903. To their union were born six children: James K., a resident of Big Bend, Wisconsin; John, a resident of Bradford; Mary J., wife of the subject of this review; Belle, at home; Joseph, deceased ; and Eleanor, at home. Mr. and Mrs. Loss are members of the Christian church and Mr. Loss is connected fraternally with the Masonic order, being a member of Anchor Lodge, No. 191, A. F. & A. M. of Hampton, and the chapter, R. A. M., of Hampton. He is independent politically and has served as township trustee, proving an able and conscientious official. Having resided upon his farm in Franklin county for thirty-four years, he has become widely known here and is recognized as a man of genuine integrity and worth, a progressive farmer and a useful citizen.
JAMES L. COLLINS, M. D.
Dr. James L. Collins, a successful representative of the medical fraternity in Franklin county, has practiced his profession at Shef- field since January, 1910. His birth occurred in Lee county, Iowa, on the 25th of November, 1875, his parents being R. B. and Thank- ful (McGregor) Collins, the former a native of Virginia and the latter of Columbus, Ohio. R. B. Collins spent his early life in Louis- ville, Kentucky, and when a youth of sixteen came to Iowa,
DR. AND MRS. JAMES L. COLLINS
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following agricultural pursuits in Lee county throughout his active business career. Both he and his wife have passed away.
James L. Collins spent his boyhood in his native county and attended the district schools in the acquirement of his early educa- tion, while subsequently he pursued a course of study in Cotner University of Lincoln, Nebraska. He then prepared for the prac- tice of medicine in the St. Louis College of Physicians and Surgeons and following his graduation from that institution, in 1909, spent six months with Dr. Haecker at Hampton, Iowa. In January, 1910, he located at Sheffield and has here remained to the present time, his practice having steadily grown as he has demonstrated his skill and ability in coping with the intricate problems which continually confront the physician in his efforts to restore health and prolong life. He keeps in close touch with the progress of the profession through his membership in the Franklin County Medical Society, the Iowa State Medical Society and the American Medical Asso- ciation. For one year he served as health physician of Sheffield.
As a companion and helpmate on the journey of life Dr. Collins chose Miss Bertha Carter, a native of Steelville, Missouri, and a daughter of George F. Carter. They have three children: Marion C. and James W., who are seven and two years of age respectively; and Lillian W., who is in her first year. Dr. Collins is a member of the Christian church of Lee county but attends the services of the Methodist Episcopal church in Sheffield. He is a stalwart friend of the cause of education and is now serving as president of the school board. His fraternal relations are with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He is most conscientious in the performance of his professional duties and in every relation of life is actuated by high and honorable principles.
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