USA > Iowa > Jones County > History of Jones County, Iowa, past and present, Volume II > Part 12
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Mr. Davies was twice married. On the 14th of May, 1863, he wedded Eliza- beth V. Henton. a native of Augusta county. Virginia, and a daughter of Silas and Margaret Henton. Her death, however, occurred February 9, 1866, and in October. 1868. Dr. Davies wedded Margaret Phillips, who was born in Sangers- ville. Virginia. July 18, 1849. a daughter of Henry and Lavinia Phillips. The death of Dr. Davies occurred in 1901 at San Bernardino. California, to which
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place he had removed with his family in 1897. His widow still resides there. In their family were five children: Bertha L., the wife of J. F. Dickinson, of San Bernardino, California; Lulu, the wife of Rev. J. P. Van Horn, of Miles, Iowa; James E .; William P., who is living in Rialto, California; and Walter R., who died in that state in 1909.
Dr. James E. Davies was a youth of ten years when he accompanied his par- ents to Iowa, remaining a resident of Maquoketa until he had completed the public-school course and was graduated from the high school with the class of 1894. He then began the study of medicine in Iowa City, in 1895, spending two years there, after which he entered the College of Physicians and Surgeons at St. Louis, that institution conferring upon him his M. D. degree in 1898. He then located for practice at Monmouth, Jackson county, Iowa, where he remained until October, 1900, when he came to Oxford Junction and entered upon general practice here. His entire time is devoted to his profession, of which he is an able representative, and his proficiency is continually being increased by his broad reading and study. He is now serving as division surgeon for the Chi- cago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railroad Company. He is a member of the Jones County Medical Society, the Iowa State Medical Society and the American Medi- cal Association, and thus keeps in touch with the advanced thought of the profes- sion. Dr. Davies also holds membership in Zealous Lodge, No. 435, F. & A. M., at Oxford Junction, in which he is now serving as master, and in New Era Lodge No. 88, K. T., at Oxford Junction. He holds to high standards in his professional service, performing every duty with a sense of conscientious obligation and as the years go by is making continual progress in his chosen field of labor. In 1902 Dr. Davies was married to Miss Margaret May Everhart, a native of Wheatland, Iowa, and a daughter of A. M. Everhart.
JOHN SCHLADETZKY.
In any community where there is a constant growth in population and a consequent demand for new business houses and dwellings all of the building trades with their associated lines of activity flourished and the handling of the commodities connected with building operations is engaging the attention of some of the progressive men of Jones county. One of the successful dealers in lum- ber, hardware and farm implements is John Schladetzky, of Hale. He is one of the sturdy citizens Germany has given to the United States as he was born in Husum Schleswig-Holstein, December 20, 1868, a son of Peter and Louise (Jensen) Schladetzky, also natives of Germany. The family originated in Russia as the name indicates but its representatives can be traced back four hundred years in Germany. The father was a carpenter by trade. He and his wife had one other child besides our subject, Anneta, of Hamburg, Germany, who was younger than he.
In 1885, Mr. Schladetzky came to Jones county, Iowa, alone and has made this county his home ever since, gradually learning the language and firmly estab- lishing himself in a good business. He had only five dollars when he arrived
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here among strangers, but this did not dismay him for he had youth, enthusi- asm and knew how to work and economize. Soon he obtained employment at farm work at forty dollars for the first year and he continued to work for others for six years and then rented land for twelve years. After this he had enough money to buy one hundred and sixty acres of land in Hale township and resided upon it for five years, when he sold his property and in the spring of 1909 he bought his present business and now carries a full line of lumber, hardware, coal, cement and farm implements. His establishment is a large one and he has the finest trade of any business man in Hale, although his concern is yet in its infancy. In 1909 Mr. Schladetzky invested in two hundred and forty acres in South Dakota and has great faith in the future of that locality.
In 1891, Mr. Schladetzky married Mary Ahrendsen, who was also born in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, May 20, 1874, and was brought here with her parents in 1886. She is a daughter of Lorenz and Christine Ahrendsen, the latter of whom is deceased, but the former now resides at Onslow. Mr. and Mrs. Schladetzky have six children, as follows: Peter, Louise, Louis, Anna, John and Henry.
Some men are successful in whatever they attempt; that seems part of their nature; and the gentleman of whom we write without doubt belongs to this class. Coming here poor, unknown and without a working knowledge of the language, he has risen until he does the largest business of any man in Hale and also owns valuable farming property elsewhere. There has been no royal road for him, however, but a hard and narrow one, paved with constant labor and strict economy and it has led him straight to the goal of success.
B. H. CHAMBERLAIN, M. D.
Dr. B. H. Chamberlain, who has been a successful practitioner of medicine at Wyoming since 1903, was born in this city on the Ist of February, 1881, his parents being W. I. and Lucy W. (Witter) Chamberlain. A sketch of the father appears on another page of this volume. Dr. Chamberlain of this re- view obtained his early education in the public schools of Wyoming and subse- quently attended successively the Iowa State College and the Iowa State Uni- versity, being graduated from the medical department of the latter institution in 1903. Returning to Wyoming, he here purchased the outfit and took up the practice of his former preceptor, Dr. J. W. Kirkpatrick, who had died in May, 1903. Wyoming has since remained the scene of his professional labors and he now enjoys a large and lucrative practice, which has come in recognition of his skill and ability in the application of remedial agencies and the restoration of health. He belongs to the Jones County Medical Society, the Iowa State Medi- cal Society, the American Medical Association and the Iowa Union Medical Society.
In July, 1903, Dr. Chamberlain was united in marriage to Miss Iva Tomp- kins, a native of this county and a daughter of. Chauncey and Mary (Jennings) Tompkins. Her paternal grandfather, Rufus Tompkins, made his way from
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New York to Jones county, Iowa, at an early day, and her mother came from Ohio. Unto Dr. and Mrs. Chamberlain has been born a son, Chauncey, whose natal day was June 28, 1908.
Since age conferred upon him the right of franchise Dr. Chamberlain has given his political allegiance to the republican party. He has served as county coroner for the past five years and has also acted as a member of the school board. He is a worthy exemplar of the Masonic fraternity, is now worshipful master of Keystone Lodge, No. 206, A. F. & A. M., and also belongs to the chapter and commandery at Anamosa and the Mystic Shrine at Cedar Rapids. In religious faith he is a Presbyterian. Although still a young man, he has already attained an enviable position in the ranks of the medical profession and in all life's relations has maintained a high standard of conduct, thus justly meriting the confidence which is so uniformly accorded him in this, his native county.
CHARLES F. SAXON.
Charles F. Saxon took up his abode on his present farm in Madison township in 1900 and here owns one hundred and sixty acres of rich and productive land which is the visible evidence of a well spent, active and honorable life. His birth occurred in Mercer county. Illinois, on the 4th of August, 1869, his parents be- ing Daniel and Elizabeth ( Phillips) Saxon, who were natives of Lancashire, Eng- land, and Cumberland, Maryland, respectively. The father, who was born in the year 1829, was a young man of twenty-one when he crossed the Atlantic to the United States in 1850. He spent some years in the states of Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Kentucky and about 1860 located in Mercer county, Illinois, where he met the lady who afterward became his wife and who was residing with a sister at that time. Daniel Saxon prospected for coal and also took contracts for the sink- ing of coal shafts. In 1883 he left Mercer county and made his way to Frontier county, Nebraska, where he took up a homestead claim and carried on general agricultural pursuits until the time of his demise in May, 1891. His widow still survives and now makes her home with her children.
Charles F. Saxon obtained his education in the common schools and remained under the parental roof until twenty-five years of age, when he came to Jones county, Iowa, and for five years was busily engaged in the cultivation of a tract of rented land. In 1899 he rented a place of one hundred and forty acres and a year later bought and located on the farm of one hundred and ten acres in Madi- son township on which he has since continued to reside. In the spring of 1909 he extended the boundaries of the place by the purchase of an adjoining tract of fifty acres, so that his farm now embraces a quarter section of land, all well improved and highly cultivated. In addition to raising the cereals best adapted to soil and climate he also deals in stock to some extent, feeding a carload of cattle annually, and in both branches of his business is meeting with a most gratifying and well merited measure of success.
On the 6th of June. 1901. Mr. Saxon was united in marriage to Miss Lucy L. Brunner, of Marble Rock. Floyd county, Iowa, by whom he has two children,
C. F. SAXON
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Dorothy E. and Carl B. He is a republican in his political views but does not consider himself bound by party ties and at local elections casts his ballot for the candidate whom he believes best qualified. He capably served as census enum- erator for four years and at the present time is acting as a township committee- man. Fraternally he is identified with Elliott Lodge, No. 10, Highland Noble- men, and in religious faith is a Presbyterian, being a member of the board of trus- tees of the church. His wife holds membership in the Baptist church. Since starting out in life on his own account he has worked on persistently, year after year, and his diligence and perseverance constitute the basis of his present prosperity.
OLIVER J. FELTON.
One of the substantial men and well known citizens of Cedar Rapids, where for the past nine years he has pursued his profession as an attorney at law, is Oliver J. Felton. A native of Jones county, this state, he was born on section 10, Madison township, and is a son of M. O. Felton, a sketch of whose life ap- pears elsewhere in this volume.
Oliver J. Felton was reared at home and after completing the course of study prescribed by the local school near his birthplace, attended Cornell College, Mount Vernon, Iowa, where he received further instruction in the fundamental branches of English education and also the culture that is distinctive of men of his profession. In 1887 he engaged in teaching, being connected with educa- tional work for the greater part of the five subsequent years. In 1889, he took up the study of law under the preceptorship of E. M. Sharow, of Davenport, and in January, 1891, was admitted to the bar, before the supreme court of Iowa. Straightway he established himself in Oxford Junction, where for nine years he practiced with a success that suggested the feasibility of entering larger and more remunerative fields. Accordingly in 1900 he removed to Cedar Rapids and has permanently identified himself with the bar there. A large constituency indicates the confidence he has won from the people among whom he has practiced for almost a decade, while a more tangible evidence of his success is afforded by the extent of the landholdings entered upon the records in his name or in that of his wife, for in addition to the old Felton homestead of two hundred acres which he and a brother, G. L. Felton, cashier of a bank in Middleton, Oklahoma, own, Mr. and Mrs. Felton are possessed of over one thousand acres in Jones and Linn counties. The greater part of the land in the latter county is embraced in the Brookdale farm, lying upon the outskirts of Cedar Rapids and is considered of great value.
On the 8th of December, 1891, was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Felton and Miss Emma J. Eldred, a daughter of J. S. Eldred, a well known private banker of Oxford Junction. He was also one of the pioneer settlers of his part of Jones county, for in 1853 he entered two hundred and fifty-three acres of government land, which is still in the possession of the family.
Politically Mr. Felton gives unqualified allegiance to no party, but the best man and the measure that has for its object the advancement of the welfare of
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his fellow citizens invariably receives his support. The acumen which has dis- tinguished his conduct of cases has also marked his land investments, for he has made a specialty of buying Iowa property and has derived therefrom a pro- nounced success. Ever a stanch advocate of his clients' interests, clever in sum- ing up the evidence of a case and keen in the detection of subtleties in his adver- sary while he is ever on the alert to grasp the clue that will obtain for him an honorable victory, his name may well be placed among those who work for the fair name of their profession, at the same time acquiring a gratifying reward for the thought and labor expended in the behalf of others. He has never sought public office, but his influence has been just as effective for the advancement of the community as if he were the actual incumbent of a public trust.
WILLIAM DAVIS GORDON.
It is with pleasure that we present to our readers the life history of William Davis Gordon, the second oldest merchant in Anamosa. For years he has here been connected with the drygoods trade and the record which he has made is most commendable. There has not been a single esoteric phase in his career, for he has governed his actions by the rules of strict and unswerving integrity as well as of unfaltering industry and progressiveness. His birth occurred in South Wales on the 26th of November, 1854.
His father, William I. Gordon, was a native of England, who became a resi- dent of Wales and was there married to Miss Amelia Davis. In early life he crossed the Atlantic to America and resided for a time in Ohio. During the period of the Civil war he enlisted as a volunteer in the Fifth Ohio Infantry and remained at the front until 1863, when he received honorable discharge. During that period he had been captured at Harpers Ferry and was held as a prisoner of war at Belle Isle and at Andersonville, the rigors and hardships of his prison experience being such as to incapacitate him for further field duty. After his release from Andersonville he was sent to the hospital at Washington, where he remained for a few months and was finally discharged in the autumn of 1863. He then returned to England and twenty years afterward again came to America and resided in this country until his death, which occurred in 1899, when about sixty-seven years of age. His wife died in England in 1889 at the age of forty-nine years.
William D. Gordon arrived in the United States on the 2d of May, 1885. He had been educated in the schools of this country and of England, and follow- ing his return to America located in Anamosa, where he immediately established himself in business. His first location was in a little building where he carried a small stock of dry goods. The people of the community soon discovered that he was pleasant to deal with, that his business methods were reliable and that he carried a well selected line of goods. His trade therefore steadily increased and he accordingly enlarged his stock from year to year, eventually becoming one of the leading merchants in the county. There is now, with one exception, no mer- chant of Anamosa who has been for a longer period continuously connected
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with its trade interests. His entire life has been connected with commercial pursuits. He served an apprenticeship in his native land between the ages of fifteen and eighteen years and has always found merchandising a congenial field of labor, wherein, as the result of his close application, industry and per- severance, he has won substantial success.
On the 22d of February, 1879, in the city of Manchester, England, Mr. Gordon was united in marriage to Miss Emily Puleston, a daughter of William and Jane (Thompson) Puleston, who were likewise natives of Manchester. The only child of Mr. and Mrs. Gordon is Emily A., who was born in Man- chester. Mr. Gordon is a member of Anamosa Lodge, M. W. A., and Anamosa Lodge, No. 263, A. O. U. W. He votes the republican ticket and in his religi- belief is an Episcopalian. These associations indicate something of the nature of his interests and the principles which have governed his life, making him a man among men, loyal to high standard, so that he is honored and esteemed by his fellow townsmen and wherever he is known.
JOSEPH HENIK.
The agricultural interests of Jones county find a worthy and successful repre- sentative in Joseph Henik, who owns a valuable and well improved farm of two hundred and fifteen acres on section 13, Hale township. He was born in Bo- hemia on the 17th of March. 1854, his parents being Michael and Josephine Henik. They crossed the Atlantic to the United States when their son Joseph was but six months old, settling in Iowa City, Iowa. The demise of the mother occurred near Salem, Iowa, in 1896, when she had attained the age of seventy- three years, while the father was called to his final rest in 1899, when seventy- seven years of age. They were the parents of eight sons and three daughters, namely : Antone, whose death occurred in Oxford; Frank, who enlisted in the Fifty-fourth Iowa Volunteer Infantry at the time of the Civil war and was killed while in the service; George, a resident of Kansas; Joseph, of this re- view : John, living in Hale township; James, of Oxford township; William, who makes his home in Hale township; Frank, who resides in Cedar Rapids; Katie, the widow of Frank Nowachek. of Oxford . Junction ; and two daughters who have passed away.
Joseph Henik remained under the parental roof until the time of his mar- riage, and for nine years following that important event in his life he was suc- cessfully engaged in the cultivation of his farm of fifty-six acres near Iowa City. After disposing of that property he came to Jones county, purchasing a tract of eighty acres on section 13. Hale township. As the years went by and his financial resources increased, owing to his well directed industry and capable management, he gradually extended the boundaries of his farm by addi- tional purchase until it now embraces two hundred and fifteen acres of rich and productive land. The many substantial improvements which are seen on the property stand as monuments to his thrift and enterprise and he is widely recog- nized as one of the progressive and representative agriculturists of the com-
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munity. In addition to cultivating the cereals best adapted to soil and climate he also devotes some attention to stock raising, which branch of his business adds materially to his income.
On the 29th of April, 1879, Mr. Henik was joined in wedlock to Miss Mary Sobers, whose birth occurred in Johnson county, Iowa. Her parents, James and Mary Sobers, both of whom were natives of Bohemia, passed away in this country. Mrs. Henik was one of a family of four daughters and one son and by her marriage has become the mother of seven children, as follows: Lily, the wife of Albert Vohoska, of Cedar county; Anna, the wife of Frank Vansickle, of Hale township : and Mary, Frank, Lydia, George and Charles, all at home.
In his political views Mr. Henik is a stanch republican, while his religious faith is indicated by his membership in the Bohemian Catholic church of Oxford Junction. His aid and cooperation can be counted upon to further every move- ment calculated to benefit the community and he and his estimable wife are held in high regard by their many friends.
ALBERT F. WALTERS.
Albert F. Walters, a retired machinist of Onslow, is one of the well known and esteemed residents of the town. His birth occurred in Herkimer county, New York, on the 20th of August, 1856, his parents being David A. and Adaline (Hemingway) Walters, likewise natives of that county, where they were reared and married. In 1860, the father brought his family to Iowa, trading his New York farm for one hundred and sixty acres of land in Madison and Scotch Grove townships, Jones county. The grandfather had come to this county prior to 1860 and secured that quarter section. David A. Walters purchased an addi- tional tract of forty acres, so that his farm comprised two hundred acres, in the cultivation of which he was actively engaged until December, 1877, when he disposed of the property and took up his abode in Onslow. For two years fol- lowing his arrival here he successfully conducted a lumberyard. He remained a resident of Onslow until called to his final rest on the 6th of September, 1896, passing away in his seventieth year. He was a stanch republican in politics but did not desire office as a reward for his party fealty. A worthy Christian gen- tleman, he was one of the founders of the Freewill Baptist church in Clay town- ship. He was made a Mason in 1868 and was one of the charter members of Onslow Lodge of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. The period of his residence in this county covered more than a third of a century and he was widely recognized as one of its respected and representative citizens. His wife was called to her final rest on the 26th of February. 1904, when seventy-nine years of age.
Albert F. Walters, who obtained his education in the common schools, was a young man of twenty-one years when he came with his parents to Onslow, where he was associated with his father in the lumber business for a short time. In 1880 he made his way to Elgin, Illinios, where for two years he was employed in the Elgin watch works. Subsequently he went to Springfield, Illinois, where
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he was employed in a watch factory for a similar period, while afterward he spent two years in a watch factory at Aurora, Illinois. His next removal was to Rockford, Illinois, where he worked in the watch factory for a period of ten years. He was thoroughly familiar with all the mechanical parts necessary in the construction of a watch and during more than twelve of the eighteen years which he spent in the manufacture of watches had charge of one or another of the various departments. In October, 1893, work at the watch factory having been suspended, Mr. Walters went to Belvidere, where he secured employment with the National Sewing Machine Company, remaining with that concern for about a year. He next made his way to Richmond, Indiana, and for two years acted as superintendent of a bicycle factory there. His health failing, he then returned to Jones county, Iowa, and purchased the old Walters homestead, on which he had been reared to manhood and which still remains in his possession. He did not take up his abode on the farm, however, but resided in Onslow until October, 1901, when he again went to Rockford, Illinois, working in the watch factory there until January, 1903. Subsequently he went to Belvidere, Illinois, as superintendent of the automobile factory and in July, 1903, secured a position in the small arms department of the Rock Island arsenal, there remaining for three years. In 1906, he was taken ill and came to Onslow, intending to resume his work as soon as he was able. His position was held for him for almost a year, but the condition of his health has been such as to prevent his return to active labor and he has lived retired.
On the 3d of July, 1880, Mr. Walters was united in marriage to Miss Ella Plank, of Potter Brook, Pennsylvania. The two children born unto them are now deceased, the daughter, Marlan H., passing away at the age of eleven years.
In his political views Mr. Walters is a stanch republican, while fraternally he is identified with Keystone Lodge, No. 206, F. & A. M., of Wyoming. Both he and his wife are widely and favorably known throughout the community, having won the unqualified confidence and regard of all with whom they have come in contact.
ARTHUR A. VAUGHN.
Arthur A. Vaughn, cashier of the First National Bank of Wyoming, with which institution he has been continuously identified since 1882, was born in Lawrence county, Pennsylvania, on the 7th of March, 1855. His parents, George and Jane (Elder) Vaughn, were likewise natives of the county, the former being a representative of an old Pennsylvania family. 'George Vaughn was a farmer and carpenter by occupation and made his home in Lawrence county until called to his final rest in 1874. They were devoted and consistent members of the old Cumberland church.
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