USA > Iowa > Madison County > History of Madison County, Iowa, and its people, Volume II > Part 2
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When the war was over Mr. Cooper returned to his home in Pennsylvania and engaged in merchandising with an uncle at Beaver, there remaining until 1879, when he sold his interest in the business and came to Winterset. Here lie embarked in the grain trade, in which he continued with success for ten years. In 1889, when the Madison County Bank was organized, he entered the institution as its first cashier, in which capacity he served for sixteen years, resigning at the end of that tinte. He was then cashier of the Winterset Savings Bank for six years and has since enjoyed a well earned rest, reaping the benefits of his former toil. He has ever been regarded as a thoroughly reliable as well as enterprising business man, and his efforts have been attended with a measure of success that is most gratifying.
On the 16th of April, 1872, Mr. Cooper was united in marriage to Miss Anna Mary Savage, who has always been known, however, as Minnie. She was born near Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, April 16, 1844, a daughter of William and Margaret Ann ( Leeper) Savage, both of whom were natives of Pennsylvania. The father was a farmer by occupation and died in 1862. His parents were Henry and Nancy ( Robinson ) Savage, both of whom were natives of Ireland. The mother's family traces their ancestry back to James Leeper, who came to the United States in 1771 from the north of Ireland. He was a native of Scotland and only stopped a short time in Ireland before coming to America. Mrs. Cooper was reared and educated in Pennsylvania and by her marriage she has become the mother of six children: William S., a practicing attorney of Winterset, of whom mention is made elsewhere in this volume; Elizabeth J., the
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wife of Sam R. Guthrie, of Garden City, Kansas; Esther L., who is a teacher of English in Ames College ; Harry W., a newspaper man of Cheyenne, Wyoming ; Robert S., who is engaged in the practice of dentistry in Winterset, and who is also mentioned on another page of this volume; and Ralph L., a civil engineer living at Boone, Iowa.
In his political views Mr. Cooper has always been an earnest republican. He was reared in the faith of that party and has always been most loyal to its principles, doing everything in his power to promote the cause and secure the success of its candidates, yet never seeking office for himself as a reward for party fealty. He holds membership in Pitzer Post, No. 55, G. A. R., of which he was commander for a year, and he is now aid-de-camp of the national organ- ization. He and his wife are members of the Presbyterian church and their chil- dren are also communicants thereof. The influence of the family has ever been on the side of progress and improvement, and they have given tangible aid to many measures and movements which have been of direct benefit to the com- munity in advancing its material, social, political and moral progress.
MYLES YOUNG, SR.
Myles Young, Sr., who is engaged in the grain, coal, seed and feed business, is one of the oldest and most highly respected business men of Winterset. The methods which he has followed in all of his business career are such as have commended him to the confidence and goodwill of the public and his course con- stitutes an example which others might profitably follow.
He was born in Ireland on the 3d of April, 1843. a son of Mason and Susan (Kirby) Young. The father was born in Ireland of English parents but the mother's birth occurred in England. They lived in the north of Ireland and in 1849 came to the United States, establishing their home in Chicago, Illinois, where the father engaged in the lumber business. He was there at the time of the memorable fire of 1871, but his lumberyard was not within the fire zone. He continued actively and successfully in the lumber trade until his death, which occurred when he had reached the age of seventy-six years. His widow survived him for a considerable period and passed away at the very advanced age of eighty- seven years. Both were members of the Episcopal church. In their family were eight children : Anna M., the wife of Andrew McGlade, of Chicago; Susanna, the wife of James Barton; Harriett, the wife of Robert Anderson; Flarinda, who married J. R. Fairfield ; Lillian, the wife of James Hopkins ; Henry ; Myles ; and Thomas.
During the period of his youth Myles Young attended the public schools near his father's home and when about eighteen years of age he went to Peru, Illinois, where he learned the grain business, being there employed for about seven years. On the expiration of that period he engaged in the same business on his own account. In 1884 he came to Winterset, where he also embarked in the same business and has continued active along that line. He is today the oldest grain merchant and leading representative of the trade in Madison county. He not only handles grain but also deals in seed, feed and coal, and is accorded a liberal
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patronage, for his business methods have always been reliable and his enterprise unfaltering.
Mr. Young was married in Peru, Illinois, to Miss Gertrude Magill, who was born in Covington, Kentucky, a daughter of the Rev. Magill, an Episcopalian minister. Mrs. Young passed away at the age of fifty-one years. They were the parents of four children: Arthur, who died at the age of thirteen years ; Fred, who is now engaged in business in Chicago; Myles, who is associated with his father; and Lillian, the wife of J. W. Ripey, an attorney practicing at Des Moines, Iowa. For his second wife Mr. Young chose Clydona Wight, a native of Madison county, and to them have been born two children: Irene and Mil- dred, both at home.
The family occupy an attractive residence in Winterset which Mr. Young owns. Mrs. Young has two farms in Jackson and Lincoln townships comprising two hundred acres of rich and valuable land, from which is derived a substantial annual income. Mr. Young also owns two elevators in Winterset and his seed house is fifty by one hundred feet and two stories in height. The elevators have a capacity of about forty-two thousand bushels of grain.
Mr. Young and his family are members of the Episcopal church and are prominent socially, the hospitality of the best homes being cordially extended them. In politics Mr. Young is a stalwart republican but has never been a politician in the sense of office seeking. He served on the school board for about two years and has always been an earnest champion of the cause of educa- tion, which he has ever regarded as one of the bulwarks of the nation as well as one of the strongest forces in individual success.
JAMES P. STEELE.
James P. Steele, a well known attorney of Winterset and the president of the Citizens National Bank, belongs to that class of men whose initiative spirit and enterprise have carried them into important business and professional relations. He was born in Adams county, Ohio, on the 13th of March, 1848. His father, William L. Steele, was a native of Londonderry, Ireland, and when about twenty years of age came to the United States, arriving in this country in 1835. Making his way westward, he settled in Adams county, Ohio, where he engaged in teach- ing school for several years. He then purchased a small farm and continued its cultivation until his death, which occurred when he was at the comparatively early age of forty years. He was of Scotch extraction and was descended from David Steele, who was shot in 1686 in his own dooryard by Lieutenant Creigh- ton, at Skellyhill, Scotland. He was a Covenanter and was serving as an officer at that time. Andrew Steele, the grandfather of James P. Steele, was born in Londonderry, Ireland, and was a foundryman. He came to the United States and followed his trade at Blairsville, Pennsylvania. About 1853 he removed to Adams county, Ohio, where the remainder of his life was spent and where he died when more than eighty years of age. He married a Miss Lucas, who was also a native of Ireland, and she died in 1857 when about sixty-three years of age. They were both members of the Covenanter church. The mother of our subject
JAMES P. STEELE
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bore the maiden name of Anna Johnson and was born in Ross county, Ohio, where she was reared and educated. She survived her husband until 1900 and died at the age of eighty years. Her parents were Robert and Esther ( Putnam ) Johnson, both natives of Nova Scotia. They came to the United States about 1825, settling in Ross county, Ohio, where Mr. Johnson engaged in farming and milling. He passed away in that county and was survived for some years by his wife, who died at the advanced age of ninety-four. She was a relative of General Putnam, of Revolutionary war fame.
James P. Steele spent his boyhood days upon the home farm and is indebted to the public-school system of his native county for the early educational privi- leges which he enjoyed. Later he attended the United Presbyterian College at Monmouth, Illinois, from which he was graduated with the class of 1873. He only attended school sixty-six days between the ages of ten and twenty-one years, but, realizing his lack of education and the disadvantage to which he was put thereby, he resolved that he would make up for this, and in 1869 entered' Mon- mouth Academy, doing six or seven years' work in four years. The strenuous manner in which he applied himself to his studies undermined his health and he then went to the Rocky Mountains, where he spent a year in recuperating from asthma. During that time he read law and afterward taught one term of school in Illinois.
On the 3Ist of December, 1874, Mr. Steele came to Winterset, Iowa, and for one term was a teacher in a country school and also read law during that period. In September, 1875, he was admitted to the bar and entered upon active practice, later forming a partnership with Byram Leonard. This connection was con- tinued for about three years. He was afterward in partnership with Judge Mott for about a year and then was alone in practice, but at a later date he took into his office a student, C. A. Robbins, who is now assistant attorney general of Iowa. They were together for fifteen years and since the dissolution of their partner- ship, in 1905, Mr. Steele has been alone in practice. He had been a resident of Winterset for only a brief period before it was recognized that he was an able lawyer, alert and wide-awake, ready at all times to meet any emergency, while in the preparation of his cases he was most careful and painstaking. The recog- nition of his ability won him growing success and he has long been regarded as a leading member of the Madison county bar. In the early days he conducted a Quiz Club, of which W. G. Potter, now on the supreme bench of Pennsyl- vania, was a member.
In 1878 Mr. Steele was united in marriage to Miss Clara L. Whitmore, a native of Chicago, Illinois, who was largely educated in Washington, D. C. She taught music in early womanhood and in 1875 came to Madison county, Iowa. They have two children : Anna Louise, who is now a teacher of Latin in the high school of Cheyenne, Wyoming ; and Byram Whitmore, a civil engineer, now farming in this county.
From 1880 until 1911 Mr. Steele resided upon a farm three miles from Win- terset and each day made the trip to and from the city. He has made extensive and judicious investments in property and is now the owner of between six hun- dred and seven hundred acres of valuable land. He carried on farming and the breeding of shorthorn cattle and at one time was the owner of a large herd, which he shipped and sold for breeding purposes, the greater part being sold in Iowa.
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In 1896 he sold his thoroughbred cattle and began feeding cattle and hogs quite extensively, but following his son's return home he turned over the management of the farm to him. Mr. Steele has been a director and the attorney of the Citizens National Bank for several years and in 1909 was elected its president.
Mr. and Mrs. Steele are members of the Presbyterian church. His political allegiance was formerly given to the republican party, and for four years he filled the office of county attorney. He is now an advocate of the progressive party and was one of the electors at large in 1912. He takes quite an active part in politics and has ever stood loyally by his honest convictions and has been a recognized leader here. Mr. Steele occupies a prominent place as a citizen, as a lawyer and as a business man. He came to this county empty-handed and his laudable ambition, his well directed efforts and his ability brought him to the front, gaining for him not only success but also an honored name.
PAUL R. STILLMAN.
Paul R. Stillman is one of the leading citizens of Earlham, and the Earlham Echo, an excellent weekly paper which he publishes, is a force in the formation of public opinion in the community. Mr. Stillman was born on the 10th of February, 1888, in Jefferson, Iowa, of the marriage of Frank and Lucy (Fal- lows) Stillman, natives respectively of Chicago and of Waucoma, Iowa. The father is a newspaper man and is at present editor of the Jefferson Bee of Jeffer- son. In his young manhood he came to Iowa and in the intervening years has owned and published a number of papers in various parts of the state. His wife is also living.
Paul R. Stillman was reared and educated in Jefferson, Iowa, and in Wash- ington, D. C., whither his parents removed when he was nine years of age. He lived there until he was twenty years old, his father having a government position in that city. Mr. Stillman of this review profited by the advantages of spending his youth in the national capital and was given an excellent education. His college work was done at the University of Minnesota. Upon starting out in the business world he determined to become a journalist and accordingly removed to Waucoma, Iowa, and leased a newspaper plant. After a year he came to Earlham and purchased the Earlham Echo, which he has since conducted with gratifying success. He has the energy and initiative that are characteristic of the capable young man and has also a knowledge of newspaper affairs that is the equal of many an older man, as he learned much concerning the conduct of a paper from his father. The Earlham Echo has a wide circulation and its success is based upon its reliability and enterprise. Mr. Stillman is not only an able editor but also manages the financial interests of the paper with ability and is highly respected in business circles. In addition to the publication of the Earlham Echo he does job work of all kinds and as he has a finely equipped plant for the purpose and insists upon a high quality of work being done that phase of his business is proving especially profitable.
Mr. Stillman is a republican and keeps thoroughly informed upon all of the great questions that arise in our national life and that must be settled at the
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polls. Something of the principles and ideals which guide him in his relation to others may be gathered from the fact that he is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church and is identified with the Masonic order. Since coming to Earlham he has cooperated heartily in all movements that have tended to better the community materially, socially or morally and is rightly esteemed as a valued citizen.
JOSEPH E. HAMILTON.
The history of business enterprise in Winterset would be incomplete and unsatisfactory were there failure to make prominent reference to Joseph E. Hamilton, who is one of the leading citizens of Madison county, actively and successfully identified with real-estate interests and with banking. His resolute purpose and intelligently directed efforts have enabled him to carry forward to successful completion whatever he has undertaken and his name has long been an honored one on commercial paper in this part of the state.
Madison county is proud to number Mr. Hamilton among her native sons, his birth having occurred in Walnut township on the 14th of October, 1864, his parents being Joseph C. W. and Mary (Draper) Hamilton. The father, a farmer by occupation, was born in New Jersey and during his infancy was taken to New York by his parents, who removed to Fayette county, Ohio, when he was a child of five years. There he was reared upon a farm with the usual experi- ences that fall to the lot of the farm lad. While still living in Ohio he married and in 1852 he came to Iowa, settling in South township, Madison county. In the spring of 1864 he removed to Walnut township, trading two cows for a tract of forty acres of land on which was a small log cabin, but no other improve- ments. With characteristic energy he began the development of his farm and brought his fields to a high state of cultivation. He taught one hundred and thirteen terms of school, all in the vicinity of his home, and thus greatly advanced the intellectual standards of the county as well as promoted his farming interests. He died in 1893 at the age of seventy-three years. He was then teaching and his son, Joseph E. Hamilton, completed his term.
In his political views the father was a democrat and he held various township offices, the duties of which he discharged with promptness and fidelity. In his business affairs he won a substantial measure of prosperity and was the owner of two hundred acres of valuable land at the time of his death. Reared in the Presbyterian church, he always adhered to that denomination and he took a very active part in church and Sunday school work. His wife was a native of Fayette county, Ohio, and became one of the pioneer women of Madison county, arriving here in company with her husband in 1852. She was a member of the Methodist Espicopal church and died in that faith in 1887 when fifty-eight years of age. By her marriage she became the mother of eleven children, nine of whom reached adult age, while two passed away in infancy.
Joseph E. Hamilton was reared upon the home farm and was educated in the public schools. When eighteen years of age he began teaching in the district schools of his native county and divided his time between educational interests
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HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY
and farm work. He continued upon the old homestead until 1900, when he went to Boulder, Colorado, where for about a year he engaged in the real-estate busi- ness. At the end of that time he established his home in Winterset, where he engaged in the real-estate, abstract and loan business in partnership with his brother, S. M. Hamilton. This partnership was continued until 1909, when Joseph E. Hamilton purchased the interest of his brother and has since been alone. He became one of the leading real-estate men of the county with a clientage scarcely equalled by that of any other in the same line of business. He thoroughly informed himself concerning land values, knew the property upon the market and so directed his interests that substantial success resulted. In 1913 he became one of the organizers and principal owners of the Security Loan & Title Company, of which he was elected the president. Upon the organization of this company he turned his abstract, loan and insurance business over to it and he now devotes his time to real estate. He is also a well known figure in banking circles and in 1912 was elected vice president of the First National Bank. His discrimination is keen, his judgment sound and his enterprise unfaltering and thus he is winning success in all of his undertakings.
On the 14th of October, 1888, Mr. Hamilton was united in marriage to Miss Katherine M. Dick, a native of Des Moines county and a daughter of J. P. and Sarah (Frank) Dick. They have three children: Ernest C., who is a graduate of the State University of Iowa and is now associated with his father in business ; and Frank S. and Clarence E., both of whom are students in the State University of Iowa.
In his political views Mr. Hamilton is an earnest democrat and keeps well informed on the questions and issues of the day, but has never sought nor desired public office. He and his family are members of the Methodist Episcopal church and they occupy a prominent position socially, having the esteem and warm regard of all who know them. Mr. Hamilton has been a lifelong resident of Madison county and his record is one which reflects credit upon the spirit of enterprise which has ever dominated this section of the state. He early recog- nized the eternal principle that industry wins and industry became the beacon light of his life. Close application has characterized all of his dealings and in all of his business affairs he has followed constructive measures until he is today recognized not only as one of the most successful but also as one of the most honored residents of Winterset.
JOSEPH J. HUTCHINGS.
In a history of Madison county it is imperative that mention be made of Joseph J. Hutchings else the record will be incomplete and unsatisfactory, for while he has passed away he has left his impress upon the development and progress of the county, having been one of the pioneer real-estate dealers of Winterset and one of its progressive bankers. His business affairs were capably managed and were so directed that they proved of benefit to the public as well as a source of individual prosperity. He was born in Clark county, Indiana, on
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HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY
the 29th of November, 1825, and was of English extraction, the family having been founded in Maryland in an early day.
Joseph J. Hutchings spent his boyhood and youth in his parents' home, which .was upon one of the pioneer farms of Indiana. There he remained until twenty- three years of age and attended one of the old-time subscription schools con- ducted by Quaker people. The year 1849 witnessed his arrival in Iowa and for a year he remained in Davis county, after which he returned to Indiana, where he taught school for one winter. In August, 1851, he came to Winterset, walk- ing all of the way from Newton, a distance of seventy miles, over the untracked prairies and unbridged streams. It was into the frontier regions that he pene- trated and became an active factor in the early development of the section in which he established his home. For two winters he engaged in teaching school in Madison county, and in 1852 he embarked in the business of trading land. with an office in Winterset. His operations as a real-estate dealer prospered. As the country became more and more thickly settled there was a greater demand for property and he negotiated many important realty transfers, selling many a farm to the early settlers and also handling city property. In 1872 he became the president of the Citizens' National Bank of Winterset and was continuously and actively connected with that institution until his death, which occurred in 1888. In early manhood he began reading medicine but did not complete the course. When he started for Iowa he carried with him some money but was robbed while on the way and thus he was practically penniless when he reached his destination. He taught school, chopped wood and did other work which would gain him a start and eventually he found his feet firmly planted on the highroad to prosperity and continued therein until he had accumulated a very ample and gratifying competence.
On the 28th of January, 1856, Mr. Hutchings was united in marriage to Miss Mary Bell, who was born in Holmes county, Ohio, July 24, 1835, and was there reared and educated. In 1854 she came to Winterset, where she had two mar- ried sisters living, traveling by stage from Iowa City. Mr. and Mrs. Hutchings became the parents of a daughter, Flora, who married Dr. J. H. Wintrode. He died on the 25th of December, 1909, and Mrs. Wintrode passed away on the 23d of July, 1910. They were the parents of three children: Mary Lucy, the wife of W. C. Krabiel, of Winterset ; and Josephine Hutchings, and John H., Jr., who have made their home with their grandmother, Mrs. Hutchings, since the death of their parents.
In politics Mr. Hutchings was always a stanch republican but would never accept office of any kind. He belonged to the Masonic fraternity and was an exemplary representative of that order. His life was ever upright and honor- able. In all of his business dealings he followed constructive methods and never took advantage of the necessities of his fellowmen. His integrity was above question and the many excellent traits of his character won for him the friend- ship and high regard of all with whom he came in contact. Mrs. Hutchings is now seventy-nine years of age and is still active and well preserved for one of her years-a lady of natural refinement and culture, who has a host of warm friends in this part of the state. She is a member of the Presbyterian church and her life has been guided by its teachings. Her husband left her well pro- vided with this world's goods, so that since his death she has been enabled to Vol. II- 2
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