USA > Iowa > Page County > History of Page County, Iowa : also biographical sketches of some prominent citizens of the county, Vol. II > Part 13
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Pleasantly situated in his home life, Mr. Miller was married in 1890 to Miss Jennie E. Welch, of Clarinda, a daughter of J. C. Welch, a well known stockman of this city. They have become the parents of three children, namely: Howard L., Eunice and Stanley. Mr. and Mrs. Miller are members of the First Presbyterian church and he also belongs to the Knights of Pythias, to the Modern Woodmen of America and to the Wood- men of the World. He has never had occasion to regret his determination to come to the west in early manhood for he has here found the opportunities which he sought and which, by the way, are always open to ambitious, energetic young men. The field of labor is limitless here and adaptability will enable an individual to find that which is best suited to his powers and his talents. Mr. Miller has made wise choice of a profession and his labors therein are bringing him continuous advancement.
STACY DOUTHIT.
Stacy Douthit has from his youthful days been a resident of Page county, residing continuously in Nodaway township. He is today the owner of an excellent farm of two hundred acres on sections 11 and 14, the neat and thrifty appearance of the place indicating his practical methods and careful supervision. ITe was born in Indiana county, Pennsylvania, August 20, 1852, being the third in order of birth in a family of eleven children, whose parents were Nathan Wilkins and Sarah ( Baty) Donthit, who were likewise natives of Indiana county, Pennsylvania. They were farming people of the Keystone state and resided in the county of their nativity until about 1869 when they removed westward and became resi- dents of Page county, Iowa. For a considerable period the father con-
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tinued to engage in general agricultural pursuits but at length retired from active life and spent his last ten years in Clarinda where his wife also passed away. They were active members of the United Presbyterian church of Clarinda and earnest, consistent Christian people who enjoyed in large measure the confidence and esteem of all who knew them. Their children were as follows: Agnes L., who is the widow of Robert Fulton, who conducted the county farm which Mrs. Fulton has continued to manage since the death of her husband now two years ago; R. P., living in Nodaway township; Stacy, of this review ; A. S., whose home is in Cushion, Nebraska; Anson, deceased; Mary C., the wife of Joseph Pfander, of Clarinda ; Harry, who died at the age of twenty years; Adrian, who is liv- ing in Fullerton, Nebraska; Rufus, who is located at Guide Rock, Ne- braska : Elsie Belle, the widow of R. George ; and J. Q., who is a merchant of Clarinda.
Stacy Douthit spent the first seventeen years of his life on the farm where his birth occurred and then accompanied his parents on their removal westward, the family home being established on a farm three miles north of Clarinda. He has continued to reside in Nodaway township to the present time and has been engaged in farming throughout his entire life. He was early trained to the work of the fields and annually harvests good crops as the reward for the care and labor which he now bestows upon his own land. He is today the owner of two hundred acres constituting a valuable farin of Page county, situated on sections II and 14, Nodaway township. The buildings upon the place were all erected by him and stand as monuments to his thrift and enterprise. He carries on general farming and stock-raising and his spirit of persistent purpose and undaunted energy enables him to carry forward to successful completion whatever he under- takes.
In 1878 Mr. Donthit was united in marriage to Miss Sarah Pfander, who was born in Page county about a mile east of his present home on the 30th of May, 1859. She has always resided in this township, spending her girlhood days in the home of her parents, Abram and Elizabeth Ann (Caldwell) Pfander, the former born in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Septem- ber 24, 1832, and the latter in Darke county, Ohio, March 18, 1834. They were married in the Buckeye state and, coming westward to Iowa at an early day, cast in their lot with the pioneer settlers of this part of the state. The father now resides in Clarinda but the mother died in 1905. They were the parents of five children: J. V. and C. F., who are residents of Clarinda ; Mrs. Douthit ; W. H., living near Sharpsburg, in Taylor county, Iowa ; and Phoebe C., who died at the age of sixteen years.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Douthit have been born five children: Perry V., living in Clarinda ; William S., at home; Roy, who died at the age of one year ; Pearlie, who died when a year old; and Rufus, who is attending school in Clarinda. Mr. and Mrs. Douthit are well known in Nodaway township where they have long resided, their circle of friends being almost coextensive with the circle of their acquaintance. Mr. Douthit gives his political allegiance to the republican party and is well informed on the
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questions and issues of the day but does not seek nor desire office. He feels that his time and attention are fully occupied with his business affairs and he is recognized as a progressive farmer, whose labors are bringing him substantial and well merited success.
JAMES H. DUNLAP.
James H. Dunlap is postmaster of Clarinda and for many years was one of the most successful and leading merchants of the city. He is now seventy-two years of age and his life record has been one of signal use- fulness and. moreover, proves that success is ambition's answer. A native of Pennsylvania, Mr. Dunlap was born in Butler county, on the 11th of October. 1837, a son of Robert and Catherine Dunlap. The father was a farmer by occupation and in 1852 removed to Fulton county, Indiana, where he carried on farming until his death, which occurred when he was seventy-four years of age. His wife had died eight years previously.
Their son, James H. Dunlap, was a youth of but thirteen years at the time of the removal of the family from Pennsylvania to Indiana. His edu- cation was acquired in the public schools of both states and to his father he gave the benefit of his services until he reached the age of twenty-two years when, in response to the country's call for aid in crushing out the rebellion in the south, he joined the boys in blue, enlisting as a member of Company D, Twenty-ninth Indiana Volunteer Infantry. He became a private of that command in August. 1861, and continued with the regiment until April, 1863, when he was honorably discharged on account of a gunshot wound in the right hand, at Stone River, which permanently disabled him. He par- ticipated in the battle of Shiloh, the siege of Corinth, the engagement at Stone River and in numerous skirmishes with his regiment, being on active duty the entire time until he was wounded in April. He had been promoted to the rank of sergeant in recognition of his bravery and loyalty and he never faltered in the performance of any duty that devolved upon him during his military service.
When he was no longer fit for active field duty Mr. Dunlap returned to Indiana and again resumed the occupation of farming, with which he was connected until the fall of 1864. In February of the following year he ar- rived in Clarinda and began freighting from this point to St. Joseph, Mis- souri. continuing in the business until 1870. On that date he secured a clerkship in a hardware store, where he remained for four years, during which time his industry and careful expenditure enabled him to accumulate sufficient capital to engage in business on his own account. He formed a partnership with Charles Lyman and established a hardware business 111- der the firm style of Dunlap & Lyman. This relation was maintained for two years, when Mr. Lyman sold out to John M. Miller and the firm style was then changed to Dunlap, Miller & Foster. This existed for about five years, when another change in the partnership occurred, resulting in the
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J. IT. DUNLAP
MARY
MAX AND ILUL IGUALATIONS
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assumption of the firm name of Dunlap & Carlile Brothers. It was not long, however. until Mr. Dunlap purchased the interests of Carlile Brothers and later he admitted William M. Alexander and G. F. Shaw of Clarinda to a partnership. When two years had passed Messrs. Alexander and Shaw sold out to H. C. Beckwith, at which time the firm of Dunlap & Beck- with was adopted. They continued together for about two years when again Mr. Dunlap became sole proprietor but soon admitted his nephew, S. E. Sperry, to a partnership under the style of Dunlap & Company. He re- mained an active factor in the trade until 1907, when he disposed of his interests to Mr. Sperry and retired from active business life. For about three decades Mr. Dunlap had been closely associated with the commercial interests of the city, maintaining a foremost place in the ranks of its lead- ing merchants. Throughout the entire period the store was located on the south side of the square. There Mr. Dunlap built a two story brick block, twenty-four by one hundred and forty feet, which he erected in 1893. He achieved such a goodly measure of success that his methods are of interest to the commercial world and in an analyzation of his life work it will be found that he based his business principles and actions upon the rules which govern industry and strict integrity.
While closely and prominently associated with commercial interests Mr. Dunlap was connected in equally helpful ways with the public interests of . Clarinda. He has served as trustee of the city and as a member of the school board. He was appointed postmaster in 1902 and again in 1907 by President Roosevelt and is now acting in that capacity. He was also ap- pointed by Governor Frank O. Jackson, a trustee for the Clarinda Hos- pital for the Insane and served for six years. His devotion to the general good has been marked and whether in office or out of it he has always been most loyal to the welfare and upbuilding of his adopted city.
In 1872 occurred the marriage of Mr. Dunlap and Miss Angeline M. Moore, of California, Missouri, a native of Fulton county, Indiana, where they had been schoolmates together. Mrs. Dunlap is a daughter of Wil- liam and Sarah Moore, who were farming people of the Hoosier state. By her marriage she became the mother of five children, of whom one died in infancy. The others are: Alfa, the wife of Willard Yaple, of Oklahoma; Robert E., a practicing physician of Portland, Oregon ; William C., a far- mer living at MeCredie, Missouri ; and Daisy S., who married Edward C. Allison, a pharmacist of Atlantic, Iowa.
Mr. Dunlap maintains pleasant relations with his old army comrades through his membership in Warren Post, No. 11, G. A. R, of which he is a past commander. He is also a master Mason and he holds membership in the Presbyterian church, to which his wife also belongs. He is a thorough exemplification of the typical American business man and gentleman and though he has been known as one of the most enterprising and progressive merchants of Clarinda, his time being largely occupied with the manage- ment of an important and growing commercial enterprise, he has always found time and opportunity to devote to those of his friends whose calls were purely of a social character. He is now proving himself capable as
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postmaster, giving a public-spirited administration of the affairs of the office and at all times doing his full share in promoting public progress, whether through official connection or otherwise. Each interest with which he be- comes associated feels the stimulus of his indefatigable energy and pro- gressive spirit.
BENJAMIN B. WELCH.
Benjamin B. Welch, who has but recently rounded out the psalmist's span of three score years and ten, is still numbered among the active and progressive agriculturists of Nebraska township. He dates his residence in Page county from 1872, or for a period of thirty-seven years, and during the entire period he has been known as a leading representative of agri- cultural interests. He was born in Ilampshire county, Virginia, Novem- ber 20, 1838, and is a son of Benjamin and Julia N. (Rawlings ) Welch, who were also born in Hampshire county, Virginia. After the removal of their son to the west they, too, made their way to Sullivan county, Mis- souri, and the mother died there. The father was a son of Isaac and Mary . (Ayers) Welch, natives of Ireland and of Turkey respectively. The former served for several years as a valiant defender of colonial interests in the Revolutionary war. The maternal grandparents of our subject were Benjamin and Julia (Newcomb) Rawlings, who were likewise natives of the Old Dominion and the former served for several years as a soldier of the Revolutionary war. In the family of Benjamin and Julia N. ( Raw- lings) Welch there were eight children: Sarah married William Welch, who though of the same name was not a relative, and they now reside in Washington county, Iowa. Sylvester, the second of the name, died in Kansas. Dempsey died in Kansas in 1908. Mary C. is the wife of Hiram Smith, a resident of Culbertson, Nebraska. Katharine became the wife of Ilenry Smith, a brother of Hiram Smith, and is now deceased. William died in Page county. Benjamin B. is the next of the family. America is the widow of A. J. Bailey, a resident of Furnas county, Nebraska.
The youthful days of our subject were quietly passed on the home farm with his parents in Hampshire county, Virginia, to the age of eighteen years, when the family started westward and in 1856 arrived in Keokuk county, lowa. In that locality Benjamin B. Welch remained until twenty- one years of age, when he went to Sullivan county, Missouri, where he was married and began his domestic life. He engaged in farming in Missouri until 1872, when he came to Page county and took up his abode on section 35, Nebraska township, where he has resided continuously sinee. Ele is now the owner of fifty acres of land, having disposed of the remainder of his farm to his son, B. L. Welch. He has long carried on general ag- ricultural pursuits, carefully tilling his fields so that good harvests are gathered, while all the work upon his place is conducted along modern and progressive lines.
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In 1860 Mr. Welch was united in marriage to Miss Maria E. Lampton, who was born in Kentucky, December 17, 1845, and in her infancy was taken to Missouri by her parents, John and Ann ( Bruce) Lampton, who were na- tives of the Blue Grass state. They spent their last days in Putnam county, Missouri, and it was there that Mrs. Welch lived until her marriage.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Welch have been born five children : Julia, now the wife of Philip Weaver, of Nebraska township: Mary at home ; Benjamin L., who is mentioned elswhere in this volume; Nora, the wife of J. W. Martindale, of Clarinda ; and Ermina, the wife of Ralph Hafer, of Idaho.
The home farm of the family is on the East Nodaway river and when Mr. Welch took possession of the place it was located in the midst of heavy timber, but as settlements increased the trees have been cut down and the work of improvement carried forward until the entire countryside is under cultivation. Mr. Welch has borne his full share in the work of general improvement and progress, his influence being always given on the side of advancement and upbuilding. In politics he is a stanch democrat and, while he keeps well informed on the questions and issues of the day, he does not seek nor desire office. Ilis work has been that of an energetic farmer who realizes that the true secret of success lies in earnest labor and close application.
J. FRANK ALDRICH, M. D.
Dr. J. Frank Aldrich, physician and surgeon, who in his practice has made a specialty of the treatment of tuberculosis and nervous diseases, enjoys a wide reputation for the knowledge and skill which he has displayed in those lines. He was born in Union county, near Creston, Iowa, on the 24th of January, 1873, and is a son of Charles and Roxa (Caldwell) Aldrich, whose sketch appears elsewhere in this volume.
Dr. Aldrich was but three years old when his parents removed to a farm in Fremont county, Iowa, so that his early education was acquired in the district schools there until his fourteenth year, when he entered the Western Normal College. He completed his course in that institution with the class of 1891, winning the degree of Bachelor of Science. He engaged in teaching school for one year but desiring to make other professional labor his life work, in the fall of 1894 he entered the Rush Medical Col- lege of Chicago. During the periods of vacation he continued his reading in the office and under the direction of Dr. T. L. Putman, of Shenandoah, and following his graduation from the Rush Medical College with the class of 1897 he opened an office in Murray, Iowa, where he practiced with good success for seven years. He then sold his practice in that place and after about a year spent in the southwest, where he devoted his time largely to the study of tuberculosis, came to Shenandoah in 1905 and entered into partnership with Dr. Putman. with whom he has since been associated as an active follower of his profession. lle makes a specialty of tuberculosis,
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nervous diseases and internal medicine, and in these various lines has ac- complished splendid results. On coming to Shenandoah he was instru- mental in having tents established in the town that he might there treat tuberculosis patients and was very active in furthering the movement which resulted in the building of a state sanitarium for the care of tuber- culosis patients. His work in this connection has made him known all over the United States and it is justly rated as an advance step in the scientific method of meeting the white plague. He is now examiner for this district for the state tuberculosis sanitarium and he keeps in touch with the advance of the profession along other lines through private reading and study and through the interchange of thought and experiences with the members of the Page County Medical Society, the Missouri Valley Medi- cal Society, the Southwestern Iowa Medical Society and the American Medical Association, with all of which he is connected.
In more specifically social lines Dr. Aldrich is associated with Nishna Lodge, I. O. O. F .; Shenandoah Lodge No. 1122, B. P. O. E., the Wood- men of the World and the Brotherhood of American Yeomen. Religiously he is connected with the Methodist Episcopal church.
Dr. Aldrich was married in 1897 to Miss Fannie McGogy. of Shenan- doah, and they have two children, Lester E. and Katheryn. Dr. Aldrich is a man of genial, social nature and in his profession is actuated by ideals far beyond the mere purpose of attaining success.
WILLIAM ORR. .
There are found many men whose industry has won them success- men who by their perseverance and diligence execute well defined plans which others have made-but the men who take the initiative are com- paratively few. The vast majority do not see opportunity for the coordi- nation of forces and the development of new, extensive and profitable enter- prises and, therefore. must follow along paths which others have marked out. While William Orr is perhaps best known as an able and successful lawyer, he has done much to develop the industrial and commercial inter- ests of Clarinda, for the initiative spirit is strong within him and. realizing the possibility for the combination of forces, he has wrought along the line of large undertakings, becoming closely associated with the enterprise and upbuilding of his adopted city.
He is native of New York and a son of William and Mary A. (Lynn) Orr. The father was a boss weaver and came to Iowa in 1867, locating about three miles north of College Springs, where he engaged in farming throughout the remainder of his life, his death there occurring in 1884. Ile was active in local affairs for the good of the community and from time to time held nearly all of the offices in the township. Both he and his wife were natives of Scotland and soon after their marriage decided to come to America. He had learned his trade in his native land and followed it
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to some extent in the new world but finally gave his attention to general agricultural pursuits. His widow still survives at the very advanced age of ninety-four years and is now living in Clarinda.
William Orr pursued his education in the common schools and at Col- lege Springs, where he attended Amity College. Later he studied law in the State University at Iowa City and was graduated from the law de- partment with the class of 1879. He also pursued a year's post-graduate course and in the fall of 1880 he came to Clarinda and entered the law office of W. P. Hepburn, many years congressman from this district. In December, of the same year, however, because of illness he was forced to give up practice and in 1882-3 engaged in teaching school. In 1884 he began merchandising in Clarinda but in a short time sold out and in 1885 resumed his law practice. He continued alone in the prosecution of his profession until 1906, when he admitted W. A. Turner to a partnership and is now practicing as senior partner of the firm of Orr & Turner. His ability as a lawyer has long been recognized, placing him with those who are foremost in Page county in the interpretation and application of the law. He sees with clear discernment and readiness the relation of a legal principle to the points at issue and in the presentation of his cases his de- ductions follow in logical sequence.
Mr. Orr is equally well known in other business connections. In 1904 he was one of the organizers of the Clarinda Trust & Savings Bank, which was capitalized at seventy-five thousand dollars, and is still its president. He is also the president of the Lee Electric Light Company and was one of its original directors. He is the treasurer of the Lisle Manufacturing Company of Clarinda and has an interest in nearly all of the manufactur- ing enterprises and the public affairs of the city. In business matters his judgment is sound, his discernment keen and his enterprise unfaltering and his cooperation is therefore eagerly sought by those who recognize that his opinions are a valuable asset in business concerns. In connection with Mr. Richardson he has laid out two additions to the city-an Orr addition and a Richardson, which are the only successful additions laid out in recent years.
Aside from business Mr. Orr has been equally prominent and his labors equally effective in promoting affairs of moment. He was one of the organizers of the Christian church in Clarinda, was made superintendent of its Sunday school in 1880 and continued to act in that capacity until 1908, when he would no longer accept, resigning his position after twenty- eight years' service. He was also one of the organizers of the Clarinda Chautauqua Assembly and has been its president for eight years at various times and as a director until 1907. He was also chairman of the build- ing committee that erected the handsome buildings which the assembly now owns and occupies. He was the attorney for Clarinda at the time the streets of the city were paved, has served as a member of the school board, is now a member of its public library board and of its building committee. He was for three terms the president of the twelfth district Iowa Christian Endeavor Union, having been elected four times, resigning after his last
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election, and in church work he has ever been an active, interested and ef- fective leader, his labors being especially valuable in the upbuilding of the Christian church. He was superintendent of the good citizenship com- mittee of the Iowa Christian Endeavor Union and was afterwards elected president of the union. He belongs also to the Iowa State Sunday School Association, was a member of its executive committee for many years and for a long time was secretary of the committee. He was the president of the only Young Men's Christian Association that existed in Clarinda and he has been a member of the board of trustees of Amity College. His labors in behalf of public progress in the various lines of intellectual, ma- terial and moral development have been far-reaching and beneficial, his activities being so varied and important as to cause him to be recognized as one of the foremost citizens of Clarinda. What he has accomplished, however, represents the fit utilization of his innate powers and talents and the recognition of his opportunities. He has been instrumental in promot- ing various business concerns which have been of vital force in the up- building and development of the city and more than that he has never been neglectful of his duties and obligations in relation to the moral progress of the community but has sought by precept and example to instill into the minds of the young and others with whom he has come in contact the prin- ciples that work for development of upright character.
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