USA > Iowa > Page County > History of Page County, Iowa : also biographical sketches of some prominent citizens of the county, Vol. II > Part 57
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dence not only of the other officials of the institution but also of the public at large and his loyalty to the interests of the bank is unquestioned.
It was on the 6th of October 1897. that Mr. Liljedahil was united in mar- riage to Miss Josephine Sar, or Essex, and to this union have been born three children, namely: E. Bernard, Clarence J. and Hilfred MI. Mr. and Mrs. Liljedahl are members of the Lutheran church of which the former is treasurer, while fraternally he is connected with the Modern Woodmen of America. He is stanch in his support of the republican party and is now serving his third term as a member of the town council. He has also served as school treasurer and has ever been deeply interested in the cause of edu- cation. A man of resourceful ability, constantly watchful of opportunities, he has seized legitimate advantages as they have arisen and has never hesitated to take a forward step when the way was open. Fortunate in pos- sessing ability and character that inspire confidence, the simple weight of his character and ability has brought him into positions of trust and respon- sibility and he ranks high among the well known and valued citizens of Pierce township.
EARL C. FISIIBAUGH.
Banking institutions are the heart of the commercial body and indicate the healthfulness of trade. The bank that follows a safe, conservative policy does more to establish public confidence in times of widespread financial de- pression than any other one thing and the men who control its affairs are looked upon at such times as the promoters of stability and the guardians of trade interests. Well qualified by his experience and his training for the conduct of banking interests, Earl C. Fishbaugh is now serving as cashier of the Security Trust & Savings Bank of Shenandoah. He is yet a young man but has given manifestation of many sterling business qualities. He was born in Tiffin, Ohio, on the 7th of March. 1880, and is a son of Chris- tian W. and Malinda ( Angene ) Fishbaugh, of whom mention is made else- where in this volume.
Earl C. Fishbaugh was only two years old at the time of his parents' removal to Iowa and it was in Shenandoah that he was reared to manhood, acquiring his education in the public schools. He passed through consecu- tive grades until he was graduated from the high school with the class of 1898, at which time he turned his attention to farming and was identified with agricultural interests through five summers. In November, 1902, he became connected with the banking business, securing a position as book- keeper in the Commercial Savings Bank, now the Commercial National Bank of Shenandoah. He had acted in that capacity for ten months, when he was made assistant cashier of the institution, so continuing until January, 1906, when he resigned his position to become assistant cashier of the First National Bank of Shenandoah. His time was thus occupied until April 1908, and in the fall of that year the organization of the Security Trust &
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Savings Bank was effected, Mr. Fishbaugh being connected with the work. On the 7th of January, 1909, the doors of the new institution were thrown open to the public, with Earl C. Fishbaugh as cashier, and already the busi- ness has made rapid strides, the possibilities and indications of future suc- cess being most favorable.
Mr. Fishbaugh is a member of the Odd Fellows Lodge and also of Juniata Lodge, K. P. : of Page Camp, No. 1049, M. W. A. ; the Woodmen of the World : the Ancient Order of United Workmen ; the Royal Neighbors ; and Shenandoah Lodge. No. 1122, B. P. O. E. He likewise belongs to the Congregational church and is interested in those movements which tend to promote humanitarianism and uphold the moral standard. His political allegiance is given to the republican party where state and national questions are involved but at local elections he casts an independent ballot, voting for the candidate irrespective of party ties if he believes that the best interests of the community will be conserved thereby. In the spring of 1909 he was nominated and elected on the labor ticket to the office of city treasurer and his personal popularity and the confidence reposed in him were indicated in the fact that he received the highest vote of any candidate at the election and is the youngest treasurer that has ever filled the office.
On the 15th of December. 1908, Mr. Fishbaugh was united in marriage to Miss Irene Fender, a daughter of Martin Fender, a farmer of Page county, now residing in Shenandoah. Like her husband Mrs. Fishbangh is a member of the Congregational church and they are prominent socially. He is a young man of strong personality and of marked individuality and is classed with the able young financiers of southwestern Iowa. Everywhere he is held in high regard and his friends are legion.
J. J. DUNNEGAN.
J. J. Dunnegan, one of the leading contractors of southwestern lowa. making his home in Shenandoah, was born in North Carolina on the 10th of May, 1861. He is the son of Joseph and Pauline ( Ireland) Dunnegan, both of whom were also natives of North Carolina and representatives of old southern families. The father was reared in the south and, like his father before him, was a slave-holding planter, being the owner of fifteen slaves at the time of the outbreak of the Civil war. He enlisted for service in the Confederate army and died from the effects of poison administered by a northern spy at Manassas Junction. His widow died soon after the war at the early age of thirty-three years.
J. J. Dunnegan was but two years old at the time of his mother's death. He was bound out to a man by the name of Hoskins at six years of age and because of the treatment he received ran away at the age of twelve years and found a home with a Mr. Mendenhall, with whom he re- mained until his eighteenth year. He then started out in life on his own ac- count and for two years was employed at four dollars a month He then secured a contract to furnish wood for the Southern Railway and at this
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made as high as one hundred and fifty dollars per month, but when wood was supplanted by coal he no longer had a business. Coming to Iowa, he secured a position as a section hand on the Wabash Railroad at Center- ville, where he continued for nine months, and subsequently he went to Milford, Nebraska, where he fed cattle for four years in the employ of a well known ranchman of that section of the country. Later he removed to Perkins county, Nebraska, where he secured a homestead, but in that ven- ture lost his savings of the past years. Returning to Milford, he again en- gaged in feeding cattle for his former employer and was also busily en- gaged in other work. Again he carefully saved his earnings until his economical expenditures and unfaltering industry had enabled him to ac- quire a sum of money sufficient to purchase a livery stable at Milford. But his luck as yet had not changed, for one year later the livery stable burned and he was again left without funds. This was in 1891.
The same year Mr. Dunnegan came to Shenandoah, where he sought employment in a plumbing shop and four months later he purchased a half interest in the business, while in the spring of 1902 he became sole proprietor of the enterprise, which he conducted until 1903. He then sold out to the firm of Frink & Hamilton and in 1893 he began contracting in connection with his plumbing business. His first contract was the build- ing of the Shenandoah Water Works in 1893. Since that time he has been prominently identified with the construction of water works. sewer systems and street pavings, and his business has carried him into various sections of the west as he has executed contracts all over the states of Iowa, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, Colorado, South Dakota, Wisconsin and Michigan. His business has grown to extensive and profitable proportions and he is today one of the prominent contractors of southwest- ern Iowa. In addition to his interests in that line he is a director in the Shenandoah National Bank and is largely identified with the Electric Light, Heating & Power Company, of Shenandoah.
On the 8th of October. 1890, occurred the marriage of Mr. Dunnegan and Miss Ella Stream, of Milford, Nebraska, and unto them was born a daughter. Jennie E., who is now attending high school. Both Mr. and Mrs. Dunnegan are prominent and faithful members and active workers in the Methodist Episcopal church. Mr. Dunnegan is serving on the church board of trustees and acted as a member of the finance committee in the raising of fifty thousand dollars for the building of a new church. His wife is a member of the Ladies' Aid and Missionary Societies and is also a member of the public library board and of its book-purchasing com- mittee.
Fraternally, Mr. Dunnegan is associated with Shenandoah Lodge, No. 1122, B. P. O. E .; Tricentum Lodge, No. 300, F. & A. M. ; and Page Camp, No. 1049, M. W. A. In politics he is a stalwart democrat, believing the interests of the country are best conserved through the advancement of democratic principles. He has been an influential factor in local councils of the party for a number of years, served for two years as a member of the city council of Shenandoah, and in 1908 was a delegate to the democratic
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national convention at Denver, which nominated W. J. Bryan. He ranks as one of Shenandoah's most prominent business men, possessing the alert, enterprising spirit that enables him to accomplish whatever he undertakes. In his former years he seemed to suffer defeat and failure. but patience is the price of power and Mr. Dunnegan was persistent and earnest, never giving up his intention of eventually engaging in business for himself. He therefore used his opportunities to the best advantage, overcame all diffi- culties and obstacles in his path and has made substantial progress until he is now at the head of a prosperous and growing business.
HENRY E. DETER.
Henry E. Deater, who since January, 1906, has capably served as the postmaster of Shenandoah, is the secretary, assistant editor and assistant manager of the Sentinel Post Company. Ilis birth occurred in Lagrange, Indiana, on the 18th of April, 1862, his parents being John and Nancy J. (Leighter) Deater, both of whom were natives of Pennsylvania. They were married in Indiana. to which state they had removed in early man- hood and womanhood. The father, who established his home in Lagrange, was an agriculturist by occupation and filled the office of county judge for some years. Ile passed away at the comparatively early age of forty years, his demise occurring in 1862. The mother of our subject afterward mar- ried again, her second union being with Thomas Bean, who died in the year 1870. Mrs. Bean still survives, however, and is a resident of Abing- don, Illinois.
Henry E. Deater was but eleven years of age at the time his stepfather died, leaving a widow and four children in straitened circumstances, and it became necessary for him to aid in the support of the family as best he could. He manfully shouldered the responsibility and assisted in the main- tenance of his widowed mother and her children until he had attained his twentieth year. His stepfather had established the family home in Ap- panoose county, lowa. but subsequently Henry E. Deater removed to Warren county, Illinois, with the mother and her four children, there con- tinuing to reside until 1882. In that year he started westward with the intention of reading law under the direction of Judge E. G. Godfrey, of Minden, Nebraska, who had been his last school teacher. Ile had a sister living at Shenandoah, Iowa, and, stopping here on a visit, determined to remain for a time in order to attend college during a term of ten weeks. He had thirty dollars on his arrival, which he gave for tuition and worked in the dining room to pay for his board. On the expiration of his term the president of the college, William M. Crone, insisted that he continue his studies there and when Mr. Deater told him that he had no money the president said he would personally furnish the necessary funds to complete the four years' course even if it required a thousand dollars. Through his influence Mr. Deater obtained a position in the college which enabled him
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to pay for his board during his student days and he remained at the insti- tution until the time of his graduation with the class of 1886, while subse- quently he continued his studies there for two more years. Following his graduation he procured a position as a school teacher and in this manner finally discharged an indebtedness of between six and seven hundred dol- lars, which he had incurred in order that he might have a college educa- tion.
On taking up his duties as an instructor Mr. Deater first had charge of the "Sunny Slope School," which, though so unruly that two former teachers had been compelled to abandon their work, he succeeded in sub- duing. Having proven that he was a man of firm purpose, who knew how to enforce discipline and obedience, his services were sought as teacher in another school of this character, the Imogene, the principal of which had resigned. Subsequently he was employed by the college for a year, travel- ing through Kansas, Nebraska and Missouri and giving lectures on the work being done by the institution. During the fall of 1888 he taught in the Mount Hope school and in December of that year secured a position on a newspaper-the Shenandoah Sentinel, with which he remained until March, 1889, He then bought a half interest in the Blanchard Sentinel and on his return to Shenandoah in 1890 sold out the publication, of which he had become sole proprietor by the purchase of his partner's interest.
On his return to Shenandoah, through the solicitation of Mr. Marvin, he was made assistant editor of the Sentinel, acting in that capacity until the fall of 1895, when he was elected county superintendent of schools. He remained the incumbent in that position for six years or through three successive terms and on severing his connection with educational interests was made assistant editor and assistant manager of the Sentinel Publishing Company, which had just been organized and of which firm he became a member. About a year later, however, he withdrew from the concern, selling his stock to Mr. Marvin in November, 1902. He then bought the old Shenandoah Post and organized the Post Publishing Company, with a capital stock of ten thousand dollars. This paper, though the oldest in the town had been allowed to run down and Mr. Deater determined to devote his efforts and energies to its upbuilding. A new printing plant was bought and the paper was soon established on a paying basis, the first issue being sent forth on the IIth of December, 1902. Mr. Deater was made president, editor and manager of the company, thus serving until the Ist of April, 1905, when the Sentinel and the Post were consolidated under the name of the Sentinel Post. He has since been the secretary, assistant editor and assist- ant manager of this paper and is widely recognized as a most prominent and successful representative of journalistic interest in the county. On the 16th of December, 1905. he was appointed postmaster of Shenandoah and entered upon the duties of that office on the 5th of January, 1905. having filled the position to the present time in a highly satisfactory and efficient manner.
On the 25th of November, 1886, Mr. Deater was united in marriage to Miss Lizzie B. Spencer, of Creston, Iowa, by whom he has three children:
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Earl J., a resident of New York city; Pearl O., who is employed as book- keeper in the office of the Sentinel Post ; and Eton R., who is attending the Shenandoah schools.
Alr. Deater is a stalwart advocate of republican principles and is a prominent and influential factor in the local ranks of the party. He served as republican committeeman from 1903 until 1905, when he resigned to accept the postmastership and was secretary of the county committee for a number of years. Fraternally he is identified with Tricentum Lodge, No. 300, F. & A. M .: Sheshbazzar Chapter, No. 82, R. A. M .; Shenan- doah Lodge, No. 1122, B. P. O. E .; the Modern Woodmen of America : the Ancient Order of United Workmen; and the Degree of Honor. He also belongs to the Eastern Star, his wife acting as worthy matron of the lodge. Socially he is connected with the Shenandoah Commercial Club and the Boosters Club, while his religious faith is indicated by his membership in the Methodist Episcopal church, in which he is serving as a steward. He has the largest private library in the county and is a member of a law class in Shenandoah. Handicapped in youth by difficulties and obstacles which would have disheartened many a man of less resolute spirit, Mr. Deater deserves much credit for what he has accomplished. By sheer force of character, strong purpose and laudable ambition he has forged ahead and commands the respect and admiration which is ever accorded those whose success has been honorably won.
J. A. WOODS.
J. A. Woods, a prominent and well known citizen now living retired in Clarinda, was for many years city superintendent of schools. His birth occurred near Greenville, Pennsylvania, on the 7th of February, 1835, and his parents were of Irish and Scotch descent. He obtained his preliminary education at Kingsville Academy in northern Ohio and subsequently at- tended college at Marietta, Ohio. For a number of years he acted as city superintendent of schools at Clarinda and thus remained a prominent rep- resentative of educational interests in Page county until the summer of 1895. The seven succeeding years he was city superintendent of the schools of Keithsburg, Illinois. He is now living retired in Clarinda, where he owns a pleasant and commodious residence, and his landed holdings include a valuable and well improved farm of ninety acres in East River town- ship.
On the 4th of July, 1864, at Marietta, Ohio, Mr. Woods was joined in wedlock to Miss Esther I. Hill. Their union was blessed with a son and daughter, the former being now a resident of Spokane, Washington, while the latter makes her home in Grandview, that state. Mr. Woods is now one of the elders in the First Presbyterian church at Clarinda, in which he served as Sunday-school superintendent for a number of years and for a few years acted as deacon. Fraternally he is identified with Clarinda
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Lodge, No. 109, I. O. O. F. He has now passed the seventy-fourth mile- stone on life's journey and receives the respect and veneration which should ever be accorded one who hias traveled thus far on this earthly pilgrimage and whose career has been at all times upright and honorable.
ISAAC H. TAGGART.
Isaac Hazlett Taggart is a resident of Amity township, living near Braddyville, and is closely connected with the agricultural interests of the county, while at the same time he figures prominently in public affairs as a member of the county board of supervisors, of which he is now chair- man. He was born in Belmont county, Ohio, on the 22d of January, 1870, his parents being William C. and Annie ( Cameron) Taggart.
Isaac H. Taggart was butt four years of age when his parents removed from Ohio to Iowa, the family settling in Clarinda, where they remained for five years. The father engaged in the purchase and sale of land and in loaning money and became well known in real-estate and financial circles in this part of Iowa. In 1879 he removed his family to Amity township, where he owned five hundred acres of rich and valuable land. He made judicious investments, his judgment being rarely if ever at fault in deter- mining the value of property or of the opportunity for profitable invest- ment. In community affairs lie was also locally prominent and served as township trustee for a number of years, while his influence was 110 inessential feature in molding public opinion. The county lost a valued and representative citizen when in 1897 he was called to his final rest. His widow still survives and yet resides upon the home farm, which is one of the valuable properties of the county.
Mr. Taggart, whose name introduces this review, was but a young lad when the family came to Page county, where he has since made his home. He was educated in the public and district schools and afterward had the benefit of instruction in Amity College at College Springs, where he com- pleted a course by graduation with the class of 1890. He then went on the farm with his father and they were associated in its management until the latter's death. Since then our subject and his brother William C. have had control of the farming interests of the estate. They are thoroughly familiar with the best methods of tilling the fields: know what crops are best adapted to the soil and climate ; and by their rotation keep the land in good condition. They have an interest in and handle together six hundred and thirty acres of land, all in Page county.
Mr. Taggart is a recognized leader in political circles and his course is one which reflects credit and honor upon the party and the community. He votes with the republican party and for five years filled the office of township trustee. In 1902 he was elected a member of the county board of supervisors and later, in 1906. was again chosen to that office and once more, in 1908. so that when his term expires he will have filled the position
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for nine years. He has been chairman of the board for the past two years and in this position his executive ability and keen discernment are made to play an important part for the benefit of the county at large.
GEORGE W. HOLLIS.
A well developed and highly improved farm of one hundred and eighty- six acres lying in Valley township, nine miles from Clarinda, is the prop- erty of George W. Hollis, who has spent almost his entire life in l'age county. He was born in Illinois on the 28th of January, 1853, a son of Edward and Elizabeth Hollis, the former born in Delaware, while the latter was a native of the Keystone state. Removing westward in an early day they made a location in Illinois but later lived in Indiana for a time, and eventually they made a permanent location in Page county, lowa, the year 1855 witnessing their arrival here. The father entered land on which he built a log house, the roof being made of clapboards. The family made their home in that crude dwelling sixteen years and at the end of that time it was replaced by a more modern frame structure, while many other substantial improvements in the way of buildings were made on the farm and the fields were brought under a high state of cultivation. Mr. and Mrs. Edward Hollis reared a family of eight children but two of the number are now deceased and both the parents have also departed this life. They were numbered among the most prominent and highly re- spected pioneer settlers of Page county.
George W. Hollis was an infant when he was taken by his parents from his native state of Illinois to Indiana and was only two years of age at the time they located in Page county, lowa. He remained on the home farm until he was twenty-one and during that time became thoroughly familiar with the various duties and tasks of the home place, so that when he started out to carry on farming on his own account he was well qual- ified for the responsibilities which he then assumed. He first operated a tract of land which he rented one year and at the end of that time, feeling justified in making purchase, he became the owner of forty acres in Valley township. Later he made an additional purchase of eighty acres, while at his father's death he inherited a tract of sixty-six acres, so that his landed possessions now aggregate one hundred and eighty-six acres, situated in Valley township. He formerly made quite a specialty of raising stock but at the present time is giving his attention more particularly to general farming. He is also engaged in bee culture, having seventy-four hives of bees at the present time.
Mr. Hollis established a home of his own in February, 1873, by his marriage to Miss Tabitha Hunter, who was born in Tennessee, a daughter of G. C. and Eliza Henter. Her father is now deceased but her mother still survives and makes her home in Page county. Mrs. Hollis is one of a family of eight children. Seven children have been born to Mr. and Mrs.
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Hollis, namely : Dollie H., the wife of Orton Gray, of Page county : Charles, deceased ; Albert, who makes his home in Kansas ; Nora, the wife of Charles Richards, of Adams county, lowa ; Orra, also residing in Kansas ; Ethel, the wife of Mr. Shum, a resident of Illinois ; and Estella, the wife of Wil- liam Coy, a resident of Villisca, Iowa.
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