USA > Iowa > Pottawattamie County > History of Pottawattamie County, Iowa. Containing a history from the earliest settlement to the present time biographical sketches; portraits of some of the early settlers, prominent men, etc. > Part 49
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Counselor. This company now has in the field about one hundred regular agents working in Iowa, Nebraska, Minnesota, Kansas, Colorado, Dakota, Missouri and Wisconsin, and has at this time 513 policies. The main office is lo- cated at 103 Pearl street, Council Bluffs. Dr. Cook was born in Decatur County, Ind., August 24, 1841, and remained there until the breaking- out of the rebellion, when he enlisted in the army at the age of nineteen, as a private, in Company E, Thirty-seventh Indiana Volunteer Infantry, and was mustered into serviee Sep- tember 18, 1861. He was taken prisoner May 9, 1862, at the battle of Limestone Creek, Ala., and was kept in prison thirteen months. After getting out of prison, he was appointed independent scout, in the Army of the Cumber- land, and served in that capacity during the the rest of the war. He shot and killed the rebel General W. C. Walker, in Cherokee Coun- ty, N. C., on the night of January 3, 1864. Ten men were with the Doctor; undertook to capture the General ; he resisted and was killed to prevent him from killing the chief of scouts. After leaving the army, he began reading medi- eine in 1866, and read and practiced under his preceptor until 1869. He took first course of lectures at Bennett Medical College, Chicago, in the winter of 1869-70; commenced prac- ticing in Kosciusko County, Ind .; took second course of lectures in the winter of 1871-72, at same college, and then graduated at Louisville College of Medicine in the winter of 1873-74. After graduating, he did not engage in active practice until the fall of 1875, when he began at Rose Hill, Mahaska Co., Iowa, and re- mained there until the spring of 1879. He then moved to Bedford, Taylor Co., Iowa, and practiced there until coming to Council Bluffs. The Doctor was married in Mahaska County, Iowa, June 29, 1876, to Rosamond B. Clayworth, of that county. Is of English descent.
B. T. CONNOR, marble, Council Bluffs, came to Council Bluffs in 1878, from Burling-
ton. He was born in Galena, Ill., in 1853. He learned his trade in Galena Ill., and thence moved to Burlington. He employs six men and does a yearly business of $15,000. He built his present building in 1879. His par- ents are still living at Galena, Ill .; they had a family of nine children.
GEORGE DOUGHTY, retired, Council Bluffs, has been a resident of Council Bluff's since the fall of 1853, except a short time spent in the mountains of Colorado, during the sum- mers of 1860-61. He was born March 4, 1817, in Dutchess County, N. Y. His people were among the early settlers of the New England States, The name of Doughty, so far as can be traced, is of Scotch origin. When ten years of age, Mr. Doughty's parents moved from Dutchess County to Cayuga County. N. Y., where the early part of his life was spent, and his education received. In 1839, he left home, and, for several years, was traveling over the West; his last place of resi- dence before coming to Council Bluffs was Atchison, Mo. In 1853, he engaged in the mercantile business in Council Bluffs. and con- tinued the same until June, 1858. In the spring of 1859, he was elected Mayor of the city for one year. In 1860 and 1861, he spent a part of the time in Colorado, mining and prospect- ing; he was out of active business until 1866, when he opened a furniture house, which he conducted until 1870, sinee which time he has not been engaged in the mercantile business. In 1871, he was elected by the Democratic party to the office of Sheriff of Pottawattamie County by a majority of eighty votes, though the votes of the county were 300 Republican. In 1873. he was re-elected this time, by a majority of 380. At the expiration of his second term of office, he withdrew from public life, and has sinee been leading the quiet life of a retired citizen. He is a member of the I. O. O. F., and has filled the chair of Noble Grand of his lodge for three terms. He is also a member of the A., F. & A. M., and has acted as W. M. in his
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lodge during the absence of that officer. He was one of the builders of the first three-story brick building ever erected in the city; this was the corner now occupied by the savings bank, and was known as the Empire Block.
FRED DAVIS, livery, Council Bluffs, was born in Peoria in 1852. His parents removed to St. Joseph, Mo., in 1859; thence to Oska- loosa in 1862. and, in 1863, came to Council Bluffs. His father died in Council Bluffs in 1864; his mother is still living; they had two children-Fred and Mrs. J. W. Bell, of Chicago. The firm of Wheeler & Davis began the livery business in Council Bluffs in May, 1882. Their barn was built by Stambach, and is known as the Ogden Livery. They keep ten horses in their livery, and board about twenty more.
D. K. DONNELLY, engineer, Union Pacific Water Works, Council Bluffs, is a native of De- troit, Mich .; born in 1845. He enlisted in Aun Arbor, Mich., in the Second Michigan Cavalry, and, during the late war, served three years and nine months. After the war, he went to Cali- fornia, where he remained a number of years, engaged as engineer in crushing and smelting works. In 1871, he came to . Council Bluffs, and engaged as engineer of the Union Pacific Water Works till 1872, when he went to St. Joseph, but in 1875, returned to Council Bluffs, and has since held his present position there. Ilis duty consists in running the engine four hours in the twenty-four. June 26. 1872, he married Miss Anna Butler, of Nodaway, Mo., and by this union they have been blessed with two children-Cora, aged nine, and Ethel. aged three years.
D. Dickey, who was born in Van Buren County, Iowa, in 1855. They have met with good suc- cess in business, their annual sales amounting to $30,000. Mr. Dickey has a dwelling house on Fourth avenue, a house and lot on Main street, and four lots in Casady's Addition.
J. D. EDMUNDSON, Council Bluffs. One of the busiest citizens of Council Bluffs is James D. Edmundson, who arrived here in 1856, and formed a partnership with D. C. Bloomer in the real estate and insurance bus- iness. The office of the firm, until the begin- ning of 1869, was in the frame building one door west of the block occupied by Metcalf Brothers, on Broadway. At that date, Mr. Edmundson and Mr. Bloomer dissolved partner- ship, Mr. Edmundson going into business on his own account, in real estate, having his office to the present time on the west side of Main street, between First avenue, and Wil- low avenue. The large amount of lands owned by the Chicago, Roek Island & Pacific Railroad Company passed through his hands as the agent for their sale, in Pottawattamie County, and in addition to that he had a long list of prairie lands, owned and for sale by private parties. Seeing the absolute necessity for an organization in the nature of a loan and building association, at his instance and through his powerful efforts, such an institu- tion was incorporated in 1877, and put in oper- ation. He was made a director of the new corporation, and has acted as Secretary ever since. No movement of any kind inaugurated in the city, has ever had more beneficial results in aiding persons of moderate and limited means to acquire homes for themselves : and the success of the enterprise is in great part due to the energy instilled into it, and the care exercised over its operations, by Mr. Edmund- son. When the Citizens' Bank of Council Bluff's was organized and put into operation, on July 1, 1882, the directory unanimously chose Mr.
J. DICKEY, grocer, Council Bluffs, was born in Lawrence, Ohio, in 1827, and, in 1839, came to Van Buren County, Iowa. He was a member of the State Militia. In 1869, Mr. Dickey came to Council Bluffs and opened a grocery store in his present building, which was erected that year. He was married in 1849. Mr. Dickey is in partnership with his son, A. | Edmundson as its President, and he holds that
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BIOGRAPHICAL.
position now. He was married to Miss Hart, the only daughter of Dr. H. W. Hart, of Conn- cil Bluffs. Mr. Edmundson, in addition to har- ing an aptitude for business, is a gentleman of general culture, and has a passion for general literature and science, and is one of the most liberal patrons either has in the city. No man is more highly regarded for his integrity and urbanity than he, and the esteem held for him is universal.
L. C. EMPKIE, hardware, Council Bluffs, came to Council Bluffs in the spring of 1867, and engaged as hook-keeper for T. J. Harford & Bro., with whom he remained till 1871, when he started in the hardware business for himself, and shortly afterward the firm of L. C. Empkie & Co., under which name he carried on busi- ness until 1874, when W. H. McDoel was admitted as a partner, and, under the firm name of Empkie & McDoel, the business was continued until January, 1882. At that time, a company was formed, called the Empkie Hardware Company, of which Mr. Empkie was the head, his associates in the business being George F. Wright and J. T. Hart. Since 1872, he has been doing both retail and wholesale business, having on the road three traveling men, and seven men besides himself in the house. When he began business in 1872, he had a stock of $16,000, his annual sales being then about $50,000. The business has steadily increased, until now they have about $100,000 stock, and their annual sales amount to about $375,000. Mr. Empkie was born near Berlin, Prussia, in 1845 ; was educated in the public schools there, and. in 1856, came to America with his parents, locating in Huron County, · Mich. He engaged as salesman in a general store for a lumber company, having charge also of the shipping for the company for two or three years. He served during the year 1864 in the Twenty-ninth Michigan Volunteer Infantry, and, on leaving the army, again engaged with his former employers-the Inm-
ber firm of Ayres, Leonard & Wiswall-and continued with that firm until 1866. During the last two years he was with that firm he had charge of all shipping of the company. In 1866, he went to the Poughkeepsie (N. Y.) Commercial College, from which he graduated in the spring of 1867, then came directly to Council Bluffs, where he has remained ever since. He was married, in 1870, to Miss Van Pelt. of Council Bluffs. During the summer of 1882, the Empkie Hardware Company erected the first four-story business house built in Council Bluff's, the building which is 100 feet deep by 50 feet in width. cost about $25.000.
JOEL EATON, Secretary and part proprie- tor of Council Bluffs Gas Company, Council Bluffs, was born near Boston, Mass., and received his education there. He is of English descent, his ancestors coming to America in 1630. In the spring of 1870, franchise was granted, and the construction of gas works for the city of Council Bluffs was immediately begun. Soon after this, however, articles of incorporation were filed with the Secretary of State organizing a stock company with a capi- tal of $150,000. The company has at present one main building 112 feet in length, where the gas is manufactured from best Pennsylvania coal, and one gasometer with a capacity of 60,000 cubic feet. Five men are employed in the manufacture of the gas. The company's office is located at 28 Pearl street, where they have a plumbing and gas-fitting establishment. In this latter department four men are em- ployed, including the book-keeper and plumbers. The company has a contract with the city for furnishing the gas and lighting the street lamps of the city. Two lamp-lighters are employed by the company, and sometimes as high as twenty-five men are employed in laying mains, etc. Mr. Eaton is at present secretary of this company, and part proprietor of the same.
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JOHN EPENETER, Council Bluffs, was born in Germany in 1836, and learned his trade in his native country. In 1852, he came to America, and, in 1859, to Council Bluffs. At Omaha, Neb., in 1861, he married Henrietta Rudovsky, and by this union they have been blessed with nine children, all of whom, save one, were born in Council Bluffs. Mr. Epeneter began business in Council Bluffs in 1863, and was burned out in 1866, losing all he had. He rebuilt, however, and is now doing a flourishing business in stoves, tinware, and the manufacture of galvanized iron cornices. He employs four- teen men, his business having assumed large proportions and extended far into Iowa and Nebraska. He was the founder of the first Turner's Association organized in Council Bluffs in 1864, and is also one of the charter members of the German Odd Fellows Lodge of Council Bluffs. He was a member of the City Council in 1878, and held the offices of Assessor and Ganger in Council Bluffs for six years.
LEONARD EVERETT, attorney, Council Bluffs, was born in Gainesville, Ala., in 1853 ; removed to Council Bluffs with his parents in 1855, where he has lived ever since. He was educated at and graduated from Cornell Uni- versity, N. Y., in 1873 ; commenced studying law, soon after graduating, with Col. D. B. Dailey, and was admitted to practice in 1876. He is now practicing law at Nos. 17 and 18 Pearl street. He is of English descent.
WILLIAM G. EMONDS, physician, Conn- cil Bluffs, was born in Cologne, Westphalia, Germany, and remained there until seven years of age; then came to this country with his sister, and located in Iowa City. He has remained there all the time since, with the ex- ception of what time he spent in going to school and traveling abroad. He attended Salesianum College, Milwaukee, Wis., one year, in 1867, after which, on account of ill health, he went to Cape Girardeau, Mo., and remained
there one year. He then went to Fond du Lac, Wis .; attended college there some time, after which he went to Notre Dame University, near South Bend, Ind .; remained there one year, and then returned to Iowa City, and attended the Iowa State University there two years. He then went again to Notre Dame, Ind .; remained there eight months, when sickness brought him back to Iowa City again. During his conva- lescence in Iowa, he attended St. Joseph In- stitute at Iowa City remaining there two years; after that he went into the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad office, as telegraph operator and assistant United States Express agent one year. He then took the office at Mitchellville, Iowa, and remained there seven months, after which he was promoted to clerk- ship in W. H. Quick's Superintendent's office: Des Moines; remained there more than one year, then returned to Iowa City again, and took up the higher branches at St. Joseph's Institute. and prepared himself for the Homo- opathic Department of the Medical Depart- ment of Iowa State University, Prof. Cow- perthwaite being his preceptor; he remained in this office as clinical clerk for three years, graduating at the end of that time. He com- menced practicing at Bellevue, Iowa, and Du- buque, and remained there two years, after which he went direct to the place of his birth, and from there to Vienna, Austria, attending and practicing in the General World's Hospi- tal, or Alleg. Krankenhaus, where he remained with the king of all surgeons, Prof. Billroth assisting him in the hospital one and a half years. He then went to Prague, Bohemia, and assisted in the obstetrical ward of Prof. Bris- ky, after which he went to Berlin, attending the Prof. Langendeck Hospital one year, after which he went to Paris, where he remained a short time, visiting different hospitals; thencc he went to London, England, practicing at Guy's street, Bartholomew's and St. Thomas' one year. Leaving London, he traveled
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through England and Scotland; remained at remained till the summer of 1882, when he Edinburgh a short time, thence went to Ire- land, and from there to America, on June 27, 1882. lle is now permanently located in Coun- cil Bluffs, with the intention of going to Omaha in course of one year to make that his head- quarters.
HENRY EISEMAN & CO., clothing, Conn- cil Bluffs. Simon and Heury Eiseman, the members of this firm, are natives of Germany. They emigrated to the United States and came direct to Council Bluffs in 1861, where they opened a wholesale and retail clothing estab- lishment. They made but a small beginning, but their push, energy and close attention to business soon increased their trade, and to-day they can show larger sales than any other house in Iowa. They carry an average stock of $100,000, and their annual sales are nearly a quarter of a million; they employ from twelve to fifteen men in their establishment. Mr. Simon Eiseman was married in Council Bluffs in 1872.
opened up his fine merchant tailoring estab- lishment at 332 Broadway. He carries one of the finest and newest stocks in his line in the city, and is meeting with an extensive patron- age. He employs eighteen men constantly and pays the highest price for skilled labor. In 1872, he married Miss Mary J. Buckley, of Beloit, Wis., and by this union they have had six children.
E. R. FONDA, locomotive engineer, Council Binff's, was born in Utica, N. Y., in 1844. In 1866, he went to Quincy, Ill., and in 1875 came to Council Bluffs and engaged as a locomotive engineer at the Union Pacific Transfer Yards. le runs transfer switch engine No. 217, one of the most powerful engines that runs into Coun- cil Bluffs. In Oberlin, Ohio, in 1873 he mar- ried Marian B. Berry, of that place, and they have on child-Lena, aged eight years. Mrs. Fonda was educated in New York. Mr. Fonda was an Alderman of the Fourth Ward in 1881; was a member of the Council when the charter was changed, and when Union avenne work was commenced. He is a Knight Templar, an Odd Fellow, a member of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers, and President of Gar- field Lodge, No. 126, Lowa Legion of Honor. His parents are residing at Mendota, Ill.
JAMES FRAINEY, merchant tailor, Coun- cil Bluffs, was born in Connaught, Ireland, in 1837, where he remained until he was seven years of age, when he removed with his parents to Lancashire, England. He served his apprenticeship to the tailor's trade in England, and in 1852 came to this coun- try and located in New York City. He W. H. FOSTER, gardener and florist, Coun- cil Bluffs, was born and raised in Carter Coun- ty, Tenn. His father is still living in Indiana, at the age of seventy-five. Our subject is a brick-layer by trade. He left Tennessee in 1857, and worked at his trade in different cities until 1867, when he came to Council Bluff's and started a green-house. He has now the most extensive grounds and appointments west of Chicago, having twenty acres in garden and flowers, and 20,000 square feet of glass roof. He employs from six to twenty men, and is this year making extensive improvements. He worked at his trade in that city for two years, then moved to Chicago; after working there two years, moved to St. Louis, Mo .; and, after working there a year, returned to New York City. He pursued his trade in that city for a year, then in Charleston, S. C., for a year, then went to Nashville, Tenn., where he began as a cutter and remained there four years. From Nashville he went to St. Louis, Mo., re- mained there four or five years then came to Omaha, opened up a shop there for himself, and in 1870 came to Council Bluffs. Here he ran a shop a short time then engaged as a cut- | was married in Indiana in 1854, and has one ter with Oberfelder & Newman. with whom he
child-a boy of fifteen years.
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·
A. D. FOSTER, druggist, Council Bluffs, was born in Jefierson County, N. Y., in Sep- tember, 1840, and after living there five years removed with his parents to Waukesha. Wis., where he lived about fifteen years. At the breaking out of the late war, Mr. Foster joined Company G, Twenty-eighth Wisconsin, as pri- vate, and after serving over three years, left the service as First Lieutenant. After the war, he spent about two years in the mountains, then moved to Milwaukee, Wis., where he engaged in the drug business for three years. In 1870, he came to Council Bluffs, and immediately en- gaged in the drug business, in company with Alfred Hammer. They carried on business to- gether for two years, when Mr. Foster bought out Mr. Hammer's interest in the business, and continued for three years, when the present firm of A. D. Foster & Bro. was formed, and busi- ness has since been carried on under that name. When they first began business, they did a wholesale trade, but since 1878 have carried on a jobbing business, which has steadily increased as has also their retail trade. They are one of the most substantial drug firms in the city.
JOHN JAY FRAINEY, attorney, Coun- cil Bluffs, was born in Harrison County, Ky., January 13, 1856, and lived there until 1862, when he went to New York City, where he was educated, also attending the Brooklyn common schools. In 1870, he commeneed clerking for Messrs. Ottinger & Bro., wholesale cotton and tobacco brokers, New York. He came West in 1872, to Washington, Ind., and commenced reading law with Judge James W. Ogden, of that place, and in the fall of 1877 entered the law class of Bloomington, Ind., University, from which he graduated in the spring of 1878, having conferred on him the degree of LL. B. He then began the practice of law at Washing- ton, Ind., where he remained one year, then went to St. Louis, where he remained three months. From St. Louis he went to Chicago; staid there three months, and in the spring of
1880, came to Council Bluffs, where he began practice, and in the fall of 1880 was elected Jus- tice of the Peace on the Democratic ticket, the Republican majority of the city being 160; he received a majority of eighteen, and still holds that office. He is of Irish deseent.
G. H. FERGUSON, hotel, Council Bluffs, is a native of Vermont, born in 1853, and is a son of G. W. Ferguson. In 1864, he came to Dubuque, Iowa, where he lived until 1870, when he moved to Floyd County, Iowa. He remained there one year, then moved to Osage, Iowa, where he stayed four years, running the Dunton House; then removed to Waterloo, Iowa, where he ran an omnibus and transfer line for two years. He began hotel business in 1876, at the Pacific House, under the firm name of Ferguson & Son. It is the leading hotel of Council Bluff's, and was built thirty years ago. The hotel eon- tains about seventy fine rooms, and about thirty servants are employed in the house. The ar- rivals average seventy per day, and there are, besides, many regular boarders at the hotel. A fine bar and billiard hall in connection with the house is conducted by N. L. Hall, while the barber shop is run by Fritz Bernhardie, who employs two assistants. September 10, 1878, Mr. Ferguson married Miss Anna B. Peregoy, of Baltimore, sister of J. W. Peregoy, of the well-known firm of Peregoy & Moore.
F. M. GAULT, railroad agent, Council Bluffs, was born in Bow, Merrimack Co., N. H., July 14, 1848. He lived at home until he reached the age of twenty, at which time he went to Rockford, Ill., as baggage man, in the employ of the Chicago & North-Western Railroad. He remained in that capacity a short time, and was promoted to a clerkship in the freight office at the same point; shortly afterward, he rose to be cashier of the same office, which he held till the spring of 1874, when he engaged in other business. In 1876, he went to Chicago, and en- gaged as a book-keeper in a commission house, remaining at this occupation until he came to
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Council Bluff's. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity. Is a stock-holder in the Council Bluffs Insurance Company, and is Vice Presi- dent of the Mutual Benefit Association of Coun- cil Bluffs. He received his education at Blanch- ard Academy, Pembroke, N. H .; he is of Scotch-Irish descent; he came to Council Bluffs in August, 1880, as the local freight agent at this point of the Wabash, St. Louis & Pacific Railroad; he remained in this capacity till April 1, 1882, when he received his promotion to the general ageney of the same road.
C. H. GILMORE, news and notions, Council Bluffs, started in Council Bluffs only a short time ago in his present news and notion busi- ness. He was born in New Hampshire in 1849. son of W. H. Gilmore, who is still living in New Hampshire, on a farm, part of which is a part of the old Franklin Pierce place. Until 1866, Mr. Gilmore lived on the farm and attended school, going to Philip's Academy at Frances- town, N. H., but in 1866, he ran away from home and enlisted in the regular army, in the Second United States Infantry, most of the three years which he served being spent at Louisville, Ky., Gen. Thomas' headquarters. In 1869. the army consolidated, and the regiment was sent into Alabama, Mr. Gilmore's company being sent to Guntersville, Ala., where they were discharged. S. W. Crawford was their regimental com- mander. After being discharged, Mr. Gilmore re-enlisted at Louisville, Ky., and was sent to Omaha, but on account of ill health, was dis- charged after serving one year of the second enlistment. Since that time, he has made Pot- tawattamie County his home, teaching school for the first two years in the eastern part of the county. He then came to Council Bluffs, and has since remained here. In the spring of 1877, he went into the Sheriff's office, and has been in the court house ever since, with the ex- ception of two years, when he was City Consta- ble. He is at present Assistant Recorder. Al- though Mr. Gilmore has just started in busi- ,
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