USA > Iowa > Pottawattamie County > History of Pottawattamie County, Iowa, from the earliest historic times to 1907, Vol. I > Part 38
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tice, and has a broad and comprehensive knowledge of the science of medicine and its application to the needs of suffering humanity. He is now serving as health officer of Council Bluffs and while a resident of Escondido, California, filled the office of alderman. In religious faith he is a Congregationalist and is popular both in professional and social circles, having a host of warm friends in his adopted city.
WILLIAM H. TAYLOR.
The history of the west is largely familiar to William H. Taylor, whose experiences have connected him with the great section of the country lying on this side of the Mississippi river. Although born in Clark county, Illinois, on the 5th of March, 1842, he was only a year old when in the spring of 1843 the parents removed with their family to Wapello county, Iowa, settling five miles south of Eddyville. The paternal grandfather, Brazilla. Taylor, served in the war of 1812 under Andrew Jackson and participated in the battle of New Orleans. He was one of four brothers who took part in that fight and - one of the number died of yellow fever. They also fought the Creek Indians under the command of Jackson.
Pleasant Taylor, father of our subject, was born in Smith county, Ten- nessee, and from that state went to Indiana, where at the age of nineteen years he was married to Miss Jane Allison, a native of Pennsylvania, who accompanied her parents to Indiana in her girlhood days. Mr. and Mrs. Taylor lived for some time in Montgomery county, Indiana, afterward in Barry county, Missouri, and subsequently became residents of Clark county, Illinois, whence in 1843 they removed to Wapello county, Iowa. There they resided for a number of years, when they started for California, but the smallpox was so prevalent that they did not continue their journey beyond Pottawattamie county and settled eight miles south of the present home of our subject in Silver Creek township. He was the first gentleman to locate among the Mormons and bought a claim of D. Jacobs for four hundred and fifty dollars. This was before the first United States surveys had been made, but a colony of Mormons had located in this district and had done something toward developing the land. Upon the claim which he secured Mr. Taylor resided until February, 1855, when he removed to Washington township, settling at what is now Taylor's Station, the postoffice of Taylor being named in honor of the family. Mr. Taylor for several years kept the stage station on the line between Des Moines and Council Bluffs, this line being owned by the Western Stage Company, who were owners of various stage lines in the middle west and well known at that day. He also developed his farm, trans- forming the raw prairie into richly cultivated fields. His first wife died in 1868. There were five children of that marriage: James 1., who died in Washington township at the age of sixty-two years; Mrs. Mary A. Gorton, living in Oklahoma; Thomas, who died at the age of four years; Pleasant M., who died at the age of fifteen years; and William H., of this review.
MR. AND MRS. W. II. TAYLOR.
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After the death of his first wife the father married Sidney A. Webb, of Silver Creek township.
William H. Taylor, whose name introduces this record, accompanied his parents on their varions removals and was reared amid the wild scenes and environments of pioneer life, sharing with the family in the hardships and privations incident to the establishment of a home upon the frontier. Ile can well remember the time when the family dwelling was a stage station and various travelers of the early days were there entertained. In the spring of 1864 Mr. Taylor made a trip with his father to that part of Montana which was then included in Idaho. They traveled across the country with ox-teams to Virginia City and worked in the mines in that locality. The return trip was made in the fall of 1865, proceeding down the Missouri river by steamboat. They came in contact with about two thousand Indians at Fort Rice, where they had met to make a treaty with the whites. His experi- ences in the northwest left upon the mind of Mr. Taylor many ineffaceable impressions. During the absence of himself and father the family remained in this county.
Following his return to Iowa Mr. Taylor was married on the 28th of September, 1865, to Miss Mary E. Bratton, who was born near Winchester, Ohio, in 1845. and came to Iowa in 1855 with her parents, John and Rebecca (Harris) Bratton, who located in Grove township, Pottawattamie county. The father was born in Pennsylvania and the mother in Tuscarawas county, Ohio, and after removing to Iowa they continued their residence in this county until called to their final rest. Mr. Bratton was a carpenter by trade and followed that pursuit the greater part of his life. However, he made extensive and judicious investments in real estate, owning at one time nearly one thousand acres of land. He died February 7, 1895, at the age of eighty years, one month and thirteen days, while his wife passed away November 15, 1895, in her seventy-seventh year. They were the parents of five children : George W., deceased; Mrs. Martha L. Taylor. of Silver City, whose husband is a cousin of William H. Taylor: Mrs. Mary E. Taylor; James II., who died at the age of four years; and John A., who died when a year and a half old. Mrs. William H. Taylor's maternal grandfather was George W. Harris, one of the first settlers of Tuscarawas county, Ohio, going there from Virginia when a young man. Every evidence of pioneer life was to be found there. The Indians were still numerous and his father-in-law, Mr. Evans, was shot through the wrist by one of the red men but was reseued by men from the fort. John Bratton, the father of Mrs. Taylor, became a prominent and influ- ential citizen of western Iowa. He served as county judge here for two terms, beginning in 1865, and left the impress of his individuality upon the judicial history of the state. In politics he was a stalwart republican but when a can- didate for county judge was also endorsed by the democrats-such was his personal popularity and the confidence reposed in him by his fellow towns- men. We was a minister of the Protestant Methodist church and was inter- ested in all that tended to uplift humanity and worked for the good of mankind.
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After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Taylor located upon the farm where his father first settled, living there until 1869, when they came to their present farm on section 3, Silver Creek township. This comprises one hundred and thirty-five acres of land which is rich and arable, returning good crops annually. Mrs. Taylor also owns two hundred and thirty-eight acres adjoining the home farm on the west and Mr. Taylor has fifty-five acres in Washington, while his wife has one hundred and thirty-one acres there. Mr. Taylor has made all of the improvements upon his place and his labors have converted it from a wild and uncultivated tract of land into one of rich fertility and productive- ness. He cultivates the cereals best adapted to soil and climate and also buys, raises and feeds stock. His business interests are carefully managed and he has gained recognition as one of the substantial and representative agricul- turists of the community.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Taylor have been born three children : George P., who is living in Washington township, is married and has two living children, while one child has passed away; Rebecca J. is the wife of F. M. Smith, of Silver Creek township, and they have four children living, while two are deceased; Emma L. is the wife of Erasmus L. Long, of Silver Creek township, and they have five children.
Mr. Taylor and his family are prominent and well known in this part of the state. No history could be complete without mention of his record, for from pioneer times down to the present he has been closely associated with the growth and development of Iowa. He is, moreover, familiar with the history of the northwest in its early mining days and knew what it was to travel across the plains where there was no habitation to be met with for mile after mile. In improving the rich natural resources of this part of the county hic has gained substantial financial recognition and well deserves mention as an carly settler.
PETER LANGER.
Peter Langer is accounted one of the worthy and leading representa- tives of agricultural interests and of business life in Minden. He owns about four hundred acres of valuable land near the town, from which he gains a good annual income. In 1878 he became a resident of the county and in the spring of 1879 took up his abode in Minden township. Like many of the residents of this locality he is of German birth, the place of his nativity being Schleswig, Germany, and the date January 12, 1853. He spent the first thirteen years of his life in his native country and then emi- grated with his parents to the United States in 1867, arriving at St. Paul, Minnesota, on the 1st of May. Three months later he went to Davenport, Iowa. In his youth he worked at farm labor for several years and later went south to Mississippi and Louisiana, where he was employed on cotton planta- tions for four years. He then returned to Davenport and in that locality he rented land which he cultivated for four years.
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In 1878 Mr. Langer came to Pottawattamie county and here made his first purchase, buying three hundred and twenty acres, constituting his present farm. In the fall of 1878 he built a house and barn, took up his abode upon the place and with characteristic energy began to cultivate and improve it. Later he bought more land from time to time and he now owns four hun- dred acres in the home place. In all of his work he has been practical, fol- lowing systematic methods that have produced good results. In the tilling of the soil he has been careful to keep his fields productive through the rotation of crops and the judicious use of fertilizers. IIe now owns about seven hundred acres in Minden township, all well improved land, making him one of the extensive property holders in this locality. He was one of the promoters, stockholders and organizers of the Farmers Savings Bank, which was established in 1903, and at that time he was chosen president. It is now a well known and substantial institution. Mr. Langer is widely recognized as one of the foremost, progressive and public-spirited men of his part of the county. In 1904 he was one of the promoters and organizers of a company which built and put in operation a canning factory for can- ning sweet corn, which has since been carried on successfully and is a valued addition to the business enterprises of the community, furnishing an excel- lent market to those who raise sweet corn and also giving employment to a large number of workmen and at the same time bringing good financial return to the stockholders. Recently Mr. Langer has sold his interest in the factory, of which he was a director and vice president. He has regarded real estate as the safest of all investments and has bought and sold property until his possessions at the present time include one thousand acres in South Dakota and six hundred and forty acres in Texas.
In 1876, at Davenport, Mr. Langer was married to Miss Vilena Bloomer, a native of Switzerland, and unto them have been born ten children, six sous and four daughters: John, a resident farmer of Pleasant township; Peter, who is cashier in the Farmers Savings Bank at Minden; Christ; Jake; William; Walter; Rachel, the wife of Charles Stuhr, of Minden; Christina, the wife of Gustav Bamesberger, a farmer of Minden township; Anna and Ella, at home. The family are widely and favorably known in this part of the county and the members of the household occupy an enviable position in social circles in which they move.
Mr. Langer is a republican, interested in the political questions and issues of the day and giving loyal support to the party. He was elected and served for a number of years as township trustee, has also been presi- dent of the school board and has frequently been a delegate to county con- ventions. He was reared in the faith of the Lutheran church and attends its services. Fraternally he is an Odd Fellow and became a charter member in Minden lodge, in which he has served as vice grand. He is also con- nected with the Woodmen of the World and has served as an officer in the local lodge of that order. He is widely recognized as one of the substantial and progressive men of Pottawattamie county, has assisted in its material development and has been closely associated with its prosperity and with its upbuilding. He has the confidence and esteem of all with whom he has
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come in contact and is widely recognized as a man of excellent business ability, whose industry and enterprise are demonstrated in the splendid suc- cess which has crowned his efforts. He deserves much credit for the position to which he has attained as a business man and his life record proves that success and an honored name can be won simultaneously.
FRED P. SHUTTLEWORTH.
A farm hand, a renter and now a prosperous land owner-such has been the business career of Fred P. Shuttleworth, whose realty interests embrace four hundred and forty acres of valuable land in Valley township and who is also exten-ively and successfully engaged in raising and feeding cattle. His advancement has been made by successive steps-the improvement of each opportunity that ha- come to him and the careful utilization of the talents with which nature endowed him.
A native of Grant county. Wisconsin, he was born August 25, 1866, a son of Craven and Nancy ( Kaley) Shuttleworth. His parents were natives of Yorkshire. England, and after their marriage took passage on a sailing vessel which, after a voyage of six weeks, reached American shores. They settled in Madison, Wisconsin, and the father, who was a cabinet-maker by trade, worked on the state capitol. then being erected. After two years there passed be removed to Crawford county, Wisconsin, and subsequently took up his abode in Fennimore, that state, where he turned his attention to merchandising. in which he was very successful. He was also one of the promoter- of the railroad built from Woodman to Madison and afterward to Lancaster, he being the only man of his locality who advocated and worked for the road, acting as treasurer until it was sold to the Northwestern Rail- road Company. putting forth earnest effort for eight years before he saw his hopes realized. He was associated with Pat Flynn in the building of the line and having faith in the project he gave extensive credit at his store to the construction gangs and thus in various ways he was the dominant factor in the building of the road. At first a narrow gauge line was con- structed but later it was replaced by the standard gauge and the road was sold to the Northwestern system. In politics Mr. Shuttleworth was a repub- lican. influential in the council- of his party and for years he held one or another office in the county. Ile died at Madison, Wisconsin, in February, 1904. and thus closed a life of great activity and usefulness. In his family . were eight children: Job C .. a railroad man living at Centralia, Illinois; Ella, the wife of D. B. Guthrie, of Osceola county, Iowa; Farrand K., an attorney of Madison, Wisconsin; William D .. a lumber and grain merchant at Ocheyedan, Iowa: Fred P .; Craven, engaged in the commission business in Omaha, Nebraska; Ine D., an attorney of Avoca; and May, who is living with her sister in Sibley, Towa.
Removing with his parents to Fennimore, Wisconsin, Fred P. Shuttle- worth completed his education in the high school there. In 1886 he came to
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Iowa, settling in Pottawattamie county, where for two years he worked as a farm hand by the month. He rented eighty acres of land in ISSS and later purchased the tract, his ownership thereof proving an added stimulus for renewed effort and labor. As he has prospered he has added to his posses- sions from time to time, purchasing one hundred and sixty acres in 1890. It was unbroken prairie on which he built and located. In 1893 he bought an adjoining tract of one hundred and sixty acres and in 1904 purchased one liundred and twenty acres on section 25. Valley township. Today he is the owner of four hundred and forty acres of land and is accounted one of the wealthy agriculturists of his adopted county. He has made many improvements on his property, has engaged in the raising of shorthorn cattle. and for years has been extensively engaged in feeding of cattle and hogs. His business interests have constantly grown in volume and impor- tance and his labors, intelligently directed, have brought to him the very desirable measure of success which he is now enjoying.
On February 26, 1890, Mr. Shuttleworth was united in marriage to Miss Alice Frank, a daughter of Jolm A. Frank, then of Lincoln township, Pot- tawattamie county, but now of Atlantic, lowa. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Shuttle- worth have been born four children: Vernis K., born May 19, 1891; Lloyd D., born July 9, 1893; Parnell, born January 13, 1895; and Jessie May, born July 2, 1899. The parents are widely and favorably known and are much esteemed by many friends. Mr. Shuttleworth exercises his right of franchise in support of the men and measures of the republican party and has served as township trustee and member of the school board. His interest in mat- ters of progressive citizenship is deep and sincere and Valley township numbers him among its worthy and prominent residents.
OWEN J. McMANUS.
The subject of this sketch was born in Edmeston, Otsego county, New York, August 29, 1871. He spent the first ten years of his life under the parental roof amid the beautiful rural scenes of his native county. Here he learned the lessons of industry and economy so well taught by his parents, who were pioneers of central New York. His parents had one paramount object in view-the education of their children-a family consisting of four boys, of which this is a sketch of the life of the youngest. So whatever sacri- fices were necessary, they were made in summer, and winter found the boys enrolled in school. While all were compelled. by force of circumstances, to work on the farm in the summer time. each pursued his studies with equal diligence in the district school during the winter months.
At the early age of ten our subject left home to work by the month on a farm and continued to do so for a period of ten years. However, at the age of fourteen. he left the Empire state and settled in Blackhawk county. Iowa. After working on the farm during the summer of 1886 he attended the school in College distriet in Eagle township. Here he pursued his
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studies with avidity. After working on the farm the following summer until September he entered Leander Clark (then Western) College, at Toledo, Iowa. Being able to stay during only the fall and winter terms, the spring of 1888 found him again on the farm, where he continued until the autumn, when he resumed his studies at Western College. At Christmas time, having passed the examination for a license to teach, he began his career as a teacher at Eagle Center, Blackhawk county, Iowa. He taught in several schools of Blackhawk county, and finally succeeded to the princi- palship of the Hudson public schools, which position he resigned to enter the Normal School at Cedar Falls in the autumn of 1892. After two years of study here he was graduated from the third year Latin course, receiving the degree of Bachelor of Didactics. In the fall of 1894 he began his duties as principal of the Dows publio schools, resigning at the close of the year to enter again upon his studies at the State Normal School. In June, 1896, he was graduated from the fourth year Latin course, receiving the degree of Master of Didactics. During his student life at Western College and at the Normal he took an active part in the social, literary and religious life of the school.
In the autumn of 1896, he began his duties as principal of the Neola public schools, a position he filled with satisfaction for a period of four and one-half years, resigning January 1, 1900, to enter upon his duties as county superintendent of schools of Pottawattamie county-a position to which he had been elected at the preceding election.
On July 25. 1900, he was married to Florence A. Baker, the youngest daughter of Frederick J. Baker, then a farmer living in Pottawattamie county, but for more than a quarter of a century a wool broker for A. T. Stewart. the predecessor of John Wanamaker, of New York city. Miss Baker had been for five years a very successful teacher in the schools of Iowa, since 1895, the year in which she was graduated from the Iowa State College, receiving the degree of Bachelor of Science. As a result of this union four children have been born: Harold, Constance. Faith and Truth, three of whom are now living, Harold having died in infancy.
Mr. and Mrs. McManus make no effort to enter into the social life of the community, but their home. which is a model home, is open at all times to their friends, whom they number as far as their acquaintance extends.
As county superintendent of schools of Pottawattamie county, Mr. Mc- Manns was never satisfied with anything but the best for teachers and pupils. The schools under his supervision made great advancement. New buildings were erected, school sites were beautified, and the school equipment was im-
proved. until the schools of Pottawattamie county were second to none in the state. In all of his work he was greatly aided by Mrs. MeManus, who was able and disposed to enter into the spirit of the work in a way that compelled success. Mr. MeManus held the office for seven years, having the honor of being thrice elected to the office to which no other republican has ever been re-elected in the history of the county.
For four years Mr. McManus was a member of the state board of educa- tional examiners, having been endorsed by over ninety per cent of the
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county superintendents and other educators of the state. While he thus served the state some important steps, looking toward a more rational method of examination and certification of teachers, were taken by that body, and Mr. McManus made a record there that received the approval of that exacting body of people-the teachers of the public schools of Iowa.
Having closed his work as county superintendent of schools January 1, 1907, Mr. McManus opened an office in Council Bluffs, where he could continue his law reading. He is now prosecuting his law studies under the direction of Judge Joseph R. Reed, one of the editors of this work and a distinguished member of the Iowa bar. While thus engaged in completing his law studies Mr. McManus is giving some attention to the real-estate business, in which he has been eminently successful. Mr. McManus in addition to his regular duties finds time for discussing public questions through the press and from the platform, and as a citizen stands for the best things in his community. He is active, energetic and public spirited. Fraternally he is a Royal Arch Mason; religiously he is a member of the Baptist church.
FRANK A. FOX.
The care and watchfulness necessary to the successful conduct of a business, the enterprise and energy which promote progress, are all numbered among the strong characteristics of Frank A. Fox, who is now filling the responsible position of manager for the George A. Hoagland lumber business at Council Bluffs. He was born in Constableville, New York, July 25, 1861, and when eight years of age accompanied his parents on their removal to Kirkwood, Illinois. Eighteen months later the family went to Corning, Iowa, where the father and mother are still living. The former, Dennis Fox, was born in Ireland, in 1830, and came to the United States with his parents in 1834. He was married in New York to Miss Elizabeth Claflin and unto them were born eight children, of whom five are yet living: George M .; Charles A .; Teresa M., the wife of Lawrence Casey; Frank A .; and Anna J., the wife of James L. Thompson.
Frank A. Fox, the fourth in order of birth, accompanying his parents on their various removals, remained at the family home in Corning until 1883 and during that time acquired a good public school education. In 1881 he left school and began work in a grocery store. In 1883 he removed to Council Bluffs, being then a young man of twenty-two years, and here he entered the employ of F. W. Spetman & Company, general merchants, with whom he continued until the 1st of January, 1887. Having in the meantime saved his earnings, he invested his capital in a grocery business, becoming the senior partner of the firm of Fox & Galvin. This was con- tinued until July, 1888, when Mr. Fox sold out and in 1889 entered the employ of George Bebbington, a lumber merchant, with whom he continued until May, 1890, when Mr. Bebbington sold out to George A. Hoagland, with whom Mr. Fox has since continued. He has gradually worked his
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