USA > Iowa > Pottawattamie County > History of Pottawattamie County, Iowa, from the earliest historic times to 1907, Vol. II > Part 10
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city to make her home, near her mother, brothers and sisters, and now resides at No. 22 Benton street. Mr. Craig gained many warm friends during the years of his residence here, because of his genial manner, friendly spirit and cordial disposition, which made him very popular. In his family he was a devoted husband and father, and in all life's relations was worthy the trust and friendship which he won so easily.
HON. HENRY C. BRANDES.
While much is said concerning the dishonesty and unreliability of those in high official positions-and indeed there are too many lapses from the path of rectitude-the great majority of men who are in office are true to the trust and have the best interests of the commonwealth and the country at heart. Abraham Lincoln said, "You can fool some of the people all of the time and all of the people some of the time, but you can't fool all of the people all of the time." In this lies the safety of our American govern- ment with its unlimited franchise, and election to office is the expression of public confidence in the individual. In the case of Henry C. Brandes it is a confidence well merited-so says public opinion-and as representa- tive in the state legislature he is proving an able member of the assembly.
Born in Brunswig, Germany, on the 14th of April, 1852, he is a son of Henry C. and Dorothy (Ketz) Brandes, in whose family were four chil- dren but he is the only one that has ever crossed the Atlantic to the new world. Both the father and mother spent their entire lives in Germany. Mr. Brandes was reared at home and obtained his education in the public schools of his native country and of Illinois after he came to the United States. In 1868, when sixteen years of age, he sought a home in the new world and took up his abode in La Salle county, Illinois, where he attained his majority. As opportunity offered he there attended school and not only acquired a knowledge of the branches of learning therein taught but also acquainted himself with the English language. For some years he worked as a farm hand and afterward engaged in farming on his own account on rented land.
In 1874 he made a trip to Pottawattamie county and with the money which he had saved from his earnings as the result of his industry and economy he purchased one hundred and sixty acres of farm land where he now resides. He did not remain in Iowa at that time, however, but returned to La Salle county, Illinois, where he continued to make his home until 1877. He then brought his family to Pottawattamie county, where he has since lived, covering a period of thirty years. In his business affairs he has prospered and has added to his original investment from time to time until his farm now comprises five hundred and twenty acres of rich and productive land. It is, moreover, one of the best improved farms in James township. The land has been divided into fields of convenient size by well kept fences and through the rotation of crops and the careful cultivation
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of the fields he annually gathers abundant harvests. The buildings, too, are substantial, modern and in good repair and the latest improved farm machinery is used to facilitate the work of the fields. In fact Mr. Brandes is regarded as one of the most progressive agriculturists of the county and his success is well deserved.
On the 11th of March, 1874, in La Salle county. Illinois, Mr. Brandes was married to Miss Magdalene Miller, a native of Livingston county, Illi- nois, and unto them have been born eight children: George and Walter, who are farming in James township; Celia, the wife of Arthur Simon, of York township; Ada, who is engaged in teaching school; Leslie, Hattie, Milton and Raymond, all at home.
Mr. Brandes' position is never an equivocal one upon questions of public interest. In politics he is a pronounced republican and a stalwart cham- pion of the party, his opinions carrying weight in its councils. He has served for years as a delegate to the state and county conventions and in 1896 he was elected county supervisor, in which position he served continuously by re-election until the 1st of January, 1906. He was elected to the state legislature in November, 1906. He is now ably serving as a member of the house and is recognized as a working member of the law-making body of the state. He belongs to Valley lodge, No. 439, I. O. O. F., of Hancock : to Council Bluffs lodge, B. P. O. E .; and to the Evangelical Association. His membership relations indicate much of his character, showing the principles which govern his actions and shape his life. He stands today as one of the distinguished residents of Pottawattamie county, a man of great strength of character and breadth of view, who has shaped his own destiny and has arisen to his present position by reason of individual merit.
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JOHN P. DAVIS.
John P. Davis, manager of the Pioneer Implement Company, of Coun- cil Bluffs, his intense and well directed energy bringing to the enterprise a large measure of success, is numbered among the native sons of Illinois, his birth having occurred in Fulton county, that state, in 1861. He is a son of Joseph S. Davis, a native of New Jersey, who at the time of the Civil war responded to the country's call for aid. He had in the meantime be- come a resident of Illinois and later enlisted in the regular United States Army and served for several years, doing his full duty as a soldier whose first interest is to his country. His loyalty to the old flag was never ques- tioned and he did valiant aid for the Union cause.
It was in the year 1870 that Joseph S. Davis removed from Illinois to Pottawattamie county, Iowa, settling on the farm where John P. Davis, then a youth of nine years, was reared. He attended the public schools and re- mained at home until 1879, when he came to Council Bluffs and secured a position as office boy with the Pioneer Implement Company. The story of his fidelity to duty, his trustworthiness and his capacity is shown in the
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fact that he is now manager and treasurer of the company. Successive pro- motions came to him in recognition of his merit and ability and he im- proved every opportunity to familiarize himself with the business and render his services of value to the house. He is also recognized as a factor in other successful enterprises of Council Bluffs, being a director in the Shugart- Ouren Sced Company. He has ever given undivided attention to his business affairs, making the welfare of the house his first interest and through his close application and unfaltering diligence has attained the prominent posi- tion in commercial circles which he now occupies.
Mr. Davis was married in Council Bluffs, in 1889, to Miss Maie Ober- holtzer, a daughter of II. H. Oberholtzer, now deceased. They have one daughter, June Davis. Mr. Davis is a republican in politics but has never taken an active part in political work nor desired office as a reward for party fealty. He is a director in the Council Bluffs Rowing Association, belongs to the Elks lodge and possesses a social, genial nature which gains for him friends wherever he goes.
DOMINICK GROSS.
Dominick Gross, who for years has been engaged in raising Hereford cattle and is classed with the leading farmers of Pleasant township, was born in Alsace, Germany, on the 21st of April, 1848. He dates his residence in Iowa from 1853. He was, therefore, but five years of age when brought to the new world by his parents, Dominick and Mary A. (Ledolph) Gross. In early life the father learned the trade of cabinet-making, and thinking to provide a better living for his family in the new world, he came to the United States in 1853, settling at Le Claire, Iowa, where he worked at his trade until 1866. In 1873 he came to Pottawattamie county, Iowa, and invested his capital in two hundred acres of land on section 25, Pleasant township, where he made his home up to the time of his death, which oc- curred in 1881, when he was fifty-nine years of age. His wife died in 1896, at the age of seventy-three years. The religious faith of the family was that of the Catholic church and the political views of the father accorded with the principles of the democratic platform. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Gross were born nine children, the surviving members of the family being Dom- inick; Joseph, a resident of Wisner, Nebraska; Julia, who is now Sister Mary Joseph, in St. Bernard's Hospital at Council Bluffs; and George, of Pleasant township.
Under the parental roof Dominick Gross spent his boyhood and youth and that he might be qualified for life's practical and responsible duties, his parents sent him to the public schools, where he acquired a fair English education. From early boyhood he worked in the fields and he began an independent career as a farmer by cultivating rented land in Scott county, Iowa, in 1871. After coming to Pottawattamie county he purchased one hundred and twenty acres of land on section 25, Pleasant township, and
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with the further stimulus of owning the property he resolutely set to work to bring it under a high state of cultivation and make it very productive. For years he has been largely engaged in raising Hereford cattle and has produced some of the finest specimens ever seen in western Iowa. Both his farming and stock-raising interests have brought him a good return, making his a leading agriculturist of his community.
In 1877 Mr. Gross was married to Miss Josephine Wiseman, of Pleasant township, a daughter of John Wiseman, who came to Pottawattamie county from Saxony, Germany. Nine children have been born unto Mr. and Mrs. Gross: Mary E., now the wife of John Doll, of Pleasant township; George A., whose home is in Harrison county, Iowa; Charles, deceased ; Josephine, the wife of Harry Sarvis, of Shelby county, Iowa; William, Margaret, Frank, Clarence and Bessie, all at home:
Mr. Gross votes with the democracy and is recognized as one of the leaders in his party in this locality. He has served repeatedly as a delegate to county conventions and has filled the office of township elerk for ten years, while for the past eight years he has been treasurer of the school board. He is a communicant of the Catholic church, is a member of the Knights of Columbus and is justly regarded as one of the leading and repre- sentative farmers of the county.
CHARLES G. SAUNDERS.
One of the most prominent attorneys practicing at the bar of Potta- wattamie county is Charles G. Saunders, who has been a resident of Council Bluffs since October, 1888, and has since been identified with many of the most important cases tried in this section of the state. A native of New York, he was born in Westmoreland, Oneida county, on the 10th of April. 1861. and is of English descent, his parents, George W. and Mary E. (Walker) Saunders, both being natives of England. The father was born in Cranbrook, Kent, and in early life accompanied his parents on their emigration to America, the family locating in Oneida county. New York. Throughout the greater part of his life he followed agricultural pursuits and died in Crawford county, Iowa, in May, 1896. Our subject's maternal grand- father, Thomas Walker, brought, his family to the United States when Mrs. Saunders was in her girlhood and they, too, settled in Oneida county. New York. By her marriage she became the mother of eight children who grew to maturity, Charles G. being the eldest, and seven of the number are still living.
Charles G. Saunders was only seven years of age when the family came to Iowa and took up their residence in Iowa City. In 1873 they removed to Adair county and three years later located in Crawford county, where our subject grew to manhood upon his father's farm, his primary education being acquired in the public schools of this state. In the fall of 1882 he entered Drake University at Des Moines, where he pursued a classical course and was
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graduated in 1886. He then studied law and in 1888 was graduated from the law department of the University of Iowa at Iowa City and was admitted to the bar by the supreme court. In October of the same year he came to Council Bluffs and hung out his shingle. In 1900 Drake University con- ferred upon him the degree of LL.D. As a lawyer he is sound, clear- minded and well trained and he well merits the success that has attended his efforts in his chosen profession. His ability was soon recognized by his fellow citizens and in January, 1895, he was elected county attorney of Pottawattamie county and creditably filled that position for two terms or four years. Other positions of honor and trust have been conferred upon him and he has faithfully performed the duties of every office in which he has served. In February, 1896, he was appointed an aide on the staff of Governor F. M. Drake, with the rank of lieutenant colonel, and in 1898 was appointed judge advocate general of the Iowa National Guard, serving as such until November, 1906, when he resigned. His political support is given the republican party and he has taken a very active and influential part in public affairs along political lines. In 1902 he was elected to the state senate to fill a vacancy and in the fall of the following year was elected for a full term, being a member of the thirtieth, thirty-first and thirty- second sessions of the Iowa senate, where he served on the judiciary, appro- prication, railroads and cities and towns committees.
On the 2d of July, 1890, Mr. Saunders was united in marriage to Miss Flora D. Newkirk, of Delta. Iowa, a daughter of John O. Newkirk, and to them have been born three children, as follows: Vera, Marion and Charles D.
Mr. Saunders is equally prominent in fraternal as well as professional and political circles, and was one of the five national directors of the Modern Woodmen of America from July, 1901, to July, 1905, during which time over twenty-six million dollars were paid out in death benefits. Besides this order he also belongs to the Elks, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Knights of Pythias, the Royal Highlanders, the Ancient Order of United Woodmen and is a chapter Mason. Religiously he is connected with the Methodist Episcopal church.
NELSON D. SANFORD.
Nelson D. Sanford is now living retired in Avoca in the enjoyment of a rest which he has well earned, for during a long period he was actively asso- ciated with business interests. He was born in Litchfield county, Connecticut, on the 28th of February, 1830, his parents being Daniel and Phoebe (Burn- hanı) Sanford, who were likewise natives of the Charter Oak state and died in New Haven, Connecticut. Their family numbered three children, of whom two are living, the daughter being Fanny, now the widow of D. P. Calhoue and a resident of New Haven, Connecticut.
Nelson D. Sanford completed his education in the high school of New Haven and when seventeen years of age began teaching, which profession he
Aufauford
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ASTOR, LENOX AND TH.D: N FOUNDATIONS.
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followed for six consecutive years, giving uniform satisfaction by reason of the able manner in which he imparted to others the knowledge that he had acquired. After attaining his majority he began business on his own account in New Haven, Connecticut, as a dealer in flour and grain and there con- tinued for some time.
Mr. Sanford has been married twice. In New Haven he wedded Miss Mary E. Giddings and unto them were born four children, two of whom yet survive: Belle M., who is living with her father; and Edward M., a resident of Atlantic, Iowa. The wife and mother died in New Haven, Connecticut, and on account of his health Mr. Sanford was advised by his physicians to go to the west. Accordingly in 1873 he came to Iowa and settled at Avoca, where he turned his attention to the real-estate and loan business, with which he was connected for a third of a century. In fact he continued in this line of operation until about six months ago, when he was again forced to retire on account of his health and his age. During his business connection with Avoca he has made many acquaintances and friends throughout the county and all have found him honest, upright, thorough and energetic in his busi- ness transactions.
In 1883 M. Sanford was again married, his second union being with Miss Clara Wilkinson, who was born in Indiana in 1843 and is a daughter of Truman and Jane Wilkinson, both of whom were natives of Vermont. They went to Indiana at an early day and both died there. Their family numbered six children.
Mr. Sanford exercises his right of franchise in support of the men and measures of the republican party. He is a member of the Congregational church and he owns a fine residence, which he now occupies in Avoca. He is well known in the town as a citizen of genuine worth, who in all life's relations has been deemed worthy of public confidence and regard. His life record now covers more than three-quarters of a century and in the evening of his days he receives the veneration and respect which should ever be accorded one whose life has been worthily lived.
W. C. BARTON.
W. C. Barton, at one time extensively engaged in agricultural pursuits in Pottawattamie county, is now living retired in Avoca. He was born in Chautauqua county, New York, March 26. 1833, in an old log house with puncheon floor and clapboard roof, and was four years of age when the fam- ily removed to Cattaraugus county, New York, remaining there until going to Wisconsin. His parents were James and Darcus (Ackley) Barton. the former of English descent and the latter of Welsh ancestry. The father, in company with our subject, removed to Waupaca county, Wisconsin, and pre-empted a claim from the government at a dollar and a quarter an acre. They improved the land and successfully carried on general agricultural pursuits there for eight years, at the end of which time the father passed
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away. The mother died at Durand, Wisconsin, four years after her hus- band's death.
W. C. Barton acquired his education in an old log schoolhouse with slab benches and other primitive furnishings characteristic of those early days in New York. Though the methods of instruction were crude, he managed to ac- quire a good practical education and has largely added to his knowledge by reading and observation in later years. After the death of his parents he sold the farm in Waupaca county, Wisconsin, in 1866, and came to Iowa, taking up his abode in Mitchell county upon a farm which he purchased. He successfully operated this tract until 1870, when he again sold out and removed to Pottawattamie county, purchasing a farm of one hundred and sixty acres on section 7, Valley township. He met with unusual success in his farming operations here and continually added to his holdings by addi- tional purchases until he became the owner of eight hundred acres of rich and productive farming land. He now owns but two hundred and twenty- five acres of this tract, having divided a portion of it among his children and sold another part of it. In 1891, Mr. Barton retired from the active work of the fields and took up his abode in Avoca, where he has since lived retired in the enjoyment of many of the comforts and luxuries which go to make life worth living. He owns three residences in the town and is rec- ognized as one of the representative and enterprising citizens of Pottawat- tamie county, having in former years been extensively and successfully connected with its agricultural interests. He owes his prosperity entirely to his own well directed energy and capable business management and there- fore richly merits the rest which has come to him in his later years.
Mr. Barton was married twice. His first wife bore the maiden name of Diantha Dewey and was born in New York, in 1834. She was a daughter of Horace Dewey and a distant relative of Admiral Dewey, and by her mar- riage become the mother of five children: Marion, a resident of Nebraska; Rosie, the wife of A. L. Palmer, of Winona, Minnesota; Orrin, living in Avoca, Iowa; Roscoe, a lawyer of Avoca; and Florence, the wife of Fred Bomboy, who resides in Minnesota. After the death of his first wife Mr. Barton was married, April 6, 1893, to Mrs. Hannah Altig, a native of Fountain county, Indiana. She was the widow of William Altig, and a daughter of Caleb and Elizabeth Abernathey, the former born in Ohio and the latter in Kentucky. Mrs. Barton was one of ten children and both her parents are now deceased.
Mr. Barton has always been a stalwart advocate of the republican party and has served as school director for eight years, the cause of education finding in him a strong champion. He and his wife support the Congrega- tional church and are highly esteemed throughout the community as people of genuine personal worth and sterling traits of character. He has made good use of his opportunities. He has prospered from year to year and has conducted all business matters carefully and successfully, and in all his acts displays an aptitude for successful management. He has not permitted the accumulation of a competence to affect in any way his actions toward those less successful than he and has always a cheerful word and pleasant smile
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for all with whom he comes in contact. He now receives the veneration and respect which should ever be accorded one who has traveled thus far on life's journey and whose actions have at all times been guided by honorable, manly principles.
HENRY ADAMS OTTO.
Henry Adams Otto, a prosperous and well known citizen of Council Bluffs, was born near Freeport, Stephenson county, Illinois, on the 20th of December, 1850. His parents were Daniel and Mary Magdalene (Nayer- hood) Otto, the former a native of Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, where his birth occurred in 1796. He was a carpenter and joiner by trade, and in 1844 he located in Stephenson county, Illinois, where he lived up to the time of his death, which was occasioned by a railroad accident near Free- port, Illinois, in 1861. At that time the railroad was known as the Racine & Mississippi but is now the Chicago & Milwaukee. Mr. and Mrs. Otto were the parents of fifteen children, eight sons and seven daughters. Four of the sons died in infancy but the remainder of the children lived to years of maturity. One son, John, who was born exactly twenty-four years earlier than our subject, passed away in 1900, and the mother of this large and interesting family departed this life near Freeport, Illinois, in 1862, when she had attained the age of sixty-five years.
Henry Adams Otto attended the common schools of Freeport, Illinois, for several years and also at Dakota, Illinois. When sixteen years of age he began to learn the trade of masonry, with which he was connected for five years. At the end of that time, on the 1st of June, 1871, he arrived in Council Bluffs and took up the work of bridge building in the employ of the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad Company, between Council Bluffs and Boone, Iowa. He was later given a position as foreman in the building . department on the division between Council Bluffs and Carroll, Iowa, and is still employed in this capacity, his long continuance in the service of the railroad being proof of the able and efficient manner in which he discharges his duties.
On the 26th of October, 1869, Mr. Otto was united in marriage at Freeport, Illinois, to Miss Louise Henrietta Miller, who was born in Luzerne county, Pennsylvania, February 21, 1853, and was a daughter of Henry G. and Louise (Taressa) Miller, of Freeport. Her father was born in Mecklen- burg-Schwerin, Germany, April 6, 1823, while the mother's birth occurred in Nice, Prussia, Germany, on the 21st of January, 1821. The former, who was a carpenter by trade, came to Council Bluffs in 1865 and aided in the construction of the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad. For a time after arriving here he lived with his family in a log hut which was built in pioneer days by the Mormons on the site of the present home of Henry A. Otto at No. 215 Vine street, which was built by Mr. Miller. The latter continued in the employ of the railroad company until the spring of 1888,
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when he was compelled to give up his position on account of the ill health of his wife, who passed away on the 15th of June of that year. Her father was a captain in the German army and saw active service in the Franco- Prussian war. He was wounded during this conflict and on that account was given a life position with the government. Mr. Miller survived his wife until the 30th of January, 1905, when he, too, was called to his final rest, both funerals being conducted by the Rev. T. J. Mackey, at that time rector of St. Paul's Episcopal church in this city, who is now filling the pulpit in All Saints church in Omaha. Mr. Miller was a Presbyterian in religious faith, while his wife was a Catholic, having been educated in a convent in Germany. He served for nearly three years during the Civil war, being a member of Company I, Thirteenth Illinois Cavalry. He was injured while in the service and received a comfortable pension until his death. In his fraternal relations Mr. Miller was a member of the Masonic fraternity and his wife acted as treasurer of the Eastern Star.
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