USA > Iowa > Pottawattamie County > History of Pottawattamie County, Iowa, from the earliest historic times to 1907, Vol. II > Part 28
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Mr. Felton belongs to the Masonic lodge at Neola and has always given loyal support to the republican party but has never sought or desired the rewards of office in recognition of party fealty. He is a well read man and deep thinker, keeping thoroughly informed on the questions and issues of the day and impressing all with whom he engages in any lengthy conver- sation with the breadth of his knowledge. Whatever he has accomplished in the line of material or intellectual development is due largely to his own labors. In the business world he has been active and diligent and is both the architect and builder of his own fortunes.
FRED J. DUERR.
Fred J. Duerr, president of the New Specialty Manufacturing Company.
1 was born in what was Phillipsburg, now Monaca. Beaver county, Pennsyl- vania, March 22, 1860. When but six years of age his parents removed to Massillon, Ohio, where he received an education in the public schools from which he was graduated. He supplemented these advantages with a course at the Iron City Business College in Pittsburg. Pennsylvania, from which he was graduated in 1881.
The following year Mr. Duerr removed to Council Bluffs. Iowa, where he had accepted a position as bookkeeper for Russell & Company, who were engaged in the manufacture of agricultural implements. So well prepared was he for this work, being quick and accurate in his habits. that for ten years he was in the employ of this company and was constantly promoted. He felt that it would be better for his own interest- to enter into business on his own account, and he accordingly started the Eagle laundry, which he ran successfully for four years. At the end of that time he sold out and re- moved to Joplin, Missouri, where for four years he engaged in the grocery. commission and mining business. He was successful in this enterprise and
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sold out to a good advantage, removing to Silver City, Iowa, where he again engaged in the grocery business. His marked ability in these various enter- prises enabled him to lay up a capital which was a just reward for his hard work, and he returned to Council Bluffs, where he erected a building for the Eagle laundry. In 1903 he organized the New Specialty Manufacturing Company, which was incorporated the same year. This business has been running only four years but in that length of time has grown to proportions which are a surprise even to Mr. Duerr. People have given the company their patronage and support because the men at the head of it are thoroughly reliable and progressive.
Mr. Duerr was married in 1901, in Mills county, Iowa, to Lulu Wood- row, by whom he has two children : Fred W. and Eleanor. He is a member of no fraternal organization and of no church, but in his political affiliations is a stalwart republican, and though never seeking office or honors, he has been active in promoting the interests of his party. A man who when a boy can start out with any position that first presents itself and gradually climb up to a place of independence and prominence in the business world today, so that he has attained what Mr. Duerr has accomplished at the age of forty-seven years, has of necessity been an indefatigable worker. Compe- tition is so strong at the present time that the business which achieves suc- cess requires the closest attention and the greatest vigor-qualities which Mr. Duerr has always given to his business. He stands today in a position which commands the respect and admiration of his fellow citizens.
HENRY BORWICK.
Germany has furnished a most valuable and enterprising class of citi- zens to America and the subject of this sketch, who conducts the largest business in art-goods, paints, wall paper, etc., in Council Bluffs, is no excep- tion. He was born in the fatherland in 1858 and there received his early education and was reared to manhood under the parental roof. With a de- sire to seek larger fields of industry, he decided to emigrate to America in 1881 and upon his arrival on our shores located on a farm in Pottawattamie county, Iowa. With all the physical vigor and enterprise of the German people he was most successful in this undertaking, but he felt that the busi- ness world would afford him larger opportunities and he accordingly came to Council Bluffs, where he secured employment as a paper-hanger and painter, working at this trade continuously for several years. He was for- tunate in having gone into a business for which he was particularly well fitted, and in 1902 he opened his present rooms-a fine double store at 209- 211 South Main street. His place is thoroughly up-to-date, artistic in every particular, and he furnishes only first-class material and labor. Those who are most fastidious in their tastes find that Mr. Borwick is always successful in doing satisfactorily whatever he is engaged upon, and his business has grown until it has now become the largest in that line in Council Bluffs.
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Henry Borwick belongs to the German Evangelical church, the religion in which he was reared. He has been an officer in this church and super- intendent of the Sunday school for eleven years and is now class leader. He is a conscientious Christian man who carries his religion into his life. His five sons and one daughter are being given all of the educational advan- tages of which they are willing to make the most, and have been trained in a home where honor, morality and a Christian spirit have always prevailed.
LEWIS SMITH.
Lewis Smith, residing on section 16, Garner township, where he is en- gaged quite extensively in general agricultural pursuits, is a native of Gal- lipolis, Gallia county, Ohio, born on the 24th of March, 1841. His parents were Robert and Elizabeth (Vincent) Smith, both of whom were natives of Vir- ginia, in which state they were reared and married. After residing for some time in Ohio they removed to Adams county, Illinois, in 1847 and there pur- chased a partially developed farm, upon which Mr. Smith made some fur- ther improvements, although he was not long permitted to enjoy his new home, for after a residence of four years in Illinois he passed away in 1851 at the age of fifty-six. His wife long survived him and died in 1874 at the age of seventy-four years. She was a consistent and faithful member of the Baptist church. By a former marriage the father had three children, all of whom are now deceased. By the second marriage there were five children : Mrs. Mary Carr, a resident of Canton, Missouri: Lewis; James, who is living in Neola, Iowa; Christopher, whose home is in Illinois; and Mrs. Nannie Breneman. Of this family Christopher served as a soldier of the Civil war, enlisting as a private in an Illinois regiment of infantry. Going to the front he served for eleven months or until the close of the war.
In his boyhood Lewis Smith attended the common schools but his cdu- cational privileges were somewhat meager and he is largely a self-educated as well as self-made man financially. At the very early age of ten years he began earning his own living by working as a farm hand and was thus em- ployed in Adams county until 1863, when he started for Colorado with Mr. Wakefield, his wife's uncle. Later he went to Virginia City, Montana, where he was engaged in mining for nearly two years, and while there the vigilance committee was organized and he witnessed the first hanging. five men being suspended from one ridge pole. He returned by stage to Illi- nois. The following year he again went to Denver. Colorado, where he remained for a time, being engaged in freighting from Omaha to Denver. Again he took up his abode in Illinois and in 1856 he arrived in Garner township, Pottawattamie county, Iowa. Here he entered the employ of William Garner, his future father-in-law, and on starting out upon an in- dependent business career as an agriculturist he rented land. Living frugally and economically, he acquired the capital that enabled him later to pur-
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chase eighty acres which adjoins a part of the farms which Mrs. Smith inherited from her father. Mr. Smith, his wife and sons now own alto- gether two hundred and sixty acres of rich and productive land in Garner township. He has long been regarded as one of the energetic agriculturists of the community, following methods which are at once practical and re- sultant. He is systematic as well as energetic in all that he does and his labors have been carefully directed along lines that have brought him a goodly measure of prosperity.
It was on the 8th of December, 1868, that Mr. Smith was united in marriage to Miss Rachel Ann Garner, a daughter of William Garner, one of the honored pioneer settlers of the county, who is mentioned elsewhere in this volume. Unto this marriage were born eight children: Minnie L., Robert Lee, Mark R., L. Berton, H. Ralph, Myrtle, Raymond C. and Hazel R. All are still living at home with the exception of Berton, who married a Miss Hillman and resides in Garner township. He has one son, Elmo. Myrtle and Raymond are both now engaged in teaching. Ralph is town- ship assessor and is regarded as a most competent and faithful official, now serving for the third year, while his incumbency will cover still another year.
In his political views Mr. Smith is a stalwart democrat and his fellow townsmen, recognizing his worth and ability, have called him to some local offices. He has been township trustee and road supervisor and has been connected with the schools in an official capacity during the greater period of his residence in the county. His life history embraces some interesting experiences connected with the early mining days of Colorado and Mon- tana but during the greater part of his life he has followed the occupation of farming and his diligence and perseverance have constituted the measure of his success.
JOHN CLARK.
John Clark, whose life was one of struggles and hardships in his early years, is now comfortably situated on section 18, Garner township, where he owns a good farm, deriving therefrom a fair income, so that now in the evening of life he is enabled to rest from the more arduous duties of farming and still enjoy those comforts which go to make life worth living. He was born in Leicestershire, England, October 29, 1829, his parents being James and Rachel Clark, both of whom were natives of England, where they spent their entire lives, the father dying in the house in which he was born. Hle was a frame work knitter and worked at the looms.
At the age of fifteen years John Clark was apprenticed to the shoemaker's trade, which occupation he followed for about forty years. In 1843 he was married to Miss Rachel Smart, of Leicestershire, and for sixty-one years they traveled life's journey happily together, sharing with each other their adver- sities and hardships of early life and the prosperity that came to them at the
THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY
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MRS. JOHN CLARK.
JOHN CLARK.
THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY
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later date. While in England, Mr. Clark was converted to the Mormon faith and became a preacher of that denomination, but after his emigration to America he left that church because he was not a believer in polygamy or atonement by blood. He still advocates some of the doctrines of the church but does not agree with their teachings.
It was in January, 1851, that Mr. Clark started for the new world with his wife and two children. He landed at New Orleans without a dollar and within a few minutes a baby was born unto them, but it died soon after birth. Mr. Clark sold a gun in order to pay the passage of himself and family to St. Louis, where he worked at the shoemaker's trade during the day and at night lighted lamps. In fact, he availed himself of every opportunity to secure employment that would yield an honest living for his family. Dark days were before them and yet through all Mr. Clark manifested a strong spirit of determination and enterprise, making the most of his opportunities. Dur- ing the first summer he became ill and was in poor health for a long time. Because of his health he left his wife and family in St. Louis and went to New Orleans, where for two months he worked at his trade. He then pro- ceeded by boat to Memphis, Tennessee, where he remained until he could get a boat going to St. Louis. He spent two weeks in the latter city, after which he took his family to New Orleans, where they remained through the winter, going again the following spring to St. Louis, where they resided until 1853. In that year they came to Pottawattamie county, making the journey with ox teams to Council Bluffs, where Mr. Clark worked at shoemaking for some time. By economical and frugal living and careful management on the part of himself and wife, he was at length enabled to purchase the farm upon which he now resides. For three years after taking up his abode on the farm, however, he would walk each morning to Council Bluffs, a distance of three miles, and there work at his trade, returning home in the evening. Thus he earned sufficient money to pay for the farm. He first invested in ten aeres and later traded property which he owned in Council Bluffs for the remainder of the farm. He had already entered forty acres from the government and he now owns three hundred and twenty-five aeres, constituting a valuable property. He also has one hundred and twenty acres in Mills county and property in Council Bluffs.
As the years passed seven children were added to the family. of whom five are now living: Alam Joseph, who was born in England and is living on his father's farm; Rachel Elizabeth, also born in England and now the wife of Sylvester Winchester, a farmer of Garner township; John Thomas, who was born in St. Louis and is living on the home farm; Henrietta, who was born in Council Bluffs and is the wife of William H. Wright, of Boomer township; and Henry James, who was born in Council Bluffs, in which city he is now residing.
When Mr. Clark arrived in Pottawattamie county there were no frame houses in Council Bluffs save those made from clapboards and but one brick house in the town, that being used for a powder storage. At a later date Mr. Clark bought that property. In pioneer times the Indians frequently visited the town and camped in the hollows nearby, and even after removing to the
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farm Mr. Clark frequently saw Indians in the neighborhood, it being some time before they left this district for reservations further west. At the time he purchased his farm there was a log house on the place and it is still stand- ing near his present residence, a mute reminder of the early days, indicating by contrast the progress that has been made in the county. For several years the family occupied this primitive home and Mr. Clark then erected his present residence. He has also put other buildings upon the place, and his land has been brought under a high state of cultivation.
In politics he is a democrat with independent tendencies. For several years he held the office of justice of the peace, his opinions being strictly fair and impartial, and for some time he served as school director and was instrumental in securing the establishment of the school in his district. He has always believed in the employment of good teachers and the maintenance of progressive schools, and in matters of citizenship he has always stood for advancement and improvements. Mr. and Mrs. Clark have traveled to some extent, having returned to England upon a visit and also going to Utah, where Mrs. Clark had a sister and two brothers living. More than half a century has come and gone since they arrived in this county and Mr. Clark has a very wide acquaintance because of his long residence here and his busi- ness connections. In the early days he was well known as a musician, per- forming creditably upon the violin and cello. He can relate many interesting incidents of the early days when there were few evidences of civilization here. Conditions were those of the frontier, but there came into the county a band of sturdy and courageous men who have made the county one of the leading districts of this great commonwealth. Mr. Clark has been a hard worker, living a life of activity and usefulness. He has faced conditions of poverty and illness which would have utterly discouraged a man of less resolute spirit, but by persistent labor he has overcome all the difficulties in his path and is now classed with the substantial agriculturists of his community.
DEXTER S. FRANK.
Dexter S. Frank, one of the leading business men of Council Bluffs and a member of the firm of Frank & Campbell, dealers in agricultural im- plements, gas engines, pumps, carriages, wind mills, wagons, etc., was born on a farm in Lake county, Ohio, near the town of Kirkland, in 1850. When but seven years of age his parents removed to Pottawattamie county, Iowa, where they took up their home on a farm, and in 1903 came to Council Bluffs.
Mr. Frank received his early education in the district schools and gained a practical training in all the details of agriculture while assisting his father upon the home farm. He supplemented his early education by his at- tendance at the public schools of Council Bluffs and was given these advan- tages until he had attained the age of eighteen years. Agriculture had been his principal interest up to this time, but he was still a very young
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man when he entered his present business and in January, 1905, assisted in forming the present firm. It has always been noticed that the most enter- prising business men of our large cities were energetic and successful farmers in their early years and Mr. Frank's success is a practical illustration of this fact. It is largely through his enterprise and business courage, as well as foresight, that the present firm owes its rapid growth and phenomenal success.
For three or four terms Mr. Frank has been justice of the peace and has served as a most efficient member of the board of education. In his political views he has always been a stalwart republican and has been active in promoting the interests of the party. Reared in the faith of the Presby- terian church, he is still an active member and a generous supporter of that denomination.
Mr. Frank was married in 1878 to Margaret A. Orr, a most estimable young woman, whose help and encouragement have gone a long way toward assisting him in his success in life. Their home is always open to their friends who are ever glad to avail themselves of its hospitality.
W. C. VAN PELT.
W. C. Van Pelt is the owner of an excellent farm of one hundred and sixty aeres, upon which he has made his home since 1880. It is situated on sections 14 and 15, Lewis township, and a beautiful grove in front of the house adds to its value and attractive appearance. The farm is indeed well kept in every particular, indicating the careful supervision and progressive methods of the owner, who though now well advanced in years still gives personal supervision to his agricultural interests.
He was born in Brunswick. Rensselaer county, New York, in June, 1839, his parents being Daniel N. and Malissa C. (Gardner) Van Pelt. The father's birth occurred in the same house in which our subject first opened his eyes to the light of day, while the mother was a native of western New York. In the paternal line the ancestors came from Holland, three brothers settling on Manhattan Island during an early period in the colonization of the new world. After the capture of the city by the British during the Revolutionary war the family scattered. Christopher Van Pelt, the grand- father of our subject, owned and operated the farm on which Daniel N. and W. C. Van Pelt were born. It was a tract of land of several hundred acres, which upon his death passed into possession of Daniel N. Van Pelt and his brother. On leaving that farm the former removed to Lansingburg, New York, where he remained for several years and then purchased a farm upon which he continued to reside until his demise. His political allegiance was given to the democracy, while his wife in religious faith was a Presbyterian. In their family were five children: W. C .. of this review: Eugene .1 .. still living in Rensselaer county, New York; Sarah Elizabeth, who died when
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twenty-one months old; Stephen H., who died when a year old; and Frank N., who departed this life in Ionia, Michigan.
The public-school system of the Empire state afforded W. C. Van Pelt his early educational privileges and when eighteen years of age he entered the Lansingburg Academy, in which he completed his education. He then started out in life on his own account, being first employed in a general store. He removed from Lansingburg to Albany, where he became book- keeper in a commission house, filling that position until 1879. when he took up his abode upon his father-in-law's farm. The following year, however, he came to Pottawattamie county and purchased one hundred and sixty acres of land, of which one hundred and twenty acres had been placed under cultivation. He has here made his home for twenty-seven years, has erected all the barns and outbuildings upon the place and now has one of the at- tractive farms of the township, its beauty being greatly enhanced by the fine grove of trees which surrounds the dwelling. He exercises much care and judgment in the cultivation of the fields and therefore annually gathers good harvests.
It was in February, 1876, that Mr. Van Pelt was united in marriage to Miss Kate Van Vorhees, a daughter of John and Anna Elizabeth Van Vorhees, of Saratoga county, New York. They now have a daughter, Car- rie, who is the wife of W. H. Plummer, living upon a farm adjoining her father's place on the east. Unto this marriage has been born a daughter, Eva Plummer.
Mr. Van Pelt is connected with the Christian Science church, while his wife holds membership in the Baptist church. He cast his first presidential vote for Abraham Lincoln and supported the party for a number of years but is now independent in politics. He has served as township clerk and for several years has been secretary of the school board, being the incumbent in the position at the present time. During his residence in Pottawattamie county he has so lived as to merit in high degree the respect and confidence of his fellowmen and both he and his wife enjoy the warm friendship of the great majority of those with whom they have come in contact.
ANDREW C. GRAHAM.
Andrew C. Graham, for more than four decades connected with the business interests of Council Bluffs, is now president of the board of park commissioners and no citizen has done more for the establishment and im- provement of the park system than he nor more deserves the gratitude of the general public for his labors in this connection.
A native of Ayrshire, Scotland, he was born in 1832. his parents being Walker and Mary (Farey) Graham, and he spent the first twenty-five years of his life in that country, acquiring his education in its public schools and there receiving business training that brought him a knowledge of the value and worth of industry and unfaltering enterprise. On the 6th of July,
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1857, having crossed the Atlantic to America, he arrived in Council Bluff's, where he has since made his home, with the exception of two years spent in Idaho. He went to that state in 1863 but returned in 1865 and opened an outfitting store, carrying guns, fishing tackle, tents, etc., for the use of emi- grants. He carried on this business with constantly growing and gratify- ing success for thirty years as a member of the firm of Oliver & Graham and later Graham & Son. This became one of the leading mercantile estab- lishments of the city, developing with the growth of the western country, and Mr. Graham continued active in its control until 1898, when he with- drew from that line and has since been engaged in looking after the parks of the city, in which he has been interested for about thirty years. Ile de- serves more credit than any other man for the preservation and acquisition of the parks of Council Bluffs and he put forth his labors in this connection for twenty years without receiving any compensation for his services.
Mr. Graham was married in Scotland, in 1853, to Miss Margaret Oliver, and they have one son, Robert O. Mr. Graham has belonged to the Masonic fraternity for forty years and is also connected with the Benevolent & Pro- tective Order of Elks. His political support is given the democracy and he has served for four years as a member of the city council and for six years on the county board of supervisors, in both capacities proving a capable officer whose official labors proved of practical and far-reaching benefit. In reviewing the life history of Mr. Graham, we are reminded of the words of Ex-Governor Mickey, of Nebraska, who said: "He who travels safely in the business life must be a true citizen, must be a man who reads, must be a man of right and who does justice and who will do that which will result in great good in after years as well as the present." Such has been the history of Mr. Graham. In commercial interests he has made an unassailable repu- tation and gained his success worthily, while in his unselfish public service he has performed for Council Bluffs a work which entitles him to the grati- tude of not only this but of coming generations.
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