USA > Iowa > Pottawattamie County > History of Pottawattamie County, Iowa, from the earliest historic times to 1907, Vol. II > Part 30
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63
870
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
of his mother's brothers, soldiers of a regiment of Pennsylvania Cavalry, were engaged in that battle. In the meantime, his father, George Walter, was serving as a soldier in the Union army. He, too, was born at Gettys- burg, his natal year being 1828. At the time of the Civil war he became a private of a regiment of Pennsylvania volunteers, in which he served until mustered out in 1865 with the rank of second lieutenant, the war hav- ing been brought to a successful close. He participated in various engage- ments, including the battles of Antietam, the Wilderness and a number of others. He was married to Miss Catherine Herring, and many years later they removed to Seward, Nebraska, where he now resides. He has been interested in farming during the greater part of his life. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Walter were born eleven children, nine of whom reached years of ma- turity, namely: Martha V., now the wife of William Gilliland, a resident of Oregon; William H., who died in Chicago in 1906, leaving two sons and three daughters; Margaret, the widow of John Stoops and a resident of Fair- field, Pennsylvania; John F .; Josephine, the deceased wife of Thomas Bald- win, of Milford, Nebraska; Charles D., of Lincoln, Nebraska; George W., living in Wahoo, Nebraska; Rutherford Hayes, also a resident of Seward, Nebraska; and James Garfield, whose home is in Illinois.
Dr Walter remained a resident of Gettysburg until about fifteen years of age and in the meantime acquired his preliminary education in the public schools there. He afterward went to Philadelphia, where he spent two and a half years in school, subsequent to which time he spent eighteen months in traveling through the west with his father. He then settled down with his parents at Fairfield, Pennsylvania, where he lived for a year of more, when the family removed to Chicago, there residing until a removal was made to Seward. Nebraska, where the father and mother have since resided.
Having determined upon the practice of medicine as a life work, John F. Walter became a student in the University of Pennsylvania, at Phila- delphia, from which he was graduated in the class of 1884. He then located for practice at his old home in Fairfield, Pennsylvania, but in 1887 he came to Iowa, settling at Little Sioux, where he remained for two years. He was afterward a member of the medical fraternity at Persia, Iowa, for two years, when, seeking a broader field of labor, he came to Council Bluffs in 1892 and has since here engaged in practice. He soon demonstrated his ability to cope with the intricate problems that confront the physician and as the years have gone by he has built up a large practice, making him one of the successful physicians of the city.
Dr. Walter was first married in Chicago in 1883, to Miss Anna M. Buhrer. and they had one child, Mabel, who was born in 1886, and is now the wife of Glen Walters, a resident of Kansas City, Missouri. On the 7th of January, 1907, Dr. Walter was again married, his second union being with Lulu E. Sherer, a daughter of J. S. Sherer, of Council Bluffs.
The Doctor belongs to the Independent Order of Foresters, the Knights of the Maccabees, to the Modern Woodmen camp and to the Improved Order of Red Men. He has a wide social, as well as professional acquaintance,
871
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
and in each line has gained favorable regard and won many warm friends. By reading and investigation he has kept in constant touch with the work of the profession in its onward march and has ever performed his duties with a sense of conscientious obligation, at the same time having strict regard for the ethics of the profession.
AUGUST LOUIE.
August Louie is now practically living retired, supervising his invested interests, which includes a fine cattle ranch in Colorado. He makes his home in Council Bluffs, which is far distant from the place of his nativity, for he was born in Lunevilles, Lorraine, France, December 7, 1847. His father was John B. Louie, a native of Bononinile, France, born in the early part of the nineteenth century and in his native country he was a construc- tion timber contractor. Coming to America he settled at Joliet, Illinois, in 1854, and after more than a third of a century there passed he removed to Council Bluffs in 1887 and died in this city in August, 1902. His wife died in 1863, aged fifty-one years, when her son August was but sixteen years of age. Her maiden name was Catherine Michel.
August Louie acquired but a meager education in the country schools near Joliet but later attended a night school in Chicago. Having put aside his text-books he engaged in the confectionery and catering business and in 1874 he removed to Council Bluffs, where for many years he was connected with Alphonse Metzger in the catering business on Broadway. In this he was very successful, a liberal patronage being accorded the firm, so that year after year his financial resources increased. In 1900 he withdrew from the business, being succeeded by his son, Gustave Louie. He has an interest in a large cattle ranch in Logan county, Colorado, and has spent considerable time during the past seven years in looking after that enterprise but has severed all business connections with Council Bluffs.
Mr. Louie was married September 26, 1876, at St. Joseph, Missouri, to Miss Leontine Cellone, who was born in Nauvoo, Illinois, June 4, 1857. and is of French parentage. Her father, Pierre Cellone. was born in Marseilles. France, devoted his business life to the manufacture of shoes and several years ago passed away. His wife bore the maiden name of Virginia Victoria Henri and was born in Nantes, France, March 12, 1835. After losing her first husband she became the wife of Bernard Edward Campardon at St. Joseph, Missouri, in August. 1869. He was a native of Garos. France, born March 2, 1838, and died in Council Bluffs, January 6, 1878, while Mrs. Cam- pardon passed away in this city in 1901.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Louie has been born a son, Gustave Alexander, whose birth occurred July 19, 1877. He was educated in the common schools of Council Bluffs. finished a course at Notre Dame, Indiana, in the class of 1893 and in 1896 was appointed a member of the Missouri river commission, on which he served for five years. He then became his father's successor in
872
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
the general catering business as a member of the firm of Metzger & Company at Nos. 523-5-7 West Broadway. In 1906 the firm erected the largest and most up-to-date baking establishment in the west at No. 516 Mynster street. The output of this concern includes four thousand loaves of bread daily, . besides large amounts of cake and other bakery goods, employing about twenty people. Gustave Louie was married in Council Bluffs, August 7, 1899, to Miss Maybelle Bouquet, a daughter of Paul and Mary Bouquet, early settlers of Council Bluffs. Her father is a real-estate dealer in Omaha. The daughter was born in this city July 9, 1877, was educated in Council Bluffs and is a graduate of the high school of the class of 1895. She holds membership in the Presbyterian church and in the Order of the Eastern Star, and Gustave Louie belongs to the Masonic fraternity and to the Elks lodge. Unto him and his wife has been born one child, Leontine Marie, born in Council Bluffs, December 4, 1901.
Mr. Louie and his son with their families reside at No. 601 Mynster street, this beautiful property being owned by August Louie, who also has considerable other realty interests in Council Bluffs. Both he and his son are republicans in politics. He deserves much credit for what he has accom- plished, his advancement in the business world being attributable entirely to his own labors. He has brooked no obstacles that could be overcome by determined purpose and unfaltering energy and as the years passed by he utilized his opportunities to the best advantage, making a creditable name for himself in industrial circles and winning the success that now enables him to live retired without denying himself any of the comforts of life, while at the same time he is provided with not a few of its luxuries.
ALONZO KNIGHT.
Alonzo Knight, living on section 33, York township, follows farming and stock-raising with good success. A tract of two hundred acres of land responds to the care and labor which he bestows upon it in rich harvests which are cultivated with the latest improved machinery. Mr. Knight is numbered among the old settlers of Iowa. having come here in the early days of its statehood. He settled in Fremont county in 1852 and thirty years later established his home in Pottawattamie county, where he has since lived.
A native of Illinois, he was born in Adams county, November 24, 1848, his father being William S. Knight, whose birth occurred in Georgia. When a young man he made his way northward and settled in Adams county, Illi- nois, where he devoted his time and energies to farming for a number of years. He then removed to Iowa, locating in Fremont county, where he bought land and carried on general agricultural pursuits for some time. Sub- sequently he removed to Mills county, where he again located on a farm, and he still makes his home there-a hale and hearty old man of eighty-
MR. AND MRS. ALONZO KNIGHT.
THE NEW YORK PUBLIC
ASTON, L'NOX AND TILD N FOUNDATIONS.
875
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
eight years. His wife, however, died in Mills county some five or six years ago.
Under the parental roof upon the home farm in Fremont county, Iowa, Alonzo Knight was reared. Although his advantages were few, owing to the fact that his youth was spent in a pioneer district, he has made good use of his opportunities through life. He attended the common schools for a brief period during the winter months, while throughout the remainder of the year he was busy with the work of the fields, assisting in planting in the early spring time, in the cultivation of the crops in midsummer and in gather- ing the harvests in late autumn. While his school privileges were limited, he has learned many valuable and practical lessons in the school of experi- ence. He remained with his father on the old home farm until he had attained his majority and then, ambitious to secure a home of his own, started out in life on his own account.
As a companion and helpmate for life's journey he chose Miss Amanda Chapman, who was born in Missouri but was reared in Fremont county. Iowa. Their marriage was celebrated in that county in April, 1872, and they began their domestic life on a farm in that county. Mr. Knight culti- vated a tract of rented land for a number of years in Mills and Fremont counties, working steadily toward that day when he should become the owner of a farm. The year 1882 saw the realization of his hopes, for at that time he came to Pottawattamie county and purchased eighty acres of raw prairie land. He had had liberal experience in farm work and with characteristic en- ergy he began the development of this place, which he brought under a high state of cultivation. He first built a little house and then broke and fenced his land, turning the sod on many an acre. As the years passed he cultivated and further improved his original eighty-acre tract and later added another eighty acres. His next purchase of forty acres made him the owner of his present excellent farm of two hundred acres which has been brought to a rich state of fertility by the care and labor which he is continually bestowing upon the fields. His residence, which is commodious and attractive in its style of architecture, occupies a natural building site. In front is a broad and well kept lawn adorned with shade and ornamental trees. In the rear stands a large and substantial barn and various outbuildings which are required for the ample shelter of grain and stock. There is a large orchard containing a variety of fruit and the place is indeed a model farm. lacking in none of the accessories and equipments which are common to modern, progressive agriculture. In addition to the tilling of the soil he makes a specialty of raising, feeding and fattening cattle and hogs for the market and both branches of his business are proving to him a good source of income.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Knight have been born two daughters: Maud. now the wife of J. A. Craft. one of the active and prosperous agriculturists of York township, who owns a neat and well improved farm; and Edith, the wife of E. D. Barnes, who owns and cultivates a farm in York township.
Since his years won for him the right of franchise Mr. Knight has been a stalwart advocate of the republican party, casting his first presidential ballot for General Grant in 1872 and his last for Theodore Roosevelt. He has never
876
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
sought or desired office for himself, as his time has been fully occupied by his business affairs, yet he is not remiss in the duties of citizenship and has given . tangible aid to many movements for the public good. He may truly be called a self-made man, for he started out in life empty-handed and has worked his way upward through strong purpose, able management and keen discrimina- tion in business affairs, supplemented by untiring industry. He has witnessed the remarkable transformation of Iowa during the last fifty-five years from a wilderness, swamp and wind-swept prairie until it has become one of the lead- ing states of the Union-foremost in the production of corn and almost equally prominent in other business lines. His upright character and genuine worth have gained him the unqualified regard of many friends and of all with whom business or social relations have brought him in contact.
CHARLES R. TYLER.
Charles R. Tyler is now living retired in Council Bluffs but in former years was actively associated with its manufacturing and commercial inter- ests. He has made an excellent record as a business man and citizen and as such is entitled to representation in this volume. He was born in Rock- ford, Illinois, on the 9th of March, 1848. His father, Charles J. Tyler, was born in Shelldrake Point, Pennsylvania, while his grandmother was there on a visit to his grandfather, Oliver Tyler, who was serving as a sol- dier of the war of 1812. Charles J. Tyler was reared in Seneca county, New York, and at the age of nineteen years went to Chicago, where he arrived in 1832. He had previously been employed by an Indian trader in Michi- gan and from that state made his way to the little village on the lake. The city had not yet been incorporated and only a few houses and stores clustered in the vicinity of the river front, serving as a nucleus of the great metro- politan center seen to-day. This was before the era of railroad building and transportation and Mr. Tyler for years was superintendent of the fa- mous old Frink & Walker stage line, operating stages between Detroit, Chi- cago and Dubuque, Iowa. He acted in that capacity until the building of the railroads caused a suspension of the stage coach business. He then went to Rockford, Illinois, where he resided for a number of years, and in 1865 removed to Omaha, Nebraska, where he resided until his death in 1902. He was in the Civil war, enlisting as a volunteer in defense of the old flag and serving as aide on the staff of General S. A. Hurlbut. Following his removal to Iowa he engaged in business as a dealer in live-stock and met with a fair measure of success. He had been married in Rockford, Illinois, in 1842, to Miss Elizabeth Greenlee, and they had five children, two of whom died in infancy, while George died at the age of twenty-five years. Those still living are: Charles R., of this review; John G., who is purchas- ing agent for the Utah Construction Company in California.
Charles R. Tyler was reared to the age of eighteen years in the city of his nativity. Entering the public schools when a lad of six, he there acquired
877
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
a good English education. Leaving home in 1866, he entered the employ of the Union Pacific Railroad Company serving in various capacities for ten years. In 1878 he went to San Francisco, where he remained for three years, acting as bookkeeper most of the time for Ben Holliday, Jr., son of Ben Holliday, the famous overland stage magnate of the early days. The son was a stock broker and member of the San Francisco stock exchange. In 1882 Mr. Tyler came to Council Bluffs and purchased an interest in the Crystal Mills, continuing in the business for twenty-three years. His long connection with the enterprise indicates that success attended his efforts. He prospered as the years went by and with a handsome competence ac- quired from his business he retired in November, 1905, having sold his share in the mills. He is still financially interested in some leading busi- ness concerns of the city, being a director of the Omaha & Council Bluffs Street Railway Company and also a director of the Omaha & Southern Inter- urban Company.
On the 19th of November, 1881. in La Salle, Illinois, Mr. Tyler was married to Miss Jessie Armour, a daughter of James Armour, a great grain operator. Mr. and Mrs. Tyler are prominent socially, the hospitality of the best homes of the city being freely accorded them. Mr. Tyler affiliates with the Masonic fraternity and with the Benevolent & Protective Order of Elks. He is a vestryman of St. Paul's Episcopal church and is a member of the library board of Council Bluffs. His interest extends to many pub- lic affairs and movements, which have direct bearing upon the welfare and progress of the state. He is a democrat in politics but is not interested to the extent of seeking or desiring office as a reward for party fealty. His life has been one rather of business activity and he is possessed of that executive force and determination which have enabled him to win success in face of the competition which is always to be met with in the commercial world.
BERT SHEELY.
Bert Sheely, a partner of the firm of Sheely & Lane, dealers in monu- ments at Council Bluffs, was born in Albany, New York, on the 15th of November, 1855. His paternal grandfather, Gottlieb Sheely, was a native of Stuttgart, Germany, and lived and died in that place. The father, Louis Sheely, whose birth occurred in Stuttgart, in 1827, came to America in early manhood and soon afterward established his home in Albany, where he re- sided until 1858, when he removed with his family to Schoharie, New York. There his remaining days were passed and during his business life he fol- lowed the tailor's trade. He married Miss Martha Elizabeth Arnold, and unto them were born eleven children. namely: Catherine, whose home is in Gloversville, New York; Eliza, the wife of Mort Lester, of Amster- dam, New York; Annie, the widow of James Kinsey and a resident of New York city; Bert, of Council Bluffs; Caroline, the wife of George Bower, of New York city; Martha, also of New York city; Madison and
878
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
Franklin, twins, the former living in Albany and the latter in Schoharie, New York; Laura, the widow of Martin Kilmer and a resident of New York city ; William Frederick, of Albany; and Dora, also of New York city. The death of the father occurred in the year 1898.
As stated, the family became residents of Schoharie, New York, in 1858, Bert Sheely being then less than three years of age. He was there reared and educated, spending his youth as a student in the public schools, after which he learned the marble-cutter's trade, which he has followed as a life work. He continued in Schoharie until the spring of 1879, when, think- ing to find better business opportunities in the west, he made his way to Lincoln, Nebraska, where he continued for a year. In 1880 he came to Council Bluffs, where he worked at his trade until 1893, when the present firm of Sheely & Lane was formed. They have since conducted business with constantly growing success and now have an excellent establishment, turning out annually a large amount of work, which is ever first class. They employ expert workmen and their honorable business dealing has brought to them a liberal and gratifying patronage.
On the 14th of March, 1883, in Council Bluffs, Mr. Sheely was married to Miss Annie Green, a daughter of John Green, now deceased, and they have two children, Bert Lewis and Frederick William, the latter a graduate of the high school of Council Bluffs, of the class of June, 1907.
Mr. Sheely belongs to the Knights of Pythias and the Modern Wood- men fraternities and enjoys in large measure the good will and confidence of his brethren of these orders. His life has been pre-eminently an active and useful one. He is entirely free from ostentation and display and his efforts and energies have ever been concentrated upon his business interests. Un- doubtedly one of the strong elements of his success is the fact that he has always continued in the line of activity in which he embarked as a young tradesman, his efficiency therein being increased by long experience. His success has come as the merited reward of labor.
HARRY A. SEARLE.
Harry A. Searle, manager for the Monarch Manufacturing Company, at Council Bluffs, was born in Medina, Orleans county, New York, on the 21st of April, 1870. His father. E. P. Searle, of Toledo, Ohio, is president of the Monarch Manufacturing Company. The son was reared in the place of his nativity to the age of twenty years and acquired his education in the public schools of Medina and at Albion, the county seat of Orleans county, New York. He remained in school to the age of eighteen years and after- ward went upon the road for a lubricating firm, continuing as a traveling salesman for oils and lubricants for six or seven years. In 1895 the Monarch Manufacturing Company was established at Council Bluffs and he was made general manager at this point. Here he has since continued in control of the business, which under his guidance has been developed along healthful
879
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
and gratifying lines, his trade constantly increasing until it has now reached extensive proportions.
In 1896, at Hastings, Nebraska, occurred the marriage of Harry A. Searle and Miss Edith Smith. They are pleasantly located in an attract- ive home in Council Bluffs and have many warm friends here. Mr. Searle is a popular member of the Elks order and a past exalted ruler of lodge No. 531, at Council Bluffs. He is also a member of the Commercial Club here and is well known in business circles of the city as a man of unfaltering enterprise and diligence-qualities which have brought him a merited sue- cess.
JOHN GEIGER.
The present efficient mayor of Minden-John Geiger-figures prom- inently in political, business and fraternal cireles in his town. He has wielded a wide influence in its public affairs and during the eight years with which he has been identified with the business interests of Minden he has borne an unassailable reputation for business integrity and progressive- ness.
He was born in Scott county, Iowa, November 20, 1868. His father, Fredolin Geiger, was a native of Switzerland, in which country he was reared to manhood. In 1852 he crossed the Atlantic to the new world and first located in St. Louis, Missouri. Later he came to Iowa and took up his abode in Scott county, being accompanied by his wife, whom he had wedded in St. Louis and who bore the maiden name of Theresa Zumstag. Mr. Geiger turned his attention to farming in Scott county and followed that pursuit for a number of years, his children all being born there. He re- moved to Pottawattamie county in 1884, bought land in Minden township and throughout his remaining days owned and cultivated a valuable farm of four hundred and eighty acres, his life's labors being ended in death in 1889. His wife still survives him and yet makes her home in Minden.
John Geiger is one of a family of five sons and four daughters, all of whom are living. He was reared on the home farm in this county and at the usual age entered the public schools wherein he mastered the elementary branches of learning. He supplemented his studies by a term at the Western Normal, at Shenandoah, Iowa, and when he had completed his education and put aside his text-books he followed farming for five years.
On the 30th of April, 1894, Mr. Geiger was married to Miss Minnie Stuhr, a native of Germany, who was reared, however, in this county. The young couple began housekeeping on a farm and in connection with the tilling of the soil for the cultivation of crops, Mr. Geiger was engaged in raising and feeding stock. He continued upon the farm until 1899, when he located in Minden, erecting there a good two-story brick business block, in which he put a nice stock of hardware, implements and furniture. He has since been engaged in business here and has been one of the progres-
880
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
sive and well known merchants of Minden, residing here for eight years. He has built up a good business and is well and favorably known as a merchant, whose principles of trade are such as will bear close investigation and scrutiny. He has never been known to take advantage of the necessi- ties of another in any business transaction and indeed is a worthy representa- tive of commercial life in Minden.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.