USA > Iowa > Poweshiek County > History of Poweshiek County, Iowa: a record of settlement, organization, progress and achievement, Vol. II > Part 34
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Mr. Barnhart was marriedi on the 17th of December, 1888, to Miss Martha Ann Hasley, and they have beoppnå the parents of one son, Philip, who is at home. Mr. and Mrs. Barnhart affiliate with the Society of Friends, and she is also a member of the Ladies Aid Society as ^well as of the Rebekah lodge.
HENRY B. STORM.
It is doubtful whether a more active, energetic or progressive representative of the business interests of Grinnell could be named than Henry B. Storm, who is proprietor of one of the most complete drug stores in this part of the state. He has shown remarkable enterprise and judgment and as a result is on the high road to well established prosperity. Born in Poweshiek county, No- vember 17, 1873. he is the son of James and Caroline Storm.
In his infancy the subject of this review became a member of the family of a kind-hearted uncle, I. B. Baldwin, one of the prominent farmers of Pow- eshiek county, and was reared to manhood in his household. He gained his preliminary education in the district schools and later attended Grinnell high school, graduating in the class of 1892. He then matriculated in Iowa College, which he attended, however, but one year. After leaving college he became a professional bicyclist and in this, as in other vocations in which he has engaged, attained an enviable reputation, becoming known as one of the best developed
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athletes in the state. In 1897 he retired from the bicycle track and gained his first acquaintance with the drug business as clerk in a store at Kearney, Nebraska.
In the meantime the Spanish-American war was threatened and like thou- sands of patriotic young men, he offered his services to the country and was accepted as a member of the Second Nebraska Regiment and served as hos- pital steward in one of the division hospitals at Chickamauga Park, Georgia. Less than a year after its establishment the hospital was abandoned and Mr. Storm returned to his regiment, which was afterward mustered out of service at Fort Omaha, Nebraska. After leaving the army he resumed the drug bus- iness and worked for three years in a store at Omaha, when he resigned to accept a position in the Omaha offices of Armour & Company. At the close of three years he gave up that place and was associated in the drug business at Omaha with L. E. Peyton, but two years later the firm was dissolved and he again spent two years in the employ of Armour & Company. Subsequently he be- came connected with the American Druggists Syndicate of New York city. being engaged in organization work for this company in various parts of the country. The drug business of R. R. Rust & Company at Grinnell was of- fered for sale, the firm having gone into insolvency, and Mr. Storm took advantage of the opportunity and acquired the store, reorganizing the business and developing it until the concern over which he presides is the largest of the kind in the city.
In 1901 Mr Storm was united in marriage at Grinnell to Miss Grace F. Harrison, a daughter of William Harrison now living retired in this city. She is a graduate of the Grinnell high school of the class of 1896 and is a lady of refine- ment and culture who has proved an important factor in the business success of her husband. She assists him in the store and has a host of friends in this city.
Mr. Storm fraternally is identified with Grinnell Lodge, No. 175, K. P., and Norfolk Lodge, No. 653, B. P. O. E .; of Norfolk, Nebraska. He was one of the original stockholders in the American Druggists Syndicate and in his business he displays a lively personal interest in meeting the wants of patrons that has greatly contributed to his success. He is a good judge of human nature and possesses a genial manner which attracts and holds friends. As to his future, there is no doubt that he will figure prominently in the commercial development of Grinnell.
JOSEPH WOODWARD RODGERS.
Industry, intelligently directed, ultimately brings a sure reward-a fact which again finds proof in the life record of Joseph Woodward Rodgers, whose well earned success now enables him to live retired, his home being in Montezuma. He was born near New Garden, Columbiana county, Ohio, Sep- tember 17, 1836. His parents were John K. and Levina ( Woodward) Rodgers, the former born in Westchester, Pennsylvania, February 20, 1814, and the latter in Westchester county, Pennsylvania. August 6, 1814. She was a birthright
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member of the Society of Friends but, marrying out of the church, forfeited her membership. They were reared in the Keystone state and on the 24th of December, 1834, were married. The following year they removed to Column- biana county, Ohio, where they resided until they came to Poweshiek county. lowa, after the war. The father was a miller and began learning the trade when fourteen years of age, serving seven years as apprentice. His entire life was devoted to that business. Both he and his wife were faithful members of the Methodist Episcopal church. The latter died November 11, 1880, and Mrs. Rodgers passed away January 4, 1896. In their family were six children, of whom Joseph Woodward, of this review, is the eldest. The others are as fol- lows : Meribah F., now deceased ; James L., who is represented elsewhere in this volume ; Martha A., the wife of George A. Webber, of Montezuma: John J., a produce merchant of this city, mention of whom is also made on another page of this work ; and Elwood, who passed away at the age of eight years.
Joseph W. Rodgers spent the first nine years of his life in the county of his nativity and then accompanied his parents on their removal to Jefferson county, Ohio, where he resided until 1853, when he returned to Columbiana county. Two years later he went to Canal Dover, Ohio, but in April, 1856, arrived in Marshall county, Iowa. The following year he came to Poweshiek county and has resided in this locality continuously since. He followed farming until 1863, and in the interval embraced the opportunity of promoting his education by a three months' term of study in Grinnell College in the fall of 1861. He has always been an attentive observer of men and measures and in the school of experience he has learned many valuable lessons, making him a practical and well informed business man. In February, 1863, he located in Montezuma, where he has since resided. He was engaged with his father-in-law in general merchandising from 1863 until 1870, and subsequently engaged in clerking for the firm of Wilson & Griffin at Malcom, being thus connected with the lumber and grain business for four years. He then turned his attention to the grocery business in Montezuma in partnership with B. B. Griffith, but after a year sold out and joined his brother James in the conduct of a grocery store under the firm style of Rodgers Brothers. They conducted a well appointed establishment and their energy, capable management and close application brought them a substantial measure of success. Joseph W. Rodgers was also engaged in the fire insurance business for fifteen years and at intervals now assists his son in the conduct of a restaurant, but is practically living retired.
On the 29th of October, 1865, Mr. Rodgers was united in marriage to Miss Emily Willson, who was born September 3, 1842, near Indianapolis, Indiana, but in 1848 came to Iowa with her parents. Her father, Gideon Willson, who was the first merchant in Montezuma, is mentioned in connection with the sketch of his son, John Willson, appearing elsewhere in this volume. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Rodgers were born five children. The eldest, Willson Gideon, who was born October 17, 1866, in Montezuma, passed away on the 19th of February, 1910, in Chicago, where he had resided for twenty years. He is survived by his widow. Mabel, the only daughter, is now the wife of Enoch Judd, of Colorado. Eugene K. is the proprietor of a restaurant in Montezuma. Roy Otto is connected with the military interests of the United States as first
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sergeant, One Hundred and Fifty-ninth Coast Artillery Company, now sta- tioned at Honolulu. Altogether he has served with the regular army for ten years and is credited with three years' experience in foreign service, during which time he was stationed in the Philippine Islands. Clyde Cecil, the young- est member of the family, is engaged as a baker and cook in Chicago.
In his political affiliations Mr. Rodgers has always been a democrat and for four years, from 1885 to 1889, filled the office of mayor, in which connection he gave to the city a public-spirited and beneficial administration that wrought many needed improvements and reforms. He has also been treasurer and assessor of the town and is well known as a public official who can be trusted under any and all circumstances to discharge his duties faithfully and capably. For more than forty-one years he has been a loyal advocate of the ideas of Masonry, his membership being in Lafayette Lodge, No. 52, F. & A. M., of Montezuma, and Hyssop Chapter, No. 50, R. A. M., of Malcom. He also belongs to the subordinate lodge and encampment of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. His fellow townsmen have come to know him as a man who is reliable under all circumstances and he is today numbered among the valued and honored residents of Montezuma.
DAVID A. LAROS.
David A. Laros, a prominent representative of industrial interests in Grin- nell, is conducting an extensive business in the manufacture of carriages, spring wagons and buggies under the firm style of D. A. Laros & Sons. His birth occurred in Kutztown, Berks county, Pennsylvania, on the 3d of February, 1847. his parents being Robert and Rebecca (Wink) Laros, the former a native of Millerstown, Pennsylvania, and the latter of Kutztown, that state. They were married at Kutztown and there spent the remainder of their lives. The father worked at the hatter's trade in early manhood but subsequently was employed as a day laborer.
Owing to the straitened financial circumstances of the family, David A. Laros obtained only a common school education but his knowledge has been constantly augmented by reading, experience and observation. On the 18th of February, 1865, when but eighteen years of age, he enlisted for service in the Union Army, joining Company G, Seventy-fourth Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, and remaining with that command until the close of hostilities. After being mustered out he returned to his native town and became an apprentice at the carriage trimmer's trade. In 1877 he came west to Iowa, locating at Lisbon, where he continued work at his trade and for about ten years operated a farm in connection with his carriage work. In 1889 he came to Grinnell and found employment in the shops of Craver, Steele & Austin, remaining with that concern for but one year. He next entered the service of the H. W. Spaulding Manufacturing Company, continuing with that firm until 1897, when he re- signed his position and organized his present business, which has since become one of the important industrial enterprises of Grinnell. His business record
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is one of which he has every reason to be proud. Starting out in life empty handed, he labored as a journeyman workman for thirty-two years, thus gain- ing the capital and experience which enabled him to embark in business on his own account in 1897. From comparative obscurity and poverty he has worked his way steadily upward to a position of prominence and affluence, being now one of the leading manufacturers of Grinnell.
In 1869 Mr. Laros was united in marriage to Miss Sarah Snyder, of Kutz- town, Pennsylvania, by whom he had fourteen children, the record of whom is as follows: Mary, the wife of Kirk Gibbs, of Grinnell, Iowa; Charles, who is a member of the firm of D. A. Laros & Sons; Harry and William, both of whom are deceased; John and Fred, who are associated with their father in business : Bessie, the wife of Ellsworth Gruver, of Allentown, Pennsylvania ; Sadie, the wife of Fred Lorish, of Allentown, Pennsylvania; Augustus, who is likewise a member of the firm of D. A. Laros & Sons; and Ruth, Naomi, Roberta, Helen and Gerald, all at home.
In politics Mr. Laros is a democrat, while his religious faith is indicated by his membership in the Congregational church. Fraternally he is identified with the Masons, belonging to Herman Lodge, No. 273. In everything he is eminently practical and this has been manifest not only in his business under- takings but also in social and private life, and he and his estimable wife enjoy the respect and esteem of a large circle of friends.
ANDREW: MCINTOSH.
More than forty years have passtA since Andrew McIntosh became iden- tified in an humble capacity with mercantile business at Grinnell. Today he is a leading merchant of the city, beiffy at the head of one of the most flour- ishing concerns in this part of the state, "Courage, zeal and unwearied per- sistence are the keys that have enabled him to unlock the portals of fortune. He is a native of Scotland, and was born October 18, 1854, a son of Robert and Margaret (McCarty) McIntosh, who were both natives of Scotland. They were married in the old country and in 1855 crossed the ocean to America in search of a permanent home. After a short stay in Ohio they came to Mon- tezuma, Poweshiek county, Iowa, where the father was in the employ for a number of years of F. A. Kilborn. He died in 1871 at the age of thirty-nine years. The beloved mother's death occurred in 1863, when she had arrived at the age of thirty-three years.
Andrew McIntosh was reared at Montezuma, but received limited advan- tages of education, as his parents were poor and his assistance was needed in the support of the family. At the age of thirteen years he became a clerk in the store of Mr. Kilborn and continued there for four years, acquiring the foundation of a training that proved of great value to him in later life. In January, 1873. he arrived at Grinnell and went to work in the store of S. S. Preston, with which he continued for four years. Having determined to em- bark in business for himself he formed a partnership with F. O. Proctor. under
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the title of McIntosh & Proctor, and opened a mercantile establishment in Jan- uary, 1877. They continued for two and one-half years together and he then sold his interest to his partner, but shortly afterward he and Walter F. Ham- mond purchased the business from Mr. Proctor and conducted it under the title of McIntosh & Hammond. In 1882 Mr. McIntosh withdrew from the firm and the same year associated with D. S. Morrison in the manufacture of gloves. This work however, did not prove as satisfactory to Mr. McIntosh as general mercantile business, and, although he retained his interest in the con- cern, he organized in 1883 the dry goods firm of A. McIntosh & Company, which has continued in uninterrupted existence up to the present time. There have been several changes in partners but no change has been made in the style of the firm, which is one of the oldest mercantile institutions in the city and has a reputation extending throughout central Iowa. On January 1, 1908. Mr. McIntosh severed his connection with the glove manufacturing business and has since devoted his entire attention to mercantile affairs.
In 1879 he was united in marriage to Miss Addie C. Ricker of Grinnell, a daughter of Edward Ricker, who came to this city from Scott county, Iowa. Eight children have been born to this union, six of whom are now living, namely: Robert, who is a mechanical engineer and is identified with mining interests at Calumet, Michigan ; Mary, now the wife of John W. Gannaway of Grinnell: Fannie, wife of R. H. Lyman of Berlin, Germany: Andrew, Jr., Edith and Edna, all of whom are at home. The two younger children are attending Grinnell College and the others are all graduates of that institution with the exception of Andrew, who was compelled to discontinue his studies on account of his health.
Mr. McIntosh gives his support to the republican party but has never aspired to political honors, as his attention has been mainly devoted to private affairs. He is a member of the Commercial Club of Grinnell and takes an active interest in its work. He has for years been an ardent advocate for closing the stores at 6 o'clock in the evening, and through his agitation and persistence the consent of the business men was finally secured and the stores of Grinnell now close their doors promptly at that hour. Mr. McIntosh has been remark- ably successful in business and has many friends in Grinnell and Poweshiek county, who do not hesitate to declare that he is one of the most capable. trustworthy and progressive business men in their entire circle of acquaintances.
G. F. HYDE.
Twenty years ago G. F. Hyde arrived with his family in Poweshiek county and he has no reason to regret having taken up his permanent abode in this county, as he has been successful financially, being the owner of a well improved farm of eighty acres in section 34, Grinnell township. He has brought the fields under a state of rich fertility and made a number of substantial improvements, adding not only to the value, but to the appearance of the place as well.
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He was born on a farm in Pleasant Valley township, Scott county, lowa, March 15, 1849, and is a son of George J. and Julia ( Rowe) Hyde, both of whom were natives of New York state. The father came to Scott county in 1837 and settled on government land. He was married in Scott county to Miss Julia Rowe and became the owner of a farm of three hundred and sixty acres. He died on the old homestead in 1905, the mother having been called away two years previously. There were nine children in the family of Mr. and Mrs. Hyde, six of whom are now living.
G. F. Hyde acquired his early education in the common schools of Scott county and as he grew up assisted in the work upon the home farm, remaining upon the home place for a number of years after reaching his majority. He came with his family to Poweshiek county March 5, 1891, and has ever since made his home in this county. He raises hay and grain, but devotes his atten- tion especially to raising milch cows, for which he finds a ready market.
On the 25th of December, 1876, Mr. Hyde was married, in Scott county, to Miss Nannie Smith, a daughter of Amos Smith, of Pennsylvania. The father came to Iowa in 1864 and settled in Scott county. Four children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Hyde, namely: Lottie, who married George Evans and lives in Grinnell township, being the mother of three children : Helen, who married C. L. Pilgrim, also of Grinnell township; Howard, who is now attending Grinnell Col- lege ; and George, a student of the Grinnell high school.
Mr. Hyde takes the interest of an intelligent citizen in local, state and national politics and casts his vote in support of the democratic party. In religious belief he is a Baptist and holds membership in the church at Grinnell. He is a friend of education and a supporter of all measures seeking to make easier the burdens of the unfortunate and to spread the principles of truth and justice. In the con- duct of his business he has met with a goodly measure of success and on account of his high character and genial qualities is greatly esteemed by all with whom he comes into contact, either in a business or social way.
FREDERICK OSBORN.
Frederick Osborn, engaged in agricultural pursuits on a good farm in Mal- com township, is one of Poweshiek county's foreign born residents, his birth hay- ing occurred in Worcestershire, England, about twelve miles north of the city of Worcester, on the 26th of January, 1848, his parents being Samuel and Elizabeth { Fallows) Osborn. The father, who was a lifelong farmer, passed away in England, and the mother later came to America, her death occurring at the home of her son, Samuel. In their family were three children, of whom our subject was the eldest. The others were: Amy, who died in 1878, in Poweshiek county : and Samuel, a retired farmer of Grinnell.
Frederick Oshorn spent his early life in the land of his nativity and in the English schools acquired his education. He was the first member of the family to seek a home in the new world. arriving in Poweshiek county in 1871, since which time he has continued to reside within its borders. For about a year after
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his arrival he was employed as a farm hand, and later he rented a farm, but his industry and economy soon made it possible for him to purchase a place of his own and thus engage independently in agricultural pursuits. He became the owner of one hundred and sixty acres on sections 29 and 30, Malcom township. which is still his home, and here he carries on general farming and stock-raising, his efforts in both directions bringing to him a goodly measure of success.
In October, 1900, Mr. Osborn was married to Miss Mildred Jane Biddle, also a native of Worcestershire, England. She was born on the 13th of October, 1872, and in 1900 came alone to the United States. By her marriage she became the mother of three children: Noel, Neal and Gordon.
Mr. and Mrs. Osborn attend the Episcopal church at Grinnell, in which they hold membership, and are highly esteemed throughout the community in which they reside. Mr. Osborn has always led the quiet but industrious life of the farm, concentrating his entire attention upon the conduct of his private affairs. and to his close application and wise management is due in large measure the degree of prosperity which he today enjoys.
WILLIAM GARRETT.
County Down, Ireland, has been for a century or more a center from which thousands of brave-hearted young men and women have come to America, trust- ing that under the stars and stripes they might possess the advantages denied them on the Emerald isle. To many the change to new surroundings has proven of inestimable advantage and they live but to rejoice in the recollection of the day when first their feet trod the shores of the new world. William Garrett, a prosperous farmer of Poweshiek county, Iowa, is one of the fortunate natives of County Down who enjoys richly deserved prosperity. He was born fourteen miles from Belfast, March 7, 1843, a son of William and Mary ( McKeag) Gar- rett, both of whom were natives of County Down. The father was a farmer. and he and his wife spent their entire lives in Ireland. They were stanch mem- bers of the Presbyterian church. In their family were eight children: David, Thomas and James, all of whom are deceased; Robert, who is now living in County Down : William, of this review ; Isabella, who is also deceased; Mary, the wife of Nathaniel Ferguson of County Down ; and Henry, also of County Down.
William Garrett received his early education in the common and high schools of Ireland. After his education was completed he went to Belfast and for four years was in the employ of a wholesale dry-goods house. He then took up his residence at Glasgow, Scotland, where he was connected with the commission business for one year. In the spring of 1864 he crossed the ocean and came west to Rock Island, Illinois, securing employment by the month for three sum- mers and teaching school in the winter seasons. In 1867 he arrived in Powe- shiek county, Iowa, and purchased one hundred and sixty acres of land. After improving his property he sold cighty acres and a year later disposed of the re- mainder of the land. He then bought one hundred and seventy-two acres in
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Pleasant township, which he cultivated for two years, and, having disposed of it, purchased eighty acres in the same township, which he sold. He subsequently bought several tracts of land in Washington township, all of which he disposed of. In 1881 he acquired eighty acres in Washington township, upon which he has since lived, the farm being increased to one hundred and sixty acres by the addition of eighty acres which was inherited by his wife. He has greatly im- proved the farm and is now well established as an agriculturist and stock-raiser.
On the 29th of June, 1869, Mr. Garrett was married to Miss Mary Ann Beeler, a daughter of George M. and Nancy (Carpenter) Beeler. To this union four children have been born: Austin Clement, who is living at home; Milton H., of Jasper county ; and Emmanuel F. and Clarence R., twins, the former of whom is living at home and the latter in Grinnell township. Mr. Garrett has taken an active interest in political affairs and is affiliated with the democratic party. He is a man of clear and sound judgment, as is attested by the fact that his neigh- bors elected him assessor of the township for nine years, and he is now a men- ber of the school board. Genial and companionable, he makes friends readily and, being a man of high character and well known diligence, he enjoys the con- fidence and esteem which is accorded only in acknowledgment of true merit.
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