USA > Iowa > Wapello County > History of Wapello County, Iowa, Volume II > Part 13
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Following the close of the war Mr. Mahon embarked in busi- ness, becoming a partner in the firm of J. H. Merrill & Com- pany. From the beginning the enterprise prospered and year after year was successfully conducted. In 1900 the business was incorporated and has since been continued as the J. H. Merrill Company, Incorporated. Their patronage has grown year by year and theirs is today one of the most important commercial establishments of this section of the state. Mr. Mahon has been connected continuously with the business since 1865 and is now president of the J. H. Merrill Company and also of the Morey Clay Products Company. Extending his efforts into other fields, he has become a leading figure in financial circles in Iowa, being vice president of the Ottumwa National Bank, president of the Agency Savings Bank and the Chillicothe Savings Bank. He brings to his official duties in connection with bank management the same sound judgment and spirit of enterprise that have al- ways characterized him in his commercial connections. His high standing in trade circles is indicated in the fact that he has been honored with the presidency of the Iowa-Nebraska Wholesale Grocers Association continuously for twenty years.
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In Ottumwa on the 9th of July, 1872, Mr. Mahon was mar- ried to Miss Helen Therese Lang, a daughter of Professor Ben- jamin L. and Helen Mar (Thrall) Lang, the former a professor in Kenyon College at Gambier, Ohio, and acting president of that institution. Mr. and Mrs. Mahon have become the parents of five children : Edward, a graduate of Harvard University and medical school and now in the firm with his father; Marion, the wife of Professor William H. Haas, of the University of Chi- cago; Margaret; John Keith, in business with his father and who married Ellen Stoltz; and Samuel, who died in infancy. The religious faith of the family is that of the Protestant Episcopal church.
In his political belief Mr. Mahon is a republican, having indorsed the principles of that party since age conferred upon him the right of franchise. He belongs to the Wapello Club and the Ottumwa Country Club and in both organizations is popular. It is a recognized fact that leaders are few. The great majority of men are content to remain in the position where cir- cumstances or environment have placed them, lacking the ambi- tion and initiative that would carry them forward. Mr. Mahon, however, does not belong to that class. From early manhood he has wisely used his time, talents and opportunities and has grad- ually advanced until he stands today among the foremost business men of Ottumwa, wisely and capably directing important in- terests and achieving success by reason of his strong determination and inflexible business integrity.
THOMAS H. PICKLER.
Thomas H. Pickler is filling the office of deputy collector of United States internal revenue service at Ottumwa. He has also been mayor of the city, and his public record has received the indorsement of the majority of his fellow townsmen. His birth occurred in Warren county, Illinois, April 18, 1859. He dates his residence in Iowa from 1861 and in Wapello county from 1862, since which time he has here made his home. He is a son of James R. and Elizabeth (Ball) Pickler. The father was born in Salem, Washington county, Indiana, May 9, 1830, and the mother's birth occurred in Kentucky in 1835. When she was fourteen years of age her parents removed to Indiana, settling in
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Daviess county in the fall of 1850. In the same fall James Pick- ler arrived in that district and they were married in Daviess county in 1852. For about two years they were residents of Illinois. In 1861 they established their home in Monroe county, Iowa, but the following year came to Wapello county. Mr. Pickler engaged in the grocery business in Ottumwa for thirty years and since then has utilized his time in looking after his financial interests and investments. He was the first grocer of Ottumwa to begin the city delivery of his goods. He also sold flour and feed, conducting that business along both wholesale and retail lines. He was the first to ship flour in paper sacks and brought the first carload from Moline, Illinois, by boat to . Burlington and by train to Ottumwa. This was in 1863 and he had to pay freight charges of fifty-two dollars on the car from Burlington-a twenty-six ton car. Mr. Pickler bought as high as six hundred barrels of flour at one time and sold the product all through northern Missouri, hauling by wagon to Missouri points.
While a most successful merchant James R. Pickler was reared to farm life and followed general agricultural pursuits in early manhood. His educational and other advantages were limited, but he made good use of his time. talents and opportuni- ties and as the years passed on success attended his efforts, and he won for himself a prominent position in the field of commer- cial activity in Wapello county. He was but ten years of age when his father died, after which he resided with his widowed mother and her nine children. The first day that he went to school his father went with him and blazed the trail through the woods for two miles to make a short cut. The school season covered but three months of the year, and the schoolhouse was a small log building with puncheon floor and slab seats without backs. He would attend school for two or three days each week and would then be forced to remain away in order to assist in the work of the farm. He could hardly write his name when he entered the grocery business in Ottumwa, but he acquired a fair business education, learning many valuable lessons in the school of experience and developing his powers through the exercise of efforts until he was recognized as one of the fore- most merchants of Wapello county. He recalls many interest- ing incidents of pioneer times and tells many an amusing story of the primitive methods of the early days. He is today one of the venerable and highly respected pioneer settlers of the
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county. His wife passed away in Ottumwa in 1908. In the family were five children: Rose, who is the widow of J. B. Jos- lyn and is connected with mercantile interests in Ottumwa; J. W., living in Ottumwa; Thomas H., of this review; Frank, who died in 1911 ; and Etta, the wife of A. A. Wright of Ottumwa.
Thomas H. Pickler supplemented his public-school educa- tion by a course in a business college and received practical training in his father's store, in which he remained for a num- ber of years. He then entered business on his own account as a dealer in groceries, flour and feed and in that connection built up a large trade, which he carefully directed year after year, acquiring therefrom a comfortable competence. He disposed of his stock of groceries eight years ago, when he was elected mayor, but afterward purchased the Spring Bottling Works and engaged in the manufacture of soft drinks for seven years. In business affairs his judgment is sound and his enterprise unfal- tering.
In politics Mr. Pickler has been a lifelong democrat, firm in his advocacy of the party and its principles. In 1889 he was elected alderman from the first ward and again in 1890, 1891 and 1892. For four years he was a member of the school board and in 1901 he was elected mayor, to which office he was reelected in 1903, thus serving for four years. During his incumbency in the office the present central fire station was built and equipped. He also purchased the present patrol wagon and a team of horses. In July, 1913, he was appointed general dep- uty collector for the United States in connection with the in- ternal revenue department, with headquarters at Omaha, Iowa and Nebraska being his territory. His public service has thus covered a long period, and he has ever been found faithful and loyal to the duties intrusted to him. For six years he was chair- man of the county central committee, and he has attended vari- ous conventions as a delegate. He served as deputy postmaster of Ottumwa during President Cleveland's first administration, and he was a member of the police force in the position of desk sergeant for a short time.
In 1881 Mr. Pickler was united in marriage to Miss Etta E. Pickell, who was born in Wayland, Henry county, Iowa, November 25, 1858, and in childhood came to Wapello county with her parents, R. M. and Emeline Pickell. Her father was United States internal revenue collector for the first district of Iowa under President Lincoln. He died in Ottumwa and his
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widow survived him for many years, passing away at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Pickler, January 27, 1912, at the remarkable old age of ninety-two years. Mr. and Mrs. Pickell were married in Sweetwater, Tennessee, in 1839 and in the same year drove overland in a covered wagon, locating on a claim in Henry county, Iowa. The log house which was their first home was for years the center of Methodism in that part of the state, serv- ices being held there and the circuit riders being there enter- tained. Not only was the hospitality of the home extended to religious gatherings, but it was as freely given for all neighbor- hood purposes. Singing schools, spelling matches and debates were held there, and in this way young men who later achieved distinction received their first training. Mrs. Pickell also served as postmistress for her township under appointment of President Buchanan. Mr. and Mrs. Pickell resided on the homestead from 1839 until 1872, when they moved to Ottumwa. They were the parents of eleven children, eight of whom preceded their mother in death.
To Mr. and Mrs. Pickler have been born three children: Alfred, who died at the age of one year; Herbert T., who was a graduate of the high school of Ottumwa, a student in the State Agricultural College at Ames, and who passed away in June, 1910, at the age of twenty-six years ; and Bessie, at home.
Mr. Pickler is well known in fraternal circles, holding mem- bership with the Elks, the Modern Woodmen of America, the Woodmen of the World, the Ancient Order of United Workmen, the Knights of the Maccabees and the American Commercial Travelers. He has practically spent his entire life in this county and is most widely known, while his many substantial character- istics and qualities have brought to him the high regard of those with whom he has been associated.
CHARLES T. McCARROLL.
On the list of Ottumwa's dead appears the name of Charles T. McCarroll, long prominently, actively and honorably asso- ciated with its business interests, being especially active in manu- facturing circles. His life was at all times useful, purposeful and resultant, and in the accomplishment of his purposes he promoted not only individual success but also advanced the gen-
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eral prosperity through the employment which he furnished to many workmen. A native of Ohio, he was born in Leesville, April 10, 1851, his parents being W. F. and Mary E. (Timmer- man) McCarroll. The father was a representative of one of the old families of the Buckeye state and there devoted his life to general agricultural pursuits until he came to Iowa, establish- ing his home in Ottumwa. He married Mrs. Mary E. Ross, nee Timmerman, and she died when their son, Charles T. McCar- roll, was but two years of age. A daughter by a former marriage was Mrs. Mary E. Hennegan. After losing his first wife the father wedded Mary Millsack, and they had four children: J. B. and W. F., well known in Ottumwa as partners in the firm of McCarroll Brothers, hardware merchants; Mrs. Phoebe Bid- dison ; and Mrs. Laura Kilby, of Ottumwa.
Charles T. McCarroll was a lad of fifteen years when he accompanied his parents to Wapello county, settling upon a farm near Kirkville. There he resided until 1871, when the family removed to Ottumwa, and he and his father entered the hardware trade under the firm style of W. F. McCarroll & Son, purchasing the business of William Kraner on Main street. Twenty years later the father passed away, but the business was still conducted under the old firm style until February, 1898, when Charles T. McCarroll sold out to the Harper & McIntire Company and entered upon the business of manufacturing stoves. He bought land on West Second street and erected a building thirty by one hundred and eighteen feet, with an ell twenty by thirty feet to be used as a storeroom. He employed a large force of workmen, and he installed a large number of special ma- chines, a number of which were patented by him. He not only engaged in the manufacture of stoves but also of huge tanks of his own invention. In 1901 he invented a tank heater and in 1907 a stove pipe thimble, which is the best on the market. He oper- ated that plant until his death, which occurred on the 15th of July, 1911. His manufactured products all displayed an excel- lence that secured a ready sale for the output and year by year the business increased, its trade covering a wide territory.
Mr. McCarroll was united in marriage November 6, 1877, in Wapello county, to Miss Emma L. Foster, a daughter of Thomas Foster, and they became the parents of three children : Mary, now the wife of Ralph Mccullough of Seattle, Washing- ton ; Helen, now Mrs. Charles B. Jordan, of Minneapolis; and Laura, who is a graduate of Ottumwa high school and still at
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home. She is now connected with her mother in carrying on the business left by the husband and father, and has been superin- tendent of the McCarroll Manufacturing Company for three years. Mrs. McCarroll owns a farm in Washington township and a fine residence in this city. Both mother and daughter are ladies of excellent business ability, indicating their worth in the capable control of the interests which were left to them by hus- band and father. He was well known as a member of the Royal Arcanum and was a stalwart supporter of the republican party, which elected him to the office of alderman in the sixth ward. He was a charter member of the Wapello club. He was inter- ested in all civic matters and supported every movement which he deemed of value and benefit to the community. His life was honorable, his actions manly and sincere and he enjoyed the re- spect, confidence and good-will of those with whom he came in contact.
THOMAS B. KALE.
Thomas B. Kale is one of the venerable residents of Eddy- ville, having passed his seventieth birthday. Throughout his active life he followed the trade of stonecutter and by industry, honesty and energy has acquired a competence. There is also honor due him as a veteran of the Civil war, for he was one of those who willingly stepped forward when the services of hun- dreds of thousands were needed in order to preserve the Union. He was born in Ohio, July 12, 1843, and is a son of David and Elizabeth (True) Kale, natives of the Buckeye state, where the father died in 1846. The mother migrated to Wapello county, Iowa, in 1853, and passed away on July 17, 1913, in her nine- tieth year. In their family were three children: Mary, de- ceased ; Thomas B., of this review ; and Matilda J., who married Martin Criswell of Eddyville.
His father having died when he was a boy of but three years, Thomas B. Kale was early called upon to make his own living. His education was meagre, but he made the best use of such opportunities as were offered him. At the carly age of ten he began to learn the stonecutter's trade, and he has ever since re- mained true to that occupation. In 1862, when the call went forth for troops, he enlisted with Company F of the Eighteenth Iowa Infantry and served until the close of the conflict, partici-
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pating in several of the most sanguinary battles. He was shot twice in the left side and was taken prisoner in Arkansas, but on the third day managed to escape. He was honorably discharged at Springfield, Missouri, and then returned to Wapello county, where he continued at his trade. For many years he followed that occupation and as more experience came to him his services were in much demand. In all his transactions he proved hin- self punctual, reliable, honest and trustworthy. On March 8, 1868, Mr. Kale married Miss Mary Luces, who was born in Kentucky and is a daughter of Bryant and Elizabeth (Prather) Luces, natives of the Blue Grass state. In the early years of their lives they removed to Illinois, where the father died, and the mother subsequently came to Iowa and passed away in Ot- tumwa. In their family were four children, all of whom are living. Mr. and Mrs. Kale have the same number in their fam- ily: Della J., who married Joseph Harris, of Buxton, Iowa; Lula, the widow of Mandus Sager; Elizabeth, who married John A. Reed of Sheridan; and Hattie May, the wife of Wil- liam Homer of Davenport, Iowa. Mr. and Mrs. Kale have twenty-one grandchildren and eleven great-grandchildren.
Politically Mr. Kale is a republican and has always upheld that party, which stood stanchly for the power of the federal government during the time of civil strife. He is a public-spir- ited citizen, who is ever ready to support those measures which are undertaken in order to improve the city and county, and in a quiet way he has contributed his share to making Eddyville what it is today. He has many friends there and is regarded by all who know him as a useful and worthy citizen.
GEORGE F. HEINDEL.
George F. Heindel has been a successful representative of the legal fraternity in Ottumwa for the past twenty-three years, enjoying an extensive and lucrative clientage. His birth occurred in Gratiot, Wisconsin, on the 27th of August, 1869, his parents being Lewis W. and Emma F. (Rodolf) Heindel. The father was born in Lafayette county, Wisconsin, in 1842, and was there reared and educated. Subsequently he prepared for a business career and engaged in merchandising. He is now a merchant and banker of South Wayne, Wisconsin, and one of the prominent
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and influential business men of that city. His wife, likewise a native of Lafayette county, Wisconsin, is a daughter of J. C. F. Rodolf, who was born in Switzerland. They became the parents of seven children, five of whom survive, as follows: George F., of this review; Marcus L., who follows farming in Wisconsin; Wilfred L., who is engaged in the mercantile business in Wis- consin ; Roy L., also a resident of Wisconsin, and Sydney C., living in Atlanta, Georgia.
George F. Heindel received his preparatory mental training in the primary schools of his native county and in the high school of Warren, Illinois. He next entered the University of Wiscon- sin at Madison, in which institution he pursued a three years' collegiate course and which conferred upon him the degree of LL. B. in 1891. In August of that year he located in Ottumwa, Iowa, and began the practice of his chosen profession. He was associated with W. A. Work from 1892 until 1894, and the fol- lowing four years were spent in partnership with E. E. McEl- roy. During the past sixteen years he has been alone in the gen- eral practice of law and has been accorded a most gratifying clientage. His success in a professional way affords the best evidence of his capabilities in this line. He is a strong advocate with the jury, and concise in his appeals before the court. Much of the success which has attended him in his professional carcer is undoubtedly due to the fact that in no instance will he permit himself to go into court with a case unless he has absolute confi- dence in the justice of his client's cause. Basing his efforts on this principle, from which there are far too many lapses in profes- sional ranks, it naturally follows that he seldom loses a case in whose support he is enlisted.
On the 8th of November, 1894, Mr. Heindel was united in marriage to Miss Emma Reinhardt, a native of Ottumwa, this county, and a daughter of Henry and Mary Elizabeth ( Kleine) Reinhardt. They now have three children, namely: Mary Frances, a high-school student; Dorothy Annetta, and Helen Martha.
Mr. Heindel gives his political allegiance to the democracy and takes an active interest in party work and organization. He is a member of the Commercial Law League of America and also belongs to the Wapello Club, while fraternally he is identified with the Masons, the Modern Woodmen of America and the Royal Arcanum. His religious faith is that of the Methodist
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church. His ideals of citizenship are high, and in the relations of life which are of a more strictly social character he has dis- played qualities which have rendered him popular wherever he is known.
CHARLEY E. JOHNSON.
Charley E. Johnson, engaged in general farming and dairy- ing, is the owner of valuable property, comprising two hundred and seventeen acres on sections 19 and 30, Agency township. It was in this township that he was born on the 4th of November, 1864, and he is a son of Elijah and Priscilla Johnson, the former a native of Indiana and the latter of Ohio. The year 1848 witnessed their arrival in Wapello county, Iowa, at which time they took up their abode upon a farm. They became the parents of six children: Charley E .; Elizabeth D., the wife of H. Mathes of Wapello county; D. W., living in the same county; Harry, a resident of Glenwood, Iowa; and two who have passed away. The father died on the 20th of February, 1909, after a residence of about sixty years in this part of the state.
Charley E. Johnson remained at home until he reached the age of twenty-four years and then took up his abode upon the farm where he now resides. In his chosen life work he has been very successful and the secret of his success is not hard to find, for he has ever been persistent and diligent and in business affairs displays sound judgment. He is today the owner of an excellent property of two hundred and seventeen acres on sec- tions 19 and 30, Agency township, and thereon conducts a dairy business as well as general farming. He keeps a number of good cows for dairy purposes, and his dairy products find a ready sale on the market. He is also one of the directors of the Wapello Savings Bank.
On the 7th of March, 1889, Mr. Johnson was united in mar- riage to Miss Mary B. Connelly, who was born in this county in 1867 and is a daughter of W. W. and Elizabeth (Ruckman) Connelly, the former a native of Pennsylvania and the latter of Ohio. The year 1845 witnessed their arrival in this county, which was then a frontier district, giving little promise of rapid or substantial development in the future. Mr. Connelly, how- ever, lived to see remarkable changes ere his death, which
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occurred April 16, 1908. His daughter Mary was one of a family of seven children, six of whom survive. Before her marriage she was a teacher in the public schools, but after her marriage she concentrated her energies upon the care of her home and children, who are three in number: Ethel Veda, who was born October 20, 1890, and is the wife of Joe MI. Bohlender, of this county; Hazel Dell, who was born June 14, 1893, and is now in college in Mount Pleasant; and Ronald E., who was born September 5, 1895, and is also in college. The parents are mem- bers of the Methodist Episcopal church, and Mr. Johnson is a republican in his political views. For twenty-one years he served on the school board as secretary and the cause of education finds in him a warm friend, who does all in his power to further the interests of the community in that direction. His energy is unfaltering, and his advancement has been won along the lines of ceaseless business activity.
WALTER HAMILTON MCELROY.
Walter Hamilton McElroy has been successfully engaged in the practice of law at Ottumwa since 1900, being still in the same location where his father opened offices about forty-one years ago. He is numbered among the worthy native sons of Wapello county, his birth having occurred in Ottumwa on the 15th of August, 1878. His father, Ebenezer Erskine MeElroy, was born near Greenfield, Ohio, on the 16th of February, 1849, and supplemented his early education by three years' study in Cornell University, which institution conferred upon him the degree of B. S. in June, 1872. Subsequently he prepared for the practice of law as a student in the State University of Iowa at Iowa City, being graduated therefrom with the class of 1873. In August of that year he located in Ottumwa, Iowa, which continued the scene of his professional labors throughout the remainder of his life, and an extensive and lucrative clientage was accorded him. He served on the school board for a longer period than any other school director of the county, holding the office for twenty-two years and acting as president of the board for ten years. Ebenezer E. McElroy was a republican in politics and served as a mem- ber of the city council for some time. His demise, which oc- curred in Ottumwa in 1906, was the occasion of deep and
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