USA > Iowa > Wapello County > History of Wapello County, Iowa, Volume II > Part 14
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widespread regret. - On the 2d of July, 1873, he was united in marriage to Miss Belle Hamilton, a native of Greenfield, Ohio, and a daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth Hamilton. The chil- dren of this union are five in number, four sons and one daughter, namely: Clifford T., an architect of Minneapolis; Carl E., a wholesale grocer of Seattle; Walter Hamilton, of this review; Ralph T., who is engaged in the real-estate and insurance busi- ness at Ottumwa; and Evalyn, who is identified with the work of the Young Woman's Christian Association in Nashville, Ten- nessee. The mother of these children was called to her final rest on the 10th of May, 1883, and in 1884 Mr. McElroy was again married, his second union being with Elizabeth Milner, of Ohio, the ceremony taking place near Des Moines. To them were born two children: Edna M., who is now the wife of Ernest LeCompte, who conducts five shoe stores in Oklahoma City; and Edith M., the wife of M. D. Fezler, who is associated in business with Mr. LeCompte in Oklahoma. Mrs. Elizabeth (Milner) McElroy survives and makes her home in Ottumwa.
Walter H. McElroy completed the high-school course in Ottumwa in 1898 and subsequently took up the study of law in the State University of Iowa at Iowa City, from which institu- tion he was graduated in 1900, being the youngest member of his class to receive a diploma. He immediately began practice in association with his father as a member of the firm of McElroy & McElroy and has since remained a successful representative of the profession in Ottumwa, devoting his attention to the general practice of law along realty lines principally. Mr. McElroy conducts an abstract department, doing business in the same location occupied by his father at the time of his birth. He is likewise a factor in financial circles as a director and stockholder in the Citizens' Savings Bank.
On the 6th of October, 1904, Mr. McElroy was united in marriage to Miss Lucille H. Wycoff, a native of Iowa and a daughter of H. E. Wycoff, of Cedar Rapids. Her mother has passed away. Mr. and Mrs. McElroy have a daughter and two sons, namely: Dorothy Alice, Robert Hamilton and John Wycoff.
Mr. McElroy gives his political allegiance to the republican party and is now ably serving as treasurer of the school board. He belongs to the Royal Arcanum, the Wapello Club and the Country Club, and his religious faith is that of the First Pres- byterian church. He has a wide acquaintance throughout
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Wapello county, and his circle of friends is extensive, for his reliability and personal worth and his social, genial nature have gained for him the warm regard of all with whom he has come in contact.
ERNEST R. MITCHELL.
Ernest R. Mitchell, lawyer and law maker, practicing his profession in Ottumwa, was born in Mexico, Missouri, Febru- ary 28, 1877. His father, John H. Mitchell, was a native of Hillsboro, Highland county, Ohio, born March 8, 1848. Removing westward he engaged in the drug business at Mex- ico, Missouri, Moulton, Iowa, and at Bloomfield from 1870 to 1892. From 1891 to 1894 he was a member of the state board of pharmacy under appointment of Governor Horace Boies. He is now engaged in the real-estate and insurance business at Ottumwa, having devoted his efforts to activity along those lines since 1897. He now has many clients in both branches of his business, and an analyzation of his life work shows that enterprise has been one of the chief features of his suc- cess. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Emma L. Dome, was born in Elkhart, Indiana, on the 25th of May, 1846. Both Mr. and Mrs. J. H. Mitchell are still living. In their family were two sons, the elder being Fred R. Mitchell, a graduate of the Iowa College of Music at Grinnell and now a professor of music in Denver, Colorado.
Ernest R. Mitchell was but a young lad when his parents removed from Missouri to Iowa, and in the schools of Bloom- field he pursued his education until graduated from the high school with the class of 1896. In the following fall he entered the State University, where he pursued the liberal arts' course and won his degree in June, 1900. He next studied law with the firm of Steck & Smith and was admitted to practice by the supreme court of the state and the federal courts in 1902. Since that time he has followed his profession in Ottumwa and in a calling where advancement is proverbially slow he has made great progress, winning prominence and success by his thorough and competent methods and his comprehensive knowledge of the law. He was assistant county attorney of Wapello county from 1906 until 1910 and made an excellent
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ERNEST R. MITCHELL
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record in that connection. That by no means limits the extent of his political activity, however, for he has ever been a stalwart advocate of democratic principles since age conferred upon him the right of franchise, and in 1912 he was elected on the democratic ticket to represent his district in the state legis- lature. He is a member of the judiciary, municipal corpora- tions, public lands and buildings, pharmacy, state university, insurance, and code supplement committees, and is secretary of the last named. He was renominated without opposition.
On the 11th of September, 1912, Mr. Mitchell was married to Miss Martha L. McGavic, who was born in Ottumwa and is a daughter of S. L. McGavic, a lumberman of Ottumwa. Her mother, who bore the maiden name of Ellen Boales, is deceased.
Mr. Mitchell is prominent in lodge circles. He belongs to Wapello Lodge, No. 12, K. P .; Ottumwa Lodge, No. 347, B. P. O. E. ; and the Royal Arcanum. He is also one of the Ot- tumwa Oarsmen, a fact which indicates something of the nature of his recreation. His religious faith is evidenced in his mem- bership in Trinity Episcopal church, in which he has served as vestryman since 1906. His ideals of life are high, his actions manly and sincere, and the course which he pursues, both at the bar and as a private citizen, commends him to the confidence, respect and good-will of all.
W. T. WILSON.
W. T. Wilson, a worthy native son and respected citizen of Wapello county, was elected to the office of county clerk in 1912 and in that connection has made a highly creditable record. His birth occurred on the 24th of October, 1864, his parents being Thomas A. and Lucy J. (Farmer) Wilson, the former born in Owen county, Indiana, November 20, 1830, and the latter in the same county, on the 23d of April, 1831. Thomas A. Wilson, an agriculturist by occupation, came to Iowa in 1851, settling on a farm in Wapello county. His last years were spent in honorable retirement at Ottumwa, where he passed away on the 20th of February, 1900. The period of his residence in this county covered nearly a half century, and in his demise the community lost one of its substantial and esteemed citizens. His Vol. II- 10
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widow still survives and makes her home with our subject in Ottumwa. Their children were five in number, as follows: WV. T., of this review; Josephine, the wife of Thomas J. Hayes, of Pueblo, Colorado; Prior F., a resident of Ottumwa; Ellen A., also living in Ottumwa; and Maude M., who died in infancy.
W. T. Wilson acquired his education in the common schools of Wapello and Ottumwa and also pursued a course of private instruction. On attaining his majority he turned his attention to the profession of teaching and subsequently entered the tele- graph service of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad Company. He then became connected with the Griswold Ab- stract Company and still acts as its manager. At the end of seven years with that concern, in 1912, he was chosen clerk of the court and in that capacity has served to the present time, proving an efficient and highly satisfactory incumbent. The democratic party has placed him on its ticket as a candidate for reelection.
On the 28th of February, 1888, Mr. Wilson was united in marriage to Miss Edna Griswold, her father being George Gris- wold, an abstracter of titles who passed away in 1898. Her mother, Mary (Morgan) Griswold, is still living and makes her home in Ottumwa. Mr. Wilson is identified fraternally with the Knights of Pythias, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Modern Woodmen of America, the Woodmen of the World and the Loyal Order of Moose, while his religious faith is indi- cated by his membership in the Episcopal church. He has re- mained within the borders of Wapello county from his birth to the present time and has an extensive circle of friends who esteem him for his genuine personal worth and upright, honor- able principles.
JAMES F. STEVENS.
James F. Stevens, filling the position of county auditor, to which he has twice been elected, was born in Blandchester, Clinton county, Ohio, September 8, 1863. His father, Frank Stevens, is a native of Little Falls, Herkimer county, New York, born September 6, 1840. In carly manhood he wedded Maria McMorrow, who was born in County Sligo, Ireland, March 17, 1841. The grandfather of Frank Stevens' mother was Captain
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Wetherstine, who served under General Schuyler in the Mo- hawk Valley and other campaigns and also under General Wash- ington in the Revolutionary war. He attained the rank of Cap- tain and for his services was granted three hundred and twenty acres of land on which the City of Rochester, New York is now located. Philip McMorrow, the father of Mrs. Maria Stevens, was a colonel of artillery in the British army in the Crimean war. He fought before Sebastopol and was stationed in Ireland at the time of his death. Frank Stevens laid out the first yards of the Wabash Railroad, then known as the Northern Missouri at Ottumwa, and for twenty-eight years he was with various railroad companies. In 1893, in connection with his son James, he purchased a farm in Wapello county, but is now living re- tired in South Ottumwa, where he and his wife occupy a pleasant home. It was in 1874 that he removed with his family to Davis county, Iowa, settling upon a farm which he purchased and re- siding there about ten years. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Stevens were born two children, the younger being a daughter, Emma, now the wife of H. T. Lester, of South Ottumwa.
James F. Stevens, whose name introduces this review, was a little lad of about six years when the family first came to Iowa in 1869. He is indebted to the public-school system of the state for his educational privileges. He attended the old Adams school of Ottumwa in 1871-72, was afterward a student in other schools and in the Ottumwa Business College. He started out in the business world in connection with railroad work and after being employed in that way for a time returned to school. Later he engaged in railroading, serving in many capacities in connec- tion with the track work of the Chicago. Burlington & Quincy and several other railroads. In connection with his father he purchased a farm in this county in 1893, and he now owns three hundred and sixty acres of land in Keokuk township, constituting a rich and well developed tract, which he has brought under a high state of cultivation. He carried on general farming and stock-raising and his well managed business affairs brought to him substantial success. Mr. Stevens' fellow citizens of Wapello county recognizing his worth and ability, called him to office. In 1891 he was appointed deputy auditor and served in that capacity for two years. In 1903 he made a complete set of town lot and land transfers and plats for the entire county besides doing other work in the auditor's and treasurer's offices. It was after that that he removed to the farm, upon which he lived
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until he was again made deputy auditor for the years 1909-10. He was then elected auditor in the fall of the latter year and served through the succeeding two years, while in 1912 he was reelected, so that he is now serving for the fourth year as auditor, subsequent to four years' service as deputy. His political record is a commendable one, being characterized by the utmost fidelity to duty. His political allegiance is given to the democratic party, and he keeps well informed on the questions and issues of the day.
Mr. Stevens has been married twice. On the 27th of April, 1898, he was united in marriage to Miss Anna O'Brien, who for twelve years was a teacher in the schools of Wapello. She was a daughter of Michael and Bridget O'Brien, and she passed away July 25, 1902, leaving a daughter, Mary, who is now a student in the Sisters Academy. On the 5th of September, 1904, Mr. Stevens was married to Miss Christina A. Schmitz, who was born in the Rhine Province, Germany, a daughter of Christian and Anna ( Klingebraun) Schmitz, both of whom are now deceased.
Mr. Stevens is a member of the Catholic church and of the Knights of Columbus. He also holds membership with the Modern Woodmen of America and with the Moose. His life has indeed been a busy one, in which there have been few idle hours, and he has employed his time wisely in the mastery of all the duties that have devolved upon him. He has inade a splendid record in office, while in business lines he has steadily progressed and is now the owner of valuable property holdings in this county.
W. T. HARPER.
Among the successful business enterprises of Ottumwa none is more prominent than that of J. W. Edgerly & Co., wholesale druggists of whom W. T. Harper is the president. It is largely due to his initiative and business understanding that the firm has succeeded in attaining its foremost position.
Mr. Harper was born in Ottumwa, Iowa, June 16, 1868, and is a son of W. T. and Jennie (Shaul) Harper. The former was born April 12, 1833, in Muskingum county, Ohio. He was one of Iowa's early pioneers, arriving in this state in 1854, and for the first years after his coming was engaged in teaching. He sub-
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sequently found work in a drug store in Eddyville, there laying the foundation for the knowledge which brought him promi- nence in the drug business. In 1861 he entered the employ of the drug house of J. L. Taylor & Company, with whom he continued until 1875, gaining not only wide experience but a position of trust with this firm. In the latter year he entered the linseed oil business in which he continued until he sold out his interests. to the National Linseed Oil Company. He afterward continued with that corporation until 1898, in which year they discontinued the manufacturing business in Ottumwa. Already in 1888 Mr. Harper had formed a partnership with J. W. Edgerly and Charles F. Harlan in the establishment of the firm of J. W. Edgerly & Co., which succeeded to the business of Blake, Bruce & Company, wholesale druggists. Mr. Harper, Sr., became one of the foremost business men of Ottumwa and enjoyed in full measure the trust and confidence of all those who had relations with him. He died in 1900. His first wife, Mrs. Jennie (Shaul) Harper, passed away in 1869, and to that union were born two children, the sister of our subject being Emma, who married Edwin A. Jones, of Great Falls, Montana. W. T. Harper, Sr., married, in 1872, Mary E. Knight, who bore him five children, four of whom are yet living. The three sons, Harry C., Ralph S. and Charles K., are all connected with J. W. Edgerly & Co., while the daughter, Mary E., is librarian of Parsons College at Fairfield, Iowa.
W. T. Harper of this review received his early education in the public schools of Ottumwa, graduating from the high school with the class of 1884. He then attended for one year Ames Col- lege and subsequently pursued his studies at the State University at Iowa City. In January, 1886, he entered the linseed oil busi- ness, in which his father had already attained prominence. He remained active along that line until February 15, 1890, when his connection with the firm of J. W. Edgerly & Co. began. He started in as invoice clerk, and as proof of his ability, his faithful- ness, his aggressiveness and his sound business principles it is but to be stated that he is now president of that concern, and the firm of J. W. Edgerly & Co. is largely indebted to him for the promi- nent position which it has attained in the business world of the state.
Mr. Harper was married on June 18, 1889, to Miss Alice Beaman, who was born in Van Buren county, this state, and is a daughter of D. C. and L. A. (Smith) Beaman. The former is now
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a well known attorney of Denver, Colorado. Mr. and Mrs. Harper have three children : Ruth B., Dorothy S., who attends school in Ames; and Alice L., who is pursuing her studies at Ottumwa.
Mr. Harper has always taken a deep and helpful interest in the progress and welfare of his city and state. He readily gives his material and moral support to worthy public enter- prises, although he has never sought public prominence for him- self. He is a republican and faithfully upholds the principles and candidates of that organization. The city of Ottumwa is largely indebted to men of the stamp and character of W. T. Harper for its rapid growth and, while he has attained to individ- ual prominence and yet has not been an official factor in the growth of the city, he has been a vital force in making Ottumwa what it is today.
CYRUS H. MERRICK.
Cyrus H. Merrick, president of the Phoenix Trust Com- pany of Ottumwa, is probably the oldest resident of Wapello county in active business.
Mr. Merrick was born in Sturbridge, Worcester county, Massachusetts, September 26, 1829, and is therefore in his eighty-fifth year. He is the son of Cyrus and Elizabeth (Hen- shaw) Merrick, and comes of old New England stock, his ancestors having been pioneers in the Connecticut River valley, settling at Springfield, Massachusetts, in 1638, having landed at Charlestown, Massachusetts, from Anglesey, Wales, in 1636.
Cyrus Merrick, the father of Cyrus H., left the family home at Monson, Massachusetts, and settled in Sturbridge in 1809 as junior partner of Burt & Merrick, being tavern keepers, store keepers and proprietors of a section of the stage line from Bos- ton to New York. Mr. Merrick also served one term in the legislature of Massachusetts. At the time Lafayette revisited this country he stopped en route at the tavern of Burt & Mer- rick, which is still standing. After living successively at Stur- bridge, Wilbraham and Lancaster, Massachusetts, being engaged in farming during this period and in securing a fair common school and academic education in the common schools and at Williston & Easthampton seminaries the subject of our
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sketch decided to cast his lot with the growing west and arrived in Burlington, Iowa, October 15, 1851, having made the trip from Massachusetts by rail, boat and stage. The railroad west from Chicago at that time extended only to Belvedere, Illinois. Arriving in Burlington Mr. Merrick was first employed in the office of the lumber firm of E. D. Rand & Company. Later he entered the employ of the banking firm of Green, Thomas & Company at Burlington and was made manager of a branch at Fort Madison in 1853, it being the first banking house opened in that city. While living in Fort Madison his wife, who he had married in Ohio in the summer of 1853, passed away, and Mr. Merrick's health having become impaired, he was obliged to leave the west and returned to Massachusetts in 1855, where after a period of farm life he engaged in the shoe manufactur- ing business at Sturbridge, in which he remained until the win- ter of 1860-61, when he removed to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where he was engaged in the paper manufacturing business until 1868, the company of which he was secretary-treasurer making during that period the first roll of paper used on a Bullock press, and, he thinks, the first roll of paper ever manufactured for a printing press. During the Civil war he assisted in the organization of the One Hundred and Fifty-fifth Pennsylvania Volunteers, and served in the Pennsylvania militia during Lee's first invasion. His partner in business having received a com- mission, Mr. Merrick was obliged to remain in Pittsburgh in charge of the business. In 1868 he returned to Burlington, Iowa, where he was employed successively by the lumber firm of Gilbert Hedge & Company, the carpet and furnishing house of J. H. Wyman & Company, afterward Wyman & Rand, and the Whitebreast Fuel Company, shortly after its organization by J. C. Osgood and our respected fellow citizen, William Haven. In 1881 the office of the Whitebreast Fuel Company was trans- ferred to Ottumwa, and Mr. Merrick brought his family here the latter part of that year. In 1882 he became secretary-treas- urer of the newly organized Eldon Coal & Mining Company, being associated with Oliver M. and Charles F. C. Ladd. He was connected with this company until 1889 when the con- trolling interest was purchased by Messrs. W. R. & George P. Daum. About this time O. M. Ladd removed to Denver, Colo- rado, and Mr. Merrick took charge of his farm loan business, purchasing it in 1895. In 1903 he associated with himself a number of the leading business men of Ottumwa and incorpo-
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rated his business as the Phoenix Trust Company, of which he was elected president, which office he still holds.
Mr. Merrick was married in June, 1853, to Ellen H., daugh- ter of William and Margaret Lang, at Kenton, Ohio. She died January 6, 1855. In 1877 he married at Bloomington, Illinois, Harriet Olivia, daughter of Simeon and Lucretia (Shepherd) Sherfey, who is still living. His children are Henry Spencer, who is associated with him in the Phoenix Trust Company, and Elisabeth Olive.
At an early age Mr. Merrick joined the Orthodox Congre- gational church, with which he has been since affiliated, except during his residence at Pittsburgh, when he was a member of the Third Presbyterian church. At present he is senior deacon in the First Congregational church in this city. While in Pitts- burgh he was one of the organizers of the Young Men's Chris- tian Association, and was also a member and treasurer of the board of trustees of the Ottumwa Young Men's Christian Asso- ciation when the present building was erected. He was one of the charter members of the Wapello Club, of which he is still a member, and is also a member of the Ottumwa Country Club.
WILLIAM BOYD WYCOFF.
William Boyd Wycoff is one of the venerable citizens of Ot- tumwa but still engages in business to some extent, handling real estate and loans. He has ever enjoyed the high respect and con- fidence of the community in which he has lived and for many years Wapello county has been his home. He was born May 6, 1835, in Coshocton county, Ohio, a son of James and Rachel (Cecil) Wycoff. His great-grandfather and his grandfather both bore the name of Peter Wycoff, and both were natives of Holland. James Wycoff was born in Washington county, Penn- sylvania, in July, 1798, and his wife was a native of Maryland, born in October, 1799. James Wycoff was a prominent canal builder of his day, taking contracts for the construction of the White Woman canal and others through Ohio in pioneer times, when travel by water was largely the means of reaching from point to point.
With the removal of the family to Jefferson county, Iowa, William B. Wycoff became a pupil in the public schools of that
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WILLIAM B. WYCOFF
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county. On starting out in life for himself he began farming, which he followed for an extended period. He afterward be- came manager of the Great Western Nursery, and under his direction the business became one of profit. He secured a large trade and by reason of his capable control made that one of the important business interests of the community. At the time of the Civil war Mr. Wycoff offered his services to the government, attempting to enlist in 1861, but was rejected on account of phys- ical disability. He had three brothers, Hazeal, Peter and James, who enlisted, served throughout the war and lived to return home although they participated in a number of hotly contested en- gagements.
Mr. Wycoff was united in marriage to Miss Sarah Eliza- beth Martin, a daughter of James and Rachel Martin, who emi- grated to Iowa in 1842 and in 1844 settled in Wapello county, where they continued to reside until called to their final rest. To Mr. and Mrs. Wycoff were born six children : Mary Ellen, who became the wife of George T. Bedwell and following his death married R. E. Coffman ; James Calvin, who married Miss Laura Spry and for his second wife chose Mrs. Maggie Logan Harris; Laura Jane and Flora Jane, twins, who died in infancy ; Cora May, the wife of A. L. Shewey; and Annie M., the wife of D. N. Conroy. The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Wycoff was cele- brated in Center township, Wapello county, and they are today among the oldest residents of their part of the state. They re- sided at No. 412 West Fourth street until the latter part of 1904, when they left Iowa for Oklahoma. On that occasion the Ot- tumwa Courier of November 29, 1904, contained the following :
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