USA > Iowa > Wapello County > History of Wapello County, Iowa, Volume II > Part 15
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"The many friends of Mr. and Mrs. W. B. Wycoff of No. 412 West Fourth street will regret to learn that they have de- cided to go to Oklahoma with the expectation of making their home there in the future. The condition of Mrs. Wycoff's health renders it necessary that they should seek a milder climate and Mr. Wycoff has decided that Oklahoma offers an inviting field for business enterprise at this time. The departure of this long time and valued citizen of Ottumwa is a distinct loss to this com- munity. Mr. Wycoff has lived in Wapello county since the '50s, having come here from Indiana with his parents in 1846, when he was yet a small boy. He has been engaged in the real-estate and loaning business in Ottumwa for twenty years and has a rec- ord for reliability, straightforwardness and honorable dealing of which any man might well be proud. Mr. Wycoff has the
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high esteem of his friends and neighbors and the confidence of all with whom he has had business relations. A few months ago, when engaged in an important business transaction that took him to a distant part of the country among strangers, Mr. Wycoff carried with him the following certificate signed by prominent bankers, attorneys and others of this city. A higher indorsement could not well be given. The certificate reads as follows :
"To Whom it May Concern: The bearer of this certificate, W. B. Wycoff, is a citizen of Ottumwa, Iowa, and has been for many years, and the undersigned have known him for the time set opposite our names and have found him honest and truthful in all business transactions, and at all times to be willing and finan- cially able to meet any obligations he may have incurred.
(Signed) J. J. SMITH, Ex-senator, twenty- two years.
W. B. BONNIFIELD, President First National Bank, thirty-five years. A. C. STECK, Attorney, twenty- seven years.
WILLIAM MCNETT, Attorney, twenty years.
R. P. DANA, County treasurer, thirty years.
J. B. MOWREY, President Ottumwa National Bank twenty-seven years.
M. B. HUTCHISON, Cashier First National Bank, nineteen years.
CALVIN MANNING, President Iowa National Bank, twenty-five years.
L. E. STEVENS, Cashier Ottumwa National Bank, twenty-five years.
W. D. TISDALE, attorney, thirty- two years.
I. N. MAST (retired ), thirty-five years.
"The many friends of Mr. and Mrs. Wycoff will wish them abundant success and happiness in their new home, wherever they may locate, with the earnest hope that Mrs. Wycoff may be fully and speedily restored to health. Mr. Wycoff has rented
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his residence property for a period of three years and it is to be hoped that at the end of that time he will be ready to return to the old home."
The wish of the editor and their many friends was realized, for Mr. and Mrs. Wycoff returned and are still residents of Ottumwa. With various public interests he has been closely identified. He was one of the directors and the vice president of the Wapello County Agricultural Association and for six years was its chief marshal. He joined the republican party on its organization, voting for Fremont in 1856, and he has since voted at each presidential election for the head of the ticket and on each occasion his vote has been cast in Ottumwa. He belongs to the Methodist Episcopal church, and his life has ever been in harmony with his professions. Wherever known he is held in high esteem and most of all where he is best known. He is today one of the venerable citizens of the county and has been an interested witness of its progress from an early age. He has lived to see great changes in this part of the state as the work of development and improvement has been carried forward. He can remember a day when the homes were largely log cabins or tiny frame dwellings and when much of the land was still unclaimed and uncultivated. He has lived to see wild tracts transformed into rich farms, in the midst of which thriving towns and villages have sprung up with various industrial and commercial enterprises that have made them important centers of trade. He relates many interesting incidents concerning the early days and is enabled to speak with authority upon matters of history, for he has been an eye witness of many events that are known to others only through written chronicle.
DANIEL FOWLER MOREY.
Daniel Fowler Morey has for the past twenty years been suc- cessfully identified with industrial interests of Ottumwa in the conduct of the Morey Clay Products Company, one of the largest concerns of its kind in the state. He is also known as the father of the cigar business of Ottumwa, having for a period of three decades been formerly engaged in business as a manufacturer of cigars. His birth occurred in Ulster county, New York, on the 16th of February, 1851, his parents being John and Cornelia Ann
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(Freer) Morey, likewise natives of that county. The family is of French Huguenot, Dutch and English descent. The grand- father, William Morey, and also the great-grandfather of our subject on the paternal side were born in Ulster county, New York. The maternal grandparents of Daniel F. Morey were likewise natives of that county. He was one of a family of seven children, the others being as follows: Amelia V., the deceased wife of William Atkins of New York; Sarah Margaret, who gave her hand in marriage to Jonas Dunn and resides in the Empire state; Jophet, a resident of Connecticut; Rachel, who is the wife of William Van Wagner and resides in New York; Mary, the wife of William Palen of New York, and John D., also of that state.
Daniel F. Morey acquired his education in a "little old red schoolhouse at the foot of the Catskill mountains." He spent the first twenty years of his life on a farm and in 1871 came to Ottumwa, Iowa, where he has remained continuously since. Before leaving the Empire state he had gained some knowledge of the manufacture of cigars and upon taking up his abode in Iowa turned his attention to that field of activity, becoming widely known as "the father of the cigar business of Ottumwa." For about fifteen years he and his partner, Ira A. Myers, main- tained a reputation as the most extensive cigar and tobacco manu- facturers and jobbers in the state of Iowa. He was connected with that industry for thirty years and also embarked in the busi- ness of clay manufacturing, in which he has been engaged for the past twenty years, having devoted his undivided attention there- to during the last twelve years. The Morey Clay Products Com- pany, manufacturing brick, tile, hollow blocks, jugs and stone- ware, is one of the largest in the state. For the past decade Mr. Morey has likewise operated a coal mine adjoining his clay prop- erty. His connection with any undertaking insures a prosperous outcome of the same, for it is in his nature to carry forward to successful completion whatever he is associated with. He has earned for himself an enviable reputation as a careful man of business, and in his dealings is known for his prompt and honor- able methods, which have won him the deserved and unbounded confidence of his fellowmen.
In 1879 Mr. Morey was united in marriage to Miss Emma J. Graves, a native of Connecticut and a daughter of Doris and Sarah (Fuller) Graves, who came to Iowa when the daughter Emma was but three months old. The father, a woolen manu-
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facturer, erected many mills over this state. Both Mr. and Mrs. Graves have passed away. Mr. and Mrs. Morey are the parents of four children, as follows: Bertha G., an artist who has studied at the Academy of Fine Arts; Maude Amelia, the wife of John Parks of Ottumwa; Nellie Cornelia, who follows the profession of teaching in Marshalltown and who, like her sister Maude, pursued a university course in Chicago; and Daniel F., Jr., assistant secretary of the Morey Clay Products Company. The last named was educated in the graded and high schools of Ottumwa and is also a graduate of the Ottumwa Commercial College.
Mr. Morey gives his political allegiance to the democracy, exercising his right of franchise in support of its men and measures. He belongs to the Wapello Club and is also a popu- lar member of the Country Club. He acts as one of the trustees of the waterworks and is widely recognized as a public-spirited, loyal and enterprising citizen. The period of his residence in Wapello county covers forty-three years, and in both business and social circles he enjoys an enviable reputation and merited esteem.
CHARLES ARGANBRIGHT.
Since June, 1912, Charles Arganbright has been an important factor in business circles of Ottumwa as secretary and treasurer of the Shea-Spilman Hardware Company. His birth occurred near Hedrick, Keokuk county, Iowa, on the roth of October, 1880, his parents being Madison and Julania (Van Winkle) Arganbright, the former born in Vinton county, Ohio, on the Ist of March, 1847, and the latter a native of Wapello county, Iowa. Madison Arganbright, who followed general agricul- tural pursuits in the Buckeye state until 1876, when he came to Iowa, still lives on a farm in Keokuk county. The maternal grandparents of our subject came to this state when the Indians were still camping along the river and took up their abode in Davis county. To Madison and Julania (Van Winkle) Argan- bright were born three children, namely: Charles, of this re- view; Edwin, who is a resident of Keokuk county; and May, at home.
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Charles Arganbright acquired his early education in the common schools of his native county, subsequently attended a preparatory school at Oskaloosa for one year and afterward spent a similar period as a student in the Ottumwa Commercial College. After putting aside his text-books he remained in the service of the Harper-McIntire Hardware Company for several years and then became associated with the Spilman Hardware Company. In June, 1912, at the time of the organization of the Shea-Spilman Company, he purchased stock in the concern and was made its secretary and treasurer, having served in the dual capacity to the present time. His efforts have contributed in no uncertain degree to the continued growth and success of the company, and he has won favorable recognition as a young business man of ability, energy and enterprise.
On the 8th of May, 1905, Mr. Arganbright was united in marriage to Miss Stella Shuttlefield, a native of Wapello county and a daughter of J. B. and Sarah (Thompson) Shuttlefield. The father, who was an agriculturist by occupation, has passed away. Mr. and Mrs. Arganbright have three children, Wayne, Marguerite and Helen.
Mr. Arganbright exercises his right of franchise in support of the men and measures of the Republican party, believing firmly in its principles. He is a Methodist in religious faith and is identified fraternally with the Masons and the Royal Arcanum. All who know him have for him the highest regard, for he is always courteous, kind and amiable. His marked char- acteristics are those of a loyal citizen and of a progressive busi- ness man, and he ever manifests fidelity to friends and home.
J. A. LOWENBERG.
J. A. Lowenberg, engaged in the general practice of law and also well known in connection with the abstract business, which he conducts under the name of the Ottumwa Title & Loan Com- pany, is a native of Wapello county and has made for himself a creditable place in its professional and business circles. He was born on the 15th of March, 1867, and is a son of Jacob Lowen- berg, a native of Ohio, born March 4, 1838. The father was a farmer by occupation and in 1852 came to Iowa, at which time he took up his abode upon a farm that is still his home. He
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became one of the early residents of this district, and his well spent life has brought him substantial return in a material way and has gained for him the warm regard and respect of those with whom he has been brought in contact. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Ellen Fair, was born in Maryland, August 24, 1842, and came with her parents to Iowa in 1854. To Mr. and Mrs. Lowenberg were born five children: Delpha M., the wife of J. C. Miller of this county; J. A .; Cora E., the wife of F. L. Connelly, of Chicago; Floy L., who died at the age of nine years ; and Roy R., also of Chicago.
At the usual age J. A. Lowenberg entered the public schools and was graduated from the high school of Ottumwa with the class of 1883, when but fifteen years of age, having manifested special aptitude in his studies. He then returned to his father's farm, where he remained for five or six years, but, thinking that he would find a professional career more congenial than agri- cultural pursuits and deciding upon the law, he entered the office of Judge E. L. Burton and later continued his reading under the direction of Judge Steck, with whom he remained for two years. He was then admitted to the bar after successfully passing the required examination and was licensed to practice before the supreme court. He has continued in the active work of his profession since 1891, engaging in general law practice, and with ยท the exception of eight months spent in Hedrick has remained continuously in Ottumwa. His ability is pronounced, and his skill in analyzing and handling intricate and complex problems of law is manifest in the many verdicts which he has won favor- able to the interests of his clients. He owns the stock of the Ottumwa Title & Loan Company, an abstract business, and is the owner and manager of the Wapello County Commercial Agency. Both branches of his business are proving profitable, but his time and attention are concentrated most largely upon his professional interests, and his fidelity to his clients has become proverbial.
Mr. Lowenberg has been twice married. On the roth of October, 1896, he was united in marriage to Nettie Cunningham, a daughter of John H. Cunningham, a blacksmith by trade. She died January 12, 1900, leaving two children, Miriam E. and Morris C. On the 14th of August, 1905, Mr. Lowenberg was again married, his second union being with Miss Blanche E. Davis, a daughter of J. A. Davis, now deccased. Her father made farming his life work. Her mother, Mrs. Lizzie W. (Rus-
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sell) Davis, is still living. In the family of Mr. and Mrs. Lowenberg are three children, Norma B., Floyd D. and Thelma A. Mr. Lowenberg belongs to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Ancient Order of United Workmen, the Modern Maccabees and the Yeomen, and both he and his wife are con- nected with the Rebekah degree of Oddfellowship. Their re- ligious faith is that of the Baptist church and in Ottumwa and throughout Wapello county, where they are widely and favorably known, they have many warm friends. Mr. Lowenberg deserves the success which has come to him and which has placed him among the substantial lawyers of his native county.
REV. B. A. SPAULDING.
With the material progress of the frontier sections of Iowa the moral development of the state went hand in hand, a fact due to the untiring and self-sacrificing labors of such men as the Rev. B. A. Spaulding. He was one of the little band of Christian ministers who made their way to this state in pioneer times, sharing in all the hardships and privations incident to settle- ment upon the frontier. While others planted the seeds which sprang forth in harvests of corn, wheat and other cereals, he and his colleagues were sowing the seeds that resulted in truth, right- eousness and Christian fellowship.
The Rev. B. A. Spaulding was born in Billerica, Massa- chusetts, and was the eldest son and fifth child in a family of ten children, whose parents were Sampson and Susanna Spaulding. Liberal educational opportunities were offered him and by him were thoroughly improved. He supplemented his early mental training by a course in Harvard College, from which he was graduated in 1840. He afterward entered the theological semi- nary of Andover, Massachusetts, the oldest theological school in the United States, and was again graduated. Of the class to which he belonged eleven decided to devote their attention to the work of home missions in the west and became known as the Iowa Band. Mr. Spaulding spent several years as a pioneer missionary and that chapter of his life was one fraught with hardships, defeats and victories. Dr. Dunning said in this connection : "The Iowa Band among all missionary bands must ever hold an honor- able distinction. It is not too much to say that this combined
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influence has given character not only to the denomination but to the state itself." The eleven young men who had received their instructions at Andover, Massachusetts, met again at Buffalo, New York, October 7, 1843, where a great public meet- ing was held, and the Buffalo Gazette said :
"We cannot refrain from saying that we have seldom seen so many men banded together in an enterprise who seemed to pos- sess such sterling good sense and humble, quiet characters, coupled with firmness and decision, as these men."
At length the time arrived when, after being ordained in Denmark, Iowa, the band separated, Rev. Spaulding being assigned to the most distant field, or what was known as The New Purchase. He made his way to what was then the far western frontier and on the 10th of November, 1843, he wrote :
"The frail dwellings, beaten trails and newly made graves of the Indians still remained and they were often seen passing and repassing, carrying away corn which had been raised in their fields and sometimes lingering about their old hunting grounds as if unwilling to leave the land which had been so long their home.
"The eager strife of the whites to gain possession of the country just left by the Indians bears a most striking contrast to the slow and reluctant step of the recent owners in leaving their native groves and prairies. Says one, the wife of a chief, as she was hurried away: 'Oh, let me go back and take one more drink from the old spring.'
"And yet these sensitive, immortal beings are to be driven into a distant wilderness by a Christian nation and left to perish for lack of knowledge, while an old sword, if it had drunk the blood of Tecumseh or Black Hawk, would be preserved in our public halls as a glorious trophy for civilized men to behold."
Rev. Spaulding preached in about thirty different places, some of them one hundred miles apart. He traveled on an average fifty miles a week, or twenty-five hundred miles during the year, chiefly on horseback, and was in peril of waters, in peril in the wilderness and suffered from hunger and thirst and cold. But in all this he wrote: "I joy and rejoice."
A church of six members was organized in 1844 at the Agency. Its first communion season was held in the old council house. "Here," he wrote, "less than two years ago savages were lying and smoking their pipes ; now a congregation of Christians are celebrating the dying love of their Lord and Master." For
Vol. 1-11
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eight years he performed the work of an evangelist, preaching in new and destitute settlements.
After organizing churches at Agency City, Eddyville, Oska- loosa and Ottumwa he was installed as pastor of the church in Ottumwa, Iowa. After trials and sacrifices which few are will- ing to make he had the joy of seeing the first meeting house for the worship of God erected in the city. At length his constant labor told upon his health and he removed to Eau Claire, Wis- consin, where he performed a year's successful ministry in the Congregational church, where a beautiful memorial window bears his name.
At the age of fifty-two he was compelled to lay down the armor and pass to his eternal reward. His classmate, Dr. Wil- liam Salter, of Burlington, Iowa, said of him :
"He made friends of all sorts and conditions of men. He attracted good men to his service without regard to creed or denomination. His ministry was one long, untiring struggle with difficulties. His salary during twenty years' service was four hundred dollars per year, of which the Home Missionary Society never paid less than one-half."
He himself said in reviewing his ministry :
"Although I have suffered more from sickness and privations than in all the rest of my life I have enjoyed more real happi- ness. The home mission work! What a glorious work to live for and if need be to die for!" And of the church of his love he says : "I have a firm hope that it will abide under the shadow of His wings, Who I trust has founded it, and remain there as a light as long as the wayward shall need counselling or the wanderer reclaiming."
One does not need to go to the battlefield for heroes. In our own day they were found in the cabins of the missionaries in the far west. The laborers may pass away, but the work will go on. We are like runners in the old Grecian torch race. One grasps the torch and runs and, as his strength fails, passes it on to the next and though the runners fall the torch goes on to the distant goal. They who bore it are not dead, their life and faith are in us. Let us not fold our hands and rejoice in what the pioneers have done for us. The commission is first to Jerusalem and Judea and Samaria and then to the uttermost parts of the world. Millions of foreigners are coming to us and our motto must be: "Save America to save the world." The influence of
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such a life can never fade while those remain upon whom he left the impress of his noble soul.
Rev. Spaulding was married to Miss Ann Nichols Norris, who was born in Holderness, New Hampshire, January 2, 1819. Before her marriage she taught school in Bloomington, Illinois, and Ottumwa, Iowa. To Rev. and Mrs. Spaulding were born six children, five of whom died in infancy. The surviving daughter, Julia Spaulding, still living in Ottumwa, was edu- cated in Denmark Academy at Denmark, Iowa, and in the Oberlin Conservatory of Music. She has followed the profes- sion of music as a teacher in Oberlin, in Wichita, Kansas, and in Ottumwa. Such in brief is the life history of the Rev. B. A. Spaulding, to whom Ottumwa owes much of her development along moral lines and the establishment of those high standards of manhood manifest in many of her citizens. His influence yet remains as a blessed benediction to all who knew him.
F. W. SCHAFER.
F. W. Schafer, who is a progressive merchant of Eddyville, has for a number of years been engaged in the furniture and undertaking business in this city. He also has farming interests and is numbered among the substantial residents. He was born in Eddyville, April 15, 1860, and is a son of William and Lena (Hergesheimer) Schafer, natives of Germany, who came in the early 'sos to this country, locating in Kane county, Illinois. They came over with other relatives and married in that county, later removing to Wapello county, Iowa, the father locating in Eddy- ville. He was a cabinet-maker by trade and after taking up his residence here engaged in the furniture business and conducted the same with a fair amount of success. Both have passed away. To their union were born nine children: Mary, of Eddyville; F. W., of this review; Charles J., of Pasadena, California; Min- nie B., who married G. F. Hartman, of Eddyville; Albert E., of San Diego, California, and four who have passed away.
F. W. Schafer remained under the parental roof until he reached his majority. In the acquirement of his education he attended the common and high schools and subsequently learned the harness maker's trade. In 1881 he went to Colorado, where he remained one year and then returned to Eddyville, buying
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out his father and becoming a member of the Schafer & Steinhoff furniture and undertaking business which the latter had founded. Mr. Schafer has been in this business for thirty-one years, deriv- ing a gratifying income therefrom. He is now associated with George F. Hartman, and this partnership has proven of mutual benefit.
On February 22, 1893, Mr. Schafer married Miss Helen Truax, who was born on Bluff Creek, Mahaska county, this state, and is a daughter of T. J. and Arabella (De Lashmutt) Truax, the former born in Indiana and the latter in Iowa. Mrs. Schafer is one of six children born to her parents, of whom four are living. She and her husband attend the Congregational church and are interested in its work.
Mr. Schafer is a republican and has always been interested in local politics, having served on the city council. Besides his business he is interested in several farms in the vicinity of Eddy- ville. He owns residence property in the city and is also inter- ested in a tract of land in Wyoming. He also owns real estate in Los Angeles. Fraternally he is a member of Eddyville Lodge, No. 26, I. O. O. F., in which he has held all the offices ; of Eddy- ville Camp, No. 1837, M. W. A .; and of Eddyville Homestead, No. 98, Brotherhood of American Yeomen. He is popular in these fraternal organizations and is esteemed and respected in social and business circles. All who know him speak of him in the highest terms of praise and esteem him as a man of character and one who is ever ready to give his share toward promoting worthy enterprises. Through his business activities he has con- tributed to the general prosperity and is an important factor in the progress of his city.
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