USA > Iowa > Wapello County > History of Wapello County, Iowa, Volume II > Part 6
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"We are all creatures of circumstance. Mostly we fit into the place that seems made for us. Work, energy, enthusiasm, good hard common sense will always bring success. To be at the head of a wholesale business is not as usual for a woman as a man, but it is not any easier for a woman than a man. Unless a woman has to take hold of work in a mercantile life I could not advise one to adopt it for a life work as a matter of choice. I do not feel that it is the woman's sphere, because it cuts her off from so much that she is especially suited for.
"There was a time when I felt that every woman could and should forge to the front in the world's work. Viewing life now from a different point of view I see woman's power just as great, but am willing that men should battle with the great problems of the world. Woman should be conversant with the burning questions of the times and should be man's constant inspiration for high and noble thought and action. I believe, too, that woman should have the right to vote if she is a tax-
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payer. No woman feels justly treated to live under taxation without representation."
Mrs. Hutchison is giving her foremost thought and talent to promote her business interests, with perhaps a frequent real- ization that "The secret of happiness is not in doing what one likes, but in liking what one has to do."
Phillips Brooks has said: "Pray not to have tasks equal to your powers but to be given power equal to your tasks." Unused to the stress and strain of business, Mrs. Hutchison entered upon her present work and has found that her powers have developed to meet the emergency of the hour. At the same time she has maintained an even balance by her continued interest in litera- ture and the various forms of art which uplift the individual and work for the betterment of mankind in the achievement of a higher and more ideal civilization.
JOHN W. LONG. -
John W. Long is the owner of an excellent farm of one hun- dred and fifty-eight and a half acres on section 4, Dahlonega township. He is especially well known as a raiser and dealer in Poland China hogs, which branch of his business is proving most profitable. He has always lived in the middle west, being a native of Rush county, Indiana, his birth having there occurred on the 17th of May, 1853. He is a son of Emanuel M. and Martha (Davidson) Long, the former a native of Pennsylvania and the latter of Indiana. They remained residents of the Hoosier state until 1869, when they made their way to Wapello county and settled upon the farm which is now the property of their son John. Upon this place the father continued to carry on general agricultural pursuits until his death, and his wife also died on the old homestead.
John W. Long is one of a family of eight children, all of whom are yet living. He was a youth of sixteen years when the family left Indiana and came to Iowa. Through the period of his youth his time was largely devoted to assisting his father in the work of the fields, and through the winter months he pursued his education in the public schools. On reaching adult age he began working as a farm hand in the neighborhood, and in 1876 he began farming on his own account. Having carefully saved
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his earnings, he made investment in a tract of land in Keokuk county, where he lived for fourteen years. He then purchased the farm upon which he now resides and which is one of the best improved properties in Dahlonega township. Within the borders of his place are comprised one hundred and fifty-eight and a half acres, situated on section 4, and owing to his careful cultivation the farm has become very productive, and he annu- ally gathers good harvests. He is now making a specialty of the raising and feeding of hogs, handling Poland China stock of high grades, and for his stock he finds a ready sale.
On January 7, 1880, Mr. Long was united in marriage to Miss Mary B. Dimmitt, who was born in this county and is a daughter of William and Matilda (Paget) Dimmitt, both of whom were natives of Indiana. They came to Iowa in 1848 and entered land in Wapello county. Their first home was a little log cabin with clapboard roof and door, and in it they remained for several years, or until their financial resources had so im- proved as to enable them to erect a more commodious and modern dwelling. The father passed away in this county, but the mother is still living. To Mr. and Mrs. Long were born two children: Retie F. and Lena MI., both of whom are attend- ing the high school in Ottumwa. The family is well known, for both Mr. and Mrs. Long represent old pioneer families of the county. Mr. Long is a Republican, but without political aspiration. He has ever been content to live the quiet life of the farmer, carefully managing his business affairs and keeping in touch with the best methods of tilling the soil and caring for his stock. His work has been productive of good results, and he is now one of the substantial farmers of the community.
ELIAS BURTON HOWELL, M. D.
Dr. Elias Burton Howell is engaged in the general practice of medicine in Ottumwa, specializing to some extent in surgery. Broad reading and research work since attending college have continually augmented his skill and ability and have won him recognition as one of the leading representatives of the profes- sion in his part of the state. He was born in Johnson county, Iowa, August 2, 1884, a son of J. M. Howell, also a native of Johnson county, where he is still living. He was born on the
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9th of October, 1851, and has made farming his life work. He married Jennie Buck, who was born in the same county, June 20, 1858, and they became the parents of two children, the younger being Jesse, now a student in the State University of Iowa.
Dr. Howell pursued his early education in the common schools of Johnson county and was graduated from the Iowa City high school with the class of 1902. He afterward engaged in teaching school for a year and subsequently entered the State University of Iowa, being graduated from the medical depart- ment with the class of 1907. He then filled the position of assistant instructor in the department of obstetrics at the State University during the years 1907 and 1908 and was associated with Professor W. R. Whiteis at Iowa City from 1905 until 1909. In the fall of the latter year he came to Ottumwa, where he opened an office, becoming the successor to Dr. W. A. True- blood, in the Hofmann building, but in December, 1911, he removed to his present location in the Court Park building, where he conducts a general practice, giving special attention, however, to surgery. He is a member of the Wapello County, the Des Moines Valley, the Southeastern Iowa and the Iowa State Medical Societies and his attendance at their meetings has broadened his knowledge and promoted his efficiency, bringing him in touch with the advanced methods followed by others.
On September 23, 1909, Dr. Howell was united in marriage to Miss Bertha Hemsworth, of Cedar Falls, Iowa, a daughter of Oscar and Mary (Orr) Hemsworth, who are residents of Waterloo, Iowa, where the father is engaged in the grocery business. Mrs. Howell is a lady of superior intelligence, edu- cation and culture. She is a graduate of the Iowa State Teach- ers' College at Cedar Falls, also a graduate of the New Haven Normal School of Gymnastics, and was assistant teacher at the State University of Iowa in 1906 and 1907. Two children have been born of this marriage, Homer Preston and Helen Louise. The former won first prize at the Babies' Health Contest in 1912 at the Iowa State Fair and also the first prize at the Iowa State Fair in 1913, winning the sweepstakes prize in the Babies' Health Contest. He was also awarded a medal by the Woman's Home Companion.
Dr. and Mrs. Howell are in sympathy with and actively co- operate in all movements that tend toward progress and improve- ment along material, educational, social and moral lines. Dr.
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Howell gives his political allegiance to the Republican party. He is a member of the Country Club and belongs also to the Odd Fellows Society, the Moose, the Elks and the Masonic fraternity. His wife is connected with the Order of the Eastern Star. They occupy an enviable position in social circles of Ot- tumwa, where true worth and intelligence are received as pass- ports into good society. He is justly accounted one of the progressive young physicians of Wapello county, his ability being attested by the liberal patronage accorded him in Ottumwa and the surrounding country.
HENRY LEROY BELL.
Henry Leroy Bell, a partner in the Ottumwa Automobile Company, was born in Keokuk county, Iowa, April 18, 1876. His father, James Bell, a native of Ohio, was born April 12, 1849, and is now a farmer, living at Ankeny, Iowa. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Lavica Teeters, was born in Keokuk county, and by their marriage they became the parents of four children, one of whom has now passed away: Henry Leroy; Elizabeth, the wife of Ray Hall of Ankeny; Glen, who is also living at Ankeny, and Pearl.
Henry L. Bell began his education at the usual age as a student in the common schools of Keokuk county, and when his text-books were put aside he concentrated his entire attention upon the work of the home farm, being thus employed until he reached his majority. He then engaged in the coal-mining busi- ness for three years and on the expiration of that period became connected with the telephone industry, but at length disposed of his interest in that line in 1908 and began the manufacture of corrugated culverts at Oskaloosa. In 1908 he removed the plant to Ottumwa, and in August, 1909, sold his interest in the business and purchased a half interest in the Ottumwa Automobile Com- pany. In 1911 this company was incorporated. They now handle the Ford machine exclusively, and Mr. Bell is active as general manager of the business, which is a growing one. The cars which they control are among the very best of the moderate- priced motors and their sale is rapidly increasing. They have also added to their line automobile accessories, of which they are wholesalers and retailers.
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On the 21st of April, 1897, Mr. Bell was married to Miss Ida Garrett, a native of Keokuk county and a daughter of Andrew and Hester (Crocker) Garrett, the former a farmer of Keokuk county. Mr. and Mrs. Bell have one child, Hazel, who is a student in the Adams school of Ottumwa. The family attends the Methodist church, and Mr. Bell belongs to the Inde- pendent Order of Odd Fellows and the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks. His political views are in accord with the prin- ciples and teachings of the republican party, and in matters of citizenship he manifests a progressive spirit. He has made sev- eral changes in his business life and each step has been a forward one, bringing him a broader outlook and wider opportunities. He is now well established in his present line and bids fair to gain a very substantial success in that connection.
JULIAN C. MANCHESTER.
The life record of Julian C. Manchester closed June 29th, 1901, and in his passing Ottumwa lost a citizen who had made for himself a substantial and enviable position in business and social circles. For a considerable period he was proprietor of the Ballingall Hotel in Ottumwa and was a most popular host. A native of Connecticut, his birth occurred at Colebrook River, near Bridgeport, in March, 1844, his parents being William M. and Content (Beach) Manchester, representatives of old New England families. The parents were reared and married in Connecticut and the mother died in New England in 1893, after which the father came to Ottumwa to make his home with his son J. C., and here passed away on the 22d of March, 1898, at the ripe old age of eighty-five years. Both he and his wife were devoted members of the Methodist church, and in that faith they reared their family, which numbered seven children, namely: Lucius, who for a half century has been a minister of the Methodist church, connected with the New Jersey Confer- ence; Francis, who has followed the profession of teaching and for a number of years lived in the west, but is now a resident of Ohio; Minerva, who passed away several years ago; Sarah, the wife of Henry F. Keyes, a resident of New Haven, Connecticut; Julian C., of this review, and Julius, a machinist of Bridgeport,
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Connecticut. There was also one child who died in infancy. Julius and Julian are twins.
The last named spent his boyhood and youth in his native city, mastered the branches of learning taught in the public schools there and afterward took up the machinist's trade. All personal and business considerations, however, were put aside when at the age of seventeen he offered his services to the gov- ernment, becoming a member of Company E. First Regiment of Connecticut Heavy Artillery, with which he was on duty until the close of the war, being mustered out with the rank of ser- geant. He participated in the nine months' siege of Petersburg and in the siege of City Point, and following the surrender of Lee at Appomattox went with his command to Richmond to take charge of and ship home the guns and supplies, being mustered out at New Haven, Connecticut, in December, 1865, among the last to be discharged.
When the war was over Mr. Manchester with a most credit- able military record returned to his home and resumed his work at his trade, which he followed in the east until 1871. He then became a resident of Big Rapids, Michigan, where for some years he was proprietor of the Manchester Hotel. Later he conducted the Eastern House at Muscatine, Iowa, from 1879 until 1882, and then came to Ottumwa, where he took over the management of the Ballingall Hotel, which had been erected some years before. Mr. Manchester's progressive business methods soon converted it into the finest hotel in this section of the state, and its patronage is extensive and of a most desirable character. The hotel is splendidly appointed and everything possible is done for the comfort of the patrons. He increased the number of rooms for transients from thirty-five to ninety- three, having an average patronage of seventy-five or more daily, with a regular Sunday trade of from sixty to seventy people. He employed about fifty people in the building. He also conducted a wholesale liquor business amounting to about thirty thousand dollars annually.
In Fort Wayne, Indiana, Mr. Manchester was united in mar- riage to Miss Ella J. Burnabee, a native of Vermont, and unto them were born two sons: Edward, who married Natalie Grube, and Charles, who died September 13, 1899, at the age of fifteen years. Mr. Manchester held membership with the Elks and the Knights of Pythias at the time of his death and had formerly been connected with the Odd Fellows. He filled all of the
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chairs in the local lodge of the Knights of Pythias and became brigadier general of the Iowa State Uniform Rank. His relig- ious faith was that of the Methodist church. Death called him in 1901, and in his passing the community lost a representative business man. The funeral services were conducted by the Uni- form Rank, K. of P., the full military ritual being used. Rev. P. A. Johnson, pastor of the First Congregational church, preached the sermon. The funeral procession was headed by the Fifty-fourth Regiment Band, followed by the various organ- izations of which Mr. Manchester had been a member.
His widow and son Edward are still conducting the Ballin- gall Hotel, of which the latter is manager. They erected a fine residence on Prairie avenue, where they purchased seven acres of land. On this they have a fine fish pond, stocked with all kinds of fish. The name of Manchester has long been well known in Ottumwa and the family occupies a position of prom- inence.
HARRY L. EDMUNDS.
Harry L. Edmunds, engaged in the real-estate and insurance business in Ottumwa, has been a resident of Wapello county for three decades and is numbered among its enterprising and prosperous citizens. His birth occurred in Great Britain on the 19th of January, 1872, his parents being Lewis and Char- lotte (Thomas) Edmunds, also natives of Great Britain, the former born in 1840. Lewis Edmunds, who was identified with mercantile interests throughout his active business career, crossed the Atlantic to the United States and took up his abode in Wapello county, Iowa, in 1884. For ten years he was con- nected with the Western Supply Company at Kirkville, this county, and on the expiration of that period removed to Ot- tumwa, here conducting a grocery and meat market until about 1912, since which time he has lived retired in the enjoyment of the fruits of his former toil. He has many friends in the com- munity, having won the regard and esteem of all with whom he has come in contact through business and social relations. The demise of his wife occurred in September, 1906. Their five surviving children are as follows: Harry L., of this review; Alfred T., who is a resident of Ottumwa; Anna E., who gave
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her hand in marriage to H. C. Pedrick, of Van Buren county, Iowa; Edith M., at home; and Z. Maude, who is the wife of C. Schuyler Pratt of Fort Madison, Iowa.
Harry L. Edmunds, who was a lad of twelve years when he came to this county with his parents, attended the common schools of Ottumwa and also pursued a course of study in the Ottumwa Commercial College. Subsequently he purchased the agency of Mr. Graham and has since devoted his time and energies to the real-estate and fire insurance business, which has increased in volume about tenfold. He makes a specialty of city business, and the success which has rewarded his efforts is ample evidence of his ability and good judgment in this direc- tion. His property holdings embrace the Edmunds flats, com- prising four apartments.
On the 21st of May, 1895, Mr. Edmunds was united in mar- riage to Miss Ola Kitterman, a native of Wapello county and a daughter of E. C. and Matilda (Giltner) Kitterman, who reside on a farm in Dahlonega township, this county. Mr. Edmunds gives his political allegiance to the democracy, and his religious faith is indicated by his membership in the Trin- ity Episcopal church. He is also the secretary of the Brother- hood and a member of the Country Club. The circle of his friends is a wide one, for he has ever displayed those sterling traits of character which in every land and clime win confidence and regard. Mrs. Edmunds, who has spent her entire life in Wapello county, also enjoys an extensive and favorable ac- quaintance within its borders.
MAJOR CHARLES EDWARD FULTON.
Many years have come and gone since Major Charles Ed- ward Fulton passed away, yet his memory is enshrined in the hearts of all who knew him while he was still a factor in the world's work.' In presenting to the public the representative men of the city of Ottumwa and of Wapello county, who have by superior force of character and undaunted energy, together with a combination of the qualities of ability and sagacity, won for themselves commanding positions in public and private life, there is no example more worthy of consideration and emulation than that of Major Charles Edward Fulton. He rose above
MAJ. H
HARLEE . FULMIN
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MRS. TABITHA A. FULTON
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the commonly accepted standard in business, and at the same time he possessed in high degree those excellencies of human nature that win for men the regard of their fellows. His enter- prise and determination enabled him to surmount all difficulties and obstacles in the path of business, and he advanced steadily to the goal of success yet never concentrated his efforts upon professional interests so entirely as to exclude an active part in public affairs. In fact, he was numbered with that class of distinctively representative American men who promote public progress in advancing individual interests and was a participant in many movements and measures which have to do with the public good. His was an honorable, upright life, characterized by loyalty in citizenship, by honor in business and by fidelity in friendship. He was born in Loudoun county, Virginia, No- vember 13, 1833, a son of David and Jane (Carr) Fulton, like- wise natives of the same county. They removed with their family from the Old Dominion to Ohio when their son, Major Fulton, was about nine years of age, settling near Urbana, where they resided upon a good farm about two and a half miles east of the city until called to the home beyond.
Major Fulton was one of a large family of children who reached adult age. He resided on the farm through the period of his boyhood and youth, obtained his education in the district schools and afterward engaged in teaching in the home district. His father had landed interests in Iowa, and the son came to this state to look over the property holdings of the father. Here he entered the Iowa Wesleyan College at Mount Pleasant. He had previously been a student in the high school of Urbana, Ohio, and throughout his life he was recognized as a man of student tastes and habits. When his more specifically literary education was completed he entered the law office of Judge Miller at Keokuk, who afterward became United States supreme judge. Major Fulton further continued his studies in the Har- vard Law School, from which he was graduated in the class of 1860. He then returned to Urbana, Ohio, but located for practice in Cincinnati, where he entered into a partnership under the name of Fulton & Carr. In the summer of 1861 he was commissioned by Governor Tod of Ohio to raise a company of men at Urbana for service in the Civil war. He accomplished this purpose and was elected captain of what became Company A, Sixty-sixth Ohio Volunteer Infantry. Late in the fall of that year they entered into active service in West Virginia, be- Vol. II-5
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coming a part of the Army of the Potomac. They participated in the battle of Port Republic in June, 1862, and following that engagement Captain Fulton was promoted to the rank of major and was in command of his regiment at the battle of Cedar Mountain, where he sustained a gunshot wound in the lung. He was then in the hospital for several months, after which he returned home in September, 1862. A month or two later he was honorably discharged, owing to disability occasioned by his wound.
Major Fulton then returned to Urbana and entered into partnership with his brother, Judge R. C. Fulton, for the prac- tice of law. In the autumn of 1865 he came to Ottumwa and here opened a law office, engaging in active practice until his death. He formed a partnership with his brother-in-law, I. N. Mast, under the firm name of Fulton & Mast, this relation being maintained from 1868 until the death of the senior partner, March 28, 1870. In his profession his advancement was con- tinuous. He achieved the highest distinction, and he deserved it. It is the theory of the law that the counsel who practice are to aid the court in the administration of justice. There was no member of the profession in Wapello county more careful to conform his practice to a high standard of professional ethics than Mr. Fulton. He never sought to lead the court astray in a matter of fact or law and would not endeavor to withhold from it a knowledge of any fact appearing in the record. He treated the court with the studied courtesy which is its due and indulged in no malicious criticism because it arrived at a con- clusion in the decision of a case different from that which he hoped to hear. Calm, dignified, self-controlled, free from pas- sion or prejudice and overflowing with kindness, he gave to his clients the service of great talent, unwearied industry and rare learning, but he never forgot there were certain things due to the court, to his own self-respect and above all to justice and a righteous administration of the law which neither the zeal of an advocate nor the pleasure of success would permit him to disregard. He was an able, faithful and conscientious minister in the temple of justice and in his private life was endeared to all by the simple nobility of his character.
It was on the 30th of June, 1863, that Major Fulton married Miss Tabitha A. Mast, and after living in Urbana until the autumn of 1865 they came to Ottumwa. Mrs. Fulton was born near Springfield, Ohio, December 10, 1841, and when three
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years of age her parents removed with their family to Cham- paign county, Ohio, where she spent about fifteen years, being reared upon her father's farm. They then removed to Urbana, where she continued her education in the high school and later entered the Urbana Collegiate Institute, from which she was graduated. In 1860 she went to Fort Edward, New York, be- coming a student in the Fort Edward Collegiate Institute, where she completed a course by graduation in the class of 1861. She has ever been a leading figure in the social circles of the city and has also been very active in church and benevolent work. In 1882 she became a charter member of the Shakespeare Club of Ottumwa, aiding in its organization. This club has had a continuous existence and she is now its president. For the past eleven years its meeting place has been her home. Mrs. Fulton is also a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, with which she became identified in her early life. She has been actively identified with various branches of church work and at one time was superintendent of the Sunday school. Out of the Mary Brooks Thrall Bible class, which met in Mrs. Fulton's house, developed the idea which took tangible form in the Ottumwa Hospital. The Ottumwa Hospital Association was incorporated November 29, 1892, and the hospital opened July 1, 1894. Mrs. Fulton has since been identified with that institution and for six years was president of the hospital association, which man- aged the business of the hospital. Her work has counted for much in behalf of sanitary and health conditions in Ottumwa as well as along various other lines of educational, humanitarian and benevolent work in which she has been active, and her aesthetic interest has found expression in her membership in the Ottumwa Art Club. Her home is the meeting place every week of clubs and societies, for the spirit of hospitality there reigns supreme. She is spoken of in terms of high esteem and love throughout the city and county. To Mr. and Mrs. Fulton were born two children: Florence, the wife of Bishop W. S. Lewis, a bishop of the Methodist Episcopal church at Foo Chow, China, and Olive, the wife of Frank A. Nimocks, of Ottumwa, and the mother of one son, Fulton A.
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