USA > Iowa > Wapello County > History of Wapello County, Iowa, and representative citizens > Part 39
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pilot in the navy department on the lower Mis- sissippi, and as commander of guns. He died at Kahoka, Missouri, in 1897. Fraternally Mr. Enoch was made a Mason at Afton, and is now a Knight Templar at Ottumwa. In re- ligious views he is a Presbyterian.
B ENJAMIN P. BROWN, cashier of the Ottumwa Savings Bank, at Ottum- wa. lowa, is one of the well known young business men of Wapello county. lle is a native of MeGregor, lowa. was born in 1869, and is a son of Capt. Charles 1. Brown, and a nephew of W. C. Brown, vice-president of the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railway.
Captain Brown was born in Herkimer county, New York, October 30, 1840, and is how a resident of Ottumwa, where he is very well known. He has a daughter. Louise. who graduated from the Ottumwa High School with the class of 1901. Captain Brown re- moved to Ottumwa in 1871. where he was employed in the government revenue service and was associated with General Hedrick. an old Wapello county resident. until 1881. In 1882, when the Ottumwa National Bank was organized. Mr. Brown was its cashier, and in 1888 he organized the Ottumwa Savings Bank, of which he was president until July .. 1805. Mr. Brown is a well known veteran of the Civil War.
Ben P. Brown, subject of this sketch, was a year and a half old when his father located
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at Ottumwa. He attended the public schools of that town, and his first work was with the Harper. Chambers & Company hardware store, where he was employed two and one-half years. In the fall of 1888 he entered the Ot- tumwa Savings Bank as assistant bookkeeper and collector, and was later promoted to the position of assistant cashier. He was made cashier in July, 1895, and has since filled it in an able and conscientious manner. He was treasurer of the independent school district of Ottumwa for two terms.
Mr. Brown was married in May. 1895. to Laura Kendall. a daughter of Samuel Ken- dall, an early resident of Ottumwa. They have one daughter, Frances. Mr. and Mrs. Brown have a very comfortable home on West Fifth street. Fraternally he is a member of the Sons of Veterans. Religiously his wife is a member of the Congregational church. Mr. and Mrs. Brown are well known in Ottumwa. where they are held in high esteem by all.
APT. CHARLES P. BROWN was born near Little Falls, Herkimer county, New York, October 30. 1840, the son of Rev. Charles E. and Frances ( Lyon ) Brown.
llis father was a Baptist minister, a gradu- ate of Madison University, who came to lowa in May, 1842, as a missionary by appointment from the American Baptist Home Mission Society, locating first at Maquoketa. Jackson county, and the following fall at Davenport.
After nine years of arduous and successful labor in his calling. failing health obliged him to re- turn to New York in May, 1851, where he spent six years in central and western coun- ties, returning to lowa in July, 1857, to make & home in Howard county.
Captain Brown's mother, a noble Chris- tian woman, and a devoted, loving wife and mother, was a daughter of Dr. Benjamin Lyon, of Herkimer county, New York, whose wife, Mrs. Brown's mother. was Margaret Duncan, daughter of Richard Duncan, a prom- inent Scotchman, who left his native land on account of political disturbances and set- tled near Schenectady. New York, at an early day.
The subject of this sketch was educated in the common schools of New York and lowa. and was a teacher in country district schools in northern lowa during the winter terms of 1850. 1860 and 1861. He was the first volun- teer from Howard county for the Civil War. enlisting about April 20, 1861, in the Decorah Guards, a Winneshick county company, which was mustered into the service of the United States as Company D, 3rd Reg .. lowa Vol. Inf .. at Keokuk, lowa. The ist. 2nd, and 3rd regiments of Lowa infantry were organized at Keokuk about the same time, all being there together before any left for the field.
At the organization of his company Mr. Brown was elected third corporal, and in March, 1862, was promoted to be second ser- geant. Was made first lieutenant of artillery in May. 1863. and in September, 1864, was ap- pointed captain and assistant adjutant general
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of volunteers by President Lincoln, holding that position until discharged in December, 1865. He served continuously from April 20. 1861. until December 31. 1865, when he was honorably discharged by the War Department order, for the reason that his services were no longer required. He was on staff duty about three years as regimental and brigade quar- termaster, aide and assistant adjutant general, serving more than a year with Maj. Gen. Stephen A. Hurlbut, who commanded the Fourth Division, AArmy of the Tennessee, at Pittsburg Landing, and later the Sixteenth Army Corps and the Department of the Gulf. Hle was in every battle and campaign in which his command was engaged.
After leaving the army Captain Brown re turned to his home in Vernon Springs, How- ard county, lowa, and was married August 30. ยท 1866. to Adeline Fall, daughter of Rev. George W. Fall, of Howard county. He came to Ot- tumwa. March 1, 1871, as clerk in the office of Gen. John M. Hedrick, supervisor of United States internal revenue for a district compris- ing eight northwestern states and territories. He was soon after appointed United States internal revenue agent on the recommenda- tion of General fedrick, and served in that capacity until October, 1881, resigning on ac- count of failing health. The Ottumwa Na- tional Bank was then organizing and Captain Brown was offered and accepted the position of cashier. In August, 1883. he left the bank to become auditor of the coal mining, railroad and supply companies owned and operated by J. C. Osgood. This work proving too ardu-
Tous, was given up in July, 1884. and for three years he was out of business. In the fall of 1887 Mr. Brown organized the Ottumwa Say- ings Bank, and was its president until August, 1895, when the condition of his health obliged him to give up all business for a time.
Mr. and Mrs. Brown have two children living: Benjamin P .. born at MeGregor. Towa, December 11. 1869, and Louise F., born at Ottumwa, January 28, 1881, both of whom were educated in the public schools of Ottum- wa. Benjamin P. went into the retail hard- ware store of the Harper & Melntire Company. then Harper, Chambers & Company, in May, 1886, to learn the business. In September, 1888, he began work in the Ottumwa Savings Bank, was made assistant cashier in 1891, and cashier in August, 1895. He is a popular, capable and successful banker.
Captain Brown is a brother of W. C. Brown, late general manager of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad, now vice-pres- ident and general manager of the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern and Lake Erie & West- ern railways ; and of James D. Brown, of the freight department of the Chicago, Burling- ton & Quincy Railroad at Ottumwa.
D R. J. C. BON. a highly respected mem- ber of the medical profession in Ot- tumwa. lowa, is a specialist on dis- eases of the skin and has his office in the Williamson Block. He was born in Davis county, Iowa, in 1853, and is a son of Dr. J. J. and Eva .A. ( Bryson) Box.
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Dr. J. J. Box came as a boy with his father from Hlinois, the latter being the first post- master in lowa, and also the first warden of the penitentiary at Fort Madison, where he located. He was also a member of the lowa territorial legislature and of the constitutional convention hell at Burlington. He was a min- ister of the Christian church, and a prominent figure in early lowa history. Dr. J. J. Box was educated at Fort Madison and studied medicine with Dr. James B. Eads, former treasurer of lowa, with whom he was en- gaged in practice. He later located at Drake -- ville, lowa, and then at Floris, lowa, where he remained for forty years. In all, he practiced for a period of fifty-three years at various points in lowa. He was located at Eldon for some years prior to his death, which occurred in 1897, at the age of seventy-two years. lle was united in marriage with Eva A. Bryson, by whom he had six children: Dr. J. C : Charles E., who is an Osteopathie physician in Missouri: Mrs. Emma ( Truax), of Center- ville, lowa: Mrs. Belle Dair, of Des Moines. lowa: and William and Marcus, who died af- ter arriving at maturity.
Dr. J. C. Box studied medicine with his father and literally grew up in a physician's office. He was also in the offices of other physicians at Floris, among them Dr. J. W. La Force, and in the winter of 1879-1880, took a course in Sendder's Eclectic Medical In- stitute at Cincinnati, Ohio. He then attended two courses of lectures at the Bennett Medical College of Chicago, from which he was gradu- ated in the winter of 1885-1886. He began practice with his father at Floris, Iowa: after remaining there three or four years, he came
to Wapello county in 1880. He was a member of Dr. Keeley's staff about five years, and as he gained wide experience in the treatment of skin diseases, in that capacity, he decided to make a specialty of that branch. He located in Ottumwa in 1896, and has since practiced alone. fle has a thorough mastery of every branch of the profession, but has been particu- larly successful in the branch which he makes a specialty.
Dr. Box was united in matrimony with Lida A. Hancock, a daughter of Harrison Hancock, an carly settler of Davis county, Iowa. They have two children : Minnie M . aged twelve years: and Paul D., aged nine years. In polities, the Doctor is a Democrat. He is a member of the Masonic order and the Select Knights. He has joined no medical as- sociation, there being no Electic Medical so- ciety in the county. He owns a fine residence in Ottumwa, in which he lives with his family. In religious attachments, he and his family are members of the Christian church.
R. L. J. BAKER, one of the best known and most popular physicians of Ottumwa. Wapello county, Iowa, has been located in the city since 1882, when he came on a visit. He was so well pleased with the opportunities presented for success in his profession, that he immediately lecated hereand has never since had cause to re- gret his action. He was born in Greene coun- ty. Pennsylvania, in May. 1850. His grand- jather, who was born about 1750, was a sol-
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dier of the Revolutionary War, and his fa- ther was born in 1805.
Dr. Baker received his education in Greene, Washington and Fayette counties, Pennsyl- vania, and then prepared for the medical pro- fession by attending lectures in the Jefferson Medical College of Philadelphia, from which institution he received the degree of M. D. in 1875. Hle first began practice in Ohio, and was afterward located at Pittsburg. Pennsyl- vania, until 1882. lle then came to Ottumwa, Iowa, on a visit and, being pleased with the city, determined upon it as a permanent lo- cation. He has engaged in general practice with great success, and for several years past has had his office in the Baker Block. He has a thorough mastery of the profession, is a careful practitioner, and enjoys the confidence of his patients, and his fellow citizens in gen- cral, to a marked degree. He owns a very comfortable home.
Dr. Baker was united in marriage with Emma D. Shugert, of Elizabeth, Pennsyl- vania, and they have a daughter, Lois, who is attending the Ottumwa schools. In politics the Doctor and the other members of his fam- ily are Republicans, with the exception of a cousin. Lewis Baker, who was appointed by President Cleveland minister to a South . Amer- ican government. Dr. Baker was health officer at Ottumwa for four years, and the excellent health regulations now in force were at that time established. He has ever been promi- nent in fraternal circles. He is a Mason and Knight Templar, and was recently elected grand master of Masons in Iowa. In 1889
he served a term as grand junior warden. He is now serving his second term as president of the Wapello County Medical Association, and also belongs to the lowa State Medical . is- se ciation : the Des Moines Valley Medical . As- sociation: the Southeast Iowa Medical .As- ciation, and the Western Surgical and Gyneco- logical Association. In religions views he is an Episcopalian.
P. VANFOSSAN, one of the prom- inent agriculturists of Wapello county, lowa, is located on a fine farm of 150 acres in Center town- ship. He is a veteran of the Civil War, and bears an honorable record for service through- out that long struggle. He was born in Madi- Son township. Columbiana county, Ohio, March 21. 1842, and is a son of William and Eleanor ( Clark) Vanfossan.
Amos Vanfossan, the great-grandfather of W. P .. was born in Pennsylvania, emigrated to Ohio, in 1804, and located land in Madison township. Columbiana county, on which he lived during the remainder of his days. His son, Arnold Vanfossan, grandfather of W. P., was born in the Juniata Valley, Pennsylvania. and married a Miss Shafer in Madison town- ship. Columbiana county, Ohio, where he lived for many years, at Wellsville, and where he died. His son, William, the father of W. P., was born in the same place. October 10. 1810. and was reared and schooled in that county. He always followed farming and owned a good farm there, on which he lived until his death
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in December, 1864. His widow died in New Lisbon. Ohio, October 21, 1800. They be- came parents of 11 children, as follows : Amy ( Mick), of Columbiana county, Ohio: Joseph. who died on the old farm. in 1890: Mary Ann, who died in Columbiana county. Ohio; Jesse, who lived in Louisiana, Missouri, and was drowned in the Mississippi River, in 1849; James C .: W. P., whose name appears at the head of this biography : Maria ( Patterson ), of New Lisbon, Ohio: Adaline (McLean), of East Liverpool. Ohio: Martha Eleanor, of West Beaver, Ohio: Daniel, who lives in Cadiz, Ohio; and Henry Wilson, of Cleve- land, Ohio. James C. Vanfossan enlisted in 1861. from Columbiana county, Ohio, in the First Regiment of Ohio for three years, was wounded while serving in Kentucky. As a result he entered the marine service from Moundsville, and served until the close of the marine service on the Mississippi River. Ile resides at New Lisbon, Ohio.
at Buford, S. C., January 12, 1865. He re- turned at once to his oldl home and then en- tered Duff's Business College at Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, from which institution he was graduated in May. 1865. He completed the course in nine weeks, a feat accomplished by but one person before his graduation. He next worked in the oil fields of Pennsylvania, in Beaver county, and after his father's death bought a part of the old homestead in Ohio, which he afterward sold to his brother. He came west to Wapello county, lowa, and reached Agency on December 10, 1868. He worked at farm labor in Pleasant township, one year, and then bought a farm in Colum- bia township, where he remained 14 years. In 1883 he moved to Center township, where he now resides. He purchased a tract of 150 acres, which he has greatly improved in every respect, having built a fine residence and barn. The farm is well fenced and under a high state of cultivation. He also built a residence in which his son lives.
W. P. Vanfossan was reared in Madison township. Columbiana county, Ohio, where he Mr. Vanfossan was united in marriage, in Pleasant township, in 1869. with Minerva J. Myers, who was born in Wapello county, Iowa, and was a daughter of Jacob Myers, a pioneer settler now residing at Agency. Mrs. Van- fossan died in May, 1870, at Dudley, and he formed a second union in Columbia township, in 1871, by wedding Melinda J. Roberts, who was born in that township, and is a daughter of Oscar and Elizabeth ( Walters) Roberts. ller father was born in New York State, and her mother, in Medina county, Ohio. They were among the pioneers of Columbia town- ship. Wapello county, where Mr. Roberts en- attended the common schools. In 1861, he en- listed in Company I, 78th Reg .. Ohio Vol. Inf., for three years, and was mustered in at Zanesville. Ohio, at Camp Gilbert. He served in the Army of the Tennessee, and was in the battle of Shiloh, where he received a gun-shot wound in the right arm, and carries the ball to this day. He remained with his company and took part in the siege of Vicksburg, par- ticipated in the battle of Corinth, and was at Atlanta, July 21 and 22, where he received a gun-shot wound through the left shoulder. He continued with the regiment until near the close of the war, and was honorably discharged . tered land and lived until his death, in 1870,
L
GEORGE EARHART.
MRS. EMMA M. EARHART.
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at Mount Pleasant. Mr. and Mrs. Vanfossan in the real estate business at Eldon. He is a became the parents of two children : Willard public-spirited citizen, and has devoted his energies to the utmost for the betterment of the town and country. He was twice elected mayor of Eldon, and served from 1894 to 1806. .A., who married Flora B. Cottom, and resides on a part of the farm; and Julia E. (John- ston ), of Polk township, Wapello county. In politics, the subject of this sketch is a Demo- crat, and was a justice of the peace in Column- bia township. He has also been assessor of Center township. He has always taken an ac- tive interest in the welfare of the county, and is one of its well known men.
EORGE EARHART. one of the sub- stantial citizens of Eldon, lowa, has been engaged in the real estate busi- ness there for several years, and owns about 700 acres of land within a radius of three miles of the city. He was born in Luzerne county, Pennsylvania. December 15, 1853. and is a son of George Earhart, Sr.
George Earhart. Sr .. was born in Germany. and came to the United States when twenty- five years of age. Hle landed in New York City, and then located in Pennsylvania, where he followed the trade of a butcher. He and his wife reared the following children: John. deceased: Samuel: Jacob B., deceased : George: Charles : Clara; and Stephen, deceased.
George Earhart, our subject, came to lows with his parents in 1856, and located in Van Buren county. He afterward lived in Selma. Iowa, where he held a clerical position for seven years. He came to Eldon in 1881, and opened a general store, which he conducted for three years. Since then, he has been engaged
Mr. Earhart was united in marriage, in 1882, with Emma Minor, who was born in Illinois, in 1865, and they have two children ; George .A. and John E. Politically, Mr. Ear- hart is a stanch supporter of the principles pro- mulgated in the Democratic platform. Por- traits of Mr. and Mrs. Earhart accompany this sketch, being presented on foregoing pages.
HIE SWIFT-CAMPBELL BRICK COMPANY. the leading brick man- nfacturing firm of Wapello county, lowa, has an extensive plant just out of the city of Ottumwa, where they burn many thousands of brick per day with the Swift furnace kiln, an invention of Mr. Swift, of this firm. He has been engaged in the .brick-making business for almost a quarter of a century, and after some years of experi- ment, invented a center cooking table furnace, to be used in connection with kilns, which has almost revolutionized the manufacture of bricks, as his patent kilns are used all over the country.
The Swift-Campbell Brick Company be- gan operations in Ottumwa less than two years ago, having bought the 10 acres of land in Center township which they now occupy, in
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section 20. township 72, range 13. just be- vond the city limits of Ottumwa. The com- pam commenced at once to build their pat- ent kilns and to manufacture brick. The plant tto w has a capacity of from 20,000 to 30,000 bricks per day, and the concern is behind in filling its orders. The company has all the latest and most improved machinery, includ- ing side and end cutting press-machines, the largest one having a capacity of 20,000 bricks in eight hours, which is the period of daily op- cration. Six drying sheds are used, which hold many thousands of brick, and from them the material is transferred to the patent kilns to be berned. The company has also built six cottages on its land, which are rented to its employes, because convenient to their work. Mr. Campbell and his family occupy one of them, and Mr. Swift boards with him while at Ottumwa, as his family still resides at Washington, lowa. He owns a plant in Wash- ington, lowa, larger than the one operated here, and rents it to his son, Edward .A., for Sico per month. It is built on the same plan as the one in Ottumwa, and also has several cottages built for the use of the employes. Mr. Swift early in life learned the brick-mak- ing trade and believed he could find some way of reducing the great expense for fuel incur- red in the old way of burning brick, and at the same time burn them more evenly. He began to experiment, started an establishment of his own, as his idea was too radical to be tried by any other concern. He did not have a great deal of money, but possessed strong determina- tien, and in 1802 started his coking table fur-
nace, and in a short time had his contrivance completed. The results were such that he at once applied for patents, and then sold the right for use in brick yards, large and small, all over the country, the price being from $500 to $5,000 per right, according to the size of the yard. As the invention resulted in a saving of from 20 per cent. to 55 per cent. in fuel, and increase of 33 per cent. in the number of good bricks. there was a ready sale. The furnace can be attached to either up or down draught, or continuous kiln, and does not require the amount of attention which the old ones demand. One of its best features is that all cold air is excluded from start of burn to finish. thus making the ware much sounder and giving it a better ring. The plant of the Swift-Campbell Brick Company is complete in all its details and is one of the thriving in- dustries of Ottumwa. It will be increased to double its present capacity within the next year.
RANK VON SCHRADER. a promi- nent man of business in Ottumwa, lowa. is president of the Ottumwa Savings Bank, the oldest and most stable institution of its kind in Wapello county. Ile was born in Chicago, Ill., in 1860. His fa- ther, Dr. Otto von Schrader, came from Ger- many in early manhood and located in Ma- quoketa, Iowa, in 1846. He was in active practice as a physician until 1856, when he or- ganized the private banking house of von Schrader & Dunham, which he afterward
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changed to the First National Bank of Ma- quoketa. He was president of this institution until the time of his death in 1875. He mar- ried Mary Stewart Webster, of Hartford, Con- necticut.
Frank von Schrader received his primary education in the academy at Maquoketa: he then attended Towa College at Grinnell, and afterward the University of Michigan. In 1881 he was secretary to the general passenger agent of the Wisconsin Central Railroad Com- pany in Milwaukee, and in 1883 became secre- tary to W. C. Brown, later general manager of the Chicago. Burlington & Quincy Railroad. When the Ottumwa Savings Bank was organ- ized in 1888. he was made its cashier, and in 1894 was elected president of the bank, in which capacity he has since served. He also served three terms as city treasurer of Ottumwa,- from 1892 until 1896.
Mr. von Schrader was united in marriage. in 1894, to Jean Freeman, of Scranton, Penn- sylvania, and they have two sons, Max and Otto.
RANCIS W. SIMMONS, one of Ot- tumwa's most enterprising and pre- gressive business men, is a member ( f the firm of George Haw & Company, wholesale and retail hardware merchants. He was born in Morgan county, Ohio, in 1854, and is a son of Rev. J. T. and Martha ( Argan- bright ) Simmons.
Rev. J. T. Simmons was born at Wilming- ton. Delaware, and was reared in Morgan coun-
ty, Ohio. In 1855 he removed to Iowa, took 11p> the work of the ministry as a Methodist, and subsequently filled many important pulpits in southern lowa. He preached from 1872 to 1875 in the First Methodist Episcopal church, at Ottumwa, Iowa. Since 1885 he has lived in retirement on his farm west of Ottumwa, but is still a very prominent man. He married Mar- tha Arganbright, who was born in Ohio, of German parents, and died in 1892. They reared the following children: Lydia Jane, wife of E. G. Chapman, of Duluth, a business man of that city: Francis W .: George B., sec- retary of the Hardsocg Manufacturing Com- pany, of Ottumwa; John W., an ice manufac- turer of St. Augustine, Florida ; Kitty, wife of G. G. Springer, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania ; and Edmond, who is engaged in the best sugar business in Colorado.
Francis W. Simmons was reared in Iowa and spent three years in college, a portion of the time attending Wesleyan University at Mount Pleasant, lowa, and a part of the time the State University of Iowa. He completed his soph- omere year in 1875. and was then engaged in teaching school for seven months. He then came to Ottumwa and engaged with the firm ( f George Haw & Company, and in 1879 was admitted to full membership in the firm. Ile has taken an active interest in the management of the large business which has since developed, the firm having embarked in the wholesale busi- ness soon after he became a member. Ile is also interested in various other business enterprises. and has always been active in furthering the best interests of the city of Ottumwa. With
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