USA > Iowa > History of western Iowa, its settlement and growth. A comprehensive compilation of progressive events concerning the counties, cities, towns, and villages-biographical sketches of the pioneers and business men, with an authentic history of the state of Iowa > Part 46
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Cyrus Mentzer. dealer in groceries and queensware, came to Harlan in the spring of 1880, from Marion, Linn county, Ia., where he was in business for eight years. He engaged in his present business with J. Jackson, and in the spring of 1881 bought Mr. J's. interest. He now employs three clerks, runs a delivery wagon for city trade, and carries one of the largest stocks of goods in his line in the city; store in Coenen's block, on the northeast corner of the square.
James E. Miller, harness maker, was born in Ky. in 1851; moved with parents to Mexico, thence to Audrian county, Mo., where he learned his trade; then came to Ottumwa, Ia., and worked with J. Taylor; afterwards to Des Moines, and was with F. Butler. In 1875 he came to Harlan, and was in the employ of E. E. Swain for two years, and after taking a trip to the Black Hills, took charge of the business for G. H. Walker, who sold to E. B. Gard in Sept., 1879. He continued in the business for Mr. G. until April 7th. 1880, when he purchased the business. He now keeps four men employed, and keeps constantly on hand a large and complete stock of harness, saddles, whips, etc .; also has a branch establishment at Irwin. He is a meinber of the A. O. U. W. or- der. Sept. 12th, 1878, he was married at Harlan to Hattie Brazie, and has two children.
Myerly, Sheller & Harrod, attorneys at law, land, loan. insur- ance and abstract office. The business was established in 1879, by R. E. Carruthers. Messrs. J. B. Myerly & Co. purchased the office Jan. 1st, 1880, D. B. Sheller joining in March of the same year, and Mr. Harrod in Jan., 1881, thus forming the present partner- ship. Mr. Myerly came to Harlan from Des Moines, and is a graduate from the Iowa City University; attends to the law prac- tice of the firm. Mr. Sheller came from Dallas Center, where he was for several years in the Dallas Center bank; Mr. Harrod, is
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from Shelby, this county. Mr. H. was elected county treasurer in the fall of 1879, and at the expiration of the term became a part- ner in the present firm. They have an extensive and growing business, are agents for the Hamburg American Packet Company, Red Star Line, and American Steamship Company, for the sale of emigrant tickets, and have a complete set of abstract books of this county.
J. S. Murray, of the firm of J. S. Murray & Co., proprietors of elevator No. 1, on the west side of the track of the Harlan branch of the C., R. I. & P. Ry .; was born in Canada in 1837; came to the U. S. in 1875, located at Avoca, Ia., and engaged in the grain business; was proprietor of the Avoca elevator. He came to Har- lan in 1878, built the elevator, and engaged in his present busi- ness. He has a branch business at Defiance, on a branch of the C., M. & St. P. Ry., which is conducted by Miles & Miles. The Avoca business was conducted by P. F. Murray until Sept., 1880, when he came to Harlan, and became a member of the above firm. They also handle Des Moines and Oskaloosa hard and soft coal.
J. W. Newby, dealer in agricultural implements, sewing ma- chines, organs, etc., was born in N. C., in 1849; moved with his parents to Carroll county. Ind .; thence to Mills county, Ia., in 1867, and to Shelby county the following year, locating one and one-half miles east of Harlan, on what was known as the Baughn farm. In 1875 he moved to Harlan, and established his present business, which is now located on West Market street. He is agent for the White, Domestic, and Household sewing machines, and for Furst & Bradley's, Walter A. Wood's Wier Co.'s., and Aultman, Miller & Co.'s goods, and for other leading manufac- tories. He has a branch establishment at Irwin.
Dallas F. Paul, county auditor, was born in Saratoga, N. Y., in 1846; moved to Mills county, la., in 1866, and engaged in farming for ten years; then moved to Shelby county, and located in Cass township, where he owns 728 acres of land, well improved for stock purposes. He was elected to his present office in 1881.
Andrew Peterson, merchant tailor, was born in Denmark, in 1830, learned his trade and was engaged in business there; came to America in Sept., 1873, and located at Troy, N. Y .; moved to Schenectady, and was in the employ of Holtzman & Fritzmaurice, as foreman in their tailoring department for two and one-half years. In the fall of 1876 he came to Harlan and established his present business.
R. M. Pomeroy, county treasurer, was born in Franklin county, Pa., in 1849; moved to Louisa county, Ia., in 1872; was engaged in business at Morning Sun, and three years later moved to Shelby, Shelby county, and engaged in the mercantile business, which he still owns. He is mayor of Shelby. He was elected county treas- urer in 1881.
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W. R. Parker, proprietor of billiard parlor and sample rooms, in rear of City Hotel, (formerly of Missouri Valley) established his present business in Nov., 1880. Has two Brunswick, Balke & Co.'s billiard tables, and one pool table.
H. C. & E. D. Potter, of the firm of Potter Bros., proprietors of the steam wagon, blacksmith and machine shop, on West Market street; came to Harlan, Ia., in Nov., 1878, from Whiteside county. Ill., and established his present business. They have a four-horse engine, and employ three blacksmiths and one wood worker. They make a specialty of building fine light buggies and track sulkies to order.
C. R. Pratt, of the firm of Pratt Bros., proprietors of the Harlan Herald, edits and conducts the paper. It was established in 1875 by Geo. Musgrave, is republican, and the official paper of the county, is thoroughly fitted for jobbing purposes; has a fine Campbell power press.
J. H. & E. W. Reynolds, of the firm of Reynolds Bros., con- tractors and builders, located at Harlan in 1879, shop on East Market street, where they employ two men, do wagon work in con- nection. They are from Keokuk, Ia., are thorough workmen, and capable of handling large contracts.
John Reed & Co., dealers in lumber, lime, cement, coal, and paints, were formerly of Rock Island, Ill., where they were en- gaged in the lumber business; came to Harlan in Dec., 1880, and purchased the business of Coenen & Fairchild, on Upper Third street. Mr. John Reed conducts the business at Harlan; they have a branch establishment at Kirkman.
Ramsey Bros., dealers in clothing, boots, shoes, and gents' fur- nishing goods; came to Harlan from Prairie City, Jasper county, Ia. The business was established in the spring of 1879, by Hol- defer & Ramsey; the former sold his interest in Jan., 1882, to J. H. & J. W. Ramsey, who with their brother W. H. constitute the present firm. They carry an immense stock of goods, and do a flourishing business; store on north side of square. They have a branch house at Irwin, under the charge of J. W. Ramsey.
Frank and Albert Reynolds, of the firm of Reynolds & Co., photog- raphers, formerly of Keokuk county, Ia .; learned their trade at Des Moines, and came to Harlan in the spring of 1879; established business in Sept., 1880. They occupy four rooms in Coenen's block, on the second floor. They make a specialty of copying and enlarging.
Alden K. Riley, attorney at law, loan and abstract office; was born in Schoharie county, N. Y., in 1852; began attendance at the Fort Edwards Institute, N. Y., in 1868, and graduated in 1872; then entered Princeton College, N. J., obtained a degree in 1876, and entered the law firm of Krum & Grant, at Schoharie; removed
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in the following year to Jefferson, Greene county, Ia .; there en- tered the law firm of Russel & Toliver, and was also professor of mathematics at the Jefferson Academy. In April, 1878, he came to Harlan, and opened an office. . He is one of the stockholders and directors of the Shelby county bank, also attorney for the bank; office in Coenen's block, front room up-stairs. He is a member of the I. O. O. F. August 27th, 1878, he was married at Harlan to Betta M. Hard, and has one child, Alden K.
Geo. D. Ross, farmer and stock raiser, was born in Jefferson county, N. Y., in Dec., 1842. He enlisted at the commencement of the war in Co. G, 21st Wis. Inft .; was in a number of impor- tant battles; was wounded at Atlanta, Ga., necessitating the am- putation of his right arm; was discharged in 1865. In May, 1872, he came to Harlan, purchased property and engaged in teaching school. In the fall of the same year he was elected clerk of the courts, and re-elected twice on the republican ticket. He estab- lished the first livery in the town, in the spring of 1873, which he sold after two years. He had the mail route between Harlan and Dunlap, and carried mail and express between Harlan and Avoca, for several years. In Aug., 1875, he bought the Herald printing office, of Geo. Musgrave, and in Feb., 1876, bought the Record printing office, combined them, and published the Herald until 1879; then bought farms joining town, one of eighty acres on the west, and 160 acres, one mile northeast of town. He also owns valuable town property.
John Rogers & Son, proprietors of restaurant and bakery, deal in staple and fancy groceries, confectionery, etc. They came to Harlan, in Dec., 1881, and purchased the stock and business of Lew Tamesiea on the east side of the square. They employ a first class baker and confectioner, keep day boarders and furnish lunches, ice cream, oysters, soda water, etc.
J. S. Snively, hardware dealer, came from Carroll county, Ill., where he had been engaged in teaching school, to Harlan, Ia., Oct. 1st, 1880, and established his present business, on the north side of the square. He carries a full stock of everything in his line; keeps three men employed; is the sole agent in the town for the Glidden barb wire.
Samuel Smith was born in Guernsey county, O., in 1836; re- moved to Guthrie county, Ia., in 1857, and engaged in farming. He engaged in freighting to Denver, Col., in 1861 and 1862; then returned to Guthrie county, where he remained until 1869; then came to Shelby county; engaged in teaching several years, and previous to the coming of the railroad to Harlan, ran freight- ing teams between there and Avoca.
Mr. Smith, of firm of Smith & Cullison, came to Harlan from Bloomfield, Davis county, Ia., where he studied law with M. H. Jones, was admitted to the bar in the spring of 1878, and came to
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this city the same year, and formed a partnership with P. C. Tru- man, which continued three years. Mr. T. then sold his interest to Mr. Cullison, in Jan., 1881, thus forming the above firm.
Joseph Stiles, attorney at law, and land loan and insurance agent, was born in O., in 1846; removed to Benton county, Ia., in 1853; thence to Western, Linn county, in 1856; there attended college, and in 1867 moved to Jefferson, Green county, where he engaged in teaching school. In 1873 he began the study of law, with Henderson & Howard. The following year he was admitted to the bar, in the district court, Judge Reed presiding. He was asso- ciated in practice with Judge Potter, of that place, one year; re- moved to Harlan in the autumn of 1875, and opened an office; was elected justice of the peace in 1877, which office he held two terms.
Steinhilber & Schnuettgen, dealers in furniture, and undertakers; established business April 1st, 1880. They command and occupy for the retail business the store building on Market street, having sales-room, work-shop and ware-room below, and on the second floor the finishing and undertaking rooms, in which they employ two men, a wood worker and finisher. Their factory on Third street employs from twenty to thirty men. They do a large whole- sale business. E. R. Steinhilber was formerly engaged in the stock business in Davenport. Mr. Schnuettgen is by trade a fresco painter; worked several years in Philadelphia, Pa., and Milwaukee, Wis. He was employed on the Centennial buildings in Philadelphia.
E. C. Swain, proprietor of Swain's livery stables, was born in Ind. in 1848; removed to Ia. in 1857, locating in Guthrie county; the following year moved to Shelby county, and to Harlan in 1869. He engaged in the harness business for six years, and in 1878, bought an interest in the livery business of J. V. Brazie. The present barn was built by this firm in 1879, and in 1881, Mr. S. became sole proprietor; keeps sixteen horses and eight carriages for livery purposes.
J. B. Swain was born at Randolph, Ind., in 1825; moved to Dal- las county, Ind., in 1854, and engaged in farming for two years; then moved to Denison, Crawford county, being one of the first to locate there; remained until the spring of 1859; then came to Shelby, and built a mill in Grove township, which he sold to Mil- ton Lynch, in 1861. He again engaged in farming, until his re- moval to Dunlap, when it was first laid out, in 1867, and the fol- lowing year opened a harness shop, which business he sold to his son, E. C. Swain. He purchased the Harlan House of J. M. Long, conducted it for five years, and in the spring of 1879 erected the Swain House, which he conducted until April, 1881, when he leased to E. Gish, and retired from active business. He was mar- ried in Wayne county, Ind., in 1846, to Irena Whitenger, and has three sons and five daughters.
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D. O. Stuart, attorney at law, was born in Pa. in 1848; moved with parents to Va. in 1851; took a preparatory literary course at the university at Morgantown. He served one year as scout dur- ing the rebellion, and at the close of the war, removed to Warren county, Ia .; attended Simpson's Centenary College, at Indianola; graduated in 1872, obtaining the degree of B. A. He commenced reading law while at college, with Col. P. Gad Bryan, and was admitted at the Nov. term of the district court at Newton, Jasper county, in 1872; was admitted to practice in the supreme court in June, 1874, and to the U. S. circuit court in Oct., of the same year, at Des Moines. In the spring of 1877, he moved to Des Moines, and to Harlan in Aug., 1880. His office is in Long's block on the north side of the public square.
A. D. Tinsley, editor of the Harlan Tribune (established in 1879), was born in Wapello county, Ia., in 1854; removed to Harlan in 1875, engaged in joiner work with kiley Cass, and taught school during the winter of 1875-6. In 1877 was assistant county treas- urer under Thomas McDonald; in the fall of the same year, en- gaged in business with his brother Prior Tinsley, and in 1879, still retaining his interest in the store, he opened the Tribune office. He has since been chairman of the county democratic central com- mittee. He has always been an active participant in the cam- paigns, and is recognized as one of the party leaders in the county. The Tribune has been a county official paper since its establish- ment, and a city official paper for some time; office on north side of the square. Nov. 10th, 1881, Mr. Tinsley was married to Cicily Chatburn, daughter of the Hon. J. W. Chatburn of Harlan.
G. W. Todd, M. D., was born at Bellevue, Huron county, O., in 1838; attended college at Granville three years, then the Cleveland Medical College, graduating in 1861, and obtaining a degree. He enlisted in the 55th O. Inft., Co. A, and was discharged in 1865; then came to Tabor, Fremont county, Ia., and engaged in the drug busi- ness; remained eight years, then moved to Montgomery county, Ia., and engaged in the practice of medicine at Milford. In the spring of 1878 he moved to Shelby, Shelby county, Ia., and to Harlan in 1881; where he formed a partnership with Dr. Cartlich, who located here in 1880.
Geo. H. Walker, was born in W. Va., in 1814; moved to Northern Ind., in 1834, and engaged in farming; was also engaged in the mer- cantile business at Benton, Elkhart county. In 1854 removed to Linn county, Ia., and engaged in farming until 1860, when heen- gaged in business at Mt. Vernon. In 1876 he moved to Harlan, and in June of that year established a mercantile house; retired from business in the autumn of 1881, still owning the property, be- sides other town property, and 420 acres of land in Thayer county, Neb. He was married in Ind., in 1842, to Celina Smith, and has four children.
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A. G. Waynick, of the firm of Waynick & Hunter, grocers; was born in Monroe county, Ia., in 1852; moved with parents to Chari- ton, Lucas county, in 1854. In 1870 he went to Golden, Col., and two years later to Chicago, Ill .; thence, in 1874, to Burlington, Ia .; and two years later to Corning, where he engaged in the clothing business, until 1879, when he came to Harlan and established his present business, which he carried on alone until the spring of 1880. Mr. Hunter, of Corning, then bought an interest, but remains at Corning, Mr. W. conducting the business, which is in Long's block on the southeast corner of the square.
J. E. Weaver, attorney at law, was born in Henry county, Ind., in June, 1849; moved with his parents to Powsheik county, Ia., in 1859; entered the Iowa College, at Grinnell, Ia., in 1866, and in 1870 commenced the study of law with Emery & Lewis, of Montezuma; was admitted to the bar in 1873 by the district court, Judge E. S. Sampson presiding. In 1874 moved to Pella, where he practiced one year, and then came to Harlan, establishing his present business; office on the north side of square. He is a member of the A. F. & A. M. order.
Thomas R. Westrope, farmer, stock raiser and dealer, was born in Morgan county, Ill., in 1825; moved to La Fayette county, Wis., in 1850; thence to Montgomery county, Ia., where he owns six- teen hundred acres of well improved farming land, two hundred and fifty head of graded cattle and fifty head of pedigreed short- horns. He came to Shelby county in the spring of 1881, and here owns 440 acres of land and 150 head of cattle; has 360 acres of well improved farm in Audubon county, and 260 acres in La Fay- ette county, Wis. He carries on all of these farms himself, keep- ing sixteen men constantly employed, besides extra help in crop- ping seasons. He is one of the most extensive farmers in western Ia. In 1848, he was married, in La Fayette county, Wis., to Sarah A. Huntsman. They have eight sons and two daughters.
D. M. Wyland, of the firm of J. C. & D. M. Wyland, was born in Elkhart county, Ind., in 1846; came to Shelby county, Ia., in 1861; in 1864 took charge of the treasurer's office under William Wyland, and the year following attended the university at Iowa City, remaining four years; returned to Harlan and was appointed clerk of the courts in 1869, which position he resigned in the spring of 1870, to accept one offered by the Council Bluffs savings bank; remained there until 1872; then formed a partnership with his present partner. He is a member of the city council, and of the A. F. & A. M. and I. O. O. F. orders. In Sept., 1878, he was married at South Bend, Ind., to Belle Keasey.
C. J. Wyland, of the firm of C. J. & D. M. Wyland, bankers, real estate, loan and insurance agents, was born in Ind. in 1836; came to Shelby county, Ia., in 1861, and engaged in farming in Harlan township; was elected treasurer of the county in 1871, on
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the democratic ticket, and re-elected in 1873. In 1875, he, with with D. M. Wyland, with whom he had previously been engaged in the real estate, loan and insurance business, established the bank. They occupied a frame building until 1880, when they erected the present two-story building, of brick with stone front. The first floor is used for the real estate, loan and insurance office and tele- phone exchange, of which J. C. has charge, and the second floor by the bank, in charge of D. M. In 1864, the subject of this sketch was married to Amanda H. Dunnington, at Harlan. They have five children.
Hon. William Wyland, farmer, was born in O. in 1830; removed to northern Ind. in 1832, with his parents, where he remained un- til 1856; then came to Shelby county, Ia., which at that time was very sparsely settled, the inhabitants having to go to Kanesville- now Council Bluffs-for mail and to do trading. He entered land, and engaged in farming until 1859; was elected county treasurer in 1857, and county judge in 1859; returned to farming in 1861, and in 1873 engaged in the mercantile business in partnership with Thos. Wood; closed out business in 1877, and returned to farming in North Harlan.
Hon. Pratt Wicks, attorney at law and representative for the 74th district, was born in Manchester, Ind., in 1832; was admitted to the bar in 1853. at a term of the circuit court at Shelbyville, Ind., Hon. R. D. Logan presiding. The following year he began the practice of law at Greenburg; was elected to the office of dis- trict attorney in 1856, and re-elected in 1858; was elected prose- cuting attorney of the 4th judicial circuit in 1866; held the office until 1869, and then resigned, on the division of the circuit, and came to Harlan, Ia .; was elected to the 18th general assembly in the autumn of 1879, and re-elected to the 19th general assembly in 1881, on the republican ticket.
D. A. Williams, proprietor of the City Hotel, was born in Pitts- burg, Pa., in 1846; removed with parents to Marshalltown, Ia., in 1857. He enlisted in 1863 in the 9th Ia. Cav .; was discharged in 1865, and assisted his father in the stock business; traveled through the west in 1868, handling stock; was engaged in freighting to the Winnebago Agency several years, and was in the stock business at Missouri Valley, Ia., some time; also at St. Paul, Minn., Denver, Col., and Texas. In 1875 he established a drug store in Council Bluffs, Ia., which he sold in the summer of 1881 to Shephard Bros. and then moved to Harlan Oct. 11th, 1881; he opened the City Hotel, built and owned by J. M. Long, which is a fine building, well furnished, has one of the finest sample rooms in the west for the accomodation of commercial travelers, and has omnibus in connec- tion.
J. J. Zimmerman, proprietor of livery, feed and sale barns, on the west side of square, was born in Pa. in 1840; moved to Jones
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county, Ia., in 1856, and engaged in farming; removed to Shelby county in 1876 and engaged in farming until March, 1880, when he engaged in the livery business at Old Harlan House barn. In Oct., 1881, he purchased Hurless' barn and stock, and now runs both barns; keeps eighteen horses for livery purposes, and nine carriages, has telephone connections.
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HISTORY OF IOWA.
CLAY COUNTY.
The county of Clay is twenty-four miles square, containing an area of 368,640 acres. It is located in the second tier from the third county from the west boundary of the State. The little Sioux River and its tributaries afford water and drainage in nearly all portions of the county. The stream, with its serpentine wind- ings, has a length of not less than seventy miles within the limits of Clay County, and furnishes quite a number of good water pow- ers. Its largest tributary is Ocheyedan Creek, which rises in Os- ceola County and, flowing in a southeasterly direction, empties into Little Sioux River near Spencer. Both these have broad, rich and beautiful valleys. Among other smaller streams are Willow, Prairie, Henry and Muddy Creeks. The eastern portion of the county has several small lakes, the most important of which are Lost Island Lake, Swan Lake, Pickerel Lake, Virgin Lake and Mud Lake. Fish abound in some of them.
The county has a very limited supply of native timber, but more than some of the other counties in this part of the state. The surface is undulating prairie, with scarcely any waste land, and the soil is exceedingly fertile. The staple productions are wheat, oats, corn, grass and the various root crops. The county is well adapted to grazing, on account of the abundance of nutritious wild grass and pure water.
The first settlement of whites in the county was made in July, 1856, by Ambrose S. Mead and Christian Kirchner with their fami- lies. The former built his cabin on section 34, township 94, range 38, and the latter on section 32 of the same township and range. John J. Bicknell had the honor of holding the plow that broke the first sod in the county, while Ambrose S. Mead was honored by driving the oxen. In the fall of 1856 there were several more families came in, to-wit: James Bicknell, Ezra Wilcox and two men named Gillett.
. In the latter part of February, 1857, the Indians, on their way to Spirit Lake before the massacre, visited the infant settlement in this county, killed four head of cattle belonging to Mr. Kirch- ner, and drove away ten horses and five or six head of cattle be- longing to Mr. Mead. Passing on to what is known as Gillett's Grove, they drove away forty head of cattle, four horses, and de- stroyed most of the personal property of the Gilletts. The five or six families in the county, in consequence of this raid, fled and were away several months. The first marriage was that of John A. Kirchner and Mary J. Bicknell, daughter of James Bicknell.
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HISTORY OF IOWA.
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