USA > Iowa > Johnson County > Leading events in Johnson County, Iowa history, biographical > Part 24
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many years he plied his trade in the construction of vehicles and the maintenance of a carriage and wagon repair shop. Those were the days when wagons were made by hand, and it goes without saying, he being a true son of Ohio, that Daniel Corlett made substantial vehicles. Some of his former pat- rons are still living to bear witness to the excellence of his workmanship. With the introduction of factory-made ve- hicles, Mr. Corlett concluded to give up the trade of carriage making, but his association with the buggy family led him to take up the related business of livery, and in this he continued for a number of years. He also purchased and operated a farm. For a considerable time prior to his death, however, he
THE OLD CORLETT HOMESTEAD
lived in peaceful retirement, enjoying the companionships of the friends of his youth and the association of his family.
Mr. Corlett was most fortunate in his domestic relations. June 3, 1859, he was united in marriage at Iowa City to Miss Nancy MeDonald, who had reached Johnson county in 1856, the year preceding her future husband's arrival. Miss Me- Donald was born near Quebec, Canada, May 22, 1829, and was the daughter of Angus and Mary (Andrews) McDonald, both natives of Scotland, who emigrated to Canada in the early twenties, settling near Quebec. Later they removed to To- ronto, Ontario, and in 1843 decided to locate in the United States, settling in Lockport, New York. There Mr. McDonald
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died in 1852. Mrs. Corlett still lives in the pioneer residence, northeast corner of Court and South Dubuque streets, which she and her husband occupied immediately after their mar- riage. Of the five children born to this couple, three are liv- ing: Albert, of Colebrook River, Conn .; Clara, of Iowa City; Jessie, residing in Montana.
Mr. Corlett was one of the early members of the Methodist Episcopal church of Iowa City. His widow is also a member of that church and one of the active workers therein. Fra- ternally he was a member of the I. O. O. F. of Iowa City.
MISS CLARA CORLETT, daughter of Daniel and Nancy Corlett, the well known and popular pharmacist at the Boerner Pharmacy, Iowa City, was educated and raised in her native city, where she has always resided. She is a graduate of the Iowa City Academy and was a student in the Liberal Arts de- partment of the State University of Iowa, graduating in phar- macy with the class of 1904. She is recognized as an expert prescriptionist, and her knowledge of the retail drug trade is beyond the ordinary.
PROFESSOR THOMAS HUSTON MACBRIDE, M. A., PH. D.
In the science of botany, which has been his special field of investigation and activity for nearly forty years, no man stands higher among his fellow scientists and educators of the nation than Thomas Huston Macbride, professor and head of the department of botany, State University of Iowa. His asso- ciation with this department of natural science was born of inherent devotion from youth, but to the inclination of taste he has added the sinews of careful training and critical re- search, so that his prowess in his mature years is that of the fully-developed mental athlete. The strength of Professor Macbride, both as a devotee and student of cryptogamic flora, is manifest to all who have come under his tutelage or shared in his fellowship. But Professor Macbride is more than a specialist - he is a scientist, and this involves a love of kin- dred topics dear to the heart of the student of nature. Ge- ology, the graveyard of the flora and fauna of the ages, in-
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evitably fascinates him with its epitaphs. Of both these departments of physical science Professor Macbride is an ex- pert and critical student.
Professor Macbride's connection with the State University of Iowa dates from 1878, when he was elected to the chair of botany. He was at this time thirty years of age, and it will therefore be apparent that he has given largely of the best years of his life to the ministry of education. Vigorous ser- vice and ripe experience yet remain to him, however, with which fittingly to crown on octogenary of devoted effort, a point on the Hills of Athens which every friend of his hopes to
RESIDENCE OF PROFESSOR THOMAS HUSTON MACBRIDE, M. A., PH. D.
see him reach "with eyes undimmed and natural vigor un- abated."
Thomas Huston Macbride was born in Tennessee in 184S. His parents were James and Sarah ( Huston) Macbride. Like scores of fellow men of affairs in Iowa, he received his pri- mary and classical education in the public schools and colleges of his adopted state. Following his graduation from the first named, he matriculated at Lenox College, Hopkinton, Iowa. In 1869, Monmouth conferred upon him the degree of A. B., and in 1873 his alma mater gave him the degree of A. M. Fol-
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lowing his graduation at Lenox, he became an instructor there, and later at Monmouth, Illinois, and in the public schools of Kansas and Scott county, Iowa. Regularly since 1887 he has delivered public addresses on scientific subjects, including sev- eral addresses annually at Davenport, lowa. He is the author of the text-book, "Slime Moulds," and many other scientific publications, and his magazine articles are voluminous. His botanical research extends to the division of forestry, in which he is rated as an expert. Ilis attainments have been given substantial recognition in his election to the presidency of the Iowa Academy, State Conservation Commission, Botanical Section of the American Association. Professor Macbride is director of University Extension S. U. I. He was at one time dean of the Graduate College of the University. He has long been fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science ; is a fellow of the American Botanical Society; vice president Sigma Xi; member Washington Academy of Sci- ence; member of the Board of Park Commissioners of Iowa City; one of the promoters of the Triangle Club; member of the Baconian Club, of Iowa City.
Dr. Macbride's wife was formerly Miss Harriet Diffen- derfer, and the domestic relations of the couple are most happy. They have been blessed with two children: Jean, graduate of S. U. I., class of 1905, and Philip, graduate S. U. I., class of 1906. The latter is married and a resident of Se- attle, Washington, where he is engaged in the practice of law.
Dr. Macbride spent the summer of 1911 at the research sta- tion on the west bank of Okoboji lake, where prominent students of botany, geology, zoology, and physical geography were assembled. He is an enthusiast on the Spirit-Okoboji group of Iowa lakes, and predicts that they will become the mecca for scientists of the entire country, because of their un- usnal and varied opportunities for science study and investi- gation. Just as the natural beauty of the lakes makes them the favorite playground for the people of the middle west, so, he insists, their topography and surroundings make them es- pecially attractive to men of science. Already, he states, a movement is under way to establish there a great telescope on "the highest point in Iowa" to study astronomy. On account of the great natural beauty of watercourse and landscape at
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these resorts, Dr. Macbride gives it as his opinion that art as well as science will claim them as favorites.
WALTER MORTON DAVIS
In the regions celebrated for the production of the world's premier fruits it is oftentimes remarked that the choicest specimens are shipped far away to the centers of consumption and that which remains at the home market is of secondary quality. To the "home folks" this fact is sometimes the source of humiliation when confronted by the demands of in- quisitive guests for a sight of the wonderful products whose fame has filled the marts of the distant cities. In "brain- training" cities also this condition is frequently prevalent. The vigorous and progressive alumni wave farewell to the stately elms and classic halls of alma mater and are absorbed by the ever-yawning maw of insatiate progress in the great metropolis or lured by the "call of the wild" to the frontiers of the romantic west. It is the exception when the gifted native son settles among the scenes of his childhood and dem- onstrates by an honorable, successful career the coaching pow- er of his home university.
Disclaiming any flattering purpose to "point with pride" to Walter Morton Davis or to catalogue him in the awesome list of "the man who," it is proper to recite the plain story of his life and let the reader draw his conclusions of its moral.
It has been already indicated by inference that he is a na- tive of Johnson county. The date of his birth was November 30, 1868, and the scene of it was the farm of his father, Thomas R. Davis, six miles west of Iowa City. Davis, senior, be it known, was one of those plain, heroic products of the nine- teenth century (born January 11, 1825) who, with his numer- ous fellows, carved a matchless civilization out of the territory of Louisiana. He settled in Johnson county in 1852 and hon- ored himself by selecting as his wife Elizabeth Thomas, daugh- ter of Oliver Thomas, a prominent pioneer of Johnson county of the early '40s. Elizabeth was born in Montgomery county, Wales, January 12, 1828, and came to this country with her parents when seven years of age. A coincidence in family acquaintance is the fact that for a short time after their
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arrival in America Oliver Thomas and family lived at Ebens- burg, Pennsylvania, where the paternal grandparents of Wal- ter Morton Davis resided. As the latter were of Welsh an- cestry, it is not difficult to trace the racial attraction which drew the families ultimately more closely together. Oliver Thomas made the journey from Pennsylvania to Iowa in 1841 on the Ohio and Mississippi rivers via St. Louis to Muscatine. thence overland to destination, an arduous trip considering the primitive methods of transportation.
This worthy pioneer and his wife located on a farm four miles southwest of Iowa City where they reared to manhood
RESIDENCE OF WALTER MORTON DAVIS
and womanhood a family of boys and girls who later on con- tributed largely to the agricultural development of the county. Thomas R. Davis and Elizabeth Thomas were married March 20, 1856, and four children were born to them: Hattie Davis Reese, who died September 18, 1893; Clara Davis, now Mrs. E. F. Kerr, of Fort Collins, Colorado; Edwin T. Davis, a prominent stockman of Johnson county, and Walter M. Davis.
For almost half a century the elder Davis resided on the farm developed by his own thrift and industry in University township. In the fall of 1904 the parents moved to Iowa City and made their home for a time with their son, Walter M.,
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where the father died the following spring, on March 14, 1905, at the ripe age of 80 years. The mother, Elizabeth, contin- ned to make her home with her two sons and on January 18, 1911, she too went to her reward after having passed the 83rd milestone on the highway of years.
To the honesty, integrity and industry of these two worthy pioneers and their great devotion to the welfare of their children the subject of this sketch attributes the greater por- tion of whatever success he may have attained.
The sturdy stuff of the Davis stock is well illustrated by the case of Robert R., a brother of Thomas R., who was a mem- ber of the Twelfth U. S. Infantry, participated in the battles of Antietam and Gettysburg and later on was taken prisoner at the battle of the Wilderness and confined to Andersonville prison for eleven months, his period of enlistment having ex- pired several months prior to his release from prison.
Walter M. Davis received his early education at the country schools followed by graduation from the Iowa City Academy in 1891. Four years later he received his diploma from the department of liberal arts of the great Iowa University. Hav- ing in mind the legal profession, he completed one year of the university law course prior to graduation ; but was interrupt- ed for two years by the power of the press, which adopted him as a disciple of Franklin and placed him in the editorial chair of the Iowa City Daily Republican from June, 1895, to Febru- ary, 1897. On the latter date he resumed the study of law in the State University, and, graduating in 1898, was admitted to the bar and began practice the same year in the office where he is now located.
In 1900 Mr. Davis formed a partnership with Charles M. Dutcher, and in the spring of 1906 the firm name was changed to Wade, Dutcher & Davis by the addition of Hon. M. J. Wade. It is no detraction from other lawyers of central Iowa to say that this firm is one of the ablest and most popular in the state.
Two years after his induction into the practice of law, namely, on September 16, 1902, Mr. Davis was united in mar- riage to Miss Elsie Carpenter, of Burlington, Iowa, a daugh- ter of G. B. P. and Ella Carpenter, both natives of Iowa and residents of Burlington. Miss Carpenter was born July 27,
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1873. Her father was a jeweler at Burlington and died a number of years ago. Mrs. Carpenter is now living with her daughter at Iowa City. Mrs. Davis attended the Burlington high school and later was a student at the University, Oberlin, Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. Davis have been blessed with three sons, Thomas, who died in infancy; Richard, born January 14, 1907, and Edwin, born January 15, 1909.
Mr. Davis has large real estate interests around Iowa City, and this current year (1911) was elected president of the Johnson County Savings bank. He is recognized as one of the influential republicans of the state and was a member of Governor Cummins' staff during the two terms of his office. Mr. Davis is a member of the Presbyterian church and of the three Masonic bodies of Iowa City-the Commandery, the Chapter, and the Blue Lodge No. 4. While in college he was a member of the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity, and of MeLain chapter Phi Delta Phi.
REV. ALOYS JOSEPH SCHULTE, DEAN Rector St. Mary's Catholic Church
Perhaps to no man more than the pastor of a popular, prosperous church does the opportunity come to write the impress of his personality and genius upon a community. The church, by reason of its venerable claims of divine anthor- ity and its long ministrations in the interest of humanity, both spiritual and temporal, receives the attention, the con- fidence, and the cooperation of mankind. It therefore follows that its accredited servants, and particularly its clergy, have the open sesame to the hearts and the minds of its communi- cants and hold a general voucher for the respect and trust of the people. Armed with the credentials of priesthood, sup- plemented by an individual personality of culture and origin- ality, the pastor of an influential church, as stated above, is in a position to wield tremendous influence both in the spirit- ual and the secular affairs of his community. Add to his advantage the elements of a pure life, a quick conscience, and exhaustless energy in the discharge of duty, and such a pastor becomes a leader among his fellow men and a person of place and power.
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The essential elements of priestly success recited above find concrete expression in the person of Rev. Aloys Joseph Schulte, Dean, rector of St. Mary's Roman Catholic church, of Iowa City, Iowa. For twenty years following September 17, 1891, Father Schulte has served as pastor of this well known church, and for four years dating from February 6, 1907, he has served as dean of the Iowa City Deanery, one of the most important in the Diocese of Davenport. During the years of his pastorate and deanship, which involved the priest- ly offices of the parish of St. Mary's, the superintendency of St. Mary's school, and the advisory oversight of twenty-four pastors and churches of the deanery, Father Schulte has grown constantly in the estimation and affection of his people, his fellow priests and the general public, and today it may be truthfully said of him that no man in eastern Iowa stands higher among the Catholic clergy than he. In appreciation of this fact we think that we cannot do better than to quote here the words of Rev. John F. Kempker, of Davenport, form- er pastor of St. Mary's church. Father Kempker, in a chap- ter of the forthcoming History of the Catholic Church of Iowa, says of Dean Schulte :
"As a boy in school, a student at college, as seminarian and as a young professor of a new seminary, Father Schulte had always displayed a most charming disposition; gifted, talented, sanguine, the pink of propriety, a model of good example, apt in his studies, diligent in application; adding a fine mind to an exquisitely good character, he evinced that rarest of all acquisitions, sagacity and good common sense. It was owing to those qualifications and his persistent appli- cation that the St. Ambrose Preparatory Seminary had grown with such nnexampled prosperity. . From his college presidency, and heralded with the best record, he came to St. Mary's church, where he was received with unfeigned gratifi- cation and with the fullest measure of confidence in his pro- bity and competence. . . In this he did not give disappoint- ment. . . Father Schulte has shown himself unusually strong, and possessing abilities which might well be envied by anyone. , He boasted not, but accomplished his work."
This is high praise from a predecessor, and will be appre- ciated by the legions of friends of the popular Towa City
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priest, who are prepared to add their voices in approval. Seldom a man wins so universally the cordial esteem of his cotemporaries and the public as has Dean Schulte. His mod- esty in the midst of success confirms the quality of his char- acter.
The Schulte family, of which our Dean Schulte is a descend- ant, came originally from Meppen, Province of Hanover, Ger- many. Grandfather Schulte reached America about 1790 and settled in New York. Thence he removed to Cincinnati, where the father of the dean was born. The mother of Dean Schulte was born in St. Mary's, Ohio, and removed with her parents to St. Louis, Missouri, where she was married. Six children were born to this couple, of whom two died in infancy. Dean Schulte is now the sole survivor of his family. Two of his sisters entered Notre Dame, of Milwaukee, namely, Sister Mary Amanda, and Sister Mary Clotilde. The former had been a religieuse eighteen years and the latter forty-eight years prior to her death. Sister Mary Clotilde opened schools under the Notre Dame sisters in Canada, at Berlin, Waterloo, Walkerton, Mildmay, and other towns, and was a Sister Superior for thirty years. A third sister was married. One brother died when quite young.
Dean Schulte's parents were H. Joseph and Mary Helena Schulte, whose birthplaces are noted in the preceding para- graph. Subsequent to their marriage in St. Louis Mr. and Mrs. Schulte resided in that city for twenty years. They were pioneers of Missouri. In 1854 they removed to Fort Madison, Iowa, where they resided until their death. Dean Schulte was born in Fort Madison September 17, 1858. He declares that his boyhood days were just like those of ordinary children, and he remembers them with pleasure. From early life, how- ever, he was religiously inclined, and this feeling was given additional impulse by his educational training, the primary portion of which was received in the parochial schools of Fort Madison. Upon graduation from the Fort Madison schools he entered St. Francis Seminary, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where he took a four years' classical course. This was fol- lowed by a two years' classical course at St. John's University. Collegeville, Minnesota, under the Benedictine Order. From the latter he received the degrees of A. B. and A. M.
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Having decided to devote his life to the priesthood, Dean Schulte entered St. Joseph's College, Dubuque, Iowa, and took a complete theological course, graduating with honor. He was ordained to the priesthood December 28, 1881, at Davenport, Iowa, by Right Reverend John MeMullen, D. D., first bishop of the diocese of Davenport. Father Schulte had the dis- tinguished honor of being the first priest ordained by Bishop McMullen in the diocese of Davenport. Following his ordina- tion, he was appointed (January, 1882), assistant to Very Reverend H. Cosgrove, D. D., who later became bishop of Dav- enport. In the succeeding September the young priest was appointed president of St. Ambrose's Preparatory Seminary, Davenport, now St. Ambrose College. In this work he was eminently successful. From the modest school conducted in two rooms of St. Marguerite's Parochial school building the seminary advanced until, in 1884, ground was broken for the splendid new college building now standing on North Locust street. The school was conducted as a day school only until 1886, when a boarding school was added. Father Schulte con- tinned in charge as president until September 17, 1891, when he was transferred by Right Reverend II. Cosgrove, D. D., successor of Bishop MeMullen as bishop of Davenport, to take charge pro tem for one year at St. Mary's church, Iowa City. The same day he arrived in lowa City and took up the work as successor to Rev. J. F. Kemper, known as a zealous priest and popular worker.
Pastor Schulte's administration of the affairs of St. Mary's is known far and wide. From the day of his arrival to the present writing the church and the community have felt the impulse of his zeal, consecration, and character. Among Catholics and Protestants alike he is esteemed as a manly man and a square citizen, while within his own congregation he is generally beloved as a religious teacher and pastor. His appointment as dean on February 6, 1907, "in recognition of services rendered," was recognized by all his friends as a fitting sequel to the celebration of his twenty-fifth anniversary of ordination to the priesthood. At various times since this appointment he has been a counsellor of the bishop, and has performed the duties pertaining to the Deanery with ability and wisdom. The cities embraced in the Iowa City Deanery
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under Father Schulte's administration are: Iowa City, em- bracing three churches and Mercy Hospital; Oxford, North English, Marengo, Brooklyn, Victor, Cosgrove, What Cheer, Arma, Kinross, Colfax, Newton, Valeria, Nichols, Richmond, Riverside, Hills, Morse, Nolan's Settlement, Newport, and Solon, with one church each, and each having a resident pas- tor, Solon having an out-appointment known as Saints Peter and Paul. St. Mary's church, Iowa City, is the largest in the Deanery, having a membership of over two hundred families and a parochial school, St. Mary's, with an average attend- ance of two hundred pupils, including a high school with about sixty pupils and four teachers.
Under Father Schulte's vigorous pastorate St. Mary's school was reorganized September 11, 1892, and on its reopen- ing in 1893 the Sisters of St. Francis of Milwaukee took charge, who conducted it for three years. They were fol- lowed by the Sisters of Charity, B. V. M., of Dubuque, Iowa, in 1896, and the latter have continued in charge ever since with great success. In 1897 the first steps were taken for the organization of St. Mary's high school, and its first class graduated in 1900. The old addition to St. Mary's school, used for school purposes and living rooms for the Sisters, was torn down in April, 1911, to make way for the new and modern building, costing $30,000, completed and occupied by Thanks- giving, 1911. This building is one of the finest of its class in the diocese. It is equipped with living rooms for the Sisters, an auditorium for the meetings of the societies, and a chapel for the church services and the week-day church meetings in the winter months. Dean Schulte naturally looks upon this edifice and the activities associated therewith as one of the crowning successes of his pastorate.
In 1892 the priest's residence of St. Mary's was built, and in 1908 St. Mary's church building was remodeled at an ex- pense of $16,000. This is one of the most beautiful church edi- fices in Iowa. Its interior is a marvel of architecture, and its statuary is not excelled anywhere. Harmony and dignity in its construction mark the hand of the accomplished artist. In addition to the main auditorium there is a commodious chapel in the basement for the accommodation of the week-day meet- ings of the church in the winter time. The societies of the
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church are: Gentlemen's Sodality, Altar Society, Young Ladies' Sodality, Children's Sodality, League of the Sacred Heart, St. Joseph's Benevolent Society and the Roman Catho- lic Mutual Protective Society, Branch No. 3, Alumni Associa- tion.
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