USA > Iowa > Johnson County > Leading events in Johnson County, Iowa history, biographical > Part 67
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At the time he came to America Julius Kohl was unable to speak the English language, and as he knew nothing of work outside the trade of miller, upon his arrival in Johnson county
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HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
he had to work his way to a position of independence by begin- ning at the bottom of the ladder. He worked for farmers for ten and later for fourteen dollars per month, during which time he saved what he could and awaited a better opportunity to get on in the world. He worked much harder than the farm- er's employee of the present day, who receives as high as forty dollars per month, such being often scarce. Mr. Kohl also worked at odd jobs while he was learning the language and customs of the land, and in 1883 found employment in the coral mills at Coralville, under Valentine Miller, who soon discov- ered that the newcomer was possessed of considerable mechan- ical skill, and from then until 1891 the latter was Mr. Miller's
E
RESIDENCE OF JULIUS KOHL
most valuable employee in the mills. Mr. Miller was a man of enterprise and often changed the machinery in his mills so as to use the latest inventions. Upon leaving the employ of Mr. Miller, Mr. Kohl invested his savings in a farm of sixty-five acres in Big Grove township. However, that proved an un- fortunate year for Mr. Kohl, for while driving a spirited horse, he was thrown from the buggy, near the Solon depot, and sus- tained the serious loss of his right arm. He continued on his farm, however, until 1901, when he moved to a farm in sections 27 and 28 of Madison township, which was the birthplace of his wife and known as the Baldozer farm, and is pleasantly located, along the line of the interurban between Cedar Rapids and
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Iowa City, being about halfway between the two cities and well sheltered from heavy winds. The Baldozer farm was one of the earliest spots chosen for a home, and when Mrs. Kohl's mother first came from Pennsylvania it was in a wild country, where the wolves were often plentiful. She has lived to see it transformed in a wonderful manner, until street cars pass the door.
He purchased 130 acres of the old homstead which was so dear to his wife, and later additions were made to his holdings. He has always been active in public affairs and while living at Coralville he served four years as marshal. He was justice of the peace in Madison township for two years. He and his wife are useful members of the Lutheran church.
In 1887 Mr. Kohl was united in marriage with Miss Minnie Grebin, and six children have blessed their union: Leo, who operates the farm; Edith, Carl, Freda, Paul and Minnie (de- ceased). Mrs. Kohl is a daughter of Christian Grebin, an early settler of Johnson county, who was born in Hanover, Germany, May 15, 1834, and died in Johnson county, February 14, 1901. Mr. Grebin married, in November, 1864, Susan (Lemon) Baldozer, a widow, who was born in Pennsylvania, April 30, 1835, and died in Johnson county, Iowa, in November, 1900, leaving two daughters, Minnie (Mrs. Kohl), and Flora, wife of Robert Myers, of Floyd county, Iowa. By her former husband she had several children, all of whom save one son died of diphtheria within a short time, and this sad event short- ened her days, and she was called to her final reward, after years of sorrowing for her loss. She was a member of the United Brethren church at Crossroads, Madison township. Christian Grebin, who came to America in 1857, was a brother of William Grebin, deceased, of Oxford township, Johnson county. The family is given further mention in the sketch of Benjamin Grebin, which appears in this work. Mr. Kohl and his wife are both interested in preserving the records of their families and the history of the region with which they have been so long connected.
Kohl Park has become a popular resort for campers, also for hunters and fishermen, not only in summer, but in the win- ter time is popular with trappers. Being on the banks of the
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HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
Iowa River and on the line of the interurban, there is nearly always someone there from the city.
In his native place, Hanover, Germany, Mr. Grebin was a member of the German Lutheran church, but after coming to America did not unite with any church. Politically he was a democrat and active in the councils of his party. At the age of twenty-one years he was compelled to enter the army, and became a member of the second company in the Fifth regiment, serving two years, but at the end of that time, in 1856, he hired a substitute.
In the spring of 1911 Mr. Kohl sold the Baldozer farm, al- ready mentioned, and purchased a fine modern home in North Liberty, where he now resides. He owns 400 acres of farm land in Penn township, 320 acres in Moore county, Minnesota, and 320 acres in the Dakotas. He also owns the former resi- dence of Dr. C. E. Stewart, a beautiful home and desirable lo- cation.
Mr. Kohl's active interest in all public affairs, combined with his energy and determination, keeps him ever abreast of the times and in the front ranks of progress. He has just finished a six-months' successful campaign in securing the incorpora- tion of North Liberty and is now serving as alderman on the town board.
Mr. Kohl was 17 years of age when he entered the German army as a volunteer and during his service was made captain of cavalry.
FRANCIS CUSHMAN ADAMS
A careful reading of the pages of this volume can only deep- en the respect of the reader for those early pioneers who, by their untiring energy, devotion and sacrifice, have made pos- sible the civilization, prosperity, and enlightenment of the present day. The reader will note with increasing interest the general development of the country from the unbroken forests, unturned prairies, and primitive cabins to the broad acres of rich cultivated fields, improved farms, and comfortable homes of today. We can hardly realize the primitive conditions of this country it the early day of 1845, the year that Francis Cushman Adams with his family came to Iowa Territory and
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settled where Solon is now located. That was a time of prom- ise, the dawning of a wonderful future made possible by the men and women of the early days, battling for some ideal, rep- resenting some principle and laying the foundation for the present prosperity and advantages. Posterity can well afford to be magnanimous and the heart swells with pride and rever- ence for the hardy and sacrificing pioneers whose heritage is now enjoyed. The present institutions of learning and indus- try, the numerous schools and churches, the general intelli- gence and moral standards of the people and their general prosperity, have all been builded on the foundation laid by our ancestors and are silent monuments and tributes of praise to the character, influence, and enthusiasm of the noble-hearted pioneers and their children.
Francis Cushman Adams was born September 18, 1819, at Andover, Oxford county, Maine, and was the fifth son of John Emery and Sarah (Moody) Adams, who in 1826 moved from Andover, Maine, to Cleveland, Ohio, where his mother died. The father died in 1840, in the pioneer home in Johnson coun- ty, Iowa.
In their journey west from Ohio, Francis C. Adams drove a team of horses the entire distance from Cleveland to Iowa. In 1854 Mr. Adams removed to Hazel Green, Wisconsin, where he was married to Elizabeth Edwards, who was born in Cornell county, England, 1829, and came to this country in 1847. Three children were born to this couple during their residence in Hazel Green : Francis W., Fred, and Matilda. They later re- turned to Solon, Iowa, where three more children were born : M. Catherine (Mrs. Enoch Hope), William E., and Lillian S., all living.
EUCLID SANDERS
One of the strong and representative men of Iowa City and Johnson county is Hon. Euclid Sanders, farmer, lawyer, bank- er, historian, and all-around good citizen. He is a native of the city and county, having been born November 19, 1853, son of Cyrus and Sarah Pauline ( Worden) Sanders. Nearly all his life has been spent in his native county. He was graduated from the State University of Iowa in 1874 with the degree of
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HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
Ph. B. He took his law course in the law department of the same institution, graduating in 1876 and receiving the degree of LL. B. He pursued his course after graduation, finally leaving the University in 1879, practicing law in Iowa City in the meantime. He was engaged in the United States internal revenue service from 1879 to 1882. He then removed to Nebraska and pursued his profession at Hastings until 1885. Leaving that state he took up farming in Iowa in 1886-7. In 1888-9 he was editor of the Beatrice, Nebraska, daily Express.
But Iowa lured him back to her soil, and the year 1890 finds him once more in Iowa City and president of the Iowa City State bank. To the interests of this bank all these years he has given his close attention, making it one of the strong and pros- perous institutions of the city. He has also engaged in farm- ing operations during the last twenty years in Iowa and Wis- consin, and always with success. Quiet and unassuming, he has gone along life's pathway modestly performing well what- ever his hands and his brain found to do.
He has always identified himself with all educational and civic matters. He founded the Iowa City publie park, and has made generous contributions to the natural science and plant departments of the State University of Iowa. He has long been a member of the board of curators of the State Historical Society, and is now and for some years has been the president of the society. To its affairs he has given intelligent and con- scientious direction. He is a member of a number of learned societies, among which may be mentioned the Mississippi Val- ley Historical Association and the National Geographical So- ciety. He takes great interest in the growth of his alma mater, and is a member of the board of managers of the useful Alumni Bureau of Information. He is also a trustee of the Lakeside Laboratory at Okoboji. He is a republican in his political affiliations, and a member of the Unitarian church. He is active in the Commercial Club of his city and in the Country Club.
In all the relations of life, private and public, Mr. Sanders is a high type of the worthy gentleman and enterprising citizen.
Field notes of a Survey made for Nathaniel Fellows. March 21-1842 Beginning at a stake in the middle of the south line of the S.E. quarter of Section no. 6 779 NR6 West Chance N2. 8' N 80,73 chaine to a post in mound in the middle of the A line of the N.E. quarter of said Section - Thence. Mest with Lection line 8,33 chains to a state Thence 920° M 87, 15 chains to a stake in south line of said section from which a Black rak 5 inches in diameter Bears 789. 301 8 42 links There East with section line 41.17 chains to the place of beginning Containing 199 Acres 61/3 holes Cyrus Sanding
County Surveyon of Johnson Co.
Field notes and plat of a Survey made for G. M. and J. Brandon March 31st 1845-
Township 79 N -Range 6 West Section 17
19.75 /2 ch.
9NO. 40' W/ 40. 04 ch
Brandoni
East 80.
73 chams
Var 9 40'8.40.46ch
40, 27 chains
Brandon
var. 9%&
40. 30c2,
morris
Shoup
20.05/2 ch
3.06. 8 401
war. 9 /4 E
Corners all established by selling posts in the Prouve-
· Cyrus Sanders County Surveyor of Johnson County IT.
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BIOGRAPHICAL
BOHUMIL SHIMEK
No man has a more state-wide reputation than Bohumil Shimek, professor of physiological botany in the State Uni- versity of Iowa. And he is almost as equally well known, among scientists especially, outside of Iowa's borders.
He was born June 25, 1861, on a farm just southeast of Shueyville, Johnson county, Iowa, the son of Francis Joseph and Maria Theresa (Tit) Shimek. Professor Shimek's pa- rents were born in Bohemia, the father in Castalovice March 21, 1821, and the mother in Vamberk in 1819. The mother died in Iowa City in 1866, and the father on October 10, 1880. These good people left their native land in 1856 and came to America in seach of freedom from political oppression. They landed on our shores empty-handed, and during their first winter here (1856-7) suffered great hardships in the northern part of Johnson county where they had settled. One son and a dangh- ter crossed the ocean with them, and two sons were born in America.
Owing to the death of the mother when Professer Shimek was only five years of age, and the father's subsequent mis- fortune in the loss of both property and health, he practically was deprived of boyhood. But he had acquired from his fa- ther a love for the natural world, and when a boy of eleven years he already had a large collection of local insects which he mounted on ordinary pins. Later he took up the study of birds, ferns, and flowers. He attended the public schools of Iowa City, and was a member of the first class (1878) which passed directly from the high school to the Freshman class of the University. Accustomed to work from an early age, he did not hesitate to earn his way through the University by day labor and by collecting supplies for the natural history laboratories. At eleven years of age he partly supported himself in useful work with his hands, and did so wholly at sixteen. Until his twentieth year he tried his hand at all kinds of mannal labor both in the city and on the farm.
In 1883 Professor Shimek received from the State Univer- sity of Iowa the degree of civil engineer, and in 1902 the de- gree of master of science. From 1883 to 1885 he was an in- structor in the Iowa City Academy, and in the high school from
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HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
1885 to 1888. From that time until 1890 he was instructor in zoology in the University of Nebraska. He then returned to his alma mater and was instructor in botany, 1890-1896, as- sistant professor of botany, 1896-1902, and since the latter date full professor of physiological botany. During the col- lege year of 1912-1913 he was the acting head of the Depart- ment of Botany, and was also acting director of the Macbride Lakeside Laboratory at Okoboji in 1912.
For the past twenty-five years Professor Shimek has lec- tured in both English and Bohemian on educational, scientific and historical subjects, visiting a number of states in this work. He is the author of about one hundred scientifie papers.
RESIDENCE OF BOHUMIL SHIMEK
In 1885 as a student he did work at Beaufort, North Carolina, in the Johns Hopkins Summer School.
His work and his investigating spirit have taken him to many distant places, and he has traveled and studied in Nic- aragua, Costa Rica, Mexico, practically all of the Southern and Eastern states as well as the Southwestern and Western. He has done much field work in every county in Iowa. In 1908- 1913 he was field assistant, Iowa Geological Survey. He has been a member of the Iowa State Geological Board, ex-officio as president of the Iowa Academy of Sciences. He has ever been busy in good work, and his activities have been multitu- dinous.
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Professor Shimek takes an active interest in public affairs- as a democrat until 1896, and as a republican since that time. He, however, always places good citizenship above partisan- ship. He was a member of the city council of Iowa City in 1883-1887, surveyor for Johnson county, 1883-1887, member of the school board of Iowa City, 1891-1900, and 1909-1910, member of the library board from its inception until 1910, when he resigned, and a member of the park board from 1910.
Many scientific societies claim Professor Shimek among their members : the Baconion club, of Iowa City, of which he was president in 1899-1900; Iowa Academy of Sciences, of which he is a life member and of which he was president in 1904; cor- responding member of the Davenport Academy of Sciences ; fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, vice-president in 1911 ; St. Louis Academy of Sciences ; Botanical Society of America ; Geological Society of America ; Iowa Chapter of Sigma Xi, president 1907-1908; Iowa Park and Forestry Association, president in 1909; Central Naturalists Association ; Central Association of Science and Mathematics Teachers; life member of Iowa State Horticulaural Society; National Educational Association, vice-president of science section, 1913-1914; delegate to National Conservation Con- · gress at Kansas City, and secretary of science section, 1911. He is also interested in other organizations: President of the Bohemian Council of High Education since its organization in 1903; member of the Triangle and Komenian clubs of the State University, and of the Iowa City Commercial club. He is a member of Iowa City lodge No. 4, A. F. and A. M., Iowa City chapter No. 2, R. A. M., Palestine Commandery No. 2, Iowa Consistory No. 2, A. and A. S. Rite, 32º, and C. S. P. S. In church relations he is a Unitarian, and is president of the board of trustees of the church at Iowa City.
Professor Shimek was married at Iowa City, June 23, 1886, to Anna Elizabeth Konvalinka, who was born in Iowa City August 4, 1864, daughter of Joseph F. Konvalinka, born in Bohemia in 1822, died in Iowa City March 29, 1894. Her mother was Anna Cerny, who came to Iowa City direct from Bohemia in 1854 and who died March 19, 1899.
The children of Professor and Mrs. Shimek are: Ella, born July 8, 1887, graduated with degree of B. A. from S. U. I. in
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HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
1909, and M. S., 1911, now teacher of botany in the Iowa City high school, a position formerly held by her father; Bertha, born May 5, 1889, in Lincoln, Nebraska, graduated from S. U. I. in 1909 with degree of B. A., married Dr. Paul J. Hanzlik, of the Western Reserve Medical School, Cleveland, Ohio; Anna, born March 22, 1892, in Iowa City, now a senior in the S. U. I .; Vlasta, born October 24, 1895, now a freshman in S. U. I .; and Frank, born June 17, 1900.
Professor Shimek is a man of whom the state may well be proud. He is ever inclined to work rather than play. He is of a retiring disposition, not inclined to mingle with men unless service can be rendered. He has always placed service to oth- ers above all other considerations. He has given much time to the educational and other interests of the Bohemian people of this country. For many years he taught in Iowa City in a Bohemian summer and evening school.
EMLIN McCLAIN
Judge Emlin McClain was in 1900 called to the judgeship of the Supreme court and at the expiration of the term was re- elected, 1906, and his course has been distinguished by high legal ability. To wear the ermine worthily it is not enough that one possess legal acumen, is learned in the principles of jurisprudence, familiar with precedents and thoroughly honest. Many men, even when acting uprightly, are unable to wholly divest themselves of prejudice and are unconsciously warped in their judgments by their own mental characteristics or educational peculiarities. This unconscious and variable dis- turbing force enters more or less into the judgments of all men, but in the ideal jurist this fact becomes so small as not to be discernible in results and loses its potency as a disturbing ele- ment. Judge McClain, in the opinion of the bar, is exception- ally free from judicial bias. His varied legal learning and wide experience in the courts, the patient care with which he ascertains all the facts bearing upon every case that comes be- fore him gives his decisions a solidity and exhaustiveness from which the members of the bar can take no exception.
He is a native of Salem, Ohio, born November 26, 1851, son of William and Rebecca (Harris) McClain. His father de-
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voted the greater part of his life to the work of education, and before coming to Iowa, in 1855, had been principal of Salem Institute. On coming to Iowa, he located at Tipton, Cedar county, where he was for one year principal of the schools. The next year he had charge of the public schools at Rochester. The following year he opened a farm in Cedar county, and was engaged in farming until 1864, when he removed to Wilton, Iowa. In 1866 he came to Iowa City, purchasing and conduct- ing the Iowa City Commercial College, in connection with which he founded the Iowa City Academy, which is still in existence. In 1877, and shortly before his death, he removed to Des Moines and established a commercial college there.
At the age of fifteen, Judge McClain entered as student the State University of Iowa, from which he graduated with the
RESIDENCE OF EMLIN MCCLAIN
degree of Ph. B. in 1871, A. B. in 1872, and LL. B. in 1873. In 1881 he received the honorary degree of A. M., from that insti- tution, and the degree of LL. D., in 1891, from the same insti- tution and also from Findlay College, Ohio. He practiced law at Des Moines, Iowa, from 1873 to 1881, being associated with the firm of Gatch, Wright & Runnells, and later with George McClelland and Charles A. Finkbine. He was secretary of the committee on claims of the United States Senate, and pri- vate secretary of Senator George G. Wright in 1875-77. In 1881 he was appointed professor in the law department of the State University of Iowa, and became vice-chancellor of the department in 1887, and chancellor in 1890, continuing in that
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HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
position until elected judge of the Supreme court, for the regu- lar term commencing January 1, 1901. His record there was in harmony with his record as a man and lawyer, characterized by the faithful performance of every duty and a masterful grasp of every problem for solution.
In 1880 he published McClain's Annotated Statutes of Iowa, which was revised and published as McClain's Annotated Code of Iowa, in 1888, and remained the standard compilation of the Code and laws of the state until the adoption in 1897 of a new annotated code published by the state, for which he furn- ished the annotations. In the meantime he had been one of the commissioners appointed to prepare this Code. In 1886 he published McClain's Iowa Digest in two volumes, which he subsequently revised and published in four volumes in 1908. In addition to these works he is the author of McClain's Crim- inal Law (two volumes, 1897), Cases on the Law of Carriers (1893, second edition, 1896), Cases on Constitutional Law (1900, second edition, 1909), Constitutional Law in the United States (1904, second edition, 1910), articles on Carriers, Fire Insurance and Life Insurance in Cyclopedia of Law and Pro- cedure, and articles on constitutional law in the Cyclopedia of American Government and in Modern American Lau, both recently published. In addition, Judge MeClain has contribut- ed many articles to law magazines.
At the conclusion of his second full term on the Supreme bench, in 1912, Judge McClain accepted a professorship in Le- land Stanford, Jr., University, California, where he now re- sides.
Judge McClain was the first president of the Iowa State Bar Association, and has been for many years a member of the American Bar Association, serving at different times as chair- man of the committee on legal education of that body, and as president of the Association of American Law Schools.
He was married in Des Moines (February 19, 1879) to Ellen Griffiths, daughter of H. H. Griffiths, commander of the First . Iowa Battery in Sherman's Army, and their children are Don- ald, Henry, and Gwendolyn.
Judge McClain is a member of the Beta Theta Pi fraternity, and a Phi Beta Kappa. On the organization of a chapter of the law fraternity of Phi Delta Phi, at the State University of
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Iowa, the chapter was given his name. As a student he was a member of the Zetagathean Literary Society.
In politics Judge McClain has been continuously a republi- can, and his religious associations have been with the Con- gregational church, although his parents were Quakers.
DR. A. J. BURGE
"Montburge" is the suburban home of Dr. and Mrs. A. J. Burge, on the heights along the Interurban railway, west of the city. Taken in all it represents one of the most finely improv- ed country homes in eastern Iowa, and is the culmination of years of upbuilding on the part of its owner who is a firm be- liever in the "Country Beautiful" in Iowa.
RESIDENCE OF DR. A. J. BURGE
It is one of the much frequented homes about Iowa's Uni- versity, and is a fitting example of the possibilities attainable in elevating and beautifying country life.
Both Dr. and Mrs. Burge come from pioneer families, active in the development of this-a pioneer section of the state, and its early capital. Mrs. Burge is the eldest daughter of John and Mary Becker Lasheck-Mr. Lasheck for over a third of a cen- tury well known as cashier in the First National bank, and later in governmental banking service.
Dr. Burge takes pride in the pioneer ancestry of both par-
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HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
ents. His paternal great-grandfather coming to Mt. Vernon, Linn county, in 1837, where for sixty years following he was most active in the upbuilding of that community, including Cornell College, which he helped to found. His mother's fa- ther, Joseph Walker, coming to Pleasant Valley township, Johnson county, in 1836, founded the well known Walker estate on which was born and still resides Mrs. Mary Walker Burge, with her husband, Martin Burge.
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