Memorial and biographical record of Iowa, Part 11

Author:
Publication date: 1896
Publisher: Chicago : Lewis Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 1360

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RECORD OF IOWA.

the subject of that bill and the laws of other States and countries in regard to the same a special study. His correspondence in relation to the subject was voluminous and varied, until he was well qualified to be the champion of that worthy cause. June 21, 1890, he was ap- pointed Lieutenant Colonel on the staff of Governor Horace Boies.

Near the close of the session of the Twenty- second General Assembly of Iowa he was ap- pointed one of the two selected from the Senate to act on the committee of five appointed to investigate certain charges that had been pre- ferred against the State University of Iowa. The investigation began on May 15, 1888, ended July 20, 1888, and to his credit be it said that he was the most faithful member of the commission, not having lost a day from his labors. This was but additional evidence of his fidelity to public duty.

At the Twenty-third General Assembly Senator Dodge introduced a bill creating the first Monday in September as a legal holiday, to be known as " Labor Day," which was ap- proved April 5, 1890. He is known through- out the State of Iowa as the "Father of La- bor Day."

At the Twenty-fourth General Assembly he was the author of a bill which at that session became a law, being " a bill to protect work- ingmen in the use of their labels and trade- marks," now known as " Dodge's Union Label Bill."

Senator Dodge was selected on the part of the Senate to deliver the eulogy over the re- mains of State Senator P. G. Ballingall, who died at Hong Kong, China, March 7, 1891. The eulogy was delivered April 14, 1891, in the Coal Palace at Ottumwa, Iowa. Gover- nor Horace Boies and staff, as also the mem- bers of the State Senate and Representatives, were present, in additon to a vast concourse of people. He delivered an able and beauti- ful address over the remains of his dead friend and colleague. In speaking of his absent friend, Senator Dodge said :

" He was born amidst humble, obscure

surroundings, and while on his journey up the great ascent to life's summit the hand of pov- erty, at times, almost staid his progress, yet hope ever wore its roses in the blue web of the future; he conquered both, and could fairly claim to be self-made. It is a Divine ap- pointment that all must enter 'the blind cave of eternal night,' but when and where the touch of God's finger is to put us to sleep it is not of flesh or blood to tell.

"This hour, with bowed head and sorrow- ful heart, on our mournful journey to his tomb, we pause a moment in this structure that has been aptly called Ballingall's Black Diamond Temple, a mute witness of his genius, generosity and goodness, and whose very walls, like dissolving views, present to our gaze that kind and genial face lit up with an ever pleas- ant and sweet smile."

Mr. Dodge is a most indefatigable worker in whatever he undertakes, possessing intel- lectual faculties of a high order, and, with studious habits, his abilities, both natural and acquired, are such as attract attention and command respect. Nature has happily en- dowed him with a fine physique, a good voice and a gift of oratory, and for a number of years past his has been a familiar figure at State conventions, as also public gatherings, being frequently invited to deliver addresses and responses at banquets. Quick in percep- tion and correct in analysis, his conclusions are logical and convincing.

The scope of Mr. Dodge's capabilities is not confined to his senatorial career. In the legal profession he is recognized as one of the leading lawyers in the State, and his far-reach- ing thought enables him to cope successfully with the most intricate problems of jurispru- dence. He is the possessor of those admirable qualities so essential to every statesman, of being able to deliberate with caution, act with decision, yield with graciousness and oppose with firmness. Tact, sense, and a quick appreciation of the right, are characteristics he possesses in such high degree that they are the elements of his success both at the bar and

HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL

in the administration of his public trusts, and public ambition is always subordinate to the public welfare.

Already an approving constituency is fav- oring his name as a future candidate for Con- gress, and it is only a question of time when this talented young lawyer will be found fol- lowing closely upon the footsteps of his illus- trious ancestors in the hall of the national Congress, and his name, like theirs, will be placed foremost and remain lustrous in the annals of our country.

May 18, 1892, Senator Dodge was married at Mt. Pleasant, Iowa, to Miss Della J. Stubbs, a beautiful, charming and accomplished lady. On June 19, 1893, a son was born to them, who was named William Wallace Dodge, Jr. The Senator and his wife are living on the old homestead (of General A. C. Dodge) in Bur- lington, Iowa.

ON. JOHN A. STOREY .- The gen- tleman whose name initiates this re- view is one of the leading attorneys of south central Iowa. His long years of successful practice here, coupled with his special qualifications and liberal education, render him a serviceable and valued ally but a formidable opponent. As a counselor he is conscientious and painstaking, seldom advising legal action for trivial cause, however good the case.

Mr. Storey has for many years been an active and aggressive worker in the ranks of the Republican party, and as a campaign ora- tor, as well as a pleader before the bar of jus- ticc, he is forceful and eloquent, confining his arguments to facts rather than theories, and carrying convictions of his honcsty and sincer- ity to the hearts of both jurors and miscellane- ous audiences.

The subject of this sketch was born in Armstrong county, Pennsylvania, on the 13th of April, 1851. He was reared to manhood a farmer lad, familiar with toil and the value and cost of money. His labors on the farm were

interspersed with study in the district schools, at the academy in his native county, and he spent four years at school in Oil City, -a por- tion of the time in the high school, -passing the long vacations of summer in riding a horse on the tow-path, hauling flatboats and barges, laden with provisions and dry-goods coming in and oil on the outward voyage. The oil at this time was taken from the wells to market in barrels, this being before the days of pipe lines. He then engaged in teaching for two years, being but eighteen years of age when he first entered the schoolroom as an instructor. When twenty-one years of age he entered the classical department of Washington and Jeffer- son College, at Washington, Pennsylvania, graduating with the second honors in his class, in 1874.

He then turned his attention to the legal profession, entering the office of his uncle, Judge Boggs, at Kittanning, Pennsylvania, and pursuing his studies there, under very favora- ble circumstances, until the fall of 1875, when he came to Iowa and located in Greenfield. Soon after locating here he entered upon the active practice of his profession, first forming a partnership with the Hager brothers, one of whom is now a member of Congress from this (the Ninth) district of Iowa. The firm title was Hager, Storey & Hager. This partnership was dissolved by mutual consent in the fall of 1881, and Mr. Storey was alone in practice for one year, when he removed to Fontanelle and formed a law partnership with Henry Grass, which existed until 1892, though Mr. Storey returned to Greenfield in 1888.

Our subject has been honored by the party which he has served so faithfully, being elected a member of the Twentieth and Twenty-first General Assemblies, and serving on various committees, the most important of which was that of the judiciary, of which he was chair- man in the Twenty-first General Assembly. In 1884 his name was placed upon the ticket as Presidential Elector from the Seventh Con- gressional District, and he at once entered upon a vigorous canvass for the success of the Re-

RECORD OF IOWA.

publican ticket. In this canvass he made speeches in every county in the district, and the result of the election showed how well he performed his duty. In the fall of 1888 Mr. Storey was brought forward by his friends as a candidate for Congress, failing to receive the nomination by just one vote. On another oc- casion his name was brought forward by his friends, though without his knowledge or so- licitation, as a candidate for District. Judge, but in the manipulation of political affairs the candidate was named from another county in the district. On the Ist of December, 1895, Hon. J. H. Henderson, one of the Judges of the Fifth Judicial District of Iowa, resigned his incumbency, his resignation taking effect Jan- uary 1, 1896. Mr. Storey was appointed by the Governor to fill the vacancy, and is now actively serving as a Judge of the District Court, -- a position for which he is eminently qualified.

The recital of these facts simply shows the prominence of our subject in the political af- fairs of the district in which he lives. In pro- fessional circles he is equally prominent, his strength as an attorney and counselor being recognized by all who know him, without re- gard to party lines. A work of this character would certainly fall short of giving a fair rep- resentation to Adair county were there failure to incorporate a review of the life of this hon- ored citizen.

Mr. Storey has been twice married, the companion of his youth having been Miss Miranda Hayes, of Washington, Pennsylvania,. whom he wedded in 1876. Five years of happy married life were spent, when the dread de- stroyer invaded the sacred precincts of the home and claimed the wife and mother, leav- ing two motherless daughters, Mossie and Ethel, the latter having been at the time a babe of less than two years. Since the death of their mother they have been tenderly cared for by their maternal grandparents, at Wash- ington, Pennsylvania, where they are being educated in the seminary. The grandparents are very well-to-do, and these young ladies

are receiving all the advantages afforded by wealth and affluence.

Mr. Storey married his present companion in 1885. She was Miss Ella Mullarky, a native of Butler county, Iowa, and at the time of her marriage she was assistant principal in the Fontanelle public schools. Mrs. Storey also was liberally educated, being a graduate of the Iowa State Normal School at Cedar Falls. Two children bless this union: John A., Jr., and Dorothy.

Our subject is prominently identified with the fraternal societies, being a member of the Masonic order, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Knights of Pythias. In the first mentioned he has attained to the Knights Templar degrees, holding membership in Cru- sade Lodge, No. 386, A. F. & A. M .; St. John's Chapter, No. 73, R. A. M., at Fontanelle; and Bethany Commandery, No. 29, K. T., at Creston. The church relations of the family are with the Presbyterians.

The family genealogy of our subject is as follows: His parents were Thomas B. and Margaret (Mosgrove) Storey, both of whom are natives of the Keystone State, the father having been born in 1812 and the mother in 1818. The venerable parents now reside on the old farmstead which has been the family home for over fifty years. His father's family were of Scotch-Irish lineage, the original Amer- ican representatives having come to the United States in the early part of the present century, and his paternal grandfather was killed in the battle of Black Rock, during the war of 1812. His mother's family were of English origin, removing to Ireland during the Cromwell wars and coming to America from the Emerald Isle.

Thomas B. and Margaret Storey became the parents of four sons and three daughters, six of whom are now living. Mary J., the eldest of the children, is now the widow of John Phillips and resides at Portland, Indiana. James A. is a lumberman ať Elyria, Ohio. Hannah became the wife of J. W. Newmaker, and is now deceased, having left four children. The subject of this sketch was the next in order

HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL

of birth. Phoebe I. is the wife of Rev. Asa Leard, D. D., a clergyman of the Presbyte- rian Church, now in charge of Knox Presby- terian Church at Omaha, Nebraska. Thomas J. is a farmer in Adair county, Iowa; and Joseph M. is employed in tilling the willing soil of the old homestead in Pennsylvania and in caring for his aged parents.

B EV. CHARLES THOMPSON Mc- CAUGHAN, D. D., a venerable minis- ter of the United Presbyterian Church, now living retired at Winterset, Iowa, is a man who has during his active and useful life been the means of accomplishing untold good. He has made his home in this city since 1865, and there are few men here who are better known or held in higher esteem than is the Rev. Mr. McCaughan.

Born on a farm in Trigg county, Kentucky. June 19, 1814, he is a son of John and Hannah (Johnson) McCaughan, his father a native of county Antrim, Ireland, and his mother of Blount county, Tennessee. John McCaughan's early life was spent in county Antrim, and his education was received there, and at the age of nineteen he emigrated to the United States, Kentucky being his objective point. After teaching school in Pennsylvania for a while, he married and settled down to farming in Trigg county, where he continued to reside for a num- ber of years, then removing to Preble county, Ohio, and finally to Shelby county. Late in life he returned to Ireland on a visit, and while on his way back to his home, was taken ill, and died at Rochester, Pennsylvania, this being in 1850. After surviving him some years his widow died in Shelby county, Ohio. In their family were eight children, six sons and two daughters, -all born in Kentucky, -the subject of our sketch being the fifth born, and one of the two who still survive. His sister, Mrs. N. J. Wilson, is a resident of Sidney, Ohio.

Charles T. spent the first seventeen years of his life in his native county, his studies during that time being pursued in a private school.

He then entered Miami University, at which institution he graduated in 1837, after which he went to Allegheny Seminary, where he took a two-years course in theology. Next he en- tered the seminary at Oxford, where he con- tinued his theological studies, and where he graduated in 1841. The year before his gradua- tion at this last named institution he was licensed to preach, and the summer following he spent in missionary work in Indiana and Ohio. He began preaching at Sidney, Ohio, in what was called the Associate Reform Church, afterward known as the United Presbyterian Church, and he served his congregation at that place for a period of seventeen years. Follow- ing this pastorate he for two years had charge of the Urbana Female Seminary, and the next two years he preached and taught at Mansfield, Pennsylvania, now called Carnegie in honor of the "Iron King." While in charge of the seminary at Urbana he preached as a supply to a congregation which had no regular pastor. In 1865, as already stated at the beginning of this sketch, Mr. McCaughan became a resident of Winterset, Iowa. He was pastor of the United Presbyterian Church here and in other parts of the county, up to 1882, since which time he has been retired from the active work of the ministry. He, however, still preaches oc- casionally. Previous to 1882, in addition to his work as pastor at Winterset, he organized four churches in Madison county, Iowa. His work in the ministry has all these years been characterized by earnestness and devotion, and has been crowned with success.

Mr. McCaughan was married November 2, 1841, to Miss Emily S. Sheppard, a native of the village of Frome, in Somersetshire, Eng- land, and a daughter of John Gregory Shep- pard. Her father emigrated from England to the United States in 1825 and located in Steu- benville, Ohio, where he was for many years engaged in the manufacture of woolen goods. In 1865 he removed to Winterset, Iowa, where he spent the last twenty-five years of his life, and where he died at the extreme old age of ninety-seven years, an honored citizen of Win-

RECORD OF IOWA.

terset. For more than fifty years Mr. and Mrs. McCaughan have traveled life's pathway together, and now, both in possession of all their faculties, they are comfortably situated in a delightful home, and happy by being sur- rounded with a large family and numerous friends. Four years ago they celebrated their golden wedding, which was largely attended by their children and grandchildren. Their descendants number nine children, twenty- nine grandchildren and one great-grandchild. Of their children, five sons and four daughters, we make the following record: J. Sheppard is a resident of Durango, Mexico; Frances A. is the wife of J. G. Steel, of Winterset, Iowa; Emma C. is the wife of D. N. Hiese, of Col- orado Springs, Colorado; Mary S. is the wife M. C. Shafer, of Great Bend, Kansas; Thomas S. resides at Carnegie, Pennsylvania; James M. and George E. at Des Moines, Iowa; Jessie E. at Fairbury, Nebraska; and Frederick G. at Valley Junction, Iowa. All are married and have families except the youngest daugh- ter, Miss Jessie E., who is a popular and suc- cessful teacher of Fairbury, Nebraska.

Q ALVIN OTHELLO SONES, M. D., is one of the leading members of his profession in Guthrie county, Iowa, his location being at Panora. He was born in Lycoming county, Pennsylvania, Au- gust 14, 1853, son of George W. and Margaret (Lockard) Sones, both natives of Pennsylvania and now residents of Anamosa, Jones county, Iowa, their removal to this State being in 1855. George W. Sones in early life followed the trade of carpenter and builder, but later bought a farm and settled down to agricultural pursuits. During the war he served for over two years as a member of the Twenty-fourth Iowa Infantry, his command being in the Western Division, and as a soldier made a good record. He and his wife have five children.

Their son, Calvin O., received his early training in the public schools, after which he entered Cornell College, Iowa, where he

graduated with a class of thirteen in the year 1881. In the meantime he taught school several terms and after leaving college con- tinued teaching until 1883. That year he be- gan the study of medicine under the instruc- tions of Drs. Gowley & Packard, prominent physicians of Iowa, and later took a course in the medical department of the Iowa State University in Iowa City, at which institution he was graduated with a class of thirty-eight stu- dents in the year 1886. That same year he came to Panora, opened an office, and soon built up a lucrative practice, which he still con- ducts. Feeling the need for still further prep- aration for his professional duties and wishing to keep abreast with the times, he went to Chicago, Illinois, where he pursued a course of post-graduate work in 1892, and again a similar course in 1893.

He has pleasant and nicely furnished office rooms on the south side of the main business square and gives his whole time and attention to the demands of his practice, which extends into the surrounding country for several miles. Both by education and natural ability is Dr. Sones fitted for the profession he has chosen. He is a member of the Board of Health of Panora, is identified with both the County and State Medical Societies, and keeps himself well posted in everything pertaining to the rapid advancement now made by the science of med- icine.

Dr. Sones has an elegant and modern resi- dence, surrounded with an attractive lawn, and everything about the place giving evidence of culture and refinement. He was married at Maxwell, Iowa, May 10, 1888, to Miss Amy F. French, an accomplished and amiable lady, like himself a graduate of Cornell Col- lege, she being a member of the class of 1885. Her father, J. O. French, a native of New Hampshire, came to Iowa in 1872 and located in Olin, Jones county, removing to Story county in 1882, where he died in 1887. Her mother, nee Ellen Hutchinson, is a native of Vermont, and now resides in Maxwell, Iowa. The Doctor and his wife have two daughters,

HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL

Helen M. and Gertrude. Both he and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and, fraternally, he maintains a mem- bership in good standing in Panora Lodge, No. 121, A. F. & A. M .; K. of P. No. 176, and Sons of Veterans, Camp No. 91.

ON. THOMAS GUY HARPER, State Senator of Iowa and a member of the well-known firm of Mohland & Har- per, of Burlington, has attained an enviable position in the ranks of the legal fra- ternity. No field of human endeavor is more open to a successful career than that of the law, yet no calling requires more earnest ap- plication and persistent effort in attaining suc- cess. He who would attain prominence in this line must have been endowed with a native force of character and applied himself to care- ful and conscientious study and preparation. This Mr. Harper has done, and to-day he stand as one of the able representatives of the bar of Iowa.

He was born in Xenia, Greene county, Ohio, January 13, 1853, and traces his ancestry back to an old Virginian family. The paternal grandfather, Hugh Harper, was a native of Virginia, and in his physical and mental con- stitution were the elements of the Irish, Welsh and Scotch character, -a combination that produces great strength. For many years he followed school-teaching, and in that calling was successful. His country found him loyal during the war of 1812, when he served in the American army. Personally he was a tall man, of fine physique and commanding presence, yet possessed a very genial disposition. He was a versatile writer, and deeply interested in all that pertained to the promotion of Chris- tianity. His death occurred at the very ad- vanced age of ninety-nine years.

Parker B. Harper, the father of our sub- ject, was one of a family of ten children and was born in Virginia. When a young man he removed from that State to Ohio, where he married Miss Nancy Grieve, a native of the

Buckeye State. Her father, Archibald Grieve, was a native of Scotland, and in that country was a silk worker, but after coming to America followed the occupation of farming. He died in Xenia, Ohio, when about fifty-five years of age. The father of our subject was a con- tractor and builder, and continued his residence in Ohio until 1857, when he removed with his family to Illinois, locating in Mercer county, near Keithsburg. There he lived until the breaking out of the war, when he entered the service, as a member of a construction corps, serving with the rank of Captain until the pres- ervation of the Union was an assured fact. When his services were no longer needed, he returned to Warren county, Illinois, where he had located his family, just before entering the army, and resumed his former vocation. From that time until his death he continued his resi- dence in Monmouth, one of the honored citi- zens of that place. At one time he served as Elder of the United Presbyterian Church, to which his wife also belongs, and was honored with a number of local political offices. He passed away in January, 1892, at the age of seventy-eight years, but his widow is still liv- ing, at the old home in Monmouth.

This worthy couple were the parents of ten children, five sons and five daughters, of whom seven are now living, namely: Maggie, wife of Captain R. A. Hawk, of Monmouth, Illinois; Jennie, wife of James Milton, an at- torney of Oklahoma; James M., of Monmouth; Sarah; Thomas Guy; Mattie, wife of William Baker, of Council Bluffs, Iowa; and Charles A., also of Monmouth.

Senator Harper of this review was a child of only four years when brought by his parents to Illinois, in which his home continued until he was nineteen years of age; and he acquired his early education in the schools of Monmouth, while during vacations he assisted his father in the factory. At the age of nineteen he went to Xenia, Ohio, and entered the Galloway School, now the theological department of Monmouth College, at which he was graduated in the class of 1874. Returning to his home,

८

S. L. Brown.

RECORD OF IOWA.

he entered the Weir Plow Factory and worked through the winter season, while in the sum- mer he read law in the office of Judge Norcross. After thorough preparation he was admitted to the bar, on the 8th of July, 1880. Thus thoroughly equipped by study and technical training, he at once entered upon the practice of his profession in Roseville, Illinois, where he remained for two years. On the expiration of that period he came to Burlington, under contract with the Burlington Insurance Com- pany as their attorney, and had charge of all their legal business for ten years. He is espe- cially capable as a corporation lawyer, and to that branch of the business has devoted much of his time. He is, however, thoroughly well versed in all departments of the law, and since 1892 has engaged in general practice, retaining a distinctively representative clientage, which is constantly increasing in extent.

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Memorial and biographical record of Iowa, Part 11

Author: Publication date: 1896 Publisher: Chicago : Lewis Pub. Co. Number of Pages: 1360

Author:
Publication date: 1896
Publisher: Chicago : Lewis Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 1360