Memorial and biographical record of Iowa, Part 120

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

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for his sterling worth. His first presidential vote was cast for James K. Polk, and since the organization of the Republican party he has been one of its stalwart supporters. His life is in many respects well worthy of emulation. He is a self-educated and self-made man, and every dollar that he possesses has been honestly earned, while his comfortable competence is the reward of his earnest labors; and all this seems the more remarkable since he has been a cripple all his life and had to use crutches for six years.

ORACE SPANGLER WEISER, de- ceased, the pioneer banker of Winne- shiek county, was born in York, Pennsylvania, October 22, 1827, his parents being Charles and Anna (Spangler) Weiser. Our subject is a direct descendant of Colonel Conrad Weiser, the Indian interpreter of Colonial fame. The descent is through Philip, son of Conrad Weiser, to Jabeth, and to Samuel Weiser, Sr., the grandfather of our subject. Charles Weiser, father of Horace S., was a prominent merchant and banker of York, Pennsylvania. His ınaternal grand- father, General Spangler, was a prominent citizen of Pennsylvania for more than fifty years.

Mr. H. S. Weiser, subject of this mention, had exceptional educational advantages when a youth, the schools of York, Pennsylvania, being among the oldest and best in the coun- try. He entered Yale College in 1845, but owing to failing health did not finish the course as was the original intention. In 1850 he be- gan a course of law under York (Pennsylvania) preceptors, and was admitted to practice in 1852. The glowing accounts of the West which reached the old Atlantic States at this time filled Mr. Weiser with a desire to try his fortunes in the new country. He accordingly canie to Decorah, Iowa, in 1855, and with a borrowed capital of $5,000 at once started the Winneshiek County Bank, a venerable private institution with which his name will always be

associated. This is not only the oldest bank- ing establishment in the county but also one of the first in northeastern Iowa, and the oldest in the State continuing under the same name. It is run to-day on practically the same rules laid down by our subject at its foundation, and during the past forty years of its existence it has been controlled by Mr. Weiser's family, his widow being the president at this writing and since his death.

He was married at Fort Atkinson, Iowa, July 14, 1859, to Miss Louise M. Amy, a daughter of John and Cynthia (Smalley) Amy. Their children are: Anna Spangler, now Mrs. E. G. Carlisle, of Chicago. Charles John, the only son, is one of the solid business men of the community. He is assistant cashier of the Winneshiek County Bank, Decorah, Iowa, is president of the First National Bank, Lake Ben- ton, Minnesota, and is a director of the First Na- tional Bank, of Tracy, Minnesota, and also of the First State Bank, of Elkton, South Dakota. He was married to Miss Abbie Bullis, Noven- ber 30, 1893, and resides in Decorah, Iowa. Anna Louise, the youngest child, married Robert Jones, Esq., of Chicago.

Prior to the war, Mr. Weiser affiliated with the Democratic party, and after that he voted the Republican ticket. Although constantly urged to take office, he would never do so, but preferred to give his entire time to his business. His religious association was with the Protestant Episcopal Church, and he was zealous in his attendance, and for much of the time a church official. He was a Free- inason, but never active in the order. Physi- cally he was never a robust man; as stated above, his college career was cut short by his failing health; but he had almost wholly re- covered when he came to Iowa, and retained good health until about three years before his death, when it began to decline again. The end came suddenly, July 19, 1875. He had retired in his usual health and was found dead shortly afterward, an apoplectic stroke being the immediate cause.

In speaking of Mr. Weiser, the United

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States Biographical Dictionary says: "In his business, to which he gave his undivided at- tention, Mr. Weiser was very accommodating. He would often, long before regular hours, open his bank, and reopen after hours, if by so doing he could oblige any person. Few people were more attentive to their calling, or more punctual and prompt in the discharge of obli- gations. So wedded was he to business that he paid little attention to politics except to vote, and more than once refused to accept office. He early identified himself with the interests of his beautiful Iowa home, took pride in the growth and material progress of the place, now a city of nearly 5,000 inhabit- ants, and lent his aid to every enterprise tending to develop the wealth of the country. Few men more public-spirited ever lived in Winneshiek county, and no man in the county ever accumulated such a fortune. He was thoughtful and considerate, lenient toward his debtors, never taking advantage of their necessities; heedful of the wants of the poor and destitute; kindly in his feeling toward all; social and cheerful in his disposition."

J OHN BRAYSHAW KAYE, lawyer and author, Calmar, Iowa, was born in Yorkshire, England, June 10, 1841, his parents being Abram and Harriet (Brayshaw) Kaye.

The Kayes in England for a number of generations back were woolen manufacturers. Abram Kaye, father of our subject, was a weaver by trade, and also a grader, or sorter, of wool. He was born in Linthwaite, York- shire, England, June 24, 1809, and died at the old homestead in Walworth county, Wisconsin, April 21, 1875. In the spring of 1842 he emigrated to America with his wife and five children, located at Franklin, near Baltimore city, Maryland, where he followed his trade, and later moved to Ellicott City, same State. In 1845 he removed to Montgomery county, Pennsylvania, and lived at Bethel and other points for the next three years. In the fall of

1848 he joined the westward tide of emigration to Walworth county, Wisconsin, and located a home near Lake Geneva. His first pur- chase comprised eighty acres, on which he built a small log house, or cabin, in which Mr. Kaye lived till 1854. At the time of his death he owned 240 acres of fine land, and practically all of it was under cultivation. He was mar- ried to Harriet Brayshaw in 1830, his wife being a native of Linthwaite, England, born April 15, 1811. She at present lives with her son-in-law, James S. Reek, who superintends the home place.

The children of Mr. and Mrs. Abram Kaye are : Arthur, born March 24, 1831, and died July 23, 1893 : he established Kaye's Park at Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, which later, under his management, developed into one of the most popular and widely-known watering places in the Northwest; Addin, the next child, was born April 28, 1833 : he is now a retired farmer and capitalist, and makes his home at Lake Geneva, Wisconsin; Hammon, who was born October 18, 1835, and is a farmer near Water- ville, Kansas; Mary, who was born March 19, 1838, and married R. W. Lightbody, now an orange and fruit grower living near Jacksonville, Florida; John B., the subject of this sketch, is the next child, The above men- tioned five children were born in Yorkshire, England. Sarah, the sixth child, was born at Franklin, Maryland, April 21, 1845, and mar- ried F. E. Baker, now a stock dealer of St. Paul, Minnesota; . Harriet, born at Gulf Mills, Montgomery county, Pennsylvania, September 22, 1847, and married Will H. Matthews, a farmer, now living near Holton, Kansas; Abram Eli, born March 8, 1850, and was a teacher by profession, but later gave his attention to as- saying and silver mining, and is now living in Eureka, Nevada; William James, born May 7, 1852, is now engaged in the coal and wood business at Lake Geneva, Wisconsin; and Ju- lia, the youngest child, was born February 4, 1855, and married James S. Reek, who at present is farmning the old homestead in Wis- consin. The three last named children were

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born on the farm in Walworth county, Wis- consin.

Mr. J. B. Kaye, the gentleman whose name heads this mention, was educated in the public schools of Walworth county, Wisconsin. He also spent one year at the Bigfoot Academy, located at Bigfoot, Wisconsin, and several terms at the Geneva (now Lake Geneva) high school, then under the management of Miss Anna Moody, an educator well and favorably known at that time.

In 1863, on account of failing health, Mr. Kaye joined a wagon train and made the trip "across the plains," leaving his Wisconsin home on April 14, and reaching Virginia City, Nevada, on July 27th. This journey, and his subsequent experiences of "roughing it," re- established Mr. Kayes' health; and the trip probably had more to do, by its wonderful scenery, by its unique situations and surprises, in awaking in him the poetic spirit which he has since evinced.

Mr. Kaye was employed for several months at the celebrated Ophir mine in Virginia City, but aside from this took but little part in mining. Associated with James S. Curran, he bought a wood claim of several hundred acres in the mountains, and from this they made cord- wood, charcoal and tar, finding a market for the product at the Virginia City mines. In the fall of 1866 this property was disposed of, and Mr. Kaye returned home by way of California and the Isthmus. The next year was spent working at the carpenter trade, at which he had attained some degree of proficiency; but, his health again failing, he made a visit to Maryland, where he spent several months, re- turning to Wisconsin in the spring of 1868. The following year Mr. Kaye spent in working on the farm. Early in 1869 he started West `again, the objective point being the White Pine and silver mines in Nevada. He there bought a half interest in a wood and charcoal claim, but shortly after sold it to a friend. He next went to Empire City, where he joined his old partner, James S. Curran, in a contract for piling wood and loading teams. Later he

worked on a quartz mill for a time as a car- penter and then was employed as a carpenter to work on the capitol building, then in course of construction at Carson City. Mr. Kaye now returned to the mountains and took charge of one of the sections of the California Bank's wood flume, where he remained for five months. His next move was eastward, and he arrived home in January, 1871.

The legal career of our subject began in the spring of 1871, when he borrowed books of the Hon. John A. Smith, of Geneva, Wisconsin, and began the study of law. Shortly after this the great Chicago fire occurred, and Mr. Kaye and his old friend, James C. Curran, went to that city and worked at the carpenter trade for two months, and thus helped to re- build the city.

January 19, 1872, our subject came to Decorah, Iowa, and continued his law studies in the office of Baker Brothers, F. E. Baker being his brother-in-law, as mentioned above. He was admitted to practice February 17, 1872; immediately he moved to Calmar and succeeded to the practice of George W. Baker, who had recently left that point. Mr. Kaye has continued an uninterrupted practice since then, and has built up a large and lucrative business. He has practiced before all the courts of the State, and his cases before the supreme court have been many. The "Sol- berg bond case," in which he was the attorney for the county, will always be recognized as the most unique case of its kind that ever came before the courts of this State, and was won by Mr. Kaye after a long fight, consisting of two trials in the district courts and an appeal to the supreme court of the State. Mr. Kaye was also leading counsel for the defense in the John H. Cater murder trial, the most mysteri- ous and vigorously contested criminal cause ever tried in Winneshiek county. After a trial of thir- teen days' duration Cater was convicted, but the cause has been taken to the supreme court and Mr. Kaye is still confident of ultimate suc- cess. Mr. Kaye was County Attorney just at the time that statutory prohibition was going

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into effect, and, although opposed to the en- actment of the law originally, as an officer he strictly enforced it, and carried many liquor cases to the supreme court in order that the law might be tested. He succeeded in closing practically all the saloons in the county, and added to the county revenues over $12,000 in fines.

Mr. Kaye was married in Wisconsin, April II, 1872, to Miss Fanny Greene, a daughter of Samuel B. and Jane (Malloy) Greene. She was born in Wisconsin, June 12, 1853. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Kaye are: Percy Greene, born June 4, 1873; Mary Gertrude, September 18, 1874; Alice Edna, December 18, 1876; Sarah Elizabeth, February 18, 1879; Abram Lyle, October 21, 1883; Fanny Gla- dys, October 31, 1885; Vashti, December 28, 1887; John Brayshaw, Jr., November 21, 1889; and Catherine, January 3, 1892.

Politically our subject has always affiliated with the Republican party. He was elected County Attorney in 1886, and re-elected in 1888, filling the office four years in all, from January, 1887, to January, 1891. He served as Justice of the Peace for eleven years, as Mayor of Calmar for two years, and as Town Recorder for twelve years.

Mr. Kaye was the prime mover in estab- lishing the Calmar Manufacturing Company, and has acted as its president since its organi- zation in March, 1893. This concern manu- factures doors, sash, blinds, and general house and building furnishings. The plant cost $30, - 000, and it has a running capital of $10,000. It employs thirty men and ships its product to all parts of the State and into southern Min- nesota. Calmar may well feel proud of such an industry.

Our subject joined the Masonic order when thirty years of age, at Geneva, Wisconsin, Lodge No. 44. He is now a member of Cope- stone Lodge, No. 316, A. F. & A. M., Cal- mar, Iowa. He carries insurance in the A. O. U. W., in the Security Life and Modern Woodmen of America.

The poetic genius of Mr. Kaye is generally

acknowledged by all whose attention has ever been called to his literary works. His maga- zine articles have appeared exclusively in the Overland Monthly. His first book, a volume of poems entitled "Facts and Fancies," was published in 1874 by George McDonald and Company, of Chicago. "Songs of Lake Ge- neva and other poems" was brought out by G. P. Putnam's Sons in 1882. This work met with favorable criticism from all parts of the country. The Boston Advertiser speaks of it as a collection of "smoothly written verses." The Cincinnati Commercial Gazette pro- nounces it "a collection of well-expressed, refined and often deeply emotional verse." But by far the most prominent literary work of Mr. Kaye is "Vashti," a poem in seven books, founded on the book of Esther, and published by G. P. Putnam's Sons in 1894. This work has been highly commended for its literary excellency both in England and Amer- ica. A reviewer in the London (England) Jewish Chronicle says: "I had not read long before the poem fairly caught hold of me, and I read it through to the end with growing pleasure and admiration. It is written in blank verse, which does not lack in vigor and distinction, and the central conception is orig- inal and striking, for Vashti is the heroine and not Esther. Vashti in Mr. Kaye's poem is 'The noblest woman, the kindest soul in a whole mighty empire, the loveliest heathen that the world hath known.'"

In addition to the above mentioned publi- cations, Mr. Kaye has now in manuscript form a work entitled "Songs and Tales of Camp and Cabin," which will without doubt be given to the public at no distant day.

In reviewing the life and writings of our subject we find that the soul of the man has simply burst forth in songs descriptive of scenes. and events in which he has moved. His early poems speak of the beautiful scenery which surrounded the home of his youth. In "Sweet Lake of Geneva," one of his finest and earliest productions, he says:

"I've known thee from childhood; I've studied thy ways."

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And again:

"O, Lake of enchantment! I've stood on thy shore When the pale, mellow moonlight hath silvered thee o'er, And the fishermen's torches have shot a faint ray, Like the first early stars in the wake of the day."

As a result of an attack of the " Western fever," we have the poem, "Westward." After the long and laborious trip across the plains a number of poems were written, among others "The Mirage," "The Little Lone Grave on the Plains," and "The Ox-Teamster of Washoe." After a residence of several years in mining camps, Mr. Kaye speaks of the ro- mance and reality of the miner's life in " The Gold-Seeker's Dream" and "The Miner's Bur- ial." Life amidst the majestic mountain scen- ery of the Pacific coast naturally drew forth such poems as "Sunrise in the Sierras," " Musing" and "The Ascent of Mount Rose." The poem, "Chicago in Ashes," was the re- sult of his going to Chicago shortly after the great fire in 1871. In "Vashti" we find something more deliberate, exhaustive and complex; in fact, the production of a mind that has had a legal training. We find here a plot and reasoning, as well as passion and feeling. It well deserves the encomiums given it by the press of two countries, and is a poem that will live.

a DWARD HUNTINGTON WILL- IAMS, M. D., practicing physician at Decorah, Iowa, was born at Rock- ford, Illinois, November 1, 1868, and is a son of Doctor Edward Jenner and Orilla N. (Webster) Williams.

Our subject is of Welsh lineage. His an- cestors settled in New England at an early period in the history of the country. It was a member of this remarkable family that founded Williams College, Massachusetts, that venera- ble and well known institution which stands as the alma mater of Mark Hopkins, James A. Garfield and other men equally prominent. The Williams family is noted for the number of physicians it has produced, and this applies

to every generation for hundreds of years back, -as far as any history of the family is extant. William Stoddard Williams, great-grandfather of subject, Thomas Williams, and William Williams, were all practicing physicians of prominence in Massachusetts, and all belonged to different generations.

Stephen Williams, grandfather of the sub- ject of this sketch, was a practicing physician in both Massachusetts and New York State. He held professorships in Bowdoin and Darts- mouth Colleges, Massachusetts, and also in Berkshire Medical College, New Hampshire. He married Harriet Goodloe, daughter of an army surgeon, and to them were born the fol- lowing children: Caroline, who married Dr. Lemuel Putnam, of Grand Rapids, Michigan; Helen, who married Edward Huntington, now deceased, and resides in Grand Rapids; and Edward Jenner, father of our subject, was the youngest child.

Dr. Edward Jenner Williams was a native of Deerfield, Massachusetts, and a graduate of Berkshire Medical College, New Hampshire. When still a young man he located in Rockford, Illinois, where he established a practice, and later married there. In 1870 he removed to Charles City, Iowa, where he passed the latter part of his life. His death occurred February 8, 1881, he having reached his fifty-second year. His widow still resides in Charles City. Their children were: Henry Smith, an expert in mental and nervous diseases, now practicing in New York city; for three years he was super- intendent of Randall's Island Hospital, New York; Harriet Goodhue, the only daughter, who married William R. Meyers, a banker of Amity, Iowa; and Edward Huntington, whose name heads this sketch, is the youngest child.

Dr. E. H. Williams was educated in the public schools and later took a three-year scientific course at the Iowa State University. He read medicine under the preceptorship of his brother for a time, and in 1892 finished the regular course in the medical department of the State University, taking the degree of that institution. He served in the University as

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assistant professor of histology in 1891; and for a part of the following year was assistant professor of pathology and bacteriology. He was also assistant surgeon in the Woman's Hospital for the greater part of the year 1892. Our subject next visited New York city and for a time did special microscopicwork at Bellevue Hospital and as assistant to his brother at Randall's Island. In the summer of 1894 he spent two months in a special lecture course in London, England, and on his return to New York city did special hospital work during the remainder of that year. Dr. Williams came to Decorah in the spring of 1893, and has prac- ticed here since, save when away pursuing his studies. He is an authority on mental dis- eases, and is frequently called before courts of justice as an expert witness in this class of cases. During his short residence in Decorah he has built up a large and lucrative practice, and has made hosts of warm friends.

ILLIAM R. WARREN, Treasurer of Wapello county, Iowa, was born in Salisbury, England, September 21, 1843; and while he is of foreign birth he has spent nearly the whole of his life in the United States. He bravely fought for the preservation of the Union, and there is not to be found within its borders a citizen more loyal than he.

Mr. Warren is a member of a large and highly-respected family and the son of a Methodist minister. William - and Maria (Young) Warren, his parents, were both born in England, and of the five sons and three daughters which composed their family all are living except one, and of them we make record as follows: William R., whose name graces this article; George J., a Methodist Episcopal minister; Thomas; Joshua, who is engaged in the blacksmith and wagon-making business at Fayette, Missouri; Benjamin, a farmer, of Howard county, Missouri; Alfred P., Professor of Languages and Mathematics in Howard Payne College, Fayette, Missouri; Millicent,

wife of William Piercen, Fayette, Missouri; Julia, wife of William Vickroy, New Cambria, Missouri; and Mattie, deceased, was the wife of James Roberts, of Macon City, Missouri. It was in 1846 that the father left England and removed with his family to this country, lo- cating first in Ray county, Missouri. Nearly all the rest of his life was, however, spent in Howard county, that State, but he died in Ray county while on a visit there in 1892, at the time of his death being a little past seventy- two years of age. He was in many respects a remarkable man and exerted a powerful influ- ence for good. For over thirty years he was in the regular work of the ministry. On com- ing to this country he became a member of the Missouri Conference of Methodist Episcopal ministers, and of his class all have passed away except two. He and Mr. Dockery, father of the present Congressman from the Third Mis- souri District, were old comrades. Mrs. Maria Warren, the mother, survives and makes her home at Fayette, Missouri.

From a history of his worthy parents, we now turn for information relating to his grand- sires; for the biography of no man is complete without reference to the ancestry from which he sprang. Thomas Warren, the paternal grandfather of William R., was born, passed his life and died in Salisbury, England, and at the time of his death was past ninety years of age. His occupation was that of dairyman. He was a man of sterling integrity, a strict dis- ciplinarian and a Wesleyan Methodist. His family comprised four sons. Of our subject's maternal grandfather, whose name was James Young, be it recorded that he, too, was born and died in England. He was by trade a flax- dresser. He was a devout Methodist and very strict in the management of his business and family affairs.

William R. Warren, whose name heads this review, was reared in Missouri. His boy- hood days were spent in farm work and in at- tending school, his education being obtained chiefly in the Macon high school. At the out- break of the Civil war he was on the verge of

L.L. Masher

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young manhood, and we find him among the first to enlist as a Union soldier. That was in 1861, and as a member of Company C, Sixth Indiana Volunteer Infantry, he went to the front. In the four years that followed he

proved himself a true, brave soldier. He was wounded on three occasions, at Stone river, Hoover's Gap, and at Chickamauga. He was in the first battle of the war and saw the first Union soldier that had an amputation per- formed. Was at Shiloh, on the Corinth siege, at Perryville, Liberty Gap, Missionary Ridge, and on the Atlanta campaign until taken prisoner at New Hope, Georgia; and was in Andersonville from June 5 to September 29, 1864, and then taken to Charleston; and after that to the Florence stockade, and about the 5th of February left Florence for Libby prison. Altogether, he was a prisoner for eleven months.

After the war Mr. Warren returned to Macon county, Missouri, at Bevier, and clerked in a store for four years. Then, in January, 1870, he came to Iowa and located in Ottum- wa, taking charge of a store here for the Union Coal Company, which place he filled five years. Next, he went to Cleveland, Lucas county, for the White Breast Coal Company, in whose employ he remained as assistant manager for seven years. In 1882 he returned to Ottum- wa and was with George Warden in the news business for three years, and continued alone in the same business up to 1889, when he went into the grocery trade, in which he was en- gaged for three years, selling out at the end of that time. In 1893 he was honored by elec- tion to the office of County Treasurer, which responsible position he is now ably filling.

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Memorial and biographical record of Iowa, Part 120

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