Memorial and biographical record of Iowa, Part 22

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

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On the 7th of October, 1856, Colonel Granger was united in marriage with Mrs. Lu- cinda L. Rush, the ceremony being performed by the Right Rev. Dr. Drake. She was the widow of Hon. John W. Rush and a daugh- ter of Daniel and Abbie ( Van Schaick ) Powers, who were originally from Pennsylvania, and removed to Ohio and later to Indiana. Mrs. Granger was born in Montgomery county, In- diana, March 12, 1825, and came to Des Moines in 1849 with her first husband, who died two years later. At the time of his mar- riage, the Colonel built his present commodious and elegant residence, which is situated south of the capitol in the southern part of the city, on a picturesque bluff which commands an ex- tensive view of the city, the river and the val- ley. There is nothing in the vicinity of Des Moines to equal the beautiful and varied scenes spread out to the gaze from the Colonel's grounds. The broad sweep of the river and valley, the magnificent city with its 70,000 in- habitants, and the rich and undulating coun- try, form a picture well worthy the skill of the finest artist. Within the brief space of forty-six years this magnificent city has grown to its present dimensions, and to-day it stands with- out a rival in the State. Foremost among those who aided in the growth and develop- ment of Des Moines stands Colonel Granger; and when it was hoped to locate the capital

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here no man exerted more influence or la- bored more earnestly for it than he.

The Colonel usually supports the Demo- cratic party, but is independent and original in his political views. In his home he is seen at his best, being devoted to his family and gen- erous in his hospitality. He is an entertaining host, possessing a rich fund of anecdote and an intimate knowledge of public men and cur- rent events. He is one of the oldest residents of Des Moines, being now in his eightieth year. No celebration held in the city is con- sidered complete without his presence, and he is one of the most highly esteemed and hon- ored residents of Iowa, where for forty-seven years he has made his home, devoted to the welfare of his adopted State.

a ILLIAM F. LEECH, an agricultu- rist in flourishing circumstances on section 23, Union township, Lucas county (post-office Humeston), is one of the intelligent and well known citizens of that section of the county.

He was born on the old Leech homestead in the northern part of the township, Decem- ber 15, 1861, a son of Andrew D. Leech, one of the honored old settlers of that county. A native of Virginia, he came to Iowa in 1856. The maiden name of his wife was Isabella Lackey, and she also was a native of the Old Dominion. Of their seven children five are still living, namely: Mary E., the wife of Benjamin Ward, of Rice county, Kansas; Re- becca Frances, who married Henry Joy and now resides in Union township; William F., the subject of this biographical sketch; Cora Belle, who became the wife of H. W. Sutton and lives in Derby; and Dora Virginia, now the wife of Florin Irvin, of Union township The mother of these children died in January, 1894, a most estimable Christian woman, pos- sessing excellent qualities as wife, mother, neighbor and member of society. Her death was the occasion of great sorrow to her hus- band and children and throughout the com-

munity. Mr. Leech, her husband, still re- sides on the old homestead where he has spent so many years, and is highly esteemed as a good neighbor and faithful citizen.

The gentleman whose name is given at the head of this sketch was brought up to farm life, at the old home referred to, where he con- tracted the habits of industry and economy. He also improved his intellect by attendance at school, and developed his moral nature by attention to the training received at the hands of his parents and teachers. One element of his mental discipline is the formation of the habit of close observation, and one great char- acteristic of his disposition is to utilize what he learns.

In 1887 he settled upon the farm he now occupies and which was formerly known as the William Daily farm and afterward as the George Sutton place, three and three-fourths miles from Humeston and five from Derby. It comprises 160 acres and is a valuable place, the land being good and well improved, and withal is situated in a good community of peo- ple. The dwelling is 24 x 26 feet in dimen- sions and two stories high, with a one-story L 12 × 14 feet. The site is an eligible one, and is gracefully ornamented with trees, shrubbery, etc. The barn is 30 x 40 feet in ground area, with an L 17 × 40: and there are the appro- priate sheds and other outbuildings and con- veniences necessary to a well equipped farm- stead. The meadow, pasture and the culti- vated fields are all conveniently divided and pleasant to the view.

March 25, 1885, is the date of Mr. Leech's marriage to Maggie R. Sutton, a lady of in- telligence and of a good family. Her father, George H. Sutton, is a prominent citizen of the same township. Her mother's maiden name was Nancy Swank. Mr. and Mrs. Leech's children are five in number, namely: Mary Ethel, Carl Andrew, Nancy Laura, George Ray, and Alta Grace.

Mr. Leech is an intelligent man, broad- minded and progressive and active in the in- terests of education and religion, is very agree-

Matilda W. Aldrich.

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able in his personal manners and is highly es- teemed by the community. He is a Republi- can in his views of national questions, and is a member of Chappaqua Lodge, No. 121, I. O. O. F., at Humeston, and both himself and wife are exemplary members of the Presbyterian Church.

a HARLES ALDRICH (by ex-Gov- ernor Cyrus C. Carpenter) .- Early in June, 1857, the writer first met Charles Aldrich; who had recently established the Hamilton Freeman at Webster City, Hamilton County. The dominating in- fluences in Fort Dodge at that time were entirely with the Democratic party, and the prospects of having a Republican newspaper in northwestern Iowa enlisted the interest of every Republican in the editor and his enter- prise. A few days afterward, on calling at his office, the new editor was found, with his assistant, a small boy, with hand press, type-cases and fixtures all crowded into an office of a single story, and a single room, not more than sixteen feet square. We talked of the possibilities of northwestern Iowa, of its op- portunities for useful activity in all departments of industry, and of the future of the Republican party and of its principles and purposes.

This was the beginning of a friendship which for thirty-eight years, in prosperity and adversity, in peace and in war, has continued unbroken. It will never be forgotten that before this interview was terminated the busy editor had given his views on a half dozen local issues which he had already determined to agitate through the columns of the Free- man. Returning home on horseback, the long ride across the prairie, from Webster City to Fort Dodge, afforded opportunity to mentally analyze the young editor and his enthusi- astic and hopeful ambitions; and now, after all these years, it is a pleasure to record a final estimate of his character.

He was born in the town of Ellington, Chautauqua county, New York, October 2, .

1828, the son of Stephen and Elizabeth (Nich- ols) Aldrich. The ancestors of Stephen Aldrich lived many years at Smithfield, Rhode Island. He was a blacksmith in early life, and later a merchant and lumberman. He came West in 1865 and located at Webster City, Iowa, spending his later years on a farm. He died near Webster City, in 1882, at the age of seventy-six, and his wife died in 1880, at Olean, New York, also at seventy-six years of age. Both were connected with the Method- ist Church. He was a County Supervisor and Justice of the Peace in the State of New York, and was always recognized as a good-hearted, impulsive and energetic man.

His father, the grandfather of Charles, was also named Stephen. He lived near Middle- sex, Yates county, New York, was a farmer, and died there at the age of sixty-one. His wife was a woman of marked ability, a great reader and a natural orator, possessing a wonderful gift of language, and a devout Methodist. Her maiden name was Lucy Will- iams. They had a large family. The mater- nal grandfather of Mr. Aldrich was Stephen Nichols, who had been a sailor in early life and in following the sea had visited every port of any importance on the planet. He settled in later life in Broadalbin, where he died at an advanced age.

When Charles was about eight years old his parents removed to Cattaraugus county, New York, where his father engaged in mer- chandising and lumbering. He failed. in busi- ness in 1837, and then removed to Little Val- ley, in the same county, where he lived on a farm for twenty-five years. So the boyhood of Mr. Aldrich was almost entirely spent on the farm, where he was subjected to the toil and the deprivation from scholastic advantages of the son of a farmer in moderate circum- stances. Up to the age of fifteen, he received only such an education as could be obtained at the district school. After this he attended Jamestown Academy, Chautauqua county, for a single year. At the home he studied the branches usual to the country school, and at

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the academy devoted his time to algebra, geometry, chemistry and philosophy, taking lessons in Latin for a brief period.

In June, 1846, he engaged with Messrs. Clement & Faxon, of Buffalo, New York, in the office of the Western Literary Messenger, to learn the printer's trade, and, having become quite proficient as a printer, worked in Attica and Warsaw, New York, and War- ren, Pennsylvania.

In June, 1850, he established a weekly pa- per entitled The Cattaraugus Sachem, at Ran- dolph, New York, continuing its publication one year. Thence he moved to Olean, in the same county, and established the Olean Jour- nal, which he conducted between four and five years, when he for a time abandoned journal- ism and became a farmer in Little Valley, the home of his youth.

On the 29th day of July, 1851, he was united in marriage with Miss Matilda Olivia Williams, who was born August 8, 1836, at Dansville, Livingston county, New York, the daughter of Aaron and Olivia (Nichols) Will- iams, and who died at Boone, Iowa, Septem- ber 18, 1892. She came of a patriotic, intelli- gent and sturdy stock. Her grandfather, Ste- phen Williams, was a soldier in the Revolu- tionary war, and was seriously wounded at the battle of Trenton, New Jersey, December 26, 1777, from the effects of which he lost the sight of an eye, and later that of the other, thus spending half his lifetime in total blind- ness. Mrs. Aldrich was always her husband's sympathizer, counselor, and helper in all his ambitions and all his enterprises. They set- tled in Webster City, Hamilton county, in 1857, and removed to Boone in 1891. She was well known throughout Iowa, and her death was deeply mourned by uncounted friends. She was a member of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Ani- mals, and her sympathy for overworked horses in large cities was touchingly shown in her let- ters to her friends. She was fitted in char- acter, in ambitions, in love of nature, in sym- pathy with the aspirations of her husband, to

aid him in all his undertakings. The Freeman, which was established in May, 1857, on their removal to Webster City, was the apple of her eye as well as of that of her husband's. It was a weekly Republican journal, now one of the oldest newspapers, under the original name, in the State. The newspaper field at Webster City at the time of its establishment was liter- ally a good place and a good business in which to "grow up with the country, " but it pre- sented a meager prospect for newspaper pat- ronage. The village had about 200 inhab- itants, and the county. just organized, about 1,500 people. During the first year of the publication of this paper Mr. Aldrich had no other assistance than that of an apprentice; but his journal was always " on time," on publica- tion day, and soon attracted the attention of leading politicians throughout the State. It was recognized as a newsy, sprightly and able advocate of Republican principles. In the political conflicts of those days there were vital elements unknown to the active politicians of our later years. The questions which agi- tated the country just preceding the Civil war were the sole issues dividing the parties of the period. It is difficult for partisans who are familiar only with the discussion of issues in respect to revenue and finance to comprehend the hot blood and exalted earnestness of the politics which were the expression of the anti- slavery convictions preceding the election of President Lincoln. Into this crucial test of ability, principle and power, Mr. Aldrich en- tered with all the fervor of his nature and the ardor and industry of an ancestry which from Smithfield, Rhode Island, to Little Valley, New York, never surrendered to any vicissi- tudes of fate or fortune. It is within the bounds of moderation to say that no paper was quoted more frequently by the State press and leading politicians than the Hamilton Freeman, while conducted by Mr. Aldrich.

He called the first Republican convention held in Hamilton county, and was the chair- inan of the Republican county committee for two years. He continued the publication of

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the Freeman until September, 1862, when he locked up his office and entered the military service as Adjutant of the Thirty-second Iowa Infantry. He served in this capacity a year and a half, when he resigned and returned to Iowa, where he was soon afterward preparing to enter the service as a Major in the Tenth Cavalry, when orders came discontinuing the organization of that regiment. Subsequently he was tendered an appointment on the staff of General M. M. Crocker, when that officer was about to proceed to Arizona, but was compelled to decline on account of private business affairs.

In 1865 he was for a short time editor of the Dubuque Daily Times, and in 1866 pur- chased, and for about three years conducted, the Marshall County Times. During his ownership of that journal no weekly newspaper in the State excelled it in rapid increase of circulation, influence and prosperity; and he retired from it only on account of impaired health-the result of overwork. He resided in Marshalltown until 1871, and in the autumn of that year removed to ,his farm on the banks of Boone river, one and a half miles north of Webster City.

In 1860 he was elected Chief Clerk of the Iowa House of Representatives, and re-elected in 1862, 1866 and 1870, thus holding that posi- tion eight years, as well as the next highest clerkship of the same body one year. Except in a single instance, he was chosen as Clerk of the House on each of these occasions by ac- clamation. It is a well-known fact to legisla- tors that during these years no member of the General Assembly originated more salutary, progressive and humane measures now on our statute books than did this ever active and vigi- lant worker at the clerk's desk.

In January, 1872, he was appointed by the Governor a member of a commission under authority of an act of the State Legislature to investigate and report upon the land titles of sundry settlers in the Des Moines valley, who were being driven from their homes by adverse decisions of the Supreme Court of the United

States. The Governor was empowered to send these commissioners to Washington with in- structions to make an effort to secure, as far as possible, indemnity to the settlers for their losses. Mr. Aldrich was continued in the office at Washington, and in Iowa a portion of the time, until March, 1875. The other commis- sioners, Messrs. John A. Hull and Norman H. Hart, acted with him constantly during the work at home and also for a portion of the time at Washington. The labors of the com- missioners resulted in the passage of a law by Congress under which the President appointed a new commission to report upon these titles in respect to the responsibility, for their fail- ure, of the Federal Government. President Grant appointed Mr. Aldrich, Gen. J. S. Rob- inson, of Ohio, and O. P. Chubb, of Minnesota, as the new commission. Their recommenda- tion for the relief of settlers, in the form of a bill, introduced by Capt. Jackson Orr, passed the House of Representatives in 1874, but was lost in the Senate.

During the year 1875 he was a member of the United States Geological Survey of the Territories, under charge of Dr. F. V. Hayden, The operations of the survey during his con- nection with it were in southwestern Colorado and adjacent portions of Utah, New Mexico and Arizona. His letters descriptive of the country through which he passed, and particularly of a visit to the "Cliff-Builders'" houses in the canyon of the Rio Mancos and other ruins of an extinct race, were published in the Chicago Inter Ocean and very widely read and copied.

While Mr. Aldrich was connected with the Iowa press he commenced the agitation favor- ing the substitution of the supervisor system of township and county government for that of the county judge system, as the latter then existed in the State. He advocated something similar to the New York system, with which he had been familiar prior to coming to Iowa. By his pen and personal efforts with legislators, he was instrumental in securing the passage of a law in 1860 making the proposed change.

The interest of Mr. Aldrich in the unfor-

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tunate classes has been one of the character- istics of his ever active life. He was an early advocate of giving a systematic course of in- struction to the convicts in penitentiaries, con- tributing many articles in this behalf to the press of the State, by which the misfortune, and to some extent the vice, of ignorance might be eliminated from this class of unfor- tunates. The amelioration of the statutes in this regard has been largely influenced by his efforts. Our present statute for the protection of the harmless birds (section 4,063 of the Code of 1873) was drafted by him and its en- actment secured.

In late years he has been a contributor to the columns of some of the most noted metro- politan journals on topics of politics, biography, general and natural history, and in the treat- ment of them has exhibited varied and com- prehensive intelligence. He was one of the first men in the State to agitate the propriety of making the State library a store-house of periodical literature. Thisto-day is one of the inost interesting features of the great library, and is becoming one of the popular departments in many of the local libraries of the State.

He was also appointed by the Governor one of the commission to supervise the build- ing of a monument in commemoration of the massacre at Okoboji and Spirit Lakes in 1857. In fact the early interest he took in preserving the history of the massacre, and the tablet which was placed in the court house at Web- ster City through his efforts, tended to revive the interest in these events, which finally resulted in an appropriation by the Legislature to build a monument.

In the fall of 1881 Mr. Aldrich was nomi- nated by the Republicans of Hamilton county for Representative in the State Legislature, was elected and served during the winter of 1882. It may be unnecessary to say he was a wide-awake and active legislator. He in- troduced a bill to prevent railroad companies from issuing free passes to public officers. It created a heated discussion in the House and was the cause of almost world-wide newspaper

comment. Mr. Aldrich made two speeches in defense of it, both of which were published and commented upon by newspapers, not only in this country but also in Canada. The bill was also noticed by the public journals of London and Paris.

As illustrative of the character of the man it may be recalled that he introduced and se- cured the passage of a bill granting the widow of Judge A. W. Mckenzie, of Franklin county, who died in office, the salary which would have been due him if he had served to the end of his term. When it is remembered that Judge Mckenzie was a young soldier in the civil war, whose death was hastened on ac- count of hard service and desperate wounds, the gracefulness of this action of Mr. Aldrich and the Legislature will be more fully appre- ciated. He also introduced a bill to create a Board of Pardons, which passed the House. but was not reached in the Senate.

Having now traced without attempt at orna- ment and without exaggeration the story of this busy man's career down to the time when he presented to the State the books, portraits, man- uscripts, autographs, letters, and other inter- esting and valuable contributions now known as the " Aldrich Collection," we may pause to briefly review his work in connection with this unique, original and most remarkable enter- prise. Mr. Aldrich had laid the foundation of the collection many years before presenting it to the State. In its inception it was entirely a purpose to gratify his private taste and em- ploy in a work which most pleased his fancy an occasional hour of recreation from hard labor. "But he builded better than he knew." To-day it is a department of the State govern- ment, most exceptional in its popularity. It is the judgment of those who have become most conversant with this valuable historical work and the rapid progress of this depart- ment, that it will develop into a great museum, which will contain large collections in natural history, geology, mineralogy, as well as mili- - tary relics, mementoes and historic manuscripts, thus becoming a great gallery illustrating the

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political and scientific history of the State. This department cannot be better described than by inserting the following notice from the Des Moines Daily Capital, of March 28, 1894: "The success of the Aldrich Historical · Collection illustrates what one man can do when his heart is in the work. Not very many people know the difficulties and discourage- ments that attended the early labors of Hon. Charles Aldrich in connection with the State Historical Collection which bears his name. He began the collection years ago as an indi- vidual, but, of course, he did not contemplate anything so magnificent as he has already ac- complished. His collection grew from year to year, however, and finally he donated it to the State. For some time after his donation was made, the collection remained as a part of the State library in the library rooms. This ar- rangement was not satisfactory in any respect: it was not meeting the hopes and desires which Mr. Aldrich had formed for building up a really valuable historical collection. He went to work to secure legislative consent to occupy separate rooms. To accomplish this end was no small task, but it was finally accomplished two years ago; and now the wisdom of Mr. Aldrich is being illustrated every day by the increasing number of visitors attracted to the historical rooms and the increased interest shown in the collection. Every hour of the day persons visit these rooms to find certain facts or to consult newspaper files. Mr. Al- drich has just issued his first biennial report, giving substantially a catalogue of the collec- tion. This report makes due acknowledg- ment for various and valuable donations made to the department during the past two years. A glance through the report will con- vince any one of the great value of the collec- tion. It is a most interesting department, and when Mr. Aldrich's plans are carried out the public will find out really what a valuable labor he has performed. He has been entirely unselfish in the matter. When the department was originated he insisted that his compensation should be fixed at the modest sum of $100 per

month, emphasizing the fact which all who know him know, -- that he cares nothing for anything outside his collection but for subsistence.

" In this age of greed and selfishness, when poetry and romance and even remembrance are being taken out of ordinary lives, it is re- freshing to know that some such men as Mr. Aldrich still live to perform their unselfish labors for the benefit of posterity."

Speaking within bounds, the work of col- lecting, classifying, labeling and preserving all these contributions to the department has been a herculean labor. It is proper, however, to say that through all the years of labor, and in all the sacrifices made by Mr. Aldrich in the interest of this historical collection, until the day of her death, there stood by his side, in the person of his wife, one who shared his toil, who sympathized with his enthusiasm, and who ap- preciated his purposes, and everywhere by her advice and encouragement was his good angel and inspiring helper; and in the far-away future, when this great department shall be fully developed and thoroughly understood and appreciated, the two names which will stand side by side in recognition and memory of those who shall come after, will be those of Charles and Matilda (Williams) Aldrich. Before leav- ing this branch of the subject it is well to say that Mr. Aldrich, as a tribute of love, in mem- ory of his good wife, has had a neat brass tab- let set in one of the collection cases in the department, and a handsome memorial window placed in the Catholic Church at Boone.

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Memorial and biographical record of Iowa, Part 22

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