Memorial and biographical record of Iowa, Part 29

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

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He and his family are identified with the United Presbyterian Church at Chariton, Iowa.

F. METELMAN .- " The affairs of life hinge upon confidence." The truth of this adage of experience is more forcibly demonstrated in the business of banking than in any other occupa- tion, and is directly applicable to the subject of this sketch, who is the president of the Metelman & Frazer Bank, at Sidney, Fre- mont county, Iowa. He is a man of known integrity, of ample means and might most con- gruously be designated as the father of the banking and commercial industries in Sidney, by reason of his long connection with these lines of enterprise and his intimate identi- fication with the progress and material in- terests of the locality. It has been said that he has, within his four decades of consecutive devotion to business here, sup- - plied some want of a large proportion of the population of Fremont county, and it is a significant fact that he has never yet suffered embarrassment by reason of reflection upon a single business or social act of his as being of questionable character or of doubtful wisdom. It is with a marked satisfaction that the biog- raphist reverts to the life history of one who has attained the maximum of success in any vocation in which he has directed his thought and effort; and such a life, whether it be one of calm but consecutive endeavor or of nieteoric accomplishment, must ever serve as both les- son and incentive. One whose intelligence, energy and discernment prove sufficiently po- tent to carry him from a position of obscurity to one of high order in the estiniation of those who direct the material industries of any land or any nation, and to insure his advancement by individual effort from a point where is represented practically no financial resources to that which defines large accumulations and indubitable influence, is certainly deserving of that honorable, but often misapplied title, "a self-made man." Such an one is the subject of this review.

Mr. Metelman's advent in Fremont county dates back to 1856, and his financial status was such as_might have been expected of a

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wandering young German who had been for somne years clerking on a small salary, in vari- ous sections of the Union. At the time of his arrival in Sidney the firm of Tootle & Arm- strong conducted the leading mercantile enter- prise here-the senior member having subse- quently established himself in St. Joseph, Missouri, where he was instrumental in build- ing up the extensive business of the firm of Tootle, Hosea & Company. With this repre- sentative firm in Sidney our subject secured employment in a clerical position and remained with that company as long as it continued in business, his fidelity and earnest and indefatig- able efforts gaining to him the confidence and esteem of his employers. In 1862 Mr. Metel- man was enabled to begin operations in the mercantile line upon his own responsibility, becoming the silent member of the firm of Reed, Armstrong, Jr., & Company. Just after the close of the war-or about. 1867-he purchased the interests of his partners and continued the business alone until the centennial year, 1876, when John T. Hodges was admitted to part- nership, incidental to which the firm name became A. F. Metelman & Company. This association continued until 1882, when our subject disposed of his interests in the business to the firm of Hodges & Goy, and thereafter retained no association with merchandising, in which line he had been very successful and had gained very satisfactory profits, of which he made judicious investments. Prior to his retirement from the mercantile business Mr. Metelman had become a partner in the bank- ing house of Brown, Metelman & Company, and to his interests in this line he has ever since given his undivided attention.

The Metelman & Frazer Bank has prestige as the oldest institution of the sort in Sidney, its organization having been effected in 1875, by Messrs. Henry Brown, A. F. Metelman and W. T. Frazer, and business operations having been instituted soon after upon a capitalistic basis of $25,000. In 1882 occurred the death of Mr. Brown, after which the present title was adopted. The bank is now capitalized

for $60,000, and the individual estate of each member of the firm is made responsible for the liabilities of the bank. Such is the confidence of the public in the integrity and honor of the interested principals that depositors feel that they have absolute inmunity from loss with such security.

By reason of his long career in business here Mr. Metelman may almost be considered a public man. Few men who fill public places by popular suffrage are better known than he, and yet he has never been an active partici- pant in a political conflict or competition of any sort, and is a stranger to the schemes, in- trigues and machinations of politicians. He votes the Republican ticket, and in thus exer- cising his franchise he feels that he fulfills his whole political duty. He is a member of no fraternity or social organization, and in his re- ligious views is most nearly in accord with the doctrines and teachings of the Presbyterian Church. He is a man of strong individuality and vital force, as is evident in the success which he has attained by his own efforts. He has a broad mental grasp and an unerring judgment in regard to men. Tenacious of his ideas, he has them thoroughly fortified and can defend his position when there is need, but he is ever ready to accord a courteous recep- tion to the opinions of others, and his genuine humanitarianism is shown in the popularity in which he is held in the community where he has so long resided. He started out for him- self empty-handed, and in his career has met with many obstacles and disadvantages such as would have caused many a man of less reso- lute spirit to falter and perhaps to fail, but through all he has pressed steadily forward to the goal and has achieved the fortune for which he was striving. Through all he has been honorable and upright, never swerving from the narrow path of strict duty and rectitude, and by his systematic business methods and attention to all details he has become one of the most prominent and prosperous citizens of Sidney. For nearly forty years he has lived in this city, and no man is held in higher re-

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gard-a fact which indicates a most honorable career.

In conclusion we will offer a brief outline of the earlier history of our subject. Mr. Metelman was born in the duchy of Mecklen- burg, Germany, on the 30th of June, 1833, being the son of J. C. Metelman, the father having been an industrious farmer. Our sub- ject was one of eight children, and is the only one of the number who came to America. He received his educational discipline in his native land, and when he had attained the age of nineteen years he determined to seek his for- tunes in America, setting sail from Hamburg on the ship Washington, and arriving in New York city on the Ist of September, 1852. From the national metropolis he soon made his way to Cleveland, Ohio, where he secured a clerkship in a dry-goods establishment. He retained this position eighteen months and then went to Detroit, Michigan, and froni there to Louisville, Kentucky, where he re- mained until he finally took up his permanent abode in Sidney. Due reference has already been made to his subsequent career.

In 1868, at Prairie City, Illinois, Mr. Met- elman was united in marriage to Miss Mary D. Brown, daughter of Martin Brown, a promi- nent farmer of that locality. The children of this union are: Ella, born in 1869, is the wife of Albert Wildberger, of Nebraska City; and Charles A., born in 1878, is still an inmate of the parental home.

B OLLIN J. WILSON .- The subject of this review is the senior member of the representative law firm of Wilson & Hinkle, at Fairfield, Jefferson coun- ty, and aside from his individual worth and personal accomplishment there is peculiar propriety in giving place to a record of his life in this connection, on the score that he is a native son of Fairfield and one whose father stood as a pioneer of the county and village, as one of the foremost statesmen of Iowa, as

one of the highest intellectual and professional attainments and as a man of exalted nobility of character-an honored citizen whose death was mourned not alone by a community but by an entire commonwealth.

Our subject was born in the village of Fair- field, Iowa, on the 18th of October, 1853, being the son of the late Hon. James F. Wil- son, United States Senator from Iowa. The ancestral and parental history is traced in more complete detail in the memoir dedicated to our subject's honored father and appearing on other pages of this volume. Hon. James F. Wilson died at his home in Fairfield, on the 22d of April, 1895, and his widow, nec Mary A. K. Jewett, still maintains her home in the old family residence, which is hallowed by the tender associations of many years.

Rollin J. Wilson received his fundamental educational discipline in the public schools of his native town, completing the high-school course in 1870. He then became a student in the lit- erary department of the State University, at Iowa City, and there graduated in 1875, after which he returned to his home and began reading law under the preceptorage of his talented father, subsequently continuing his work of technical preparation in the office of Slagle & Achison, prominent attorneys of this place. He secured admission to the bar of the State upon examination before the Circuit Court, at its regular session in the fall of 1877, and he entered upon the active practice of his profession in Fairfield, entering into partner- ship with George A. Rutherford. This asso- ciation continued one year, when the partner- ship was dissolved and our subject then formed his present professional alliance with J. M. Hinkle, the practice of the firm extend- ing into all the courts of the State and into the Federal Courts. They retain a represent- ative clientele and are recognized as among the most able attorneys at the bar of the State. For the past decade they have acted as attorneys for the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy and the Chicago & Rock Island Rail- roads, as well as of the First National Bank of

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Fairfield, -a circumstance which alone deter- mines their relative precedence.

In his political proclivities Mr. Wilson ren- ders a stalwart allegiance to the Republican party, and he has been called upon to serve in offices of public trust and responsibility. For seven and one-half years he held the prefer- ment as County Attorney, his incumbency having been under the old law and having ex- tended for some time after the enactment of the new law covering this branch of the public service. In a more purely local sense he served for the period of eight years as a member of the Board of Directors of the independent school district of Fairfield, during two years of which time he was the president of the board. Mr. Wilson maintains an active inter- est in national and State politics, and has ren- dered valuable aid to his party in various cam- paigns, being a forceful and convincing speaker and having stumped the State for his party on several different occasions, his service being in much demand in this field. Mr. Wilson is thoroughly identified with the material inter- ests of Fairfield and takes a public-spirited in- terest in all projects and enterprises tending to further its norinal advancement. He is a stockholder and a member of the directorate of the First National Bank of Fairfield, and has been for years past secretary of the Jefferson County Literary Association.

On the 13th of October, 1881, was solem- nized the marriage of our subject to Miss Mell A. Mckinney, a daughter of Joseph A. and Cynthia A. Mckinney, of Fairfield, and the offspring of this union is two children: Mary Louise and Helen Cynthia.

0 N. ROGERS, Township Trustee of White Breast township, Lucascounty, Iowa, has made his home in this county since 1873, and is recognized as one of its leading and influential citizens.

He was born at Hillsboro, Montgomery county, in the neighboring State of Illinois, April 22, 1850, his parents being Daniel and

Jane (Dempsey) Rogers, both natives of Ports- mouth, Ohio. They died in Ottumwa, Iowa, the mother at the age of sixty-one, and the father at sixty-five, the latter's death occur- ring December 25, 1881. Daniel Rogers was a blacksmith by trade and a fine workman in both iron and steel. Politically he was a Re- publican, and both he and his wife were earnest Christians and devoted members of the Meth- odist Episcopal Church. They had a large number of children, of whom the following are living: D. N., the subject of our sketch; Caroline, Mary Etta, and John W. and Robelia: the last two are twins. The others died in early childhood.

D. N. Rogers was six years old at the time his parents removed to Iowa. Just after com- ing to this State they had made their home in Cuba, Iowa, where the father worked at his trade. They afterward moved to Albia, Mon- roe county, this State, where D. N. was reared and received his schooling. The greater part of his education, however, has been received in the broad school of experience. For eight- een years he followed railroading, serving in various capacities, and beginning his railroad career in 1873 as an employe of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad. He was well acquainted with the late Thomas Potter, super- intendent of this road. He served in various positions on several divisions of the road and at three different times was located at Chari- ton, where he had charge of the railroad yards. During his long railroad service he was faithful in the performance of his every duty and won the confidence of his employers and the good will of those with whom he was associated.

In 1891 Mr. Rogers purchased his present farm of Marion Whiserand. This farm com- prises ninety-six acres of choice land, located in section 21, White Breast township, and three miles from Chariton; is well improved and un- der a high state of cultivation. His cottage residence, with its attractive lawn, orchard and grove, is a typical rural home.

Mr. Rogers was married at Chariton, Iowa, May 17, 1876, to Miss Lou Eliza Barrow, a

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native of Lucas county and a daughter of An- drew and Mary (Young) Barrow. Their children are Leroy, Bert, Charley, Etheridge and Ruth.

Politically, our subject lends hisinfluence and support to the Republican party, and stands high in the local councils of the same. He was elected to his present position, that of Township Trustee, in 1893, and the affairs of this office have received his close and earnest attention. Socially, he is an Odd Fellow, re- taining a membership in Lodge No. 64, I. O. O. F. He takes an active and commendable interest in everything pertaining to the welfare and advancement of the community, and is recognized as a valued citizen.

S YLVANUS M. LEACH, an able finan- cier, who since 1881 has been cashier of the bank in Adel, Iowa, is a West- ern man by birth and training, and possesses the true Western spirit of energy and enterprise. He was born in St. Clair county, Illinois, September 18, 1849, and is of English descent on the paternal side. His grandfather, Ambrose H. Leach, was one of five brothers who lived in the New England States. In early life he removed to North Carolina, where he engaged in farming. In that State he married, and soon after removed to Tennessee, where he remained until about 1824, when he became a resident of St. Clair county, Illinois, casting in his lot with the early settlers of that locality. In 1856 he arrived in Iowa, settling in Van Buren county. He engaged in general merchandising in Bona- parte, continuing business there until his death, which occurred at the age of sixty-six years, while his wife passed away at the age of sev- enty-three.

The father of our subject, James W. Leach, was born in Tennessee, and during his infancy he was taken by his parents to St. Clair county, Illinois, where the days of his child- hood and youth were passed. In 1846 he left home, and the same year was united in mar- riage with Miss Elizabeth Anderson, who was

born in St. Clair county, in 1828, and is of German lineage. Her father, Samuel Ander- son, removed from Pennsylvania to St. Clair county when nineteen years of age, and was there united in marriage with Miss Hannah Stookey, also a native of the Keystone State. Her death occurred at her Western home when thirty-four years of age, but Mr. Anderson long survived his wife. He was a farmer by occupation, but after the war removed to De- catur, Illinois, where he spent his remaining days, passing away at the ripe age of eighty- seven years. He was a prominent and hon- ored pioneer of St. Clair county, and at one time served as a member of the Legislature, riding on horseback from his home to the capital. At one time he controlled the cattle interests in St. Clair county, and was one of the wealthiest men in that section of the State. His family numbered six children, but only two are now living.

James W. Leach was one of eight children, . three of whom are yet living. Upon his mar- riage he located in Clinton county, Illinois, his residence, however, being just across the line in St. Clair county. There he carried on agri- cultural pursuits until 1856, when he removed to Van Buren county, Iowa. Subsequently he went to Missouri, purchased land, and there made his home for thirty-seven years, when he was called to his final rest at the age of sev- enty-three.

In the usual manner of farmers' sons Syl- vanus M. Leach spent the first fifteen years of his life, and then entered an academy in Bona- parte, Iowa, where he pursued his studies for three years. On the expiration of that period he began learning the printer's trade, and at the age of twenty-one secured a posi- tion on the Keokuk Daily, where he was em- ployed for two years. Removing thence to Osceola, he purchased an interest in The Sentinel, a paper published in that city, and for seven years was its editor. On selling out he removed to Adel, which since 188 1 has been his continuous place of residence. Forming a joint stock company, he established the bank

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of which he has since been cashier, and his connection with the enterprise has made it one of success. He is an able financier, a man of sound and careful judgment, and his excellent business and executive ability is widely recognized ..

His coolness and bravery at one time saved the bank many thousands of dollars, and the history of the incident is well worthy a place in his life record. Early in the morning on a certain day in the spring of 1895, just as he opened the doors of the bank, a man, appar- ently old in appearance, stepped over the threshold, and drawing a revolver put over fifty shot in the face and shoulders of Mr. Leach! Collected and cool he rose to his feet and told the robber not to shoot any more as the time lock would not open until nine o'clock, and it was then ten minutes before the hour. The ruffian, however, kicked in a side door and demanded the silver in sight. Mr. Leach told him to help himself, which he did, taking about $300. By this time fully twenty men were in front of the bank and Sheriff Paine had fired two shots in when some one in the crowd, presumably one of the robbers, called out, "They have gone out the back door." The sheriff and crowd ran around behind the build- ing, whereupon the robbers opened the front door and ran down the street, shooting right and left. Jumping into a buggy which was standing ready they started for the country. A posse was soon in pursuit and about seven miles from the town succeeded in capturing the robbers. One surrendered, -a boy of only about nineteen, -- but the other took refuge in a barn. The crowd then made the captured one set fire to the barn and thus drive his com- rade out. He remained in the barn until the fire had burned off his whiskers and then ran fron the building, only to be filled with the shot of many rifles!

The part which Mr. Leach played in this thrilling scene was that of a hero. At the time when the first robber entered the door he had already taken $3,000 from the safe and placed it under the counter, but quick as light-

ning he invented the story of the time lock and his unparalleled quickness, coolness and bravery saved this entire sum. All the money to the very last cent-$272-was recovered, and the bank and its depositors therefore suffered no loss.

While residing in Osceola, Mr. Leach was united in marriage, June 21, 1877, with Miss Jennie Stivers, who was born in Meigs county, Ohio, and is a cultured and educated lady, a graduate of Oxford Seminary of her native State. Two children have been born to them: Helen, who was born in Osceola, Iowa, June 27, 1881 ; and Robert L., who was born August 22, 1884.

Since casting his first presidential vote for General Grant, Mr. Leach has been a stalwart advocate of the Republican party and its prin- ciples and is a recognized leader in its ranks. He has served for seven consecutive terms as chairman of the Republican County Central Committee, and had he so desired would have been made the candidate for State Senator in 1895, but declined the honor, for it would re- quire too great a sacrifice of his business inter- ests. In his social relations he is a Mason, and also belongs to the Knights of Pythias frater- nity. He is active in benevolent and charita- ble organizations, a friend to the poor and needy, and is ever willing to aid a man who is willing to aid himself. His eminent position he has attained entirely through his own unaided efforts, his firmness of purpose and undoubted integrity. He has, without the aid of capital or influential friends at the beginning of his career, passed on the highway of life many men who were more advantageously endowed at the outset. He has won the confidence of the peo- ple of his adopted State, and it can be truth- fully stated that no citizen in Iowa commands more respect or is more highly honored than he.

J ACOB KULL, of Chariton, Iowa, was born in the province of Wurtemberg, Germany, near the famous city of Stuttgart, on the 18th of March, 1835. His parents, Jacob and Justina (Hershberger)

Chas. Ashton.

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Kull, had a family of eight children, seven of whom are yet living, namely: Gottfried, Jus- tina, Tina, Jacob, Elizabeth, William and Christina. The father of this family was born, lived and died in Germany, where he followed the occupation of farming; he was also a woodsman. Both he and his wife attained to a ripe old age.

In taking up the personal history of the gentleman whose name heads this record we present to our readers the sketch of one who is both widely and favorably known in Chari- ton, Iowa. He remained in his native prov- ince until twenty years of age, assisting in the support of the family, and then started out in life for himself, that his labors might provide for his own future. He bade adieu to the Fatherland, and crossing the Atlantic sought a home and fortune in the New World. This was in May, 1855. On arriving here he lo- cated first in Ohio, after which time his capi- tal consisted only of a strong determination to win success and a young man's bright hope of the future. After remaining for a short time in Columbus, then a small village, he removed to Fairfield county, and during the two succeed- ing years was employed as a farm laborer in that place, after which he spent two years in Columbus. He then again returned to Fair- field county, which he made his home until 1860, when he came to the West and settled in Van Buren county, Iowa. He was not pleased with that location, however, and in the succeeding autumn returned to Ohio, where he spent the winter.

In the spring of 1861 Mr. Kull again came to the Hawkeye State, and made a tem- porary location in Van Buren county, but in the spring of 1862 removed to Eddyville, Iowa, where he lived until 1864. He then spent one year in Pella, and in May, 1865, came to Lucas county, settling in Chariton. He had traveled about considerably, and now found a permanent home in this place, becoming one of its valued citizens. He was for many years engaged in business as a dealer in ice, and was quite successful in his undertakings, securing a 12

large trade. Subsequently he purchased a farm, which is now within the city limits, and which, on account of the rise in real-estate prices, has become a very valuable property. On it he erected a fine and commodious residence, a credit to his enterprise and thrift, and an ornament to the part of the city in which it is located.

Mr. Kull is recognized as one of the lead- ing German citizens who came to this country, adopted its ways and methods, and has be- come a progressive and public-spirited man. His advance has been in keeping with that of the country, sharing in its prosperity. In ad- dition to his beautiful home, he owns several other good residences in Chariton, and to-day is one of its most substantial citizens. His life has been well spent and he has the confi- dence and high regard of all with whom he has been brought in contact.

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Memorial and biographical record of Iowa, Part 29

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