USA > Iowa > Jasper County > Past and present of Jasper County, Iowa, Vol. II > Part 2
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608
Fuller, Oliver B. 1334
Denniston, W. E. 447
Densmore, Frank W. 1352
DePenning, Peter. 1056
Deppe, Benjamin F. 1144
Caulfield, Thomas 1206
Chambers, Preston
872
Chapman, Albert S.
442
Christenson, Fred. 1308
Church, David W. 896
Churchill, Howell L. 1178
Churchill, Levi M.
908
Clark, Lyman C.
737
Claussen, John. 939
Clements, William G.
421
Cleverley, Frank E.
1116
Cline, Charles C.
567
Coffey, F. J. 935
Colfax, Hotel 667
Connelly, Charles H. 1358
Connelly, Fred D.
1163
Conwell, Carlos
1180
Conwell, Orville E.
1277
Cool, Frank C.
102
Cool, Melville J. 1122
Cool, Peter J.
1215
1
Cooper, William R. 1
549
Couch, Frank 1346
Cozad, Felix W.
629
Craig, William A.
834
Craven, David H.
898
Crawford, John H.
1090
Crawford, W. J.
1156
Cross, Jesse.
I 1086
Cushatt, John W.
1351
Custer, Charles R.
956
Custer, John W.
957
D
Dales, William 687
Davidson, R. P. 1223
Dawson, Isaac M. 1161
DeBolt, Joseph
644
DeBruyn, Frank K.
853
DeBruyn, William C. 1072
Decatur, Samuel. 738
DeJong, John J. 1273
Dennis, C. D. 565
Dennis, W. L.
445
866
Coakley, John
1
I
44 4
BIOGRAPHICAL INDEX.
G
Galusha, Simeon H. 452
Gates, Alvin C. 508
Gates, Margaret I. 848
Gates, Sumner E. 848
Gauch, August
1133
Gearhart, Herley G. 830 1
Gearhart, William H. 854
Geise, Adolph 1106
Geise, H. A. 1176
Gibford, Daniel L. 541
Gillespie, A. D. 964
Gillespie, Elmer L.
934
1
I
Gilson, Benjamin S.
638
1
Gipson, Albert A.
1242
Gipson, Alfred D.
1244
Gipson, George H.
1246
Goodhue, Edward P. 554
Goodhue, George C.
1216
Goodwin, Edwin J. 1146
Gorrell, Joseph R.
777
Gove, William S. 435
Greenlief, Charles E. 683 1
Greenlief, Leonard A. 578
Guessford, W. M. 463
Guthrie, A. T.
932
H
Hager, August. 1124
Hager, Fred 1317
Hager, Gustav A .. 1
1 1 1165
Haines, Edwin- S.
1 1 790
Haley, Daniel
1269
Hall, A. W. 604
Hallam, Eathel L. 1303
Hamilton, William F.
1111
Hammer, Marion R. 529
Hampton, Russell R. 1155
Hanke, Dallas 1006
Hans, George A. 1016
Hanson, George E. 1211
Harding, J. P. 1201
Harmon, L. T. 654
Harre, Otto 1341
Hart, George C. 456
Harvey, John H., Sr. 660
Hasselbrink, Christoph 845
Hawkins, J. C. 637
Hayes, Andrew J. 711
Helming, Thomas. 1078
Hendricks, Fred. 697
Hendricks, George. 696
Henry, Ebenezer W. 949
Herwehe, Henry 943
Herwehe, Jacob 193
I 1 Hews, George 704
Hews, John. 588
Hiatt, John M. 580
Hickey, James 953
Hickman, George W., Jr. 479
Highley, Alva A. 723
Hill, Bert 1286
Hill, Charles E. 1067
Hill, Philip S. 1083
619
Hitchler, George W. 887
Hodges, Pleasant.
1220
Holdsworth, William H.
1043
Holtz, John S.
651
Horn, Joe 426
Horsford, John G.
747
Hotchkin, John 783
Howard, Andrew H. 642
Hummel, James M. 841
Hummel, John P.
973
Hutson, Lawrence 1239
I
Irwin, Emmor E.
666
J
Jeffers, Thomas J. 1138
Jeffries, Arthur W. 1099
Jennings, Charles H. 598
Jennings, W. E. 876
Jensen, Herman H. 847
Jensma, Andrew D. 901
Jensma, Sicco J.
1055
Jickling, John D. 1142
Jickling, William R. 822
Johnson, Albert 826
Johnson, Jervis C.
858
Johnson, W. S. I
972
Jones, John N. 1203 I
Jones, Loyd D. 928 1
Jones, Thomas M. 909
40 14
85
F
1 1
Hill, William E.
BIOGRAPHICAL INDEX.
K
Kanne, Frederick A. 1084
Kanne, Levi H. 1169
Kartchner, John C. 1152
Kelley, Thomas F.
1190
Kelly, Jeremiah
819
Kelly, John
734
Kelton, George B.
1061
Kennington, John M.
518
Kennington, L. S.
516
Kimberley, Frank.
1148
Kimberley, William
1126
Kintz, Charles E.
1325
Kintz, Commodore P.
1319.
Kintz, Oley A.
1294
Kitchel, Ed M.
1330
Kitchel, Warren A.
1022
Kitchin, Mrs. Sarah
978
Kline, William M.
1205
Kling, Philip. 659
Kling, William G. 1250
Kling, William J.
1014
Klopping, Henry W.
871
Klyn, William
1196
Kooistra, Herman
W.
836
Kooistra, John
1364
Korf, H. C.
536
Krampe, August
1153
Kroh, Henry L.
816
Krueger, Henry
1249
Krueger, Theodore
1248
Krueger, William
1248
L
Lamb, Richard 474
Lambert, Elliott E. 438
Lamphier, Daniel.
786
Landmesser, Nicholas
702
Lane, George.
1354
Lawrence, Avery T. 824
Lee, James
1009
Lenz, Carl 1069
Leonard, Joseph A. 1328
Lewis, Martin L. 657
Libolt, Hiram C.
748
I
1
Lindsley, H. A.
1253
Lister, Alfred
856
F
Lister, Arthur 505 1
Lister, James 501
Livingston, Arch 907
Livingston, William O. 902
Loar, George W.
1360
Logsdon, Franklin G.
1101
Logsdon, Smith C. 1252
Long, Frank
1092
Long, George. 1324
Longley, Lyman A. 808
Lotts, William M. 571
Loupee, W. F.
930
Lufkin, Albert
646
Lufkin, Benjamin 1075
Lunt, Moses B.
1049
Lust, Alfred T.
715
Lust, Elmer
1001
Lust, John W.
713
Mc
McCann, Rev. Thomas J. 557
McConkey, Charles C. 458
McCord, Milton A. 471
McElroy, W. O.
496
McIntire, Charles E. 1259
McKinney, William B. 912
McLaughlin, E. M. S. 624
McLellan, Belding R.
679
Mc Vay, Warren.
600
M
Macmillan, Albert S. 1004
Macy, Charles O. 879
Macy, E. B. 921
Maggard, George A.
1214
Maggard, Henry H. 1315
Malmberg, Ed P. 720
Mark, Frances A.
1302
Mark, Samuel 1302
Marshall, George F. 904
Marshall, William J.
895
Mason, George E.
1247
Matteson, Frank E.
1270
Mendenhall, E. P. 976
Meredith, . Harlan.
962
Meredith, Oliver C. 780
Meyer, A. C. 1344 1
Meyer, John F.
840
Miller, August G.
4 843
BIOGRAPHICAL INDEX.
Miller, George W. 857
Miller, Robert 1357
Miller, William J. 1136
Pentico, Peter P. 1040
Perin, George A. 1123
Perrin, Henry A. 954
Morgan, Charles H. 811
Morgan, V. H. 1
523
Morgan, Walter J.
475
Phillips, Thomas R. 495
Phipps, Felix L. 1070
Pierce, George P. 823
Poage, James R. 1129
Porter, Harry W. 915
Porvin, William C. 472
Potter, Rev. John 792
Price, Frederick O. 1158
N
Newcomer, John 1168
Newell, Clifton D. 1307
Newell, George W.
832
1 1 Newell, Herbert E. 672
Newell, S. H.
863
Newton, George W. 441 1
Nichols, Miss Hannah 656
Nirk, W. C.
805
Noah, Calvin.
1080
Noah, Henry
1174
Nolin, Cyrus.
958
Nolin, William H.
591
Norton, C. P.
194
Ogg, Mason C.
891
Oldham, James A. 920
Ortwig, Charley B.
791
Owings, J. B.
528
P
Pahre, Henry F. 700
Parmenter, George D. 673
Parsons, Hess D.
1280
Pashan, Charles
1298
Patterson, John.
919
Paul, John S.
1104
Paul, William
851
Pease, George H.
1226
Q
Quire, Charles E.
1053
R
Ramsey, E. B.
525
Reckler, Frederick A.
677
Reed, Albert H. 538
Rees, Spencer H.
633
Reid, Lewis D.
653
Reynolds, Hayden
558
Reynolds, John W.
I
573
Reynolds, Victor
968
Richardson, Fred
799
Rippey, Francis J.
1236
1
Rippey, William F.
1264
Robb, Wilson M.
985
Robinson, Ralph.
465
Rodgers, Joseph R.
592
Rohrdanz, Fred.
709
Romans, Bert A.
694
Rorabaugh, Frederick O. 910
Rorabaugh, John M.
911
Ross, Charles F.
944
Ross, Frank B.
1349
Rush, Melvin
906
Ryan, Rev. James E.
583
S
Saak, Herman, Jr.
1108
Saak, Louie
1175
Sacred Heart Church
557
41 41
1
882
Morrison, Arthur S.
829
Morrison, H. S.
621
Moss, John. 500
Mowry, Ross R. 432
Murdock, William S. 1
1 1
861
Murphy, J. W. 924 1 I
Myers, Oliver P.
640
1
1
Pendleton, Logan 730
Penquite, Maynard E. 635
Millgate, George. 1050
Moore, Barrett E.
551
Perry, Harrison W. 1160
Phelan, Daniel. 1034
Morris, Robert M.
1
1
BIOGRAPHICAL INDEX.
Sanderson, Benjamin 884
Sauerman, Charles F. 631
Saunders, Charles H. 1000
Streeter, Thomas A. 1266
Sullens, William F.
1058
Sumpter, William H., Jr. 1204
Swalwell, Jay B.
1183
Swalwell, Thomas
1288
Swearingen, Frank W.
788
Swigart, George W.
1030
Sylvester, Lanham T.
052
T
Talbot, Warren N.
1028
Terpstra, Dow W.
992
Terpstra, Harry D.
692
Terpstra, Watson V.
707
Tharp, John W.
880
Thomas, H. A. 669
Thompson, Clarence E.
1188
Thompson, John W.
1321
Thorp, W. T.
1081
Tice, Madison
488
Tice, William M.
1278
Tiffany, Carl.
1314
Tiffany, Fremont L.
1261
Tiffany, Ray.
1309
Tipton, David G. 1117
Tool, John H.
714
I
Tool, Quinn H.
987
Tough, James
795
Tramel, Frank W. 1228
Tramel, James J.
1114
Tramel, Walter O.
1338
Tramel, William
1095
Tramel, William A.
1191
Trease, Joseph S.
1066
Trussel, James
1221
Turnbull, William M.
1046
Turner, Alice B. S.
483
Turner, James K.
610
Turner, Josiah P. 595
Turner, Lewis C. S. 480
Turner, Marce.
735
Turner, Mrs. Mary C. P.
806
Turner, O. J.
1088
Starr, Benson 728
Stevens, Squire W. 1243
Stewart, Robert N. 1200
Stinson, Thomas
1210
Stolte, Louis
784
Strain, David W. 744
Stratton, Joseph T. 1119
Schmitt, Henry
743
Schmitt, Jacob
740
Schnell, John W.
812
Schnell, Louis C.
1279
Schnug, Henry P.
685
Schultz, Lewis F.
994
Schultz, William C. H.
724
Schultze, William.
699
Schumann, August C.
892
Schweinebart, Frederick S.
1342
Scott, Hugh
443
Scott, Robert A. 576
Scoville, Charlie B. 969
Sellman, Frank
491
Shaffer, Tobias
499
1
Sharp, Henry D.
803
Shaw, Samuel W.
965
Sherbon, Florence B.
681
Sherbon, John B.
681
Sherman, John H.
749
Signs, J. Emery
1199
Signs, John W.
1327
1
Signs, Lee.
1098
J
Silwold, Henry
470
Simpson, John
874
Simpson, George W.
616
Sitler, Joseph R.
626
Skinner, Herbert K.
1024
1
Slaght, Nellie. 454 1 1 1
Slavens, Jesse.
575
Sloanaker, Chester I
1
534
Small, George A.
1096
Smith, Alexander 732
1
Smith, I. S.
797
Smith, John 675
1 Smith, Thomas, Jr. 476
Snider, Amos
1184
1
Southern, John W.
337
1
Sparks, Jerry W. 835
Sparks, John H. 936
Sparks, Stephen J.
868
Stark, James
1032
V
Vance, Gershom
916
Vandermast, John
966
1
BIOGRAPHICAL INDIA.
Vandike, W. R. 1232
Van Epps, Harmon V. 946
Van Kampen, Jacob, Jr. 1283
Vanscoy, Milton 1015
Vansice, John M. 1272
Varenkamp, John M. 1044
Veach, James T.
1218
Victoria Sanatorium
681
W
Walker, George W. 831
Waring, Emal L. 975
Warner, G. H. 650
Watt, William 817
Weaver, Jacob F.
570
Weaver, Gen. James B. 417
Welle, Henry.
745
Wells, John P.
1235
Wells, L. A.
587
Wendt, August 478
Westfall, Lee C.
820
Wheatcraft, John
815
Wheeler, Orville A.
860
Wheeler, Vernon S.
999
Whitcomb, Daniel W.
614
Whitehead, Fred. 970
Whitehead, George G. 1031
Whittaker, John E. 1060
Wiggin, Andrew J. 593
Wilcox, Edward 997
Wildman, Charles W. 1041
Willemsen, Henry 717
Williams, Samuel P. 502
Williams, Wilford 1064
Williamson, Warren A. 1291
Wilson, Alfred O. 1131
Wilson, Jeremiah W. 951
Wilson, John N. 981
Winn, Charles W. 507
Witmer, Jacob R. 623
Woodrow, John R. 984
Woodrow, Joseph M. 433
Woody, John M.
894
Wormley, George W. 1018
Wright, C. B.
957
Z
Zachary, Hartwell 718
Zollinger, J. R.
522
Zwank, Ira
721
4
.
11.016
yours truly IR You'll
BIOGRAPHICAL-Continued
ยท HON. JOSEPH R. GORRELL.
That life is the most desirable that results in the greatest good to the greatest number, and, though all do not reach the heights to which they aspire, yet in some measure each can win success and make life a blessing to his fellow men. It is not necessary for one to occupy eminent public posi- tions to do so, for in the humbler walks of life there remains much good to be accomplished and many opportunities for the exercise of talents and influ- ence that in some way will touch the lives of those with whom we come into contact, making them better and brighter. In the list of Jasper county's suc- cessful citizens, Hon. Joseph R. Gorrell has long occupied a prominent place. In his record there is much that is commendable, and his character forcibly illustrates what a life of energy can accomplish when plans are wisely laid and actions are governed by right principles, noble aims and high ideals. In his professional career as well as his private life, no word of suspicion has ever been breathed against him. His actions have always been the result of careful and conscientious thought, and when once convinced that he is right, no suggestion of policy or personal profit can swerve him from the course he has decided on, his career being rounded in its beautiful simplicity, for he has done his full duty in all the relations of life, and it is safe to say that no man in Jasper county enjoys to a greater extent the affection and confidence than does Doctor Gorrell. This feeling has been demonstrated for him on more than one occasion, and there is no one who could be more appreciative than Doctor Gorrell when he is made the recipient of signal favors at the hands of friends. The good Doctor has the right of way into the homes of the people and an opportunity to ingratiate himself into the affections of the people, and he has made the best of his opportunities while administering to the sick, in leaving a pleasing and effective impression. For nearly a half century he has been a resident of Newton and a maker of her history. The best part of his life has been given to the service of Jasper county and we are glad to chronicle the fact that this long and faithful service has been rewarded with a competency sufficient to insure his old age from
778
JASPER COUNTY, IOWA.
want. Newton has grown from a village under his eye and he has helped it grow. Besides his modern and attractive residence and a substantial business block, he has erected a number of good dwellings, keeping his surplus money active in building up the town and county and he has done much good in a material way, and he is distinctively one of the notable characters of his day and generation in this locality and is eminently deserving of the high esteem in which he is held and of a place in his country's history.
Doctor Gorrell is the scion of a fine old family of the Buckeye state, he himself having been born near Warren, Trumbull county, Ohio, May 6, 1835, being the fifth of a family of ten children born to Joseph and Easter (Glass) Gorrell. Little definite information can be gleaned with reference to the origin and early history of the family, but the ancestry has been traced to continental Europe, either Italy or France. The paternal great-great- grandfather was born on the ocean while his parents were en route to America about 1721, from an island in the Mediterranean sea. Upon arriving in the United States this family located in South Carolina, but later moved to Penn- sylvania, in which state Grandfather James Gorrell was born, and there in 1802 occurred the birth of Joseph Gorrell, father of the Doctor, he being one of a family of twenty-one children, nineteen of whom grew to maturity. Three brothers served in the war of 1812. About 1825 Joseph Gorrell went to Ohio and in 1845 he moved to Wells county, Indiana, where he remained until his death in 1888, his wife having died there in 1877.
The maternal grandfather, James Glass, was born in Pennsylvania, to which state his father had emigrated from Scotland. Little is known of the Glass family.
Doctor .Gorrell passed his boyhood upon his father's farm, where he laid the foundation for a sturdy manhood by working in the fields during the crop seasons. When seventeen years of age he entered an academy for one year, then spent three years in a Presbyterian college at Ft. Wayne, Indiana, where he mastered the ancient classics and gained a thorough scientific education. He began reading medicine with Dr. J. R. McCleary, at Bluffton, Indiana, and later he took a course of lectures in the University of Pennsylvania at Philadelphia, later entering the University of Buffalo, from which he was graduated in February, 1859. He had made a very creditable record at all these institutions and, thus well equipped, he opened an office at Newville, Dekalb county, Indiana, in August, 1859, and there he remained until the fall of 1863, enjoying a very satisfactory patronage. Then his patriotic impulses led him to offer his services to his country during the dark days of the great rebellion, entering the service as a surgeon of the One Hundred and Twenty- ninth Indiana Volunteer Infantry, continuing in that capacity until the close of the war, performing his duties in such a manner as to reflect credit upon
779
JASPER COUNTY, IOWA.
himself, to win the high esteem of his comrades and the hearty commendation of his superior officers. Seeking a new field for his operations, Doctor Gor- rell came to Newton, Iowa, at the close of the war and here he has since resided, enjoying an ever-growing and lucrative practice and soon taking rank with the leading physicians and surgeons of the state, always keeping fully abreast of the times in all matters pertaining to his profession. Being an assiduous student and an independent and vigorous thinker as well as a keen observer and a tireless investigator, he has long since become one of the noted men in the medical profession of his day and generation.
Doctor Gorrell was married in 1860, while living at Newville, Indiana, to Frances E. Hendricks, of DeKalb county, that state. 'She is the daughter of Dr. Joel E. Hendricks, a prominent physician of his day in that county during the time of his practice. Doctor Hendricks was noted as a mathema- tician, and was recognized by Asop Hall, now manager of the National Ob- servatory of Washington, D. C., and by the Astronomer Royal, of London, England, and by Simon Newcomb, as one of the great mathematicians of the world. Mrs. Gorrell is a lady of splendid attributes of mind and heart and has enjoyed a host of warm friends all her life. This union has been blessed by the birth of two children: Carrie, born January 10, 1862, is the wife of J. W. Hunter ; Arthur R., who died October 23, 1911, was born in 1867, and graduated from the Iowa State University and the Northwestern University of Chicago.
Doctor Gorrell has ever acted upon the principles that he who serves his country best serves his party best, and with this object in view his political efforts, although in the highest degree successful and influential, have been above the slightest suspicion of dishonor, and his career as a public servant has been eminently satisfactory to all concerned, irrespective of party align- ment. He was elected to the state Senate in 1893 on the Republican ticket and he was elected again to this important office in 1897 on the Democratic ticket. Such a record is evidently criterion enough of his high standing in his district. He inade a most worthy and commendable record, making his influence felt for the good of his county and the state, and figuring promi- nently in the councils and debates among his colleagues, where his ideas were respectfully weighed and usually heartily endorsed.
Politically, Doctor Gorrell is an adherent of principle to the defiance of party demands and party affiliations. He was a Republican until the party strayed from the paths of the fathers, when he identified himself with the Bryan Democracy with all the energy and enthusiasm of his nature. and proved stronger personally than either party. No man ever received a more striking testimonial of personal popularity than to be elected to a high office first by one party then by the other. The Doctor has retired from politics
780
JASPER COUNTY, IOWA.
save for the good he can do his friends in their aspirations. When he is a friend to a man he is loyal through every vicissitude. Being of a literary and philosophical turn of mind, his office and dwelling may be said with truth to be the intellectual center of Jasper county, bringing together more of the thinkers of the locality than any other place or places. Here questions of science, philosophy and religion are discussed honestly and fearlessly and, above all, intelligently. Doctor Gorrell is himself a writer of force and great versatility, articles from his trenchant pen being copied far and near, and he has contributed to literature a small volume entitled "Sins Absolved," embodying his views on religion, interwoven with a thrilling story of the war in which he was an active participant. He is not a believer in the creed or doctrine of orthodox churches, but he is a liberal supporter of the gospel.
Sufficient has been said to indicate Doctor Gorrell's character and high standing in the community and state where he has so long resided, and it only remains to be said that throughout his entire professional and official career he has been animated by lofty motives, and made every personal consideration subordinate to the higher claims of duty. Broad and liberal in his views, with the greatest good of his fellowmen ever before him, his conduct has been that of the lover of his kind and the true and loyal citizen, who is ready at all times to make reasonable sacrifice for the cause in which his interests are enlisted. He is, withal, a man of the people, proud of his distinction as a citizen of a state and nation for whose laws and institutions he has the most profound admiration and respect, while his strong mentality, ripe judgment and unimpeachable integrity demonstrate to the satisfaction of all his ability to fill honorably important official positions and to discharge worthily the duties of his trusts. In point of critical scholarship, keen intellectuality and professional success, he easily stands in the front rank, while in all that con- stitutes the upright man, the public-spirited citizen and the polished gentle- man, his position in the social circle and the world of affairs has been firmly established and he stands today among the leaders of thought and moulders of opinion in a state prolific of great men.
OLIVER C. MEREDITH.
It is the progressive, wide-awake man of affairs that makes the real his- tory of a community and his influence as a potential factor in the body politic is difficult to estimate. The examples such men furnish of patient purpose and steadfast integrity strongly illustrate what is in the power of each to accomplish, and there is always a full measure of satisfaction in adverting
781
JASPER COUNTY, IOWA.
even in a casual way to their achievements in advancing the interests of their fellow men and in giving strength and solidity to the institutions which make so much for the prosperity of the community. Such a man is Oliver C. Mere- dith, the present popular and efficient mayor of Newton, and as such it is proper that a review of his career be accorded a place among the representative citizens of Jasper county.
Mr. Meredith was born in Henry county, Indiana, of an excellent old Hoosier family, his birth occurring on December 15, 1847, and he is the son of J. H. and Eliza (Stanley) Meredith, the father being a native of North Carolina and the mother of Indiana. J. H. Meredith was only ten years of age when he came to Indiana, and there he grew to maturity and received a good education, remaining in that state until 1859, when, with his family, he came to Jasper county, Iowa, and settled on a farm near Lynnville. Later he purchased a farm six miles from Newton where he lived seventeen years, then returned to Lynnville, where his death occurred on January 26, 1876, at the age of fifty-seven years. He was a successful farmer, and in religious matter, was a zealous Quaker, a man of sterling worth and integrity. His wife died in Jasper county, in 1860. J. H. Meredith was again married, his last wife being Ardella Roberts, a native of Iowa who died at Lynnville in 1886; the first marriage resulted in the birth of six children, two sons and four daughters, all of whom are living, namely : Jane married Andrew Elliott, farmer, residing in St. Cloud, Kansas; Oliver C. of this review; Ellen mar- ried William Elliott, a farmer of St. Cloud, Kansas, and brother of Andrew Elliott; Caroline is the widow of John B. Elliott, a brother of the two Elliotts mentioned above, and she resides in Lynnville; Mary Moody, who lives in Denver; Owen L. died in Denver. To the second marriage of J. H. Meredith three sons were born, all of whom are living, namely: William J. is a real estate dealer in Newton; Albert is the general agent for the Mc- Cormick Harvester Company, with headquarters at Minneapolis, Minnesota ; Elkana lives in Omaha.
After receiving a good education, Oliver C. Meredith, when twenty-one years of age, started out in Iowa as a farmer, later conducted a mercantile business at Lynnville for seven years, studying law in the meantime. On June 29, 1880, he moved to Newton where he has been engaged in the prac- tice of law ever since, soon taking a place in the front rank of the able pro- fessional men of the county and building up a large and lucrative clientele which has continued to grow. He has figured prominently in the local courts for many years and is regarded as a painstaking, capable and conscientious attorney whose peculiar persuasiveness and eloquence have great effect with
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JASPER COUNTY, IOWA.
a jury. He has kept fully abreast of the times in all matters pertaining to his chosen vocation. After coming to Newton he was elected county attorney by the Republicans, in which office he served very faithfully for four years, and in March, 1909, he was elected mayor of Newton, which office he still holds, giving the city one of the best administrations it has ever had and doing a great deal for its permanent good, managing the affairs of the office with the same courage, energy and fidelity as he would his own private affairs. For two years he was president of the Newton Business Men's Association ; he has also served as city solicitor and has been a member of the city council for two years.
On April 7, 1872, Mr. Meredith was married to Sarah Masteller, daugh- ter of Emanuel and Elizabeth Masteller, natives of Ohio. Mrs. Meredith's death occurred in 1881. Two children were born to this union, Fred C., whose birth occurred January 7. 1874, is in partnership with his father in the law business, and he is regarded as one of the rising young business men of Newton.' He is one of the leading abstractors and is secretary of the Jasper County Agricultural Society. Clyde W., born in December, 1881, is auditor of the One Minute Manufacturing Company, is a good business man and has climbed up step by step with this enterprise.
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