USA > Iowa > O'Brien County > Past and present of O'Brien and Osceola counties, Iowa, Vol. II > Part 3
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JOHN MCCANDLESS.
A man's achievements generally depend upon his inherent ability to seize hold upon opportunity and divert it to the channels in which he is specially proficient. This proficiency of man is notably enhanced by the de- velopment of the brain activity and a broadening of the faculties through edu- cation. While many men have made splendid success without a college
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education, it is noteworthy that a man is more able to grasp an opportunity and turn its course to his immediate personal advantage if he has been blessed with good mental training. This will enlarge his horizon and temper his impulses as nothing else will. The marked success which has characterized the life work of John McCandless, of Sheldon, Iowa. is due to his strong personality, wide and humane sympathy and understanding. and to the fact that he has had the advantages of an excellent education. Descended from a long line of intelligent forbears of Scotch ancestry. he belongs to the best class of citizenship in his county.
John McCandless, the president of the Empire Loan and Trust Com- pany, of Sheldon, Iowa, was born May 11, 1855, on a farm in Allegheny county, Pennsylvania. His parents, Philip and Margaret ( Stonecipher ) McCandless, were of Scotch ancestry, the first member of the family coming to this country in 1808. The MeCandless farm in AAllegheny county. Penn- sylvania, has been in continuous possession of the family for four genera- tions, the original deed to the land being dated 1808. Philip McCandless and wife, who are buried on the old homestead. reared three children to lives of usefulness and honor: Margaret. George and John. Margaret is the wife of A. C. McGill. a prominent and wealthy banker of Montezuma, Iowa. George lived in Pennsylvania on the home farm until his death in 1912.
John McCandless was reared to manhood in the county of his birth. He finished the local schools and then entered Washington and Jefferson College, from which institution he graduated with the degree of Bachelor of Arts in the spring of 1877. After leaving college he went to Pitts- burgh, where he read law for two years, and then entered the University of Michigan law school. He completed his legal education in this ex- cellent school and was at once admitted to the practice of his profession in Michigan. Upon his return to his native state he was admitted to practice in all the courts of that state, but left the state before he tried to build up a clientage.
The connection of Mr. McCandless with Iowa began in 1880, when he came to Montezuma and started in to practice law. and at the same time conduct a loan business. He continued to live in Montezuma until 1892. when he located in Sheldon, Iowa, and became connected with the Empire Loan and Investment Company. This company was organized in 1880 by C. S. McLaurie, George W. Schee and Edward Brown, and during the thirty-four years of its career has negotiated many millions of farm loans without a dollar's loss to its clients. This company is a unique organiza-
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tion in many ways. Its motto is "Steadfastness" and its business is ser- vice. Under one management, conservative and efficient, there have been grouped four departments and over each is placed an expert whose ser- vices are for the use of the clients of the company. The four depart- ments of the company are as follows: Financial, real estate, legal and in- surance. The financial department loans money on carefully selected farms in northwestern Iowa, southeastern Minnesota and eastern Dakota, a farm- ing district that has no equal in the world, buys mortgages and other paper secured by real estate ; pays the highest current rates on time deposits, which are invested in first mortgages, and offers for sale at all times mortgages from five hundred dollars and upward. The real estate department of the company supervises the buying and selling of real estate: appraises real and personal property : cares for the rental and maintenance of property owned by non-residents, and at all times has land for sale, in the territory in which they are making loans. The legal department of the company execute private and judicial trusts ; acts as guardian, executor, receiver, trus- tee and administrator: draws deeds, contracts, wills and other legal docu- ments. gives legal advice and makes a specialty of examining abstracts and perfecting titles. The fourth department of the company is insurance. They are in a position to give all forms of insurance, farm, fire, tornado, auto- mobile, liability and life insurance. They also sell bonds for all occupations.
This company was reorganized March 1, 1914, with the following offi- cers : John McCandless, president : E. B. Starrett, vice-president ; C. O. But- ton, treasurer : Edward C. Starrett. secretary. Mr. McCandless had been the secretary-treasurer of the company from 1892 until the time of his election to the presidency of the company. His election is a tribute to the excel- lent work he has done for the company during the twenty-two years he has been connected with it. Mr. McCandless is heavily interested in the Empire Loan and Trust Company and also has large private land holdings in Iowa and adjoining states.
Mr. McCandless was married in 1884 to Kate L. Buchanan, of Washing- ton, Pennsylvania. She is the daughter of Robert and Margaret Buchanan. To Mr. and Mrs. McCandless have been born three children: Robert B .. a banker of Fulton. South Dakota: Margaret, the librarian of the. Shel- don public library, and Bethana. The family are consistent members of the Congregational church and are greatly interested in church work.
The Republican party has claimed the support of Mr. McCandless, but the stress of business has been so heavy that he has never been active in political affairs. However, he is deeply interested in good government and
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lends his aid to all measures which will secure it. Fraternally, he is a member of the Knights of Pythias.
Mr. McCandless is a man of upright and moral character, active in re- ligious circles and kindly disposed toward those less fortunate than himself. He is a fine type of the American citizen who lives a full and complete life and O'Brien county honors itself in placing him among the representative men of his county.
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WILLIAM BRIGGS.
That industry and sound judgment, combined with a wise economy, both of time and monoy, are the surest contributing elements to success, is exemplified in the life of William Briggs, president of the Primghar Savings Bank. Success in this life naturally comes to the deserving, because of their possession of the necessary attributes and the ability to succeed along a well defined line of endeavor. A great number of the men of standing in every community are self-made. having started at the bottom of the ladder and worked upward. Such a man is William Briggs, of whom this brief review is written.
Mr. Briggs was born October 25, 1860, in England, the son of Stephen and Sarah (Holmes) Briggs, who emigrated to Lyons, Clinton county, Iowa, in 1861. while William was yet an infant. Stephen Briggs engaged in various occupations at Clinton and was for a period of years proprietor of a ferry across the Mississippi river, between Lyons, Iowa, and Fulton, Illi- nois, having built the new boat, "J. P. Gage." He prospered during his active life and at the time of his death was president of the First National Bank and Lyons Savings Bank of Lyons, Iowa. He died in Lyons in 1912. He was the father of six children, as follows: Mary, who died in England; Albert, a resident of Illinois; Harry, also of Illinois; Arthur, a real estate man at Lyons, Iowa : Mrs. Robert Blake, who lives in Chicago, and William.
William Briggs received his education in the public and high schools of Lyons, Iowa, and when still young entered the employ of the First National Bank of Lyons. He was but a little over sixteen years of age when he entered this bank and was afterwards promoted to the position of teller. In 1896 he came to Primghar and became president of the Primghar Savings Bank. He is engaged to a considerable extent in the buying and selling of lands and controls a large acreage. He is a Republican in politics and is enterprising and progressive.
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The Primghar Savings Bank was organized November 15, 1894. by William Briggs, John H. Archer, George W. Schee and others. The paid up capital is $30,000, with a surplus of $10,000 and undivided profits of $5,600. The deposits are in excess of $175,000. The bank owns its own building, a handsome brick structure erected in 1894 at a cost of $8,000, and has considerable real estate holdings, consisting of city property. lands, etc. The present officers are: William Briggs, president; John H. Archer. of Sheldon, Iowa, vice-president, and who is also vice-president of the First National Bank of Sheldon, Iowa, and president of the Bank of Archer; L. T. Aldinger, cashier; J. L. E. Peck, D. H. Smith, William Briggs. John H. Archer and .L. T. Aldinger. directors. The correspondents of this flourishing concern are the First National Bank of Sheldon, Iowa, and the Corn Exchange National Bank of Chicago. It also keeps an account with the Peoples' Trust and Savings Bank of Clinton, Iowa, and Sanborn Savings Bank of Sanborn. Iowa.
OTTO HILLOCK MONTZHEIMER.
No profession offers greater opportunities for honorable and distin- guished career than that of the law. Neither does any other profession require greater preparation or more profound ability on the part of the per- son who enters the legal profession as a means of attaining eminence and emoluments of a high order. Few avenues forming the open sesame to suc- cess are closed to the able and gifted attorney ; he is, by virtue of his knowl- edge of the science of government and the niceties and intricacies of law. a leader ; because of his training, he becomes the adviser of business concerns and is frequently the trusted and efficient coadjutor of those who do things on a large scale. We place the lawyers in our high places and bestow upon them qualified powers as administrators of government; we reward those among this great fraternity who exhibit capabilities which fit them for places of honor and distinction. This volume would be incomplete were it not to contain a resume of the life of Otto Hillock Montzheimer, a leader of the bar in O'Brien county and an attorney of exceptional attainments.
Mr. Montzheimer was born February 16, 1867, in the town of Sharps- burg, Pennsylvania. He is the son of Julius Herman Montzheimer, a native of Minden, kingdom of Prussia, Germany, and who was born March 13, 1834. J. H. was the son of Frederick Montzheimer, born in 1794, in Koenigsburg, Prussia, and Emily Renschuch Montzheimer, a native of the city of Berlin, where she was born in 1800. Julius emigrated to America in 1858. and on
Q76 9yontheimer
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November 6. 1860, was married to Isabelle Belle Hillock, a native of Michi- gan. He is the father of the following children: Marie Powell, of Law- rence, Kansas: Frederick, who died in infancy; Otto H .; Arthur, of Joliet, Illinois, chief engineer of Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Railway Company, and James L., of Newport, Washington.
Julius H. Montzheimer enlisted August 16. 1861, as private secretary to the renowned General Sigel, and was mustered into the service at St. Louis, Missouri. September 3, 1861. He became a member of Company K. Seventeenth Regiment Missouri Volunteer Infantry. On December 30, 1861, he was commissioned second lieutenant. said commission to date from Sep- tember 3d. He was promoted to a first lieutenancy of Company E, of the Seventeenth Missouri Volunteer Regiment, November 1, 1862, and acted as secretary to General Sigel, who was then in command of a brigade. He was appointed aide-de-camp on Sigel's staff in December of 1861: in May of 1862 he was assigned to the staff of General Osterhaus. He contracted malarial fever in Helena, Arkansas. He participated in the following bat- tles : Bentonville. Missouri, on March 2, 1862; Pea Ridge and numerous skirmishes. He suffered injury through a fall from his horse near Rolla. Missouri. November 19, 1861 ; received a flesh wound in the right thigh from ambush June 29, 1862, while on the march from Jacksonport to Helena ; was engaged in a skirmish at Salem. Missouri, while on a march to escort General Sigel to Batesville, Arkansas, in May, 1862. He resigned on account of disability and was discharged December 4. 1862. After retiring from active engagements he resided for some time at Gallup. New Mexico, and later at Burbank, California, where he died September 25, 1913.
Otto H. Montzheimer, with whom this narrative is directly concerned, was educated in the public and high schools of Webster City, Iowa, and graduated in June, 1885. He decided to take up the profession of law and studied for one year in the law department of the State University at Iowa City. In March, 1888. he was admitted to the practice of law and located in Primghar May 22, 1888. Since coming to O'Brien county his rise has been rapid, and he is rated as one of the most successful practitioners and men of substance in the county and in western Iowa. His vocations are varied and he handles considerable land and real estate on his own account. Mr. Montzheimer is corporation attorney for the five railroads entering O'Brien county, and his legal duties require his absence from home a great deal of his time. His private law practice likewise requires his presence at frequent intervals in the surrounding counties.
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Politically, Mr. Montzheimer is allied with the Republican party and. while he has never desired nor sought political preferment, he has rendered substantial assistance to his friends who have had political ambitions. For a number of years he has been a member of the board of insanity commis- sioners and is vice-president of the First National Bank of Primghar. In 1909 he wrote and compiled, with the assistance of George W. Schee, a "Biographical Data and Army Record of the Old Soldiers of O'Brien County." This valuable work is found in the home of every veteran in O'Brien county and also in the homes of many of the citizens and is prized very highly.
Mr. Montzheimer is prominently identified with the Masonic fraternity, being at present master of Rising Star Lodge of Masons at Primghar; for twelve years past he has served as high priest of the local chapter of Royal Arch Masons; is a Knight Templar, and a member of the Consistory, being a Mason of the thirty-second degree. He is an influential member of the Congregational church of his home city, and is a strong advocate of temper- ance and good moral living, lending his influence in this direction at every opportunity.
Mr. Montzheimer was wedded July 10. 1891, to Jennie Fenton, of Webster City, Iowa, who is the daughter of Charles and Lyde A. Fenton, residents of Webster City.
This review is intended as an appreciation of Mr. Montzheimer's ac- complishments and, while deficient in a proper presentation of the many striking and capable qualities in which he excels, it may serve as an inspira- tion and guidance for the young men of the present day who are seeking to attain eminence in one of the learned professions. No man who has been identified with the history of O'Brien county is more worthy of an honored place in this work than he.
HARRY C. MAY.
Success is only achieved by the exercise of certain distinguishing traits and it can not be retained without effort. It is often found that heredity has an important bearing upon the destiny of the individual, but in the main his success depends to a greater extent upon the cultivation of his talents and upon the exercise of persistent and indefatigable industry toward the attainment of a certain goal. Those who have succeeded in reaching a place of prestige and have retained the esteem of their fellows have be-
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gun early in life the struggle for supremacy. Nowadays men usually ob- tain official position in their home community through being the known possessors of ability, such as will commend them peculiarly to the successful conduct of the duties to which they are assigned by the people. A man of this class is Harry C. May, county treasurer of O'Brien county, who is a pronounced example of self-made manhood and who enjoys the repu- tation of being a conscientious, dignified and honest public official through- out the length and breadth of the county.
Mr. May was born on a farm in Whiteside county, Illinois, January 22, 1858. His early home was located near the town of Como. His father was Henry May, a native of Massachusetts, and his mother was Martha Currier, born in Boston, Massachusetts, February 20, 1822, and died Sep- tember 9, 1894. The May family in America originated with Capt. John J. May, who came from the town of Mayfield, England, in 1640 and set- tled in Boston, Massachusetts, with his two sons, John and Samuel. A sister of John J. May became the wife of Gov. William Bradford. The Mays were thorough Puritans and were long prominently identified with the Puritan colony. John May (II), the direct ancestor of Harry C. May, born in 1628, became a freeman in 1660, was a prominent and strong figure in the colonial life of Massachusetts and participated in the Boston Tea Party. John May (III) was a selectman and a deacon of the Roxbury church. Benjamin May (IV) was a plain farmer who lived on Jamaica Plain. His tombstone still stands in the cemetery at the corner of Wash- ington and Eustice streets. Benjamin's first wife was a daughter of Stephen Williams. Lemuel May (V) was a farmer of Ja- maica Plain and occupied the greater part of the whole of the May estate, which had been in the family for three generations. Benjamin May (VI) was also a farmer. Henry (VII) was reared in Boston and was a wheelwright who built and operated the stage coach "Osceola," which plied from West Roxbury to Boston for a number of years. He was later a "Forty-niner." made a trip to California and made some money in the gold fields. He remained in the West for three years, and then emigrated with his wife and family to Illinois and engaged in farming. He died February 12. 1889. having been born October 19, 1815. He was the father of three children : Mary Olds, of Rock Falls, Iowa : William, of Milford. Iowa, and Harry C.
From John May, who came to America in 1640, have descended the greater part of those who have born the name of May in New England and carried it to all parts of the country. A book printed in England in 1694.
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entitled "Worthies of Sussex, England," places the home of the May family at Mayfield, a town in Sussex, and ascribes a Portuguese origin to the Mays.
Harry C. May was educated in the public schools at Como and pur- sued a commercial course in Records & Bradford's Commercial College in Boston. He came West after graduation and located in Sac county in 1880. His first crop was killed by an early fall of snow, he having sixty acres of land sown to flax, which was destroyed. He sold out and came to O'Brien county and began clerking in a general store at Hartley. For several years he was employed in stores at Hartley and Sanborn. He was elected clerk of the district court in the fall of 1905 and served four years. He was then employed as bookkeeper in the Primghar Savings Bank for four years. In the fall of 1912 he was elected county treasurer and took up his official duties January 1, 1913. He is the owner of three hundred and twenty acres of good land in Minnesota.
Mr. May is politically allied with the Republican party. He is a mem- ber of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the encampment at San- born, and is religiously associated with the Congregational church.
Mr. May has twice been married, his first marriage being with Ella Brumley on November 22, 1887. She died on February 27. 1890. His second wife is Mrs. Hattie Richards, whom he married November 25, 1894. and who has two daughters by a former marriage. Ella and Alta. Mr. May is well liked, sociable, accommodating and a prime favorite among his many acquaintances and friends.
RALPH T. HINMAN.
Banking has ever been considered the most important of commercial occupations. No institutions have contributed more to the development and upbuilding of the western country than the banking concerns. The banks of O'Brien county, without exception, are bulwarks of strength and stability, and have been the mainstay and support of the municipalities and the country round about in important ways. The First National Bank, of which Mr. Hinman is the official head, ranks high among the similar institutions in the county. To be head of such an important concern calls for exceptional ability and attainments such as will command and carry the respect of as- sociate banks and the patrons. The president of the First National Bank of Primghar carries, easily and in a dignified manner, the responsibilities
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engendered through the important duties he has to perform. His ability is unquestioned : he possesses a profound aptitude for the banking business, and has achieved a pronounced success in his chosen field.
Ralph T. Hinman was born October 15, 1867, in Albion, Marshall county, Iowa, the son of John F. Hinman and Ellen A. ( Foote ) Hinman, extended reviews of whom appear in this work. He was educated in the common schools and, like his father before him, became a farmer. He came to O'Brien county with his parents in the year of 1882 and resided on the family farm in Baker township until the removal of the family to Primghar, in 1893. Mr. Hinman devoted part of a summer season in the employ of an implement concern in Sheldon. He was in the employ of J. S. Nye, of Primghar. for some time and then entered the employ of George W. Schee, who was engaged in banking and the land business. He remained in Schee's employ until Mr. Schee sold out his holdings in the Primghar State Bank, and upon the organization of the Primghar Savings Bank he was employed by this concern for a time. July 8, 1896, he formed a partnership with George R. Whitmer, for the purpose of conducting a private bank known as the Farmers Bank. Mr. Whitmer was president and Mr. Hinman was the cashier. Some years later this bank was merged into the Farmers National Bank, with a capital of thirty thousand dollars, with Mr. Whitmer as president : W. A. Sanford as vice-president, and Mr. Hinman as cashier. Mr. Whitmer eventually sold his interest to George R. Slocum, after which the consolidation of the First National and the Farmers National Banks took place. This was effected December 5. 1904. with R. T. Hinman as cashier : H. W. Smith, president, and O. H. Montz- heimer. vice-president. In January. 1913. Mr. Hinman was elected presi- dent of the concern. He is interested in considerable farm land and is the owner of six hundred and forty acres in O'Brien county, with a half inter- est in four hundred acres in Minnesota and also has lands in Oregon.
Mr. Hinman was married October 4, 1898, to Harriet Hill, daughter of fraternally connected with the blue lodge. Ancient Free and Accepted Masons. the chapter, commandery. and the Mystic Shriners. He is a frequent at- tendant and a liberal supporter of the Congregational church.
Mr. Hinman was married October 4. 1898, to Harriet Hill. daughter of Roland Hill, formerly of Alton. Iowa, but now a resident of South Dakota. They have one child, Doris M., born July 15. 1899, and now a student in the Primghar high school.
The First National Bank, of which Mr. Hinman is the efficient presi- dent, was practically organized in 1889, the charter being issued November
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IIth of that year. The first president was Frank H. Robinson ; vice-president. Charles H. Slocum. The capital stock was $50,000. In the year 1913 the bank's statement disclosed the following facts: Capital. $50.000; surplus. $10,000 ; resources, including deposits. $300,000; undivided profits, $15,000. The bank is the owner of its own quarters and the business is conducted in a handsome, two-story brick building, erected in 1902 at a cost of $10,000. In 1912 the interior was completely remodeled and new fixtures installed, with a new and modern safe, large vault with safety deposit boxes, etc., at a cost of $8,000. This bank is one of the best equipped for the transaction of busi- ness in northwestern Iowa. Considerable real estate is held in fee simple by the bank, consisting of lands, city lots, and buildings which have also been charged off with the fixtures. This concern has connections with the First National Bank of Cherokee, and the H. W. Smith and Ed Smith Bank, of Morrison, Illinois. The present officers are: R. Hinman, president ; Roy King, cashier: O. H. Montzheimer, vice-president; R. T. Hinman, O. H. Montzheimer, W. H. Sanford, of Cherokee, Roy King and H. W. Smith, directors.
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