USA > Iowa > O'Brien County > Past and present of O'Brien and Osceola counties, Iowa, Vol. II > Part 9
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Mr. McCallum was married in 1902 to Beulah Burris. Fraternally. Mr. McCallum is a member of the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons and the Knights of Pythias. Mr. McCallum is a man of strong character and courteous demeanor, a man who has earned the respect and admiration of all of those who have been associated with him in any way.
HENRY W. GEISTER.
The office of biography is not to give voice to a man's modest estimate of himself and his accomplishments, but rather to leave upon the record the ver- dict establishing his character by the consensus of opinion on the part of his neighbors and friends. The life of the honorable subject of this review has been such as to elicit just praise from those who know him best, owing to the fact that he has always been loyal to trusts imposed upon him as sheriff of O'Brien county, and has been upright in his dealings with his fellow men. at the same time lending his support to the advancement of any cause looking to the welfare of the community at large.
Henry W. Geister, who is now serving his second term as sheriff of O'Brien county, Iowa, was born November 23, 1868. in Cook county. Illinois. and is the son of Joseph and Marie (Stalbaum) Geister, both of whom were born, reared and married in their native land of Germany. After their mar- riage they came to America and first settled on a farm in Cook county, Illi- nois, and in 1876 came to Iowa and located in Marshall county. Six years later the family moved to Cherokee county, where the father and mother died. the father passing away in 1909. Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Geister were the par- ents of six children : William, of Colorado: J. G., of O'Brien county, Iowa ; George, of South Dakota: Mrs. Augusta Krekow, of Cherokee county, this state: Mrs. Caroline Grauer, of Cherokee county. and Henry W., the present sheriff of O'Brien county.
Henry W. Geister was reared and educated in Cherokee county, his parents moving there when he was about eight years of age. After reaching
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his maturity he farmed in Cherokee county for a few years and in 1894 he came to O'Brien county, where he purchased a farm. However, owing to an unfortunate accident in 1892. by which he lost his right arm below the elbow by the accidental discharge of a shot gun. he was severely handicapped as a farmer. Consequently he gave up this pursuit and engaged in the imple- ment business for a couple of years, after which he managed a bowling alley for four years, then put a dray line into operation in Sheldon, which he man- aged for three years. In 1907 he was appointed deputy sheriff and three years later was elected sheriff of O'Brien county. His honest administration of this important office proved so satisfactory to his party that he was re- nominated and in 1912 was triumphantly re-elected. In the discharge of the (luties of this office he has proved faithful to the trust reposed in him by the citizens of the county, and it is safe to say that there is no more popular offi- cial in the county than he.
Mr. Geister is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Modern Woodmen of America. In politics he is a Republican and, being a county official, has naturally been closely identified with the politics of his county for several years.
Mr. Geister was married March 8. 1890. to Anna Ault, of Haverhill. Ohio, and to this union there have been born five children, Adda A., Marie M .. Jennie C., Leroy O. and Fern A. Mr. Geister is a man of pleasing appear- ance and easily makes friends wherever he goes and he now has scattered throughout the county a host of warm friends who admire him for his many good qualities.
WILLIAM H. DOWNING.
One of the well known names in O'Brien county is that of William H. Downing, a counselor-at-law who, though not long a resident of the county. is making his influence felt for good in the community. He is a close student. thoroughly understands the law, and is known as a man of steadfast in- tegrity, not only in his professional capacity, but as a citizen and able public official. As mayor of Primghar he is giving his adopted city a good admin- istration, and is fast becoming widely known as a lawyer of ability and force.
Mr. Downing was born September 16, 1876, on a farm in Bennezette township, Butler county, Iowa. He is the son of John E. and Catharine (Maroney). Downing, natives of Ireland, the former a native of county Cork, and the latter a native of county Clare. John E. Downing was born
WILLIAM H. DOWNING
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June 22, 1837, and came to America when twelve years of age, in the year 1849. For a period of five years he was employed in the woolen mills at Boston, Massachusetts. In 1854 he went to the copper mining region of Lake Superior and worked in the mines of that locality for ten years. In 1864 he removed to Buchanan county, Iowa, and resided on a farm in this county until 1867, when he traveled to Butler county and filed on a govern- ment homestead. He developed and improved his land and in January, 1893, he retired to the town of Greene, in Butler county. He was one of the best known pioneer settlers of Butler county and was connected with the official life of the township in various capacities, being frequently called upon to serve in different township offices. He served seventeen years as town- ship trustee and was prominently identified with the Democratic party in Butler county. John E. Downing was the father of twelve children, ten of whom are yet living: Patrick J., a farmer in Butler county, Iowa; Mrs. Josie Lovell, of Greene, Iowa; Mary, a resident of Waterloo, Iowa: Mrs. Ella Moss, of Greene: M. J., a citizen of Elmore, Minnesota ; J. L., a Butler county farmer : Mrs. Theresa Stanton, of Greene ; Bid, who resides in Water- 100; William H .; Mrs. Celia Kirk, of Waterloo.
William H. Downing was brought up on the farm and attended the dis- trict schools of his native county and the high school at Greene. He became ambitious to become a lawyer and, entering the law department of the State University, he graduated in 1900, with the degree of Bachelor of Laws. In September, 1900, he located in Primghar and has built up a lucrative prac- tice in his chosen profession.
Mr. Downing is politically allied with the Democratic party, and has been the local central committeeman for several years. He was elected mayor of Primghar in April, 1912. For ten years to this date he had served as city clerk. Mr. Downing is a member of the Knights of Columbus, Lodge No. 1564, at Sheldon, Iowa; is affiliated with the Yeomen and is a member of the Catholic church.
Mr. Downing was married June 10, 1903, to Mary E. Earle, of Tipton, Iowa, and they had two children, one of whom is yet living, Marian A., born March 31, 1904. and died May 16, 1913, at the age of nine years, and Anna Catharine, born October 25, 1907.
Mr. Downing is recognized as a progressive citizen and an attorney of ability who is making his influence known in his adopted county. He is an earnest, forceful character who is well liked and highly esteemed by a host of friends and well wishers in O'Brien county.
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JOSEPH GILL.
It is a matter of great satisfaction to those citizens who are looking to the day when better government will be in vogue to find that public opinion is demanding and choosing better public officials. In times gone by Osceola county, Iowa, has had men in public offices who were not altogether efficient and faithful in their administration of their duties, but the county officials who are now in charge of the affairs of the county are a group of men who are of exceptionally high merit. Many of them are repre- sented by biographical sketches in this volume, and without exception they are performing their duties faithfully and well and to the entire satisfaction of the citizens of the county. No more popular sheriff ever haled a pris- oner into the courts of this county than Joseph Gill, who was elected in the fall of 1912.
Joseph Gill was born July 22, 1859, in Illinois, and is the son of Samuel and Nancy (Ulm) Gill. Samuel Gill was born in Pennsylvania, and when a small boy went to Ohio with his parents where he was reared to maturity. He married in that state and moved to Illinois in the spring of 1859, where he lived the remainder of his days. Samuel Gill and wife were the parents of eleven children, six sons and five daughters: Mrs. Lydia Hulble, who lives in Clay City, Illinois: Mrs. Mary Campbell. also a resident of Illinois ; Rosa, whose husband is a banker at Puyallup, Wash- ington : Mrs. Sally Tetrick, of Illinois; Minnie, who died in 1906; John E., of Clay City. Illinois: Jacob, who is a resident of Beaver City, Nebraska ; George and Samuel, who are farmers near Clay City, Illinois: Morris, de- ceased in 1870, and Joseph, whose history is here briefly set forth.
Joseph Gill was educated in the district schools of his home county in Illinois and later attended the schools of Clay City in that state. He spent his boyhood days on the home farm and at the age of sixteen he left school and began to work. When he was twenty-one years of age he came to Black Hawk county, Iowa, and worked for two years at farm labor. In the fall of 1882 he came to Sibley, Osceola county, where he purchased a livery barn, and has lived in this city since that time. Since acquiring interest in the livery business in Sibley he has erected a new and commodious livery stable and has been doing a prosperous business ever since starting in this line. Upon his election to the office of county sheriff, in the fall of 1912, he sold his stock and barn in order to devote all of his time to the arduous duties of the sheriff's office. He is a man of great force of character
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and his election to this office shows the confidence which people reposed in him throughout the county. He has always taken a prominent part in Republican politics of the county and his services have been recognized by its leaders.
Mr. Gill was married in March, 1887, to Alice Buckley, who died in October, 1902, leaving three children ; George E., Sidney J. and Thelma. In March. 1904. Mr. Gill was married to Mrs. L. M. Ellison, of Sibley, who was the mother of two children by a former marriage. Zella and Ila.
Fraternally, Mr. Gill is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America and Ancient Order of United Workmen, holding his membership in thess lodges at Sibley. He has taken an active interest in all of the public en- terprises of Sibley and vicinity since coming here and has given his hearty support to every measure bearing upon the public welfare of the city where he has spent so many years. Mr. Gill has been very successful as a busi- ness man and in his various transactions has so conducted himself as to win the confidence and esteem of all those with whom he has come inl contact.
HENRY L. WILLIAMS.
Trade and commerce have ever had an attraction for the class of in- dividuals who seem best adapted to succeed in this oldest of callings. Of necessity, man himself is compelled to buy; likewise, it is necessary that others do the selling. The raw material is first prepared by skilled artisans in all corners of the earth so that the buyer can use it at first hand to supply his needs in every particular. A few out of the vast army of those en- gaged in merchandising seem chosen from among the aggregate for marked preference and are noted as being more successful than the average. We are often puzzled by this seeming discrepancy and wonder why more persons. who venture into the channels of trade and barter, do not succeed in this attractive vocation; but upon investigation, we find that the underlying causes for the success of one individual and the possible failure of the other to advance is due, in part. to the possession of different qualifications-in some measure to heredity and, above all, to the decisive ability of the suc- cessful one to win where others fail or may be contented with a mediocre return for his exertions. It is evident that he of whom the biographer is pleased to write is a successful business man and a wide-awake citizen. Henry L. Williams, merchant of Primghar, is one of those broad-minded,
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warm-hearted persons whose friends are loyal and who has succeeded far be- yond the average in building up a substantial and remunerative business.
Henry L. Williams located in Primghar in October. 1887. He pur- chased a lot on the west side of the court house square and erected a store building, twenty-two by ninety-six feet in extent, in which he placed a line of dry goods, groceries, clothing and queensware. Until 1889 he conducted a general store. He then added another building of the same size and placed a stock of hardware. In 1891 he again increased the scope of the business by the addition of a large building, forty-four by ninety-six feet in dimension, in which he opened a furniture and undertaking depart- ment. In 1893 the buildings were remodeled and arranged on the depart- mental plan, with practically each department separate and under a different head. A drug store is included, operated under the name of the Primghar Drug Company, and received its inception in 1888, it being the oldest es- tablished drug business in the city. The Williams store buildings occupy nine lots in their entirety. The stock of goods usually carried will exceed twenty-five thousand dollars in value. In 1890 Mr. Williams erected an opera house, which was conducted by a stock company until 1892. when he became the sole owner.
Henry L. Williams was born in January, 1860, in White county, Illi- nois, on a farm six miles distant from Grayville. His father was Jacob Williams, a native of White county and a descendant of an old Kentucky family. His mother was Mary Rawls, also a descendant of Kentucky for- bears. Jacob Williams migrated from Illinois to Marshall county, Iowa, in 1868. He resided there on his farm until 1903, when he made his final home in Pringhar, where he died in 1905. He was the father of the following children : R. W., a citizen of Primghar ; Mrs. Susie M. King, of Primghar : Henry L .: Sarah, wife of Harry Russell, grain dealer of Allendorf ; Charles N., of Primghar; Mrs. Belle Machinson, a resident of Sibley.
Henry L. Williams was educated in the district schools and was reared to farm life. He followed farming as an occupation until he was twenty- four years of age. In 1884 he and his brother embarked in the hardware business at Morris, Iowa. One year later they traded the store for a tract of land and then traded the land for a general store at Panama, Iowa. They then conducted a general store at Laurel for about seven months and were engaged in business at Gilman, Iowa, for about six months after- wards. They opened stores at Dillon and Ferguson, in Marshall county. Iowa, and. success following their efforts in the mercantile line, they branch- ed out with a store at Correctionville, and in 1887 established the Primghar
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store. For several years Williams Brothers conducted mercantile concerns at Gaza, Archer, Hartley, Primghar and other places. In the course of time, however, their other holdings were disposed of and Henry L. be- came the sole owner of the large establishment at Primghar.
Mr. Williams has been an active and influential factor in Democratic politics and at one time rose to the position of being one of the state leaders of the Democracy and was talked of as a candidate for governor of the state. He has held various positions of trust. having served as postmaster of the town of Archer during President Cleveland's administration. He has had the unique distinction of being the only postmaster being appointed to fill office in a town of which he was a non-resident. This peculiar situation evoked considerable comment and Mr. Williams became a widely known personage as the logical result. He is descended from a long line of old- fashioned Southern Democrats, but was not an advocate of free silver in the national campaign of 1896. He was a candidate for the office of state treasurer on the Democratic state ticket in 1894 and was a candidate for the governorship in 1896. For a number of years he has been a regular attendant at state conventions and is a well known figure among the men- bers of the state Democracy. Of late years he has retired somewhat from active political affairs, but is still recognized as one of the leaders of the party in O'Brien county, having been for several years the practical and mili- tant leader of his party in the county. In the year 1894 he. with three others, established the O'brien County Democrat, the outcome of which deal in the end was that he became the sole owner of the newspaper, which he later sold.
Mr. Williams is a member of Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, taking all the degrees and being a member of the Mystic Shrine at Sioux City. He is also affiliated with the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, the Eastern Star chapter and the Modern Woodmen. His people have always espoused the Baptist faith and, while Mr. Williams himself is not identified with any church organization, he is very liberal in his support of religious institutions.
Mr. Williams has been twice married. In 1889 he was united in wedlock with Emma Hilsabeck, of Ferguson, Marshall county, and who died May 3, 1900. She was the mother of two children, as follows: Mrs. Marie Bossert. of Primghar: Russell, who is his father's assistant in the store, was born July 31, 1891, was educated in the Primghar public and high schools, and is married to Elsie Carr. The second marriage of this well-known gen-
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tleman occurred December 25. 1900, when he was wedded to Effie Pittsen- berg. daughter of Mrs. Clark. deceased.
Mr. Williams is one of these whole-souled. liberal gentleman, who in- spires a sincere liking for his many manly qualities and is well worthy of a fitting representation in this biographical department of the history of O'Brien county.
ISAAC CLEMENTS.
It is the progressive, wide-awake men of affairs that make the real his- tory of a community and their influence as potential factors of the body pol- itic is difficult to estimate. The examples such men furnish of patient pur- pose 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 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 a community. Such a man is he whose name appears at the head of this article, and as such it is proper that a review of his career be accorded a place among the representative citizens of the city and county in which he resides.
Isaac Clements, ex-county recorder of O'Brien county, and now a pros- perous merchant of Primghar, was born January 15. 1842. in Sangamon county, Illinois, the son of John and Lydia (Smick ) Clements, natives, re- spectively, of Virginia and Kentucky. John Clements was born in Virginia in 1800, and removed to Kentucky in early life, where he married Lydia Smick, after which they moved to Sangamon county, Illinois, and were among the pioneer settlers of the county which has been rendered famous through its being the home of Abraham Lincoln. John Clements built one of the first houses in Springfield, Illinois. In 1846 Mr. Clements and his family came to Dubuque county, Iowa, where they entered land ten miles west of Dubuque. He improved and developed his farm and sold it in 1855. after which the family moved to Centralia, in Dubuque county. During the Civil War he traded his property for a farm in Buchanan county. Iowa, where he lived until 1877, at which time he removed to Sangamon county. Illinois. where his death occurred February 3. 1877. on the anniversary of his birth. Mrs. Clements died in 1864 on the farm in Buchanan county, Iowa. To this union were born twelve children: William, who died at the age of twenty- one: Susan, who died in her girlhood: Thornton, who died at the age of
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forty-five : Mary Jane. deceased : James, deceased ; Nancy Arlinda. deceased : Sarah, deceased: Isaac, whose history is presented herewith : John. deceased ; Eliza and Catherine, both deceased.
Isaac Clements enlisted in Company H. Sixteenth Regiment Iowa Volun- teer Infantry, in August. 1862. The colonel of his regiment was Alexander Chambers and the captain of his company was E. M. Newcomb. His com- pany was assigned to the Seventh Army Corps, and participated in the bat- tles of Lafayette, Tennessee. Vicksburg. Rome. Jackson, Grand Gulf. Re- saca, Kenesaw Mountain and Ezra Church. He was with Sherman on his famous Atlanta campaign, followed him to the sea, and later took the north- ern trip through North and South Carolina. He was present at the Grand Review which took place in May, 1865, at Washington, D. C., and was mus- tered out in that city on the last day of May. 1865. Immediately after the close of the war Mr. Clements returned to Iowa and worked in Delaware and Buchanan counties until his marriage on December 20. 1865. Shortly after his marriage he and his wife moved to O'Brien county, where they homesteaded in Floyd township. They put up a board shack, twelve feet square and seven feet in height, hauling the lumber from Cherokee. They had two cows, one team of horses, and. as Mr. Clements says, "I had a good time and a hard time." He suffered the grasshopper plague in the seventies, as did every other settler in the county, but, unlike many of the others. Mr. and Mrs. Clements stayed with their farm, although by the third year the grasshoppers had actually eaten up everything within sight. In 1882 they sold their farm and rented a farm in this county for the next four years.
Mr. Clements was elected recorder of O'Brien county in 1886. and has never done any farming since that time. After serving four years in this im- portant office to the entire satisfaction of the citizens of the county he en- gaged in the mercantile business in Primghar, which he has been successfully conducting up to the present time. In politics he is a Republican and has always taken an active interest in the campaigns of his party. Fraternally. he is a member of Jordan Post. Grand Army of the Republic, and has served as commander of the local post. He is a member of the order of Ancient Free and Accepted Masons and the Modern Woodmen of America. The family are all members of the Methodist Episcopal church. They have one daughter, Mrs. Ella Johnston, of Primghar, who is the mother of three chil- dren, Bernice. Laverne and Judson.
Mr. Clements has passed through enough in the past three score years to satisfy an ordinary man, but he has never complained in any way. Since he established his mercantile business nearly twenty-five years ago he has
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been very successful. He first established this business in 1891, in partner- ship with W. A. Rosecrans, and since 1903 has been in partnership with Earl Rosecrans, the son of his former partner. The firm enjoys a full share of the public patronage, and by earnest effort, strict business integrity and sound methods, have earned the confidence and regard of the public at large. Start- ing in life with practically nothing. Mr. Clements has, by his indomitable will, attained to a very comfortable competence, and because of his attain- ments he is entitled to the eminent standing which he enjoys in his com- munity.
THOMAS S. REDMOND.
It is proper to judge of the success of a man's life by the estimation in which he is held by his fellow citizens, and nowhere can this be shown better than in the lives of men who take part in the public life of their respective communities. If a man in any county seat of Iowa should be elected to the position of mayor of his city for two terins, it would be some evidence that he was a man of influence in his community. Furthermore, if this same man had formerly been county superintendent of schools and a public and normal school teacher, it would be additional evidence of the worth of the man. Then if it were shown that, aside from public affairs, the man had made a pronounced success in the business world. it would show that he was well rounded in those attributes which make a man influential in his community. This statement indicates briefly the career of Thomas S. Redmond, who is now secretary of the Sibley Commercial Club and one of the most prominent business men of his city.
Thomas S. Redmond, the son of Patrick and Mary ( Sullivan ) Red- mond, was born August 1, 1866, in Monmouth, Illinois. His father was a native of Ireland, his birth having occurred in that country in 1834. and his mother was born in the same country in 1839. Patrick Redmond came to America when a young man and first located in Doylestown, Pennsylvania. where he followed the occupation of a farmer. In 1865 he moved to Illinois and resumed the occupation of farming in that state, in which pursuit he was engaged for the next seven years, after which he moved to Henry county, Jowa, where he lived until 1889. He next settled in Sibley. Osceola county, where he farmed for a short time and then moved to Sanborn. O'Brien county, in 1895, where he is still living. His wife, Mary Sullivan, came to this country with her parents when a young girl. Patrick Redmond and wife
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