USA > Iowa > Shelby County > Past and present of Shelby County, Iowa, Vol. 2 > Part 26
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The education of William F. Cleveland was received in the schools of Waterville and included the thorough training of the academy at that place. After leaving the academy Mr. Cleveland clerked in a store in his native town until after the close of the Civil War. He then went to Nashville, Tennessee, and clerked in a clothing store for two years. By that time he had come to the conclusion that there were great possibilities in the South for business and decided to go to New Orleans and engage in the clothing busi- ness for himself. He went to the Crescent City and found employment in a clothing store as a clerk, thinking that he could in this way determine whether the city offered the opportunities which he had been led to think it had. In a short time he became a partner in the store where he first found employ- ment and was in a fair way to make a name for himself in the commercial life of that city. After living there eight years his health became impaired and he felt that he would have to seek more congenial climate on that account. Accordingly he sold out his interest in the store and secured a position with the United States government as a contractor. The government sent him to the state of Wyoming at his request and there he remained for the next two years during which time he recovered his health. Wishing to again engage in business for himself he resigned his position with the government and came to Shelby county, lowa, where he opened up a general mercantile estab- lishment in the fall of 1877. He remained at Shelby until 1885, when he was elected to the position of treasurer of Shelby county and was compelled to move to Harlan, the county seat. He was re-elected to the same office at (42)
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the expiration of his first term and served until 1889. He has now been in the county for twelve years and had so conducted his affairs as to win the unqualified endorsement of his fellow citizens. His education and wide ex- perience enabled him to take a broad and intelligent view of public policies and his party were insistent that he be nominated for the important position of state senator.
The year 1889 marks the entry of Mr. Cleveland in politics and his sub- sequent career has reflected great credit on his county as well as his state. Ile was elected as senator from the senatorial district of Shelby and Cass counties in that fall and in the following session of the General Assembly took a leading part. He was made the chairman of the committee on appro- priations and was instrumental in getting the legislature to pass the one hun- dred and fifty thousand appropriation for the lowa state building at the World's Fair which was held at Chicago in 1893. He introduced the bill which provided that all capital punishments should take place in the peniten- tiary but, owing to the house being Republican, the bill was defeated although supported by public opinion. The same bill was introduced by a Republican in the succeeding session and passed, a fact which does not take from Mr. Cleveland the honor of being very largely responsible for it being placed on the statute books of the state.
While a member of the state legislature Mr. Cleveland was elected cashier of the Harlan Bank and, upon serving out his term as senator, he assumed the duties of that position. He filled the position of cashier for four years and then resigned to engage in the liardware business in IJarlan. He continued in this business under the name of W. F. Cleveland & Company for the next eight years and then disposed of his interests in the company and entered the real estate field, where he has since made a pronounced success. He has been dealing largely in Arkansas land and has built up a big business in that state.
In the year 1910, the Democratic party of his congressional district pre- vailed upon him to accept the nomination for Congress and, although the Republican majority in the district has always been overwhelming, yet he made the best fight that has ever been made in his district. His opponent was Walter L. Smith and although he was elected, Mr. Cleveland reduced the normal Republican majority from nine thousand to less than two thousand, a fact which bears ample testimony as to his standing in his district. In 1912, Mr. Cleveland was a candidate for presidential elector in his district on the Democratic ticket and led his ticket by five thousand, being triumph- antly clected. He not only had the honor of carrying the election returns
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to Washington but was the first Democrat within the past sixty years to go to Washington to carry the Iowa vote for a Democratic president.
The history of Mr. Cleveland would not be complete without mention of his connection with Masonry. He has for many years been one of the leaders in the fraternity in his state and at the present time is devoting his time to the preparation of the Masonic history of the state of Iowa. In view of the fact that Mr. Cleveland is the leader of the Masonic fraternity in his state it seems eminently fitting to give his Masonic record in detail.
He was initiated October 25, 1865; passed November 8, 1865; raised December 12, 1865. These three degrees were conferred in Sanger Lodge No. 129, located at Waterville ( New York). In 1866 he was affiliated with Phoenix .Lodge, No. 131, at Nashville, Tennessee, and three years later trans- ferred his membership to Quitman Lodge, No. 76, at New Orleans, being elected worshipful master of the latter lodge in 1877. He was affiliated with Parian Lodge, No. 321, at Harlan, Iowa, in 1887 and was elected worshipful master of that lodge in 1898. He was elected senior grand warden of the grand lodge of Iowa in 1901 and in 1906 was made grand master of the grand lodge of Iowa. The grand lodge of the state of Iowa recognized him as peculiarly well fitted to write the Masonic history of the state and in 1909 made him the official historian of the fraternity for the state of Iowa, and he completed the history June 10, 1914.
His connection with the Royal Arch began in 1867, when he was exalted in Cumberland Chapter. The Royal Arch was installed in Harlan in 1886 and he then transferred his membership to Olivet Chapter, No. 107, at Har- lan. He was elected high priest of the Harlan Chapter in 1894 and in the following year (1895) was elected grand scribe of the grand Royal Arch chapter of Iowa. This honor was followed by his election as grand king in 1896, deputy grand high priest in 1897 and grand high priest of the grand chapter in 1898. He was president of the Order of High Priesthood from 1900 to 1906, was re-elected to this position in 1908 and is still filling the office. He has served on the committee on correspondence of the grand chapter since 1902. He has been the grand representative of the grand chapter of the District of Columbia since 1890. He was elected president of the corre- spondence round table of the United States at Indianapolis, Indiana, in the year 1912 and is still filling this position.
Mr. Cleveland became a member of the Council at Nashville, Tennessee, in 1868, that being the first council organized within the state of Tennessee. He organized Adaphi Council, No. 4. at Harlan, Iowa, in 1899 and was thrice illustrious master for four years. He organized the grand council of Iowa
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in 1900 and in the same year was elected deputy grand master, being elevated to the grand mastership in the following year. He has been grand repre- sentative of the grand council in New York since 1001. Ile was elected general grand steward of the general grand council in 1903 and elevated to the office of general grand marshal in 1906. His election to the position of general grand conductor followed in 1909. In 1912 he was elected general grand captain of the guard at Indianapolis, Indiana.
Mr. Cleveland became a member of the Order of Knights Templar at New Orleans, in 1872, becoming a member of the Indivisable Friends Com- mandery, No. 1. He organized Mt. Zion, No. 19, at Harlan, Iowa, in 1886. being the first eminent commander of the commandery. He was elected grand junior warden of the grand commandery of Iowa in 1888, grand cap- tain general in 1889, deputy grand commander in 1890 and grand commander in 1891. He was appointed grand representative of the grand commandery of Tennessee. in 1893. and still holds the position. He was chairman of the semi-centennial anniversary of the grand commandery of the state of Iowa which was held at Templar Park, Spirit Lake, Iowa. July 15, 1914. He was elected as an honorary member of the grand commandery of the state of Mis- souri at Springfield, Missouri, in May. 1913.
Mr. Cleveland received the degrees from the fourth to the thirty-second in October. 1907. in the Zarepath Consistory, Scottish Rite, at Davenport, lowa. He received the honorary degrees of the Knights Commander of the Court of Honor in the supreme council in October. 1913. at Washington. D. C. He received the degrees in Kalp Chapter of the Acacia fraternity at Ames. lowa, April 20, 1912: He was appointed a member of the committee on grand lodge recognition by F. W. Craig, grand master, in February, 1911.
Mr. Cleveland was married October 2, 1871, to Kate L. Collins, the daughter of Eli A. and Anna Collins. She was born at Galena, Illinois ; her father was born in Pennsylvania and her mother in Ohio. To this first union of Mr. Cleveland were born two children. William John and Anna. The son died in 1876 and the daughter is the wife of W. W. Belknap and makes her home in New York. The first wife of Mr. Cleveland died August 18, 1885, and on February 16, 1893, Mr. Cleveland was married to Mrs. Ella (Noble ) Pratt, the daughter of Peter and Susan Noble, both natives of Clinton county, Ohio. Mr. Noble was born June 11, 1831. his wife on June 18, 1836; he died October 7, 1913, and she passed away on June 3. 1889. Mr. Noble was a young man when he moved from Ohio to Indiana and lived in the latter state for a number of years on a farm south of Indianapolis. From there he moved to Plattsville, Wisconsin, where he was engaged in the implement business for several years. Mr. Noble then removed to Walnut, Iowa, and
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became interested in the grain business and in 1884 located in Harlan where he lived until his death. Mr. and Mrs. Noble were the parents of six chil- dren : Edward P., Willard. Ella, Herman, Carrie and Leona. All of the children are still living.
Mr. Cleveland and wife have two children, William Fiske and Dorothy. both of whom are still living with their parents. They are being given the best education possible in order to become useful members of society. The family home is one of the most beautiful in the city of Harlan and is located on West Baldwin street. Mr. Cleveland has one of the finest as well as the most valuable libraries in the county. The family are members of the Episco- pal church and interested in the work of their church. Mr. Cleveland has taken a hearty interest in everything pertaining to the welfare of his city. He and his family are connected with various societies and organizations in their city and have always given their unreserved support to all worthy meas- ures. Thus it may be seen that Mr. Cleveland has filled an important place in the history of his town, county and state, while as a Mason, he is known throughout the United States. In everything with which he has been con- nected he has conducted himself in such a way as to merit the high esteem of his fellow citizens and he has made a name for himself which is a credit to his home city and an honor to his family.
CHRIS POLDBERG.
The many Danish people who have made Shelby county their permanent home have given the same loyal support to their adopted country that they did to their native land. The desire to give their children better oppor- tunities is the underlying reason why all of these people have come to America and the success which has been theirs since coming here fully justifies their decision to leave their native land. Of the many excellent citizens of Danish birth who have honored this county with their residence there is no one more worthy of mention in this volume than Chris Poldberg, a substantial farmer of Jackson township.
Chris Poldberg, the son of Andrew C. and Karen (Christensen) Pold- berg, was born July 1. 1862, in Denmark. Andrew C. Poldberg was born in Denmark in 1821 and his wife in 1823. He lived the simple life of a farmer all of his days and died in his native land in 1876 without ever seeing this country. His widow came to this country and spent her declining years
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with her son, Chris, and died in ISSS, being buried at Bowman's Grove cemetery.
Chris Poldberg received a good education in the excellent schools of his native country, but his father dying when he was only sixteen years of age, he had to leave school, having attended high school one season, and work upon a neighboring farm. In 1885 he decided to come to America, where many of his countrymen had already settled. He came alone and at once went to Shelby county, Iowa, and located in Elkhorn. Five years later his mother joined him. He found work as a farm hand for the first three years and then married and began farming on his wife's farm in Jackson town- ship. He was a successful farmer from the beginning and now owns a fine farm of two hundred and eighty acres of land in this township. He carries on a general system of farming, giving due attention to the raising of live stock, in which he has been very successful.
Mr. Poldberg was married December 14, 1888. to Mrs. Mary ( Hood- genson ) Smith, the widow of Fred H. Smith. By her first marriage she had two children, Hans, whose history is found elsewhere in this volume, and Mrs. Katherine Lanier, of Clay township. To Mr. and Mrs. Poldberg have been born four children, Andrew, Niels, Chris and Henry. Andrew is now farming for himself while all the other children are still living with their parents.
In politics, Mr. Poldberg has taken an active part in Democratic affairs since coming to this county and has frequently been honored by his party with positions of trust and responsibility. In 1899 he was elected trustee of Jackson township and held the office for two years. He was elected to the same office in 1912 and is still filling this important position. He has also served as school director of his township and in this capacity gave his hearty support to all measures which might help the schools of the township in any way.
Before coming to this country Mr. Poldberg served two years in the Danish army. In 1883 he was mustered in with the Second Regiment of Infantry and was made a corporal. The training he received while in the ariny has been of great benefit to him in his later life. Mr. Poldberg is a stanch member of the Danish Lutheran church and has served as the presi- dent of the church at Bowman's Grove. The career of Mr. Poldberg since coming to Shelby county is eminently to his credit in every way and no native born citizen takes a more active part in the affairs of his township and county. He has measured up to the highest ideals of American citizenship and is a true representative of his county.
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SHELBY COUNTY, IOWA.
HARRY C. HALE.
Shelby county, Iowa. is essentially a farming community and one of the main industries of the county is the buying and selling of grain. Every town has an elevator. some of which are independent concerns and others belong to companies which operate elevators in a number of counties. One of the prominent grain buyers of Shelby county, Iowa, is Harry C. Hale, who is now the manager of the elevator at Shelby, owned by J. F. Dowe & Company, of Davenport. Iowa. He has been engaged in the elevator busi- ness since he reached his majority, and with this fine experience he is thoroughly acquainted with every phase of the grain business.
Harry C. Hale. the son of George and Anna C. (Canfield) Hale, was born in Washington county, Iowa, in 1879. Ilis father was born in Chelsea, Vermont, in 1835. and his mother was born in Connecticut in 1853. George Hale came from Vermont to Washington county, Iowa, with his parents when he was a child, and was living there when the Civil War opened. He enlisted in 1862 in Company A, Twenty-fifth Regiment Iowa Volunteer Infantry, and was in continuous service until the close of the Civil War. After he was mustered out he returned to Washington, Iowa, and became a railroad contractor, following this business for several years. He then bought grain in Washington, lowa. for thirty years, after which he retired to Des Moines, Iowa, where he lived for one year. He is now living at McClelland, Iowa. His wife died in 1893. There were four children born to George Hale and wife, three of whom are still living.
Harry C. Hale received his education in the public schools of Washing- ton, Iowa, graduating from the high school at that place. He remained at home until he was twenty-one years of age and then started in business for hmiself by buying an elevator at Washington. He bought and sold grain and also handled coal. After he had been in business about eighteen months, a fire destroyed his elevator and he then came to Shelby, Iowa, where he be- came connected with the Des Moines Elevator Company, with which he re- mained for two years, and then became the manager of the J. F. Dowe & Company's elevator at Shelby. During the time that he has been connected with this company he has built up a large business for them in the farming community around Shelby, and such has been his success that he is regarded as one of the most competent grain experts in the county.
Mr. Hale was married October 14, 1902, to Ethel Dillon, who was born in Washington county, Iowa, in 1879, and to this union one son, Hugh Dillon, has been born.
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Mr. Hale is progressive in his political belief and should be classed with the independent voters. He believes in voting for the best men, especially in local elections, feeling that in so doing he is best serving the interests of his community. 1le has a beautiful modern home in the eastern part of the city and takes an active interest in everything pertaining to the welfare of Shelby. Fraternally, he is a member of the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. Mr. Hale is a wide-awake business man and is the kind of a man who lends stability to the community in which he lives. All public-spirited enterprises receive his hearty support and his influence is always cast on the right side of every worthy measure.
WILLIAM THOMAS SHEPHERD.
There is a lumber yard in every town of any size in the United States and the size of the yard and the amount of business transacted in which this commodity is involved are sure indications of the prosperity of the com- munity served by it. It has been predicted that the growing cement industry was going to revolutionize the building industry of the country; that houses would soon all be constructed of cement and concrete and that the demand for lumber would soon be curtailed in consequence. Whether this will ever be brought about can not definitely be foretold, but there has certainly been no diminution in the sale of lumber thus far. The northwestern part of lowa is very scantily timbered and practically all of the lumber used has to be shipped in. One of the large and prosperous industries of Harlan is the lumber business and one of the men who have been closely identified with this important industry for several years is William Thomas Shepherd, the effi- cient auditor of the Green Bay Lumber Company, of IFarlan.
William Thomas Shepherd was born May 16, 1863, near West Liberty, lowa, the son of James Farquhar and Elizabeth Ann ( Stouffer ) Shepherd. llis father was a descendant of a Scotch-Irish family which came to Pennsyl- vania with the Quakers in about the year 1700. The Shepherd family migrated to western Maryland in the year 1735- The ancestors of Elizabeth Ann (Stouffer ) Shepherd came into Pennsylvania from Switzerland in 1709 and moved thence to western Maryland in 1734. In the early sixties or the late fifties, the family migrated to Iowa and located on a farm near West Liberty, Iowa. At the close of the Civil War, the family returned to the old home in Maryland where they resided for about six years and then made a permanent residence on the Iowa farm which had been previously improved.
Mruphurt
منالاجـ جــ
سبتو شـ
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In 1876 the Shepherds removed to Iowa City. James Farquhar Shepherd died in 1903, his wife having preceded him to the Great Beyond three years previously.
William T. Shepherd was educated in the schools of lowa City and the State University, graduating from the latter institution in 1883. He in- mediately entered the service of the Green Bay Lumber Company, serving as yard manager at Irwin, Stuart and Harlan until 1900, since which time he has been in charge of a system of twelve of the company's yards in the Botna Valley. He has been a stockholder in this corporation for several years as well as a director in the Finkbine Lumber Company of Wiggins. Mississippi, a sawmill concern owned by the Green Bay Lumber Company. For a number of years he has served as a director of the Shelby County State Bank, of Harlan.
Mr. Shepherd was married in 1890 to Cora S. Ramsey of Harlan. Mr. and Mrs. Shepherd have one son, Allan Ramsey Shepherd, who is now a student at Columbia University.
Fraternally, Mr. Shepherd is connected with the Free Masons and is a member of the Commandery and Mystic Shrine. He has passed through all the chairs of the Masonic lodge as well as having filled all the chairs in the Odd Fellows in both the subordinate lodge and the encampment. He and the members of his family are members of the Episcopal church and have always taken an active interest in its welfare.
Mr. Shepherd is politically allied with the Democratic party and served as a Democratic member on the Iowa Commission at the World's Fair in St. Louis. He has never been a seeker after political preferment and has never been an active candidate for office. He has served his home city in practically all of the municipal. school and other minor offices of the con- munity. . He has been reasonably diligent and reasonably successful in busi- ness and is recognized as one of the men of affairs in Harlan. He has taken an active part in the affairs of the community and has usually been found at the forefront of those seeking to better conditions in the city and to push Harlan to the front. He has long been identified with the enterprising citizens who have been pushing Harlan to the front rank. He has supported his contentions and progressive ideas with both his time and his means. He is likewise blessed with a fair share of friends and enemies, to both of whom he tries to give due appreciation. In this respect he is like all men who have achieved success and have had the courage and determination to stand firm in support of their honest convictions. Such citizens are a distinct benefit to any community.
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LORENZO D. SUNDERLAND.
One of the first settlers to locate in Shelby county, Iowa, was the late Lorenzo D. Sunderland, who came to the county in 1852. The career of this interesting old settler and pioneer is full of the wild life of the West and there was crowded into his career more experiences than falls to the lot of the average man. During the course of a long and eventful life he traveled thousands of miles, went overland from his native state. Ohio, to California, and then made the return trip by way of the Isthmus of Panama and New York city. He was the first man to bring gold dust from Cali- fornia to New York and the first gold coins made from California gold were made from the dust he brought back with him.
This sturdy pioneer was born in Fayette county, in the state of Ohio, on June 24, 1825, and after a long career of usefulness and honor, died in Shelby county, Iowa, in April, 1904. His parents were Francis D. and Permelia (Knight ) Sunderland, natives of Virginia and early settlers in Fayette county, Ohio. Shortly after his birth his father died and, when six years of age, Lorenzo was adopted by Nathan Coffman, who reared him to manhood.
When Lorenzo D. Sunderland reached the age of twenty-four he joined a party of several friends who were going to make the long overland journey to California in search of gold. The start was made March 12. 1849, and the entire trip occupied one hundred and four days, during which time in- munterable hardships were endured. The first stop was made at St. Joseph. Missouri, where they organized. laid in their supplies for the trip across the plains and left the frontiers of civilization. They left St. Joseph on May I, *849. with one hundred and four men and owing to deaths and various other causes were compelled to reorganize twice before reaching their destination. They met with terrible storms, encountered the Indians on several occasions and were on the verge of total annihilation at times. They finally reached Auburn. California, with four mule teams and at once started in to prospect for the precious metal which had led them to make a perilous journey more than half way across the continent. By June of the following year, Mr. Sunderland had laid away considerable gold dust and was ready to return home. He went by steamer to the Isthmus of Panama, crossed the Isthmus on foot and embarked on a sailing vessel for New York. As has been before mentioned he brought back the first gold from California which the govern-
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