USA > Iowa > Woodbury County > Sioux City > Past and present of Sioux City and Woodbury County, Iowa > Part 10
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dent of the school board. He and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church and Mr. Legg is identified with the Modern Woodmen Camp. While he has resided in Woodbury county for only a few years he is now elosely identified with its interests and is accounted one of the practical and thorough- going farmers and reliable business men who enjoy in a high measure the confidence and good will of all.
WILLIAM F. SEIBOLD.
This well-known citizen of Danbury is one of the important factors in the business circles of Woodbury county. The possibilities that America offers to her citizens he has utilized and though he came to this country in limited circumstances he has steadily and perseveringly worked his way upward, leaving the ranks of the many to stand among the successful few. For twenty-two years he has now made his home in Danbury and has been an extensive dealer in real estate, lumber, grain and live stock.
Mr. Seibold was born March 31, 1839, in Fellbach, five miles from Stuttgardt, Germany, and was reared and educated in his native land, attending school from the age of six to four- teen years. On the 4th of March, 1855, he left home and started for the United States. From New York he went to Detroit, whence he proceeded to Chicago and on to Peoria, Illi- nois, where he spent about six years. For two months he worked on a farm at ten dollars per month and then learned the harness-maker's trade in Peoria, which occupation he followed for six years. From 1860 until 1868 he made his home in El Paso, Illinois.
It was during that period that Mr. Seibold was married in 1862 to Miss Elizabeth Kreis, who was born in Germany in 1841, and was thirteen years of age when she came with her parents to the new world. Seven children blessed this union, namely: Charles F., who
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is engaged in business with his father at Danbury; William F., at home with his pa- rents; Louisa, who died in 1870, at the age of three years; Emma, now the wife of Dr. G. W. Murphy, who is represented on an- other page of this volume; George W., who is married and is also engaged in business with his father at Danbury; Edward, now a resi- dent of Fort Worth, Texas; and Harry, who died in 1893, at the age of eleven years. All have been given good edneational advantages and some have pursued a college course.
From El Paso, Illinois, Mr. Seibold and his family removed to Chatsworth, that state, in 1868, and there he was engaged in the grain business and in milling, erecting a flour mill, which he operated until 1882. On landing in New York he had only five dollars and with that capital he began life in the new world. The first home that he ever owned was in El Paso. On the 8th of May, 1882, he came to Danbury, Iowa, and built the first grain elevator at this place and started the third lumber yard, which were known as the Seibold elevator and lum- ber yard. These he successfully carried on un- til the 10th of November, 1903, when he sold both to the same party. In the meantime he was also extensively engaged in the real estate business, from time to time making judicious investments in land until he owned over eight thousand acres in Woodbury, Ida, Crawford and Monona counties lying adjacent and two thousand acres elsewhere. The purchase price of this property was from four to twenty dol- lars per acre, but it has since risen rapidly in value. Mr. Seibold still owns over seven thou- sand acres and is now selling at a good profit. He is a man of exceptional business ability, sound judgment and striet integrity, and these qualities combined with industrious habits have made him one of the most prosperous citizens of his community.
Mr. Seibold voted for Lincoln, but afterward supported the Democratic party until that or- ganization endorsed the free silver measure,
when he voted for MeKinley and has since been a stanch Republican. In religious belief he and his family are Lutheraus and he is a mem- ber of the blue lodge and chapter of the Ma- sonic order at Chatsworth, Illinois. He is be- vond doubt the most influential and prominent citizen of Danbury and is highly respected throughout the county, his extensive business interests bringing him in connection with a large number of men.
A friend in speaking of our subject, said: "I consider William F. Seibold the greatest or at least one of the greatest financiers this con- tinent, if not two continents, has produced. For a man to come to a town like Danbury and in twenty years without speculation to amass by hard work and attention to business a fortune of a million, having nearly eight thousand acres of land in this section and de- velopments in Texas of which no one but him- self knows how much, is a wonderful exhibition of financial ability. I place him second to none. He has enemies, but who has not if he be prominent ? He has made mistakes-who has not ? He is human-who is perfect ? But numberless persons testify to his honesty and ability. In the passing of William F. Seibold all his crities will pass too and he will be point- od to with pride by his old neighbors and erities as well."
MRS. E. R. KIRK.
Mrs. E. R. Kirk, of Sioux City, born in Giles county, Tennessee, May 6, 1835, is a daughter of Allen and Martha L. Stinson, who in 1849 removed from Tennessee to southern Iowa, where they spent their remaining days. In the fall of 1857 their daughter came to Sioux City and in 1859 she gave her hand in marriage to E. R. Kirk, who had located here in 1856. He was born at Port Clinton, Ohio, and was de- scended from ancestors who were among the founders of the William Penn colony of Penn- sylvania. On arriving in Sioux City he turned
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his attention to general merchandising and throughout the period of the Civil war he re- mained with the army as a sutler. After the cessation of hostilities he returned to this place and again engaged in conducting a general store, continuing in the trade for about twenty years. He became one of the well known mer- ehants here and his enterprise and careful man- agement resulted in bringing to him a very de- sirable measure of suecess. He was also active in public affairs and for twelve years he filled the office of postmaster, proving most capable in the discharge of his duties. On the expira- tion of his third term of service he retired from the office and lived in the enjoyment of a well earned rest up to the time of his death, which occurred in September, 1900, when he was sixty-six years of age. He lived an hon- orable, upright life, was faithful in citizen- ship, in friendship and in the ties of the home, and in business he made for himself an honor- able name by reason of his untiring energy and his earnest purpose.
Five children were born unto Mr. and Mrs. Kirk, of whom three are now deceased. Those living are Edwin, who is superintendent of the Traction Company; and Frank, who is teller in the Merchants National Bank. Mrs. Kirk is a member of the Congregational church and is highly esteemed by a large circle of friends. Her sister, Miss A. E. Sawyers, came to Sioux City with Mrs. Kirk and has made her home here ever since. She was the proprietor of and conducted the first millinery establishment of the city, continuing in the business until about thirty years ago, when she sold out.
CHARLES MEYER.
For a number of years Charles Meyer has been numbered among the prominent and pro- gressive residents of Sioux City and is the pro- moter of one of its leading business enterprises. The growth and development of a city depend upon its commercial and industrial activity and
thus has Mr. Meyer been one of the upbuilders of the town. He is associated with his brother, George R. Meyer, in the conduct of an extensive wholesale harness house and his business career illustrates the fact that success may be achieved through strong and persistent purpose guided by good judgment and integrity.
Charles Meyer was born in Philadelphia, Pennslyvania, in 1858, and his brother, George R., in Fort Atkinson, Iowa, in 1860. Their father, Charles Meyer, Sr., was a native of Colmar, Alsace-Lorraine, and came to the United States in 1854. After living for some years in Philadelphia he removed to Iowa, set- tling in Fort Atkinson in 1858. He, too, was a harness maker by trade and followed that pursuit for a number of years. While in Fort Atkinson he served as postmaster under Presi- dent Buchanan. Later he removed to Festina, Iowa, and was called upon to serve as assessor, tax collector, justice of the peace and county supervisor, holding the last named office at the time of his death. He was a member of the Catholic church and gave his political allegi- ance to the Democracy. He died January 8, 1876. In early manhood he had married Miss Catherine Kromm, a native of Germany, their wedding being celebrated in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1854. Twelve children, three sons and nine daughters, were born of this union, of whom ten are yet living. The broth- er, Edward Meyer, is a resident of Minneapolis, where he is engaged in buying horses. The mother still survives at the age of seventy-three years and retains possession of her mental and physical faculties to an unusual degree.
Charles and George R. Meyer acquired their early education in the country schools and the former afterward engaged in clerking in a gen- eral store at Deeorah, Iowa, where he remained for three years, after which he went to Ossian, Iowa, where he also engaged in clerking for seven years. He then embarked in business for himself there as a general merchant and conducted his own enterprise for five years. In
CHARLES MEYER.
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June, 1887, he arrived in Sioux City and in January, 1888, established a wholesale sad- dlery and harness business in connection with his brother George R. at No. 900 Fourth street. They remained at that location until 1898, when they removed to their present quarters at No. 300 and 302 Pearl street.
George R. Meyer on leaving school worked in his father's harness shop until the latter's death and then went to Decorah, Iowa, where he se- cured employment in the same line for two years. He next conducted a shop of his own at Festina, Iowa, and in 1879 he went to Milwau- kee, Wisconsin, where he acted as salesman in a wholesale saddlery house, continuing at that place until 1884, when he came to Sioux City, remaining in the employ of L. Humbert, a wholesale saddler, until 1888. He then joined his brother under the firm name of Meyer Brothers, dealers in wholesale saddlery and manufacturers of harness and strap work. They have a building fifty by one hundred and twenty-five feet and two stories in height with basement. They employ twenty-five men, in- eluding traveling salesmen who cover Nebraska, Iowa, South Dakota and southern Minnesota. This is the largest enterprise of the kind in Sioux City and one of the most extensive in the northwest and it has been built up through the energy, enterprise and unflagging perse- verance of Charles and George R. Meyer, who well deserve mention among the representative men of this place.
Charles Meyer was married in 1888 to Miss Annie Dessell, of Ossian, Iowa, and they had eiglit children, four of whom are living. The parents are communicants of the Catholic church and Mr. Meyer is a member of the Sioux City Boat Club and also belongs to the Benevo- lent, Protective Order of Elks, the Knights of Columbus, and St. Boniface Society, while his political allegiance is given to the Democracy. George R. Meyer married Barbara Brill, of Neosha, Wisconsin, and they have three chil- dren. He, too, is a member of the Catholic
church, a Democrat in his political views and has served as alderman of the first ward, while socially he is connected with the Modern Wood- men of America and St. Boniface Society. Both men are possessed of strong business ability and executive force and their excellent management has brought to them the high degree of pros- perity which is to-day theirs. They have been watchful of all the details of their business and of all indications pointing toward prosperity and from the beginning have had abiding faith in the ultimate success of their enterprise. They have gained prosperity, yet it has not been alone the goal for which they have striven, for they belong to that class of representative Americans who promote the general good while advancing individual interests.
B. F. WILSON.
B. F. Wilson, living on section 21, Kedron township, near Correctionville, is one of the intelligent and enterprising farmers and stock- raisers of Woodbury county, whose place of four hundred acres is well improved and valu- able. IIe is numbered among the early set- tlers of the state, dating his residence in Iowa from 1856, while since 1888 he has made his home in Woodbury county. He was born in Trumbull county, Ohio, November 15, 1852. His father, John G. Wilson, was born on the same farm and in the same house in which oc- curred the birth of his son, B. F. Wilson. Ilis childhood days were passed upon the old home- stead there and when he had arrived at years of maturity he married Ruth Van Knocker, who was born in Pennsylvania and was of Ger- man ancestry. Mr. Wilson carried on farm- ing in Trumbull county, Ohio, until 1856, when he removed to Iowa, locating first in Ma- haska county, where he remained for a num- ber of years. He then removed to Madison county and a few years later settled in Cherokee county, Iowa. He afterward returned to Ohio
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and spent his last years in Trumbull county, where his death occurred, January 19, 1898.
Under the parental roof, upon the home farm in Mahaska county, Iowa, B. F. Wilson spent the days of his childhood in the usual manner of farmer lads, assisting in the work of field and meadow. His educational advantages were meager, but experience and observation have greatly broadened his knowledge since he arrived at years of maturity. When a young man he went to Madison eounty, Iowa, where he was married on the 23d of March, 1872, to Miss Nellie Harlan, daughter of Asa and Han- nah (Mott) Harlan, who were pioneer settlers of that county. Mrs. Wilson was reared and. educated in that county and for some years was a successful teacher, acting as principal of the school at Aurelia, Cherokee county.
After his marriage Mr. Wilson homesteaded a place in Cherokee county and there engaged in general farming for nine years. On the expiration of that period he sold his property and took up his abode in Aurelia, where he was engaged in the grain and stoek business for two years. On the expiration of that period he removed to Mareus, Iowa, where he con- tinned in the stock and grain business for eight years. In 1888 he became a resident of Anthon and conducted a similar business enter- prise, building the first elevator there. He continued the purehase and sale of grain and stock at that place for eight years and then bought his present farm about 1896. This he operated through the service of hired help until 1902, when he disposed of his interests in the town and took up his abode upon the farm. He has made an addition to and remodeled the honse, built two good barns, corneribs and sheds and, in fact, has added all modern equip- ments to the property. The farm is neat and thrifty in appearance and a glance indicates to the passerby the practical and progressive spirit of the owner.
Mr. and Mrs. Wilson are the parents of five children : Lynette, the wife of C. A. Dobell,
former cashier of the Anthon State Bank, which position he occupied for ten years; Elmer C., who is married and assists in the operation of the home farm; Elgin, who was a twin of Ehner and died at the age of fifteen years; Erma, the wife of Charles Shontz, a resident farmer of Woodbury county; and Erroll, at home. The eldest son, Elmer C. Wil- son, was married May 30, 1900, to Miss Nellie Chesebro, daughter of R. A. and Mary (John- son) Chesebro, of Buchanan county, Iowa. The young couple had a son who was born Oc- tober 30, 1902, and died March 6, 1903.
Where national questions are involved Mr. Wilson is a stanch and earnest Republican, but at local elections votes independently. He served as a member of the Anthon council for a few terms and is now township school treasurer, but has never been an office seeker, preferring to give his attention to his business affairs. Mr. and Mrs. Wilson and their family are mem- bers of the Christian church at Anthon and he is a Master Mason, while his son, Elmer, is serving as secretary of the lodge. Mr. Wilson is a past master and in his life exemplifies the beneficent spirit of the craft, which is based upon brotherly kindness and mutual helpful- ness. Almost his entire life has been passed in Iowa and he has been elosely identified with the prosperity and progress of the communi- ties in which he has lived. He has helped to develop and make Woodbury eounty what it is to-day and he is now one of the enterprising and well known farmers of this portion of the state, whose life of activity and honesty has won him prosperity, also the good will and confidence of his fellow men.
PROFESSOR T. BURTON MORRIS.
In educational circles in Iowa Professor T. Burton Morris has made for himself an envia- ble place and name and for the past six years he has efficiently served as superintendent of
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the schools of Correctionville, which under his guidance made substantial advancement, the introduction of improved and progressive meth- ods resulting to the benefit of the city along educational lines. Ilis zeal for his work was manifested in his conseentive labors for the welfare of the school and the value of his meth- ods have been proven by the test of time.
Professor Morris is a native son of Iowa, his birth having occurred in Adams county near Corning on the 15th of March, 1864. He is descended from English ancestors who prior to the Revolutionary war came to America and settled in Pennsylvania, while at a later date the family was established in Virginia. It was the great-grandfather of Professor Morris who removed from the Keystone state to the Old Dominion. Pleasant Morris, the grandfather, was born in Virginia, and J. W. Morris, the father, was a native of Charlottesville, Albe- marle county, Virginia, born in 1828. Pleasant Morris accompanied by his family removed westward to Kentneky and after about a year went to Indiana, where he resided for a few years. In 1851 J. W. Morris came to Iowa, where he secured a homestead claim on which the city of Waterloo now stands. In 1853 he took up his abode in Adams county, Iowa. There he purchased land and began the development of a farm from the traet of raw prairie. He first was located near Corning and his indefatigable efforts and perseverance enabled him to transform the wild tract into richly cultivated fields. Later, however, he be- came a lumber merchant of Brooks, Iowa, and subsequently he settled in Corning, becoming one of the prominent and influential citizens of that place, taking a most active and influential part in community affairs. He served as mayor of Corning, giving a business-like and progressive administration, and he was sheriff of Adams county for several terms. A man of strong and forceful individuality and marked progressiveness in citizenship, he was recog- nized as a leader of publie thought and opinion
and left the impress of his life upon the sub- stantial development of communities with which he was connected. He was married in Indiana to Miss Celia Burton, a native of that state and a daughter of Thomas Burton. He spent his last years in Corning, where he had so endeared himself to his fellow men by his personal characteristics and his public service that his death was the occasion of uniform and sineere sorrow throughout the city. In the family were nine children, five daughters and four sons, all of whom were born in Iowa, and with two exceptions all are natives of Adams county. There has been no death among the children.
Professor Morris was reared in Adams county, pursued his early education in the country schools, afterward attended the Corn- ing high school, subsequently became a student in Ames Agricultural College and completed his education at Cedar Falls, Iowa, where he was graduated with the class of 1891. He then turned his attention to teaching as a life work, entering upon the active duties of the profes- sion at Goldfield, while later he was located at Central City and afterward at Sionx Rapids. In 1898 he came to Correctionville as superin- tendent of the schools of this place and was widely recognized as one of the leading edu- eators of western Iowa. In 1896 he took the examination for a life certificate, which he now holds. He gave elose and earnest study to his work, constantly striving to improve meth- ods and render the labors of the schoolroom more effective as a preparation for life's prac- tieal and responsible duties. He inspired the teachers under him with much of his own zeal and had the faculty of stimulating his pupils to do their best. About the 12th of January, 1904, he purchased the Sionx Valley News, the only paper in Correctionville and the third official paper of Woodbury county. He took possession of the same on the 1st of February and since the close of the school year has de- voted his entire time to the new enterprise.
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Professor Morris was married at Clarion, but in the winter of 1881 removed to Sioux Iowa, June 17, 1892, to Miss Florence Gates, a City, Iowa, where he has since been engaged in active practice, his clientage becoming a large and lucrative one. He was elected police judge of Sioux City, but in 1886 resigned and was elected to represent his district in the state senate, where he proved a capable member of the upper house, giving careful consideration to each question which came up for settlement. He began his political career as chairman of the county central committee and since that time has been an active factor in political circles, doing all in his power to promote the growth and insure the success of the Republican party. In his profession he has attained creditable dis- tinction and has broad and comprehensive knowledge of the principles of jurisprudence, while his devotion to his clients' interests is proverbial. native of Clarion, who was reared and educated there. Prior to her marriage she was a suc- cessful teacher. Two children grace this union, Dorothy Lloyd and Roger Gates. Politically Professor Morris is a stanch Republican, well informed concerning the questions which divide political sentiment into two great parties, but he has never sought the honors or emoluments of office. He and his wife are members of the Congregational church and he is a member of the Masonic fraternity and also of several fra- ternal insurance companies. Both Professor and Mrs. Morris occupy an enviable position in social circles where true worth and intelligence are the standard by which the members are judged. They have gained many friends dur- ing their residence in Correctionville and have exerted no unimportant influence in the social, intellectual and moral development of the city.
In 1875 Mr. Lawrence was united in mar- riage to Miss Ima D. Treadway, a daughter of John M. Treadway, of Herkimer county, New York, and they have two children: Mary E., married George W. Avery, who is engaged in the lumber business ; and William Marshall is studying law with his father. For almost a quarter of a century Mr. Lawrence has resided in Sioux City and his social prominence is equal to his professional standing, which is among the best.
HON. JOSEPH S. LAWRENCE.
Hon. Joseph S. Lawrence, one of the fore- most figures in political circles in northwestern Iowa, has served as police judge and also as a member of the state senate, and is now a well known and prominent attorney of Sioux City, Iowa. He was born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1854, and is a son of W. S. Lawrence. After the completion of an academic course of JOHN HOPP. study in his native city he entered Madison University at Hamilton, New York, from: One of the important elements in American citizenship is that furnished by Germany. The sons of the fatherland have come here imbued with energy and ambition, determined to win success, and through honorable methods have largely achieved the goal of their hopes and at the same time have been faithful in citizenship, their labors being productive of great good for the various communities with which they have which institution he was graduated in 1875. With a good literary knowledge to serve as the foundation upon which to rear the super- structure of his professional learning he then took up the study of law in the office and under the direction of Henry L. Clinton, of New York, and later pursued a course in the New York Law University, being admitted to the bar in 1877. He began the practice of his become identified. Of this class John Hopp is profession in Herkimer county, New York, a representative and is now living on section 30,
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