USA > Iowa > Woodbury County > Sioux City > Past and present of Sioux City and Woodbury County, Iowa > Part 16
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JOHN MYERS.
The sons of the Emerald Isle have been valued factors in American civilization and business development. There are to-day more representatives of the green isle of Erin in this country than still remain in their native land and their ready adaptability and marked enter- prise have enabled them to conquer difficulties and obstacles in the business world and attain success that is, indeed, enviable. Mr. Myers owes his prosperity, for he is now in comfort- able circumstances, not to any fortunate envi- ronment or the aid of influential friends, but to
his own persisteney of purpose and sound busi- ness judgment. He was born in Ireland on June 11, 1837, and is a son of Matthew and Ann (Hickey) Myers. The former was born in Ireland, came to America in 1845 and lo- cated in Rutland county, Vermont. There he followed the occupation of farming until 1864, when he made his way westward to Sioux City, Iowa, and afterward carried on agricultural pursuits in Woodbury county. Here he died in 1884, at the age of seventy-two years. He was a member of the Catholic church. His wife, also born in Ireland, died in 1890, at the age of eighty-five years and she, too, was a com- municant of the Catholic church. In their family were twelve children.
John Myers acquired his education in his native country and in the schools of Vermont, where he was then living. In his youth he be- came familiar with the labors of the farm as he assisted his father in the enltivation of the fields. In 1860 he went to Minnesota and in the same year removed from that state to Sioux City, where he followed various pursuits, scorn- ing no labor that would yield him an honest living. In 1861 he enlisted in the state service to protect the frontier and remained with the military command for seven months. Because of disability he did not serve in the regular army, although he eulisted. In 1862 he made his way to the western mining country and spent four years in the mines. During that period he visited Salt Lake City and heard Brigham Young speak in the Mormon temple. Finally he returned to Sioux City in 1867 and not long afterward he purchased land in Nebras- ka, where he carried on farming for ten years. IIe then conducted a general store at Jackson, Nebraska, for nine years and in 1882 he came once more to Sioux City, where he became iden- tified with mercantile interests, opening a grocery store at No. 612 West Seventh street. There he continued in business until the fall of 1903, but is now living retired. In the mean- time, however, in 1862, when in the west, he
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made a trip to British Columbia, covering of German lineage, while the Fergusons were twenty-three hundred miles in that country. He slept on the ground during the trip, even through the snows of the severest winter. Near Salt Lake City the party with which he traveled were compelled, while in camp, to barricade themselves from the Indians for three weeks. On this trip Mr. Myers was engaged in pros- pecting and mining and brought back with him nine thousand dollars in gold. In 1860 he visited Yankton, South Dakota, then contain- ing only one log house. In July, 1904, he again visited Yankton and instead of seeing only un- broken prairie-in every direction he saw flour- ishing villages and cities, and fine farms.
Mr. Myers was married in 1869 to Miss Brid- get Hogan, who was born in Ireland in 1842. In that country her mother is still living at the age of eighty-two years. The daughter came to the United States with friends in 1866. It was in Jackson, Nebraska, that she gave her hand in marriage to Mr. Myers and their union has been blessed with three children: Matthew, who is assistant manager for Davidson Brothers; Mary, now deceased; and John. The parents are members of the Catholic church and are well known in this community. Mr. Myers can remember when he could have bought choice land in Sionx City at a nominal price.
GEORGE WASHINGTON BURKHEAD.
George Washington Burkhead, whose ability as an architect places him in the foremost ranks among the members of the profession in Sioux City and northwestern Iowa, was born in Ben- ton county, this state, on the 26th of November, 1858, his parents being John W. and Amanda E. (Ferguson) Burkhead. The father was a native of Ohio and the mother of Indiana and both are now living in Sioux City, where Mr. Burkhead is well known as a mason and con- tractor. The Burkhead family is originally
of Scotch-Irish and Welsh descent. George Burkhead, the grandfather, was a native of Virginia who spent his life in that state and in Ohio, reaching the advanced age of eighty- two years. It was in 1850 that John W. Burk- head came to Iowa, settling in Benton county, where he has since made his home. He mar- ried Miss Amanda E. Ferguson, a danghter of John Ferguson, who was a native of Indiana and was a farmer and minister of the Advent church. He was a relative of President Benja- min Harrison, being a descendant of the same line of ancestry. Rev. Ferguson became a leading preacher of his denomination and one of the foremost Bible students in that church. When a young man he came to Iowa and spent the greater part of his life in this state. In the family of John W. and Amanda E. (Ferguson) Burkhead were eight children: Olive, now the wife of a Mr. Jako, of Olkahoma; George W .; John F., of Oklahoma; Jackson, who is living in Texas; Annie, the wife of Lewis Wistler, of Sioux City; William, who died at the age of thirty-four years; Eugene, who died at the age of twenty-four years; and Bertha, the wife of John Whitzel, of Chicago.
George W. Burkhead completed a high school education in Independence, Iowa, and then en- tered upon preparation for life's practical duties. He took up the study of architecture with some tradesmen who were builders and contractors, and continued in the building busi- ness for a period of ten years, or until 1883. He then began work as an architect in connec- tion with constructive work in Sac City, Iowa, where he was located for six years. In 1890 he came to Sioux City, where he has since fol- lowed his profession, devoting his time exclu- sively to architectural designing. He is now widely recognized as a leader in his profession here. Among the many plans furnished by him have been those for the West Hotel, the second ward school building, the clinical amphi- theater of St. Joseph's Hospital, the stock ex-
G. W. BURKHEAD.
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change annex, the residence of Benjamin Dav- idson, the Tuttle building, the residence of Dr. A. Anderson, William Lerch and Dr. T. F. H. Spreng and the Christian Seience church, all of Sioux City. Among those for which he has furnished the plans in other places are the bank and Masonie Temple at Odebolt, Iowa; the bank and Masonie building at Emerson, Ne- braska; two bank buildings at Bloomfield, Ne- braska; the bank and Masonic Temple at Mar- cus, Iowa ; the courthouse at Elks Point, South Dakota; and the publie school building at Jef- ferson, South Dakota. All of these stand as monuments to his skill in his profession and the architectural beanty of the different buildings indicates his right to be classed among the lead- ing representatives of his ealling.
In June, 1880, Mr. Burkhead was united in marriage to Miss Clara Lee, of Sac county, Iowa, who died March 4, 1901, leaving three children : Myrtle E., Halma F. and G. My- ron. On the 23d of March, 1903, he married Adeline Trumbauer, of Marcus.
Mr. Burkhead is a member of the Builders' Exchange and while working as a mechanic he was connected with the Brick Layers' Union, was also a member of the Labor & Trades As- sembly. At one time he was vice-president of the Eagles lodge and he gives his political sup- port to the Republican party. He is a recog- nized leader in musical circles and has been a director of the choir in the Calvary Baptist church, the Whitfield Methodist Episcopal church, the Mayflower Congregational church, the First Congregational church and in the Cathedral of the Epiphany. While he has never sought to figure before the publie in any light outside of business eireles and has been content to leave office-holding to others, he has, nevertheless, been recognized as a citizen of worth whose aid can always be counted upon when measures affecting the public welfare are at stake and his musieal talent and social dispo- sition have rendered him a favorite among his large circle of acquaintances in Sioux City.
MRS. HARRIET EARLE HUNT.
Mrs. Harriet Earle Ilunt is widely known as the editor of the Stylus, the only paper ever published in Sioux City by a woman, and she has made for herself an enviable name in jour- nalistie eireles in the northwest. She was born in Maquoketa, Iowa, and is a daughter of the late Hon. William I. Earle, who located in Ma- quoketa in 1840. On the 8th of October, 1864, she became the wife of G. W. Hunt, a promi- nent newspaper man, and it was in her hus- band's office that Mrs. Hunt gained her first practical experience in newspaper work. Dur- ing his absence from the office she took entire charge and often assisted in setting type if there was need. She also superintended the job department, and her straightforward business- like methods aided materially in gaining pat- ronage for the office. The family removed from Maquoketa to Monticello in the spring of 1868 and there remained for thirteen years, Mr. IIunt being engaged in active newspaper work. In 1881 they became residents of Fonda, Iowa, where there was an excellent opening for a wide-awake enterprising newspaper. After two years there passed, the family located at Storm Lake and later went to Lemars, Iowa, where Mr. Hunt established the Daily Demoerat. Three years later the family home was removed to Sioux City, this being in the year 1886. In 1889 Mrs. Hunt, being thrown on her own re- sources with a number of small children looking to her for support, established the Stylus, a weekly newspaper, the initial number appear- ing on the 11th of May of that year. At that time very few women were engaged in active business, even the stenographer was compara- tively unknown, and a newspaper edited by a woman was a decided innovation. The paper, however, proved an instantaneous success. The mechanical work thereon was done in South Sioux City, while the patents were furnished by a Sioux City printing company. There was no subscription priec paid upon the paper until it had been established for six months. The
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copies of the Stylus were delivered at the homes of Sioux City free of charge by carrier boys. The paper that ran fifteen columns of original matter beside excellent plate matter and was given away for the asking was naturally eagerly sought, and over a thousand copies were distrib- uted each week. In the fall a subscription price of one dollar and a half a year was paid upon the paper. This was done in order to secure le- gal work. For years every incorporation of any prominence in Sioux City has published its notice in the Stylus and the lawyers have patronized it so extensively that it has come to be regarded as authority on legal proceedings. Mrs. Hunt has sole control of the paper, person- ally transacting all business in connection with it. In addition to her journalistie work Mrs. Hunt has proved herself a model housekeeper and has taken most excellent care of her family of eight children. The two daughters, Kathryn and Louise, were highly educated in music and the former has attained distinction in literary circles. The latter was considered one of Sionx City's leading soprano singers, but her artistic career was terminated by death in early woman- hood in September, 1895. Charles E. Hunt, the eldest son, has been engaged in active news- paper work since he was old enough to set type and is now on the reportorial staff of the News- Tribune at Duluth, Minnesota. Professor H. HI. Hunt, the second son, has been for the past fifteen years an instructor in the art of dancing and is a member of the National Association of Dancing Teachers, in which he holds a prom- inent office. He now has charge of a prosperous dancing academy in Sioux City. George L. Hunt, the third son, was graduated from the Sioux City high schools in 1896 and the follow- ing fall entered Beloit College, at Beloit, Wis- consin. For two years after the completion of his college course he traveled extensively, locat- ing circulating libraries. He has also been re- porter on the Sioux City Daily Tribune. He now has control of the Woodbury Magazine, the only magazine published in the western part of
the state. Fred R. Hunt, the fourth son, has completed the academic course at the State Uni- versity of Wisconsin and will pursue a full law course in the same institution. Arthur Hunt, the youngest son, is a student in the high school of Sioux City and has gained considerable prominence as an athlete, having been a member of the high school baseball, football and basket- ball teams during one year and as such made a fine record. The family has been prominently identified with Sioux City's history for the past eighteen years and Mrs. Hunt has indeed made for herself an enviable name in journalistic cireles.
F. P. GILMAN.
The sueccess which follows earnest and con- secutive effort has come to F. P. Gilman, who re- sides on section 32, Kedron township, and who is classed with the representative farmers and successful business men of his community. His home place of one hundred and twenty acres is located within a mile of Anthon. He is one of Iowa's native sons, his birth having occurred in Wapello county, on the 1st of December, 1854. His father, Harrison Gilman, was a na- tive of Indiana, born in 1818 and there he spent his boyhood days and was married. Soon after- ward he removed to Iowa, establishing his home in Wapello county, where he secured a home- stead claim and opened up a good farm near Ottumwa. There he reared his family and spent his remaining days, carrying on his agri- cultural pursuits with good success for many years. He died in 1883, having for several years survived his wife. In the family of this worthy couple were seven children, of whom four are now living. F. P. Gilman was reared in Wapello county upon the old homestead farm and in the public schools acquired his educa- tion, devoting the winter months to the mastery of the principles of learning which constitute the curriculum of the district school. He remain-
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ed with his father until he had attained his majority and received practical training in the work of the farm, becoming familiar with the various tasks that fall to the lot of the agricul- turist from the time of carly spring planting until the erops were harvested in the late au- tumn. After his marriage he began farming on his own account and raised two erops in Wapel- lo county. In 1877 he came to Woodbury county, locating in Wolf Creek township, where he rented a traet of land and carried on farm- ing for five years. On the expiration of that period he purchased railroad land, upon which he now resides, becoming the owner of a traet of eighty aeres, which was raw prairie. This he placed under the plow and he continued the work of progress upon the home place and has developed a splendid property. He has erected a good house, also a barn and outbuildings, has planted a grove and also fruit and shade trees and, in fact, has made the property what it is to-day-one of the highly developed traets of this portion of the state. His fields are well tilled and in connection with the raising of grain he is engaged in the raising of good graded stock.
In 1876 in Wapello county, Iowa, Mr. Gil- man was united in marriage to Miss Mary Tif- fany, a native of Wisconsin, in which state and in Iowa her girlhood days were passed. She is a daughter of A. D. Tiffany, formerly from New York. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Gilman has been born one son, A. E. Gilman, who is assist- ing in earrying on the home farm. He was married in this county to Miss Birdie Miller, who was born and reared here, and they have one child, Doris. Politically Mr. Gilman is an in- flexible adherent of Democratie principles, but both he and his son vote independently at local elcetions. They have never been regarded as office-seekers or politicians in any sense of the term, yet both served as road commissioner for three years. F. P. Gilman is a member of the Masonic Lodge at Anthon, also the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and the son is connected
with the latter and with the Knights of Pythias fraternity. Mr. Gilman, Sr., has filled all of the chairs in the Odd Fellows Lodge, is a past grand, and in his life has been true to the teach- ings of the fraternity, which is based upon mu tual helpfulness and brotherly kindness. In manner he is quiet and unassuming yet his ster- ling qualities command respeet and confidence of all and have secured for him the high regard of a large circle of friends. His residence in Woodbury county, covering a period of more than a quarter of a century, has numbered him among its valued citizens, who have been de- voted to the publie welfare.
AMBROSE PRY.
Ambrose Pry, who is successfully engaged in farming and stock-raising in Liston township, was born on a farm in Washington county, Pennslyvania, April 10, 1858, and is a son of Abraham and Rachel Pry, in whose family were eleven children, eight sons and three daughters. The father was born in 1813 and died in 1899, but the mother is still living and continues to reside upon the old homestead in Pennslyvania. They were farming people and of English deseent.
The subject of this sketch was reared and educated in his native state and early became familiar with the duties which fall to the lot of the agriculturist. In March, 1884, he eame to Woodbury county, Iowa, and soon afterward located upon his present farm in Liston town- ship where he owns eighty aeres of rich and ara- ble land under a high state of cultivation and well improved with good and substantial build- ings. In connection with general farming he carries on stock-raising and is meeting with good success in his undertakings.
Before leaving Pennslyvania, Mr. Pry was married, in 1881, to Miss Sarah J. Demint, also a native of that state, and to them have been born four children, namely: Clarence, An-
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tone, Elsie and John. Religiously the family pelier, Vermont, in which city she is now liv- is connected with the Presbyterian church, and politically Mr. Pry is identified with the Re- publication party, always taking a deep inter- est in everything calculated to promote the moral, social or material welfare of the com- munity in which he resides.
FRED L. EATON.
For almost ten years Fred L. Eaton has been numbered among the prominent and pro- gressive men of Sioux City. He has been one of the promoters of its leading business enter- prises within that period and his connection with an undertaking insures a prosperous out- come of the same, for it is in his nature to carry forward to successful completion whatever he is associated with. He has earned for himself an enviable reputation as a careful man of business and in his dealings is known for his prompt and honorable methods, which have won for him the deserved and unbounded confidence of his fellow men.
Mr. Eaton was born in Calais, Washington county, Vermont, in 1859, and is of English lineage. The family was founded in America by John Eaton, who in 1635 came from En- gland and settled in Massachusetts at an early period in the colonization of the new world. Succeeding generations migrated from the Bay state to Connecticut and eventually to Ver- mont. Sylvester C. Eaton, the grandfather, was a minister of the Universalist church. Arthur G. Eaton, the father of our subject, was born in Vermont and became a member of the Ninth Vermont Volunteer Infantry at the time of the Civil war. His regiment was captured at Harper's Ferry and paroled, but he died in the hospital in Chicago in 1862, at the early age of twenty-six years, thus giving his life as a ransom for his country's freedom. He had married Ellen M. Chase, a native of Mont-
ing. After the death of her first husband she became the wife of John R. Seaver. She is a member of the Unitarian church and is a most estimable lady, having many friends in the Green Mountain state. By her first marriage she had three children : Fred L .; Enloeen, the wife of Frank N. Field, a mail clerk of New- port, Vermont ; and Arthur G., who is the cash- ier of the First National Bank of Montpelier.
Fred L. Eaton acquired his education in the public schools of Montpelier. He entered upon his business career in the capacity of a sales- man in a bookstore when only fifteen years of age and there he remained for more than two years. He was then appointed teller in the First National Bank of Montpelier and re- tained that position until 1881, when he was appointed cashier of the National Bank of Barre, Vermont, filling that place most capably for four years. He was only twenty-one years of age at the time he became cashier and was probably the youngest man in the country occu- pying so high and responsible a position. In 1885 he returned to Montpelier, where he se- cured the position of cashier in the First Na- tional bank of that city and thus served until December, 1894, when he came to Sioux City, Iowa, to take the position of secretary and gen- eral manager of The Credits Commutation Company. This company was organized by the creditors of the various companies that had failed in the financial crash of 1893 and was the parent concern that re-organized various other companies that had gone into liquidation in the year mentioned. It re-organized the Sioux City Stock Yards Company in 1894, and of this Mr. Eaton was made secretary and treas- urer. In 1900 he became its secretary and gen- eral manager and in October, 1903, he was chosen president and general manager of the Sioux City Stock Yards Company, which posi- tion he is now filling. He is a man of keen business discernment, of unflagging enterprise and unabating energy, and these qualities have
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formed the salient features in a career which is honorable and successful.
To other lines of activity Mr. Eaton has di- reeted his labors and is now the secretary of The Combination Bridge Company of Sioux City. He has also been the vice-president of the Live Stock National Bank sinee its organ- ization in 1895. This institution is capitalized at one hundred thousand dollars and is located in the Exchange Building at the stockyards. Mr. Eaton is also the president of the Inter- State Live Stock Fair Association, which was organized in the spring of 1903.
On the 15th of October, 1884, in Barre, Ver- mont, was celebrated the marriage of Fred L. Eaton and Miss Lillian Gale, a daughter of Lewis and Lucinda (Pettingill) Gale, both of Barre, Vermont. Her father was a farmer and Mrs. Eaton was born in Barre in 1864. Two children grace this marriage: Stanley Gale, born March 13, 1889, and Dorothy, born April 17, 1892. Mr. and Mrs. Eaton hold member- ship in the Unitarian church and he belongs to the Masonie lodge at Montpelier. He at- tained the Knights Templar degree and is a past eminent commander. He also holds mem- bership relations with the Elks, with the Sons of the American Revolution and with the Sons of Veterans, being a past captain and past colo- nel in the last named. His political allegiance is given to the Republican party and while in Montpelier, Vermont, he served for several terms as city treasurer. In 1894 he was ap- pointed a member of the staff of Governor U. A. Woodbury, of Vermont, with the rank of colonel. He is a man of distinet and foreefut individuality, of broad mentality and mature judgment and is leaving his impress upon the commercial world. For a number of years he has been an important factor in the commercial development of Sioux City, and he is prompt and enterprising, which adds not alone to his individual prosperity but also advances the general welfare of the city in which he makes his home.
GEORGE INGRAHAM THOM.
Prominent among the enterprising, progress- ive and publie-spirited citizens of Correction- ville is George Ingraham Thom, who is now serving as mayor and who in his business career has made consecutive advancement along sub- stantial lines, whereby he has won success and also the confidence of his fellow men. In com- munity affairs he is deeply interested and has put forth his effort in a helpful way to advance the general welfare. His fellow townsmen, recognizing his loyalty and his capability, chose him for the highest office within their power to bestow, and as chief executive of the city he is now giving an administration that is practical, business-like and helpful.
Mr. Thom is a native son of the west, his birth having occurred in Minnesota on the 11th of April, 1859. Seven years later he was brought to Iowa and since 1875 has lived in Woodbury county. Descended from Scotch an- cestry who came from the north of Ireland and were of protestant faith, he traces his lineage back to the time of the Revolutionary war. Two brothers of the name of Thom fought for Amer- ican independence, but after the war was ended they never saw or heard from each other again. One brother, Joseph Thom, settled in Pennsyl- vania. He was the great grandfather of our subject.
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