USA > Iowa > Woodbury County > Sioux City > Past and present of Sioux City and Woodbury County, Iowa > Part 4
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On the 30th of October, 1877, Mr. Houx was united in marriage to Miss Ellen M. Vett, a daughter of Charles O. Vett. She died Jan- nary 17, 1878, and in 1879 Mr. Houx was
again married, his second union being with Edith B. Keene, a daughter of John Keene, of Illinois. Their children are Ida Faye, who is now principal of the schools at Correctionville, Iowa; and Clarence Raymond, who is a part- ner in the firm of Frank T. Houx & Company, of which he is president and eashier.
Mr. Houx is well known in fraternal circles, belonging to Lodge No. 112, B. P. O. E. ; Land- mark Lodge, No. 103, A. F. & A. M .; Sionx City Chapter, No. 26, R. A. M .; Des Moines Consistory, No. 3, S. P. R. S .; and Za Ga Zig Temple of the Mystie Shrine. He is likewise a member of the Riverside Boat Club and the Sioux City Gun Club-affiliations which indi- cate his interest in athletic sports and also indi- eate the method of his recreation. As a mem- ber of the Sioux City Commercial Club he has made a study of the business possibilities of the eity and has contributed to its development. along such lines. In politics he has always been a Republican. His is a well rounded char- acter, not so abnormally developed in any di- reetion as to make him a genins, but so well developed in all directions as to make him a citizen whose worth is recognized, a business man whose value is shown by his workmanship and his success, and a friend whose good opin- ion and friendship are cherished by those who know him best.
F. HANSEN.
AAmong the wholesale interests which contrib- ute to the commercial prosperity of Sioux City .and upon this business activity the devel- opment and progress of every community de- pends-is that which is owned and controlled by F. Hansen, who is a dealer in glass and paint. He stands as a representative of the adopted sons of America who come to the new world to find in its business conditions the opportunities which they seek for advancement and progress. He was born in Schleswig, Ger-
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many, on the 19th of November, 1837. His growing trade was secured and the business is parents were Carl and Louisa (Schleth ) Han- now one of the profitable enterprises of the city. sen. The father died in 1843 at the age of forty years and the wife passed away in 1872 at the age of fifty-five years.
F. Hansen pursued his education in -the schools of Germany and there learned the drug- gist's trade. In 1857 he came to the United States, a young man of about twenty years, full of hope concerning the future and desirous of improving his condition in the new world with its superior business advantages and op- portunities. He located in St. Louis, where he engaged in elerking in a drug store until 1861. Then in response to a call for troops he enlisted in the Third Missouri Infantry, which was organized by Colonel Seigel for three months' service. At the end of that time he re-enlisted, joining the Fifth Missouri Cavalry and served until the elose of the war with the Fifth and the Fourth Missouri Cavalry Regi- ments. In October, 1864, he was mustered out.
Returning to St. Louis Mr. Hansen joined the firm of Shurtgar & Ervers, wholesale drug- gists, as a junior partner and continued in that connection until the death of the senior part- ner in 1870. In the spring of 1871 he came to Sioux City, where he purchased the stock of drugs owned by Captain B. F. Smith, then county treasurer, the store being conducted by William Gaskill. Mr. Hansen then continued in the wholesale and retail drug trade until August, 1898, when he sold his interest in the wholesale department to Hornick, Hess & Moore, while the retail business was sold to Osear Ruff. In 1900 Mr. Hansen organized the Hansen Glass & Paint Company, to con- duct a wholesale business, and has since been thus associated with the commercial activity of Sioux City. His trade is extensive and the reputation of the house has secured to it a constantly growing patronage. It has been founded upon safe business lines and fair and honorable dealing is maintained, so that a
In 1870 Mr. Hansen was united in marriage to Miss Willmena Konce, a daughter of Louis Konce, a native of Bremen, Germany. Their children are: Mrs. Louise Currier, of Sioux City; Marie; Frederick; Minnie; and Char- lotte. The children are all members of the Episcopal church and the parents attend that church. Almost a half century has passed since Mr. Hansen in early manhood came to America. The hope that led him to seek a home in the new world has been more than realized and he has achieved very gratifying success, but while no country affords as great business opportunities as does the United States it is equally true that in no country does ad- vancement depend more largely upon individ- ual merit and capability and it has been by reason of unfaltering purpose and untiring en- ergy that Mr. Hansen has risen to the enviable position which he now occupies in mercantile cireles in Sioux City.
THEODORE F. H. SPRENG, M. D.
Dr. Theodore F. H. Spreng, with deep love for his profession and broad humanitarian principles, has devoted his life to a calling which many regard as the most important to which man can direct his energies and in his practice in Sioux City, dating from 1889, he has demonstrated his right to be elassed with the foremost representatives of the medical fra- ternity in northwestern Iowa. He came to this state from Michigan, but is a native son of Ohio, his birth having occurred in Cleveland; February 20, 1853. His father, Rev. George F. Spreng, was born in Germany, came to the United States when eight years of age, and for forty years was a circuit rider of the Evangeli- cal Association, while for twenty-four years of that time he was a presiding elder of the same denomination. Having retired from the min- istry, he is now, at the age of eighty-one years, spending the evening of life in Dayton, Ohio,
Fitspring
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in the companionship of the wife with whom to Miss Ida M. Pears, of Buchanan, Michigan, he has so long traveled life's journey. She bore the maiden name of Christinia Bentz, was born in Pennsylvania, and is also about eighty years of age.
Dr. Spreng, in his boyhood, attended the pub- lic schools of Cleveland, Ohio, and afterward entered the Northwestern College at Naper- ville, Illinois, but at the close of his junior year he left that institution and became a teacher in the Beaver Female Seminary. In 1875 he began the study of medicine and in 1876 en- tered Hahnemann Medical College, at Chicago, Illinois, where he won his degree in 1879. As the result of a competitive examination he received the appointment of hospital surgeon to the college hospital and filled that position for one year. IIe then entered into partner- ship with the venerable Dr. A. E. Small, who was then president of the college, this relation- ship continuing for three years, during which time he enjoyed a large and lucrative practice.
In the fall of 1883 Dr. Spreng removed to Buchanan, Michigan, where for five years he had a large practice extending over a large area in the southwestern portion of Michigan and into northern Indiana. By reason of exposure and overwork, however, his health gave way and he felt compelled to confine himself to a city practice, so selecting Sioux City as a favor- able location, he took up his residence here in January, 1889, and was soon again firmly es- tablished in the practice of his profession which neither failing health nor arduous labor could compel him to abandon. He has ever had a deep interest in his chosen work from a seien- tific standpoint and because of a helpful, gen- erous spirit which prompts his best efforts in behalf of the sick and suffering. He is a member of the American Institute of Homeop- athy, is a member of the Hahnemann Medical Society of Iowa, of which he was formerly vice- president, and is now president of the Sionx City Homeopathic Medical Society.
Dr. Spreng was married February 5, 1887,
a daughter of William Pears, a prominent capi- talist and banker, and unto them on the 24th of June, 1892, was born a son, Theodore Pears Spreng. The doctor and his wife are mem- bers of the First Congregational church and he is a Republican in his political views. He possesses a social, genial nature and is also a man of pronounced literary taste, who has ever been a lover of good books and a broad reader, spending many of his most pleasant hours in the companionship of the best writers of the present and of the past.
DONALD FRASER.
For forty-eight years Donald Fraser has been a resident of Iowa. Great and important changes have occurred since that time as the state has emerged from pioneer conditions to take its place among the leading states of the Union. During this period he has seen its wild lands reclaimed for the purpose of civilization and transformed into very productive farms. He has watched the growth of towns and vil- lages, the introduction of railroads, the tele- graph and the telephone and of all other mod- ern improvements which indicate the onward march of civilization and progress. At all times he has borne his full share in the work of public improvement and in his business carcer has made a most enviable reputation for reliability and integrity.
Mr. Fraser is a native of Invernesshire, Scotland, born on the 20th of October, 1831, a son of Duncan and Mary ( MeIntosh) Fraser, both of whom were natives of Scotland. Ilis father emigrated to the new world about 1867, located in Poweshick county, Iowa, and spent the remaining days of his life there.
The school advantages of Donald Fraser in early life were meager, for when he was quite young it became necessary that he carn his own living and he was apprenticed to a landscape
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gardener with whom he served for three years. He emigrated to the new world in 1851, taking ship at Glasgow, and the sailing vessel on which he was a passenger was six weeks in crossing the Atlantic to Quebec, and during this period encountered some severe weather. Mr. Fraser made his way from Quebec to Montreal and thence across the country to New York state. He afterward proceeded westward to Illinois, locating in Princeton, where for a year and a half he made his home. He continued to live in Bureau county for six years and was en- gaged in farming and in the operation of a sawmill, devoting considerable attention to the manufacture of lumber. In 1856 he went to Poweshiek county, Iowa, where he developed a new farm. Later he opened up another farm and upon both properties made good improvements. The latter was situated near Brooklyn, Iowa, and he continued its cultivation until the 20th of February, 1864, when he offered his services to the Union and joined Company E, of the Fourth Iowa Cavalry. The regiment went south, joining the department of the Missis- sippi, and Mr. Fraser participated in a num- ber of important engagements, including the battles of Guntown, Tupelo and Oldtown Creek. He afterward went on the expedition in pur- suit of Price in Arkansas, Missouri and Kan- sas. He took part in sixteen engagements in all and served until the close of the war, the last battle in which he participated being that at Columbus, Georgia. He was one of the escorts who took Jefferson Davis from the coast to the gunboat and he was honorably discharged at Davenport, Iowa, in August, 1865.
On the 22d of September, 1859, in Powe- shiek county, Iowa, Mr. Fraser had been mar- ried to Miss Martha Jane Coulson, who was born in Columbiana county, Ohio, but was reared in Iowa. There are five living children of this marriage: Catherine Ann, the wife of Wilmer D. Adams, of Poweshiek county, by whom she has a son, W. D. Adams; John S., a mechanie, who conducted a blacksmith shop at
Anthon, and has two daughters, Etta Evalena and Essie Jane; Walter .A., a farmer of Powe- shiek county, who is married and has three chil- dren, Virgil May, Eva and Gladys; Edna V., the wife of J. Henry Moore, of Anthon ; Rufus A., at home. They also lost two children: Sal- lie May, who died at the age of fourteen years, and Harvey A., who died at the age of four years.
Mr. Fraser proudly cast his first presidential ballot in 1864, supporting Abraham Lincoln, and has ever since been a loyal adherent of the Republican party. In Poweshiek county he served as township clerk for twelve consecutive years, was assessor for fourteen successive years, was United States census enumerator and served in that capacity for several terms. He was a member of the school board for a number of years and has done everything in his power to promote the cause of public edu- cation and to secure an efficient school system and competent teachers in Anthon. Fra- ternally he is connected with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, having been a member of Brooklyn lodge for a third of a century. He served through all the chairs in the subordinate lodge and the encampment and for thirteen years was a trustee of the former. He still retains his membership relations with the order at Brooklyn, that being a very strong lodge. Mr. Fraser is one of the promoters of the Farmers' Institute and through a considerable period served as its president. As an agricul- turist he was active and progressive and through his well directed labors achieved a success that now enables him to live retired.
HON. JOIIN H. JACKSON.
John H. Jackson, a practitioner at the bar of Woodbury county and a representative of his district in the state senate, was born in Albany, Green county, Wisconsin, in 1863, and comes of an old English family that for several generations was connected with the rr ill-
JOHN H. JACKSON.
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ing business in England. William Jackson, the grandfather, spent his entire life in that country and was quite prominent in local po- litical circles. He never came to the United States, but died in his native land in the 50s. His son, John Jackson, was a corn miller and farmer of Woodrow House, Methley, England, and died at the age of seventy-one years. He commenced business as a miller at Ackworth near Pontefraet, in 1858, and removed to Fleet mills at Oulton in 1864, there remaining until 1896. In 1881 he began farming at Methley and was also actively interested in local affairs, many of his efforts proving of marked benefit to his community. IIe was instrumental in securing a water supply at Oulton-Cun- Woodlesford, and he was a member of the Hun- let board of guardians and of the school board. Joseph Jackson, the father of our subject, was born in Pontefract, England, and came to America about 1858. He, too, was a miller by trade and he now lives in Monticello, Wis- consin, at the age of seventy-two years. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Olive Ellis, was also a native of England and with her parents went to Wisconsin about 1849. She died in 1876 at the age of forty-eight years, leaving three children : John H .; Ida, the wife of Bert Ludington, of Janesville, Wiscon- sin; and Fred B., who is living in Belleville, Wisconsin.
John H. Jackson, of this review, was for six- teen years a resident of Belleville, Wisconsin. After completing his preliminary education in the public schools he attended Ripon College, at Ripon, Wisconsin, for some time and subse- quently he removed to Jefferson, Iowa, where he took up the study of law under the direc- tion of Hon. Z. 1. Church. At the end of his first year in Jefferson he was appointed deputy clerk of the courts of Greene county. He after- ward pursued his law studies in the University of Iowa and was graduated in 1888. He then returned to Greene county and completed his service as deputy clerk. For a year he prac-
ticed alone in Scranton, Iowa, and then came to Sioux City in 1890. Here he was associ- ated in practice with William Milchrist until Jannary, 1895, after which he practiced alone until November, 1896. He was then with J. 1 .. Kennedy until 1899 and has since been alone in the prosecution of his profession. . 1s a lawyer he has gained a foremost place at the Woodbury county bar, a distinctively repre- sentative elientage being accorded him in rec- ognition of his ability to successfully handle important litigated interests.
Mr. Jackson has also been prominently con- nected with politieal affairs in Woodbury coun- ty almost continuously since his arrival in Sioux City. He was secretary of the county central committee in 1898 and as chairman has man- aged the last two city and county Republican campaigns, winning notable successes for his party. In 1903 he was nominted on the Re- publiean ticket for state senator from Wood- bury county and was elected in November. Al- though the contest was a close one the outcome showed a victory well wou. Mr. Jackson has been chairman of the Republican forces of Woodbury county for three terms and his elec- tion to the highest office within the gift of the people of his district is due to his excellent political service and recognized loyalty in citi- zenship.
Mr. Jackson is a member of Tyrian Lodge, .1. F. & A. M .: Columbia Commandery, No. 18, K. T .; and the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks. IIe also holds membership relations with the Hawkeye Chib and the Riverside Boat (Inb. Ile takes an active interest in various enterprises for the city's welfare and has ever upheld the best interests of the county. He is a man firm in his opinions, resolute in his ad- vocacy of what he believes to be right and through a straightforward and honorable busi- ness and political career in which there has been no element that will not stand investiga- tion and scrutiny he has gained the confidence and regard of his fellow men.
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MILES C. DAVIS.
Miles C. Davis, who has contributed to the pioneer industrial development and is now a factor in financial circles in Sioux City, was born in Pittsford, Vermont, January 19, 1835, his parents being Hiram and Anna (Hubbell) Davis. The family was founded in Vermont at an early epoch in the history of the new world and the Hubbell family was represented in Connecticut at an early day. The father died at the age of forty-two years, leaving three sons, Albert F., Miles C. and Edgar, the second named then but seven years of age. The mother soon afterward married and removed to Rutland, Vermont.
Miles C. Davis started out in life on his own account when but seventeen years of age. His educational privileges were limited, but he possessed strong determination, enterprise and energy. He was first employed on a farm near Rutland, Vermont, for two years, teach- ing a district school in the winter of 1853, and then learned the miller's trade with John Ste- vens of Pittsford, with whom he worked for three years. In 1857 he removed to Troy, New York, where he was employed at the milling business for three months, at the end of which time the plant was closed and he was thus forced to seek another position. Accordingly he went to New York, thence to Norfolk, Vir- ginia, afterward to Richmond, Virginia, on to Indiana, and subsequently returned to the Green Mountain state, but all this time found no employment in the line of his trade so he directed his energies into other fields of activ- ity. He worked at the carpenter's trade with his brother, Albert F. Davis, for one season and together they transformed a tract of tim- ber land into lumber and wood. In the mean- time they established a brick yard and turned their attention to brick making, and in the winter seasons cut their wood and timber. The business relation between them continued until 1861, when they dissolved partnership. The following year Mr. Davis engaged in bridge
building in Vermont and vicinity. In March, 1862, he began working for the government in Virginia. On the 5th of December, 1863, he left that state and arrived at Nashville, Ten- nessee, December 10, at nine o'clock at night. In two hours time he was on the road with men to build bridges over Rutherford and Car- ter creeks, on the Decatur & Alabama Railroad. On the 3rd of February, 1864, he was taken ill with typhoid pneumonia in Nashville. While there the construction corps with which he was connected was ordered to Chattanooga, where he joined them April 15th. On the 27th of May the railroad bridge over Lookout creek was broken down and he was ordered to rebuild it the quickest way possible, as it was the only feeder for Sherman's army on the way to the sea. Mr. Davis burned out the wreck and commenced work at once and in one hundred and thirty-one hours the new structure was completed, he working one hundred and eleven hours of that time. In August, 1864, Mr. Davis was ordered to the Memphis & Charles- ton and the Decatur & Alabama Railroads to build bridges, and while at Elk Creek he sus- tained a fall of forty-four feet, after which he was cared for in the home of a physician at Westmoreland, returning thence to Chatta- nooga in September. In October, being in poor health, he took a trip north through Indiana, Illinois and Michigan, returning in November. In April, 1865, he was ordered to London, Ten- nessee, to take charge of a sawmill cutting lum- ber for bridges and other work, and continued to operate it until the war ended and after- ward had charge of the property until it was sold. He remained at Chattanooga for two years after the close of the war, engaging in grain traffic on the river. There during the big flood of 1866 the Louisville warehouse was destroyed as were the business prospects of Mr. Davis.
In 1867 he returned to his old home in Ver- mont, where he continued for a year and a half and in 1869 he came to Sioux City, Iowa, arriv-
M & Davis
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PAST AND PRESENT OF WOODBURY COUNTY
ing in the month of August. He not only made ber of the Congregational church and has ever a prospecting tour in this part of the state, but been deeply interested in all lines of progress here. Ile had the prescience to discern what the future had in store for this great and growing section of the country, wisely allied his inter- ests with the business affairs in Sioux City and while promoting the welfare and progress here he has at the same time profited by the develop- ment of this section of the country and has found in its business advantages the opportuni- ties which he sought and which have enabled him to become one of the substantial men of Woodbury county. Throughout all his exten- sive and important business dealings he has maintained an unassailable reputation and well deserves mention among the representative and honored citizens of northwestern Iowa. also visited Mankato, Minnesota, St. Cloud, the Red River country and other portions of Mine- sota and in that state he located two thousand acres of land at one dollar and a quarter per aere. In December, 1870, he took up his abode in Sioux City, where he engaged in the grain business as one of the pioneer millers. In this line he first represented the firm of H. D. Bogue & Company and the following spring became a member of a company that built the first ele- vator, this being erected in 1870, while the fol- lowing year a mill was built. At this time the firm of H. D. Bogue & Company was composed of H. D. Bogue, M. C. Davis and Messrs. San- born and Follett. In 1875 Messrs. Davis, San- born and Follett purchased Mr. Bogue's interest and he continued in business until 1897 with his other partners, when he became sole proprie- tor. In 1900, however, he leased his mill and ERNEST C. LOGAN. has since given his attention to other business affairs, largely dealing in real estate. During the early days of his connection with the grain trade and the milling business scores of ox-teams stood in waiting for a considerable distance near the mill. He has handled grain from Iowa, South Dakota, Nebraska and other remote points, many of the ox-teams coming from Yankton and Sioux Falls, and other long dis- tances, hauling the grain which was to be con- verted into flour and then return to the homes upon the frontier. Mr. Davis is now also a factor in financial circles in Sioux City, was one of the organizers and has been the vice president of the Security National Bank and has also been the vice president of the National Bank.
On the 6th of December, 1869, occurred the marriage of Mr. Davis and Miss Hattie A. Pen- field, a daughter of Charles and Irene( Dike) Penfield. Her death occurred April 8. 1897, when she was fifty-one years of age. The only child of this marriage is Charles P. Davis, of
Among the more successful and capable mem- bers of the Woodbury county bar is numbered Ernest C. Logan, of Correctionville, who during the past seven years has made his home in that town, while his residence in Iowa dates from 1880, in which year he settled in Montgom- ery county. He was born in the town of Mo- menee, Kankakee county, Illinois, December 1, 1868. His father, E. J. Logan, was born in Laporte county, Indiana, where he was reared to manhood and married, the lady of his choice being Julia LeClear, also a native of that state. The father carried on agricultural pursuits in Indiana and about 1866 he removed to Illinois, locating in Kankakee county, where he opened a farm, upon which he made his home until 1880. In that year he became a resident of Montgomery county, Iowa, where he again se- cured a tract of land that he developed into a rich and productive farm. Subsequently he established his home in Harrison county, Iowa, where he is now living retired.
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