USA > Iowa > Woodbury County > Sioux City > Past and present of Sioux City and Woodbury County, Iowa > Part 6
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and favorably known. He has helped to make the county what it is to-day and has been par- tienlarly active in its agricultural development.
JOHN ARENSDORF.
John Arensdorf, who stands at the head of the John Arensdorf Mercantile Company of Sioux City, is one of America's adopted sons, who have found in the business conditions of this great and growing country the opportuni- ties they have sought for advancement and for the exercise of their native talents. Mr. Arens- dorf was born in Belgium in 1850, and spent the years of his minority in that land, acquiring his education in the public schools. In the year 1871 he came to the United States, locating first in Pittsburg, where he secured employment in a brewery. He afterward removed to Cleve- land, Ohio, where he occupied a similar posi- tion and later he was located successively in Cincinnati, Ohio; St. Louis, Missouri; and in Chicago. He worked in different breweries in these cities, occupying various business capaei- ties, and from Chicago he went to Milwaukee, where he entered the employ of Mr. Blatz, who sent him as brewmaster to St. Cloud, Minne- sota. In 1877 he came to Sioux City to accept a position as brewmaster in the Franz brewery, where he remained, becoming part owner until the Prohibition movement in the state caused the business to be closed ont. He then became agent for the Schlitz Brewing Company, doing business just across the river, where he re mained until the law was changed. He then returned to Sioux City and was agent for the Schlitz Brewing Company until it was discon- tinned, since which time he has been engaged in the wholesale liquor business. Hle embarked in this enterprise in 1887 and it is conducted under the name of the John Arensdorf Mercan- tile Company. Mr. Arensdorf employs a num- ber of traveling salesmen, whose territory cov-
John Prensdorf
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ers western Iowa, Nebraska, South Dakota and a part of Minnesota.
In 1876 Mr. Arensdorf was married to Miss Elizabeth Schoen, of St. Cloud, Minnesota, whose father, John Schoen, was a farmer in that state. They have four children, two sons and two daughters, and one of the sons, John Arensdorf, Jr., is associated with his father in business. Mrs. Arensdorf belongs to the Cath- olie church and Mr. Arensdorf has various fra- ternal relations, being a member of the Knights of Pythias, the Fraternal Eagles, the Druids, the Ancient Order of United Workmen and the Bankers' Union. In his political views, how- ever, he is independent, supporting candidates whom he thinks best qualified for office with little regard to party affiliations. He is a typ- ical representative of our German-American citizenship-men who have come from the fa- therland, possessing the resolute purpose and energy characteristic of the race and in Amer- iea have advanced from humble surroundings to success.
JAMES M. CLINGENPEEL.
James M. Clingenpeel, deceased, was one of the prosperous farmers and highly esteemed cit- izens of Liston township. He was a native of Indiana, born on a farm near Sardinia, July 15, 1856, a son of Allen and Sarah (Curry) Clingenpeel. The birth of the former oc- curred in Ohio, July 20, 1822, and he was quite young when his father, George Clingen- peel, died. At the age of seventeen years he removed to Indiana, where he was married on the 22d of December, 1846, to Miss Sarah Curry, who was born March 17, 1826, and is still living at the age of seventy-eight years. She was the fourth in order of birth in her father's family, the others being Matilda, who died very young; Mary, who is the widow of Joseph Heinelick and is living in Indiana, at the age of eighty-two years ; Alexander, who also
makes his home in that state and was eighty years of age in May, 1904; James, who died at the age of twenty-one years ; John, who died at the age of eighteen ; Thomas, who is living in Indiana at the age of sixty; and Annie, the widow of Charles Miller and a resident of Cincinnati, Ohio. The parents of these chil- dren were James and Annie ( Ferguson) Cur- ry, who made their home in Indiana, where the former died in 1875, at the age of eighty- six years, and the latter January 1, 1880, at the age of eighty. In 1876 Allen Clingenpeel brought his family to Iowa and settled in Mo- nona county, where he died on the 19th of Sep- tember, 1899, at the age of seventy-seven years. His children were: George, who was born Oe- tober 24, 1847, and is now living with his family near Boston, Missouri; Annie, who was born March 14, 1850, and is now Mrs. Peter Moore, of Sioux City, Iowa; Mary, who was born October 11, 1853, and died October 21, 1876; James M., whose name introdnees this sketch; John, who was born August 6, 1860, and lives in Oklahoma; and William A., who was born January 6, 1865, and now operates the farm left by our subjeet. He is married and has two children: Cora, now the wife of Albert Christanson ; and Oscar.
In the state of his nativity James M. Cling- enpeel grew to manhood and attended the schools of Sardinia until eighteen years of age, when he commenced working by the month on a farm. Ilis whole life was devoted to agri- enltural pursuits and in his labors he met with excellent snecess, becoming the owner of a fine farm of two hundred and forty acres in Lis- ton township, this county, after the removal of the family to Iowa. In connection with the cultivation of his land he also engaged in feed- ing cattle for market and so snecessful was he that he was able to leave his family in com- fortable eirenmstanees.
On the 2d of December, 1877, Mr. Clingen- peel was united in marriage to Miss Olive White, also a native of Indiana and a danghter
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of James White, of that state. She was born on the 15th of January, 1858, and was edu- cated in the public schools of Indiana. Mr. and Mrs. Clingenpeel became the parents of four children, whose names and dates of birth are as follows: Allen Leonard, November 19, 1883; Lester, October 15, 1886; Arthur, May 1, 1889 ; and Edna May, August 28, 1893. All are at home with their mother and the sons assist in the operation of the farm, though the oldest works for others a part of the time.
Mr. Clingenpeel died of typhoid pneumonia November 4, 1899. Politically he was a Dem- ocrat and religiously was an earnest and con- sistent member of the Free Methodist church at Danbury, to which his wife also belongs, though she was reared in the Methodist Protest- ant church, to which her parents belonged, while her grandparents were Presbyterians in reli- gious belief. During his residence in this state Mr. Clingenpeel made many warm friends and he was held in the highest regard by all who knew him.
GENERAL A. D. COLLIER.
Brigadier General A. D. Collier is a dis- tinguished lawyer of the Iowa bar, having been assistant solicitor of the Burlington, Cedar Rapids & Northern Railroad Company for some years, and a practitioner at Sioux City. He is a native son of the state in which his labors have been so intelligently directed as to make his career one of signal usefulness to his fellowmen. He has been and is distinctively a man of affairs and one who has wielded a marked influence. A strong mentality, an in- vincible courage, a most determined individ- uality have so entered into his makeup as to render him a natural leader of men and a director of public opinion.
General Collier was born in Iowa during its territorial days, his birth having occurred in Muscatine county, November 3, 1840. The
family was at one time resident of New York and his ancestors were residents of that state at the time of the Revolution. His father, Samuel H. Collier, born in Steuben county, New York, August 5, 1805, arrived in Iowa on the 10th of May, 1838, casting in his lot with its pioneer settlers and aiding materially in the early development of the commonwealth. At the time of the border troubles between Mis- souri and Iowa over the boundary line between the two states, he held a captain's commission from Governor Robert Lucas. His wife, Nancy Davenport Collier, also a native of New York, was born December 7, 1812.
The early boyhood days of General Collier were spent upon the homestead farm, but at his father's death, in October, 1852, he was thrown upon his own resources, being then not quite twelve years of age. Unremitting labor was his portion in youth and unwearied in- dustry has been the secret of his success in after years. In 1857, with a party of twenty- one young men, he went from Muscatine conn- ty, Iowa, to Kansas, where they took claims in that new territory, just quieting down after the exciting and troublons days of 1856. Mr. Collier was then but seventeen years of age, but his early experiences had made him a self- reliant young man, with the judgment and ability of many a man whose years greatly outnumbered his. In the spring of 1860 he returned to Iowa. Having become impressed with the great value of education as a factor in a successful career, he resolved to impair the lack of his boyhood and entered Western College, then located in Linn county. He had just completed his first year when the war broke out.
Rapid was the progress of events at that day. President Lincoln issued his call for seventy- five thousand volunteers on the 15th of April, 1861; Governor Kirkwood, of Iowa, issned his proclamation for one regiment on the 17th ; and on the 19th General Collier enlisted in what was afterward Company K, First Iowa Vol-
GEN. A. D. COLLIER.
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unteer Infantry. He served with his regiment through the Missouri and Arkansas campaigns under General Lyons and participated in the battle of Wilson's ereck after the expiration of his term. He was commissioned a first lieu- tenant in the recruiting service by Governor Kirkwood and Adjutant General N. B. Baker and served in that capacity in 1862 and 1863, and later he was at the front with the Forty- fourth Iowa Infantry, receiving his final dis- charge September 15, 1864.
After the close of the war General Collier re- sumed his studies and won successively the de- grees of Bachelor of Science and Master of Science. He then began preparation for the bar and following his admission by Judge James H. Rothrock, March 26, 1867, he has since been engaged in practice, and has long maintained an honorable position at the Towa bar. Ile was not long in gaining a good elien- tage, which has constantly developed in extent and also in the importance of the character of his work. He was eity attorney of the eity of Cedar Rapids, Linn county, Iowa, during the years 1874, 1875 and 1876, and was assistant solicitor of the Burlington, Cedar Rapids & Northern Railway Company from 1878 to 1884. Since 1887 he has made his home in Sioux City, where he has a law business that continually brings him in association with the leading practitioners of this part of the state, and he is still in the active practice of his pro- fession.
General Collier is a prominent member of the Grand Army of the Republic, and is a past commander of General Hancock Post, No. 22, Department of Iowa. He has long been a member of the Towa National Guard and was one of the first company commanders in the state. He was commissioned captain of the Baker Gnards in June, 1873, and on January 28, 1874, lieutenant colonel of cavalry and aide-de-camp on Commander-in-chief Governor C. C. Carpenter's staff ; was again captain of Company C, First Regiment, August 10, 1878;
assistant inspector general, First Brigade, Gen- eral Banks commanding July 1, 1881; re-eleet- ed major of the First Regiment, April 14, 1884; and was commissioned brigadier general and judge advocate general on Governor Frank D. Jackson's staff, February 1, 1894, his pres- ent commission and rank.
General Collier has been an active and effi- cient member and worker in the lowa National Guard ever since its organization, and to him is largely due the credit of the present efficient military law now on our statute. Prior to 1879 there had been but little done of a prae- tical nature for the betterment of the Guard and it was in a chaotic condition; it is true, there were a few companies organized but the state gave them no assistance, save to furnish a few old muskets and cartridge boxes and the officers and members were obliged to keep up their organization by voluntary contributions and by the generosity and patriotism of the communities where they were located.
There had been two or three military con- ventions, one held in Dubuque and one in Des Moines, of which such men as Governor Frank D. Jackson, General James Rush Lincoln, Gen- eral Jolin R. Prime, Colonel C. V. Mount, Col- onel P. C. Ballingall, General Byron A. Bee- son, Colonel Sweeny, Colonel MeCarthy and others were present, who in after years were distinguished as prominent officers in the Guard. But it was not until May 14, 1879, at Marshalltown that any definite action was for- mally taken. At that meeting a committee on the revision of the military law of the state of Towa was appointed with General Collier as chairman and a united effort was then put forth for the securing of some favorable legisla- tion. General Collier spent the entire winter of 1879 and 1880 in attendance upon and urg- ing the legislature to enaet some law bestow- ing recognition upon and substantially aiding the Guard. He drew the original bill that was passed and approved March 20, 1880, which under section 51 of said aet appropriated the
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sum of twenty thousand dollars per annum for the support and maintenance of the Iowa Na- tional Guard, the first dollar ever appropriated by the state of Iowa for that purpose.
That there was great rejoicing all along the line by members of the Guard goes without saying and wany were the congratulations re- ceived by General Collier for his efficient and successful labors. As a recognition of his work as an officer and soldier and to show the high regard and esteem in which he was held by his superior officers, he was especially detailed by General W. L. Alexander, on order of Gov- ernor Gear, Commander-in-chief, in general or- ders No. 2, July 20, 1880, to make an in- spection and muster of the Iowa National Guard for payment on uniforms. This in- spection, which was made in conjunction with Adjutant General Alexander and Inspector General W. H. Thrift, was under the new law enacted and was thorough and rigid. The re- sult was that a large number of companies throughout the state, not coming up to the re- quired standard, were mustered out of the serv- ice by general orders No. 3, September, 1880, and from nine regiments and a battery or two the numbers were materially reduced and the standard of efficiency correspondingly raised. General Collier takes great pride and interest in the Iowa National Guard, and feels that in some degree he has contributed to its establish- ment and success, and though it has passed from and through the experimental stage to the high position it now occupies, he is the same stanch, firm friend and worker as of old and nothing gives him so much pleasure as to visit the annual inspections and encampments and note the splendid condition and efficiency of the Guard and compare it with twenty-five years ago.
General Collier has been married twice and is the father of four children. His present wife is Ethel Van Fassen Collier and together they are living with their little daughter Ethel Mary Collier, a girl of ten years, at their pleas-
ant home in Smith's Villa in Sioux City and she is the light and joy of his later years.
GEORGE DOUGLAS PERKINS.
To the energetic natures and strong mental- ity of such men as Hon. George Douglas Per- kins, editor of the Sioux City Journal, is due the success and ever increasing prosperity of the Republican party in Iowa, and in the hands of this class of citizens there is ever assurance that the best interests and welfare of the party will be attended to, resulting in a successful culmination of the highest ambitions and ex- pectations entertained by its adherents. Giv- en to the prosecution of active measures in po- litical affairs and possessing the earnest puur- pose of placing their party beyond the pale of possible dimunition of power, the Republican leaders in Iowa are ever advancing, carrying everything before them in their irresistible on- ward march. Certainly one of the most potent elements in the success of the Republican move- ment in Iowa is George D. Perkins, who throughout his life has been a loyal citizen, imbued with patriotism and fearless in defense of his honest convictions. In the Civil war he followed the Union banners on southern bat- tlefields and he has since, just as fearlessly and just as loyally, advocated in the halls of congress and through the press the principles which he believes will advance the welfare of the nation. Such is the man whose life his- tory forms the theme of this article.
Mr. Perkins was born in Holley, Orleans county, New York, February 29, 1840, a son of John D. and Lucy (Forsyth) Perkins, the former a native of Connecticut and the lat- ter of New York, while both were descendants of old New England families. The father was an attorney who came to the west on account of failing health when his son George was but six years old. The family spent one year in Indiana, two years in Milwaukee and then re-
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moved to Baraboo, Wisconsin, which was the since been president and manager. Through- family residence when the father died in 1850. out the whole of his journalistic career he has been connected with but two papers. Ile is thoroughly conversant with the "art preserva- tive" and moreover he keeps abreast with the best thinking men of the age, and treats with fairness and ability the questions which are under public discussion. Since that time George D. Perkins has been dependent upon his own exertions, and front humble financial circumstances he has risen to affluence through the opportunity which is the pride of our American life. In the meantime he had attended the public schools and had also extended his education under private instruc- tion.
When sixteen years of age he began learning the printer's trade in the office of the Baraboo Republic, of Baraboo, Wisconsin. In 1860 he and his brother Henry removed to Cedar Falls, Iowa, and established a paper which they called the Gazette, Mr. Perkins continuing an active factor in its publication until August, 1863, when he enlisted as a private soldier in Company B, Thirty-first Iowa Infantry. At Helena, Arkansas, he was taken violently ill and from the hospital was transferred to Jef- ferson Barracks, St. Louis, where on the 12th of January, 1864, he was discharged and sent home-it was thought to die. It was found that he was suffering from abscess on the liver and it was long ere he recovered.
In 1866 the brothers sold the Gazette and removed to Chicago, where Mr. Perkins served for three years as agent for the Northwestern Association Press. In April, 1869, he came to Sioux City and purchased the Journal of Mah- lon Gore, and removing to this city took pos- session of the office on the 1st of May of that year, and has since been editor of the paper. In 1870, being joined by his brother Henry, they established the Daily Journal, now one of the leading daily papers of the northwest. The firm of Perkins Brothers, with the exception of two years, beginning in the summer of 1876, when George D. Perkins condueted the busi- ness alone, had a continuous existence up to the time of the death of Henry Perkins, in November, 1884. At that time a stock com- pany was formed under the name of Perkins Brothers Company, and George D. Perkins has
Mr. Perkins has been particularly influential in public affairs, especially in those relating to the political conditions of city, state and na- tion, and in 1873 was chosen to represent his distriet in the state senate, in which he served for one term. In 1890 he was elected by nearly one thousand plurality over the Democratic, Independent and Prohibition candidates to rep- resent the eleventh Iowa district in congress and served four terms. During Governor Gear's administration he was commissioner of immigration, his term of office expiring by lin itation of the statute at the end of two years. From President Arthur he received appoint ment to the position of United States marshal for the northern district of Iowa and was re- moved by President Cleveland under a charge of "offensive partisanship." He was a delegate to the Republican national convention at Cin- einnati in 1876; at Chicago in 1880; and again in Chicago in 1888. He has been an active member of the party since the Fremont cam- paign of 1856, and cast his first presidential vote for Abraham Lincoln in 1864.
In 1869 Mr. Perkins married Miss Louise E. Julia, a native of New York city, and they have five living children: Florence, Samuel, Clara, William and Thomas. Mr. Perkins, as a citizen of Sioux City, has extended his efforts to various fields in which, as an acknowledged leader, he has championed the highest interests of the municipality and the people at large. Ile and his family are identified with the Congre- gational church, and he is a member of the Grand Army of the Republic. He is spoken of as one of the leading men of Iowa. In his writings and in speech he is logical, candid and
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sincere, and his utterances show deep thought and wide research. He has come to be held in high honor as one of the most forceful fac- tors in journalistic and political circles in his state.
JOSEPH PAYETTE.
Joseph Payette, who as a contractor and builder is condneting a prosperous business in Sioux City, has had an eventful and interest- ing career and there is much in his life his- tory that could well serve as a lesson worthy of emulation. When he first came to this city at the age of twenty years he could not speak English and he not only had to master the lan- guage but had to adapt himself to the ways of a new people, but although thus handicapped he has steadily progressed in business circles and has eventually gained a comfortable eompe- tence. He was born near Montreal, Canada, in 1840, and is a son of Nelson and Zoe (Can- tale) Payette, who were also natives of Canada. The father was a farmer by occupation and died at Grosvenor, Connecticut, in 1901, at the age of ninety-nine years. His wife had passed away when about forty-four years of age. Jo- seph was the fifteenth in order of birth in their family of nineteen children and four of the number are now living in Sioux City: Nel- son, Joseph, Thaphlile and Adolphus D.
Mr. Payette acquired his early education in the French schools of his native town. He began to learn the carpenter's trade in his home locality when he was fourteen years of age. On leaving Canada he located at Troy, New York, in 1863, and there followed the earpen- ter's trade for a brief period, but gradually worked his way westward. He was six weeks in making the trip from Boonesboro to Sioux City with an ox team. This was in 1865 and here he entered the employ of the United States government, taking charge of a drove of horses and supplies with which he started up the
Missouri river, traveling by way of the forts. He had two boatloads of supplies, one for Fort Randall and one for Fort Benton, but on the way he met Captain Reed returning and the trip was abandoned. At this time a man liv- ing in Sioux City by the name of Pratt offered Mr. Payette a home with him and also gave him a chance for attending school, as he could not speak the English language at that time. He was then but twenty-five years of age and he spent one year in school, his first English teacher being Mrs. E. Todd, who had charge of the school in the little brick school house. A year later Mr. Payette had an opportunity to work at the carpenter's trade in the old Illinois Central depot at good wages and the temptation was too great, so he put aside his text books and began following the builder's trade. In 1866 F. X. Batul became a partner of G. Pay- ette. This partnership was continued for nine years, after which he was alone in business for a time and in 1891 he entered into partner- ship with M. A. Comeau, a contractor. In 1899 he went to Montreal, Canada, where he remained for about four months and in May, 1900, returned to Sioux City and organized the Payette Construction Company, of which he became president and manager. This com- pany was formed for the purpose of doing a general contracting and building business and now has offices at No. 514 Pearl street.
During the period of his residence in Sioux City Mr. Payette has been associated with the erection of some of the important buildings here, including the Metropolitan bloek, the Peavey Grand Opera House at the corner of Jones and Fourth streets, and several fine resi- dences. He also built the Catholic church at Early, Iowa, and the Catholic church at Lohr- ville, Iowa, the Catholic church at Ida Grove, Iowa, the courthouse at Elk Point, South Da- kota, the bank building at Westfield, Iowa, the bank buildings at Bloomfield and Belden, Ne- braska, and the bank and store building at Bel- den, Nebraska, which was erected in 1904.
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