USA > Iowa > Polk County > Portrait and biographical album of Polk County, Iowa, containing full page portraits and biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens of the county > Part 13
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.J. B. Loughran, whose name heads this notice; lauded in Des Moines from the steamboat .Colonel Morgan." in 1859. lle was reared in the Capital City of lowa, and when not in school spent his boy hood days in his uncle S. J. Longhran's forn- dry. His primary education. acquired in the pull- lie schools. was supplemented by a course in Bowen's Business College, where he pursued such studies as would prove useful in a business career. He spent the year 1865 in the Bulletin office. learning the printer's trale, and in 1871 began learning the moulder's trade in his naope- foundry. continuing there to serve in various capacities until isSS. when he became a mening of the fin. The business was started in 1856 by S. .. Langh- ran. since which time it has been in active opent- tion. and was the scound foundry established in the city. In Ingu our subject took charge and is bu sole proprietor.
Mr. Loughran sar married November 11 187%.
to Sarah A. Harbison, a native of Warren County. lowa, born July 1. 1860, and a daughter of John Harbison. They have one son. Edmund 11 .. and lost one, John H. who died at the age of three years. He was the eldest. The parents are mem- heis of the United Presbyterian Church. and in polities, Mr. Loughran is a Republican. He has been bonored with the office of Mayor of North Des Moines during three terms, and proved an efficient and popular public servant, as his re-elce- tion indicates. He has always taken an active in- terest in church and school work, and has made for himself many friends throughout the commu- nity.
R EV. A. B. SHAFER, of Des Moines, was born in Preston County, W. Va., July 31. 1823, and is the son of John and Mary (Dix) Shafer. On the paternal side he is of German descent, while the Dix family is of Eng- lish origin. His Grandfather Shafer was a Vir- ginian farmer and his father was born near Morgantown, Va., October 10. 1797. His mother was born on the Hth of November, 1:00. in the Old Dominion, and her father followed the occu- pation of coopering. Their marriage was cele- brated on the 6th of January, 1820, and after having resided in their native State for thirty-seven years they removed to Jasper Coumy. lowa, where they spent the remainder of their lives. Mr. Shafer was a local preacher in the Methodist Episcopal Church, of which both he and his wife had been members from childhood. They reached a ripe old age and passed away as they had lived. re- spected by all who kinew them. Their family nuit- beted ten children, five sons and five daughters. of whom four sous and theve daughter- are now living. Our anbjert is the only member of the family who ire followed a professional career. He was reared to farm life but determined to devote his energies to other interests and chose the minis- try as the one in which he believed he could Be- accomplish the most good. His early que font advantages were very meagre though he attended att grademy for abo it a year aml & balf. He Pad
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bien converted in his fifteenth year under the preaching of David The ss and as best he couldl. had prepared himself for gospel work. When almut right- teen years of age he was licensed as a local preacher. and in 1816. located in Edinburg. Ind. In October, of the same year, in Conorsville he joined the Indi- ana Conference and was appointed pastor of the church in Shelbyville. He then had charge of Sugar Creek Circuit and was next called to Frank- lin. after which, on the 4th of July, 1851, he landed in Iowa, locating in Newton, Jasper County. In the fall of the same year he was placed in charge of the Red Rock Mission and in 1852. went to California. being stationed at Santa Cruz, Bux- port. Eureka and Toll Gate. Returning to Jowa in 1856, he engaged in farming for a short time and then joined the lowa Conference, after which he was engaged as pastor of the church in Newton for two years. Grinnell two years. Peoria one year. Abia Station one year and one year in Galesburg. After entering the Des Moines Conference h: 1866. he wa- assigned to the chinch at Glenwood, where he remained a year. was then engaged in proclaim- ing the gospel to the people in Clarinda for two years, later spent one year in Indianola and the same length of time in Greencastle. He was then numbered among the supernumerarios for two years, when he received a call from Prairie City. where he remained two years. After a like period spent in Monroe he bad charge of the Des Moines Cirenit two years and was pastor of Asbury Chapel two years. He Imilt and renruined pastor of Grace Church for a year. later labored in the in- terest of the church in Rising Sun. we then paster of the Walnut Street Church and is , w City Mis- simary. For twenty years he he- never been absent from his place of duty on the Lord any. with the exception of one Sunday when detailed by sickness.
On the 29th of March. 1:58, while in the far West. Rev. A. I. Sbater was united in marriage with Chuisa Wallace, a native of Fayette County. Pa. Their union was celebrated in Santa Clara. C .. They have no children of their own but have rued to adopted daughters -Mary A .. now the wife of William M. Reasoner, of Tapeka, Kan: :nul Crna E. S. wife of C. W. Fiy. of Jasper County. Jowa. 1
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In political sentiment. Mr. Shafer is a Republi- can. and for thirty years has been connected with the Masonic fraternity. He is still interested in agriculture and besides his farm property owns one and a quarter acres in Des Moines. Few more faithful workers have ever been with the ministry. For forty-four years he has devoted himself to that work. while one-half of the time has been spent in the Des Moines district. He has lived the life of uprightness and honor, gaining the love of his own people and the respect and confidence of all with whom he has been brought in contact. His words of encouragement and sympathy and his genial manner have been important factors in the work which he has accomplished, winning many to his views and the acceptance of the gospel who could not have been induced to take the step through preaching alone.
E EDWARD T. TWINING, M. D., of Des Moines, is a native of the Buckeye State. and a descendant of one of the carly fami. lies of Massachusetts, the original American ances- tor having settled in the Bay State during its carly Colonial days. His father was E. W. Twining. who is now a resident of Corning, lowa. Leaving Ohio, in 1816. he emigrated to this State, in com- pany with his family, and settled in Washington County, whence he moved to his present home. His wife. the mother of our subject, is now de- ceased.
The Doctor is the best of three brothers. the second being L. Twining. of Des Moines: while the youngest. Dr. . I. L. i- engaged in the practice of medicine in Adam- County. Jowa. Our suh- jeet was but two years of age when the family set- Hled in Washington County, and since that time he les made his home in this State. He received his literary education in the school of Washington. love, and in that city began reading medicine in 1858, maler the direction of Dr. ... .. Rousseau. He wes eravinated from the Chicago Mediend ( ol- lege, in lagd, and for the van preceding stel the your following the date hold the pration of bed-"
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surgeon in the Cook County Hospital, of Chicago. He then opened an office at his own home in Washington, where he engaged in practice until 1.72. which year witnessed his removal to Cor- ning. lowa. He succeeded in there building up a good practice, but severed his business relations with the people of Corning in 1885. when he came to Des Moines.
The marriage of Dr. Twining and his estimable : wife, whose maiden name was Florence C. Conger. was celebrated in Washington. The lady is a daughter of .1. C. Conger, who is numbered among the pioneers of Washington County. They have become the parents of two sons and two daughters, namely: Lenore. Luela. Clark and Howard.
Dr. Twining has a fine practice and has proved himself worthy of the confidence and high esteem in which he is held. He is ripe with years of ex- perience, and although more than twenty years have passed since he left college, he is still abreast of the times, as be makes his profession a study that he will not complete until he lay's aside his lahors in that direction.
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E DWARD TURBY, President of the Des Moines Coal and Mining Company. and one of the prominent business nen of the county. resides in Sevastopol. He was born in Pennsylvania. September 3. 1815, and belongs to a family of seven children, whose parents were Richard and May ( Markle) Turby. His father was a native of Ireland, but at an early day emi- grated to the country and settled in Pennsylvania. where he became acquainted with and married Mi- Mailde a native of the Keystone Mate. barn of scotch parentage. They spent their entire mar- sied life n. that State, the husband dying in los !. the wife in Jas8. Of their children. five are now living: William and James of Penn ylvania; Ed- wand. of this sketch; Lewis, of Des Moines; and Timothy. of Pennsylvania.
Edward Turky for a number of vres has ofel. good a prominent place in lasinesendes in the Conta City, and as his circle of friends and ag-
quaintances is quite extensive. we feel that this brief sketch of his life will be received with pleasure by many of our readers. He attended the common schools in his youth, and remained at home with his parents until eighteen years of age. when. in January. 1803. he started out in life for himself. as a defender of his country. Enlisting in the One Hundred and Twelfth Pennsylvania Heavy Artillery, with his command he was sta- tioned at Ft. Ethan Allen for alatt a month. and thence went to Alexandria, where for a time they did garrison duty. Joining the Ninth Corps. they afterward participated in the battles of the Wil- derness and were fighting almost continuously from that time until the battle of Petersburg. where they remained until the close of the war. Spott- sylvania and Cold Harbor were two important engagements in which they took part during that time. Mr. Turby received some slight flesh wounds but otherwise escaped uninjured. After remaining six months at Petersburg he went to Philadelphia, where he was honorably discharged as corporal.
The war having closed, Mr. Turby returned to his home in Bloomsburg. Pa., where he worked at various occupations until 1875, when he went to Texas, but after two weeks spent in that State, he returned to the North. His choice of location fell upon Des Moines, which had then become a city of importance, and thereby Polk County gained a valued citizen. For about six years he was eu- gagel in mining coal for the Watson Company. after which he worked for other companies until he was elected President of the Des Moines Coal all Mming Company, which office he hell for six month. He then accept of the position of Super- intender of the Garver Card Company, which he filled about two and one-half years, when he was again made President of the Des Moines Coal and Mining Company, in which capacity he Iris since
In November, 1885. Mr. Turby was mitel in marriage with Annie Rees, daughter of Daniel and Ruth & Bail > > Reyes, both of whom were me- tives of Wales They were also believers in the Mormon doctrine, to which they were converted in the old country, but never joined that people
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in Utah. Mr. Rees acted as mining manager for different companies until his death, which occurred in January. 1886. His wife is still living and re- -ides in Des Moines. Unto them were born ten children, as Follows : Joseph. Annie. Daniel James, Evan, Lottie, George. Frank, Winnie and Harry.
Mr. Turby and his wife have two children, Winnie and Edward. Jr. In politics. our subject is a Republican, having cast his ballot with that party since attaining his majority, and socially. is a member of the Masonic fraternity. of Des Moines. Hle was a gallant soldier, is a loyal citi- zen and has proven a capable and faithful officer, as his re-election to the position of President of the Des Moines Coal and Mining Company plainly indicates.
YEVESTER A. MONTIS, President of the Northwestern Suspender Company, all one of the self-made men of Des Moines. was born in Richland County, Ohio, Jan- uary 3. 1818, and is a son of George ampl Rosanna (MeGarvey) Montis. Ilis father is a native of Ohio, and a mechanic by trade. When the war broke out he responded to the call for one hundred day men and served during the time for which he enlisted. He still makes his home in Mansfield. Ohio, at the age of sixty-eight years. His wife, who died some years ago, was a native of Penn- sylvania. In their family were four children, but only two are now living: Sylvester A. of this sketch; and John W. who is engaged in farming in Ohio.
Um subject, as before stated, is a self made man. Since the early age of eleven years he has been dependent upon his own resources, and as a result his advantages for acquiring an education were limitol. Notwithstanding this fact however. by close application to business he became qualifiol to teach school and at the age of nineteen turned his attention to that vocation. In 19is here moved to Newfont. lowa, where after teaching school for a time he followed farming for tone, life in the West. He knows that he must at the Seus. During that posted, on the End of Man
vary, 1872, he was united in marriage with Ella M. Drew, a native of Ohio and a most estimable lady. Their union has been blessed with one child, Ralph D.
In 1885 Mr. Montis came to Des Moines, and since that the has been prominently identified with the business interests of the city. In com- pany with A. D. Cross, he embarked in his present business, the manufacture of suspenders. which they continued alone until the organization of the Northwestern Suspender Company, of which Mr. Montis was made President. The business has rapidly increased and become one of the leading industrie- of the city. It furnishes employment to some twenty bands, and the product of the manufactory finds a ready sale throughout the entire West. In political sentiment. Mr. Montis is a stanch Repub- liean, but has never desned that his faithful- Bess to party principles should be rewarded by any official honors. Giving careful attention to all the details of his business, he has but little time for outside pleasure and prefers to spend his little leisure in the enjoyment of social pleasures rather in the turmoil of politics.
ETER IHICKEY. who is living in Des Moines, but devotes his attention to farm ing. is a native of County Claire, Ireland. He was born in 1836, and remained on the Emerald Isle until nineteen years of age, when in the autunm of 1855, he emigrated to America, land- ing in the city of New York, on the 5th of Sep- tomber. He spent one winter in the Empire State engaged in mailtrading, for which he received twenty-three cents per day, and boarded himself. In the sunaner he went to Pennsylvania, and worked upon a farm at " per month. The meagre wayne of the East determined him to seek a home in lowa. and traveling by stage be at length arrived in Des Moines, since which time he has been a resident of Polk County. One shilling comprised his entire ich capital and with that small amount, he began
find work, and medle mangorents with Henry Bi-
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sick. busking corn for him for a month. for $15. Hle then sought employment in a coal mine, one of the first opened in Polk County, and continued operations in that line for ten years at various places, le also worked in a nursery for James Smith, his wages being $15 per month. Industry and economy. however served him instead of cap- ital, and after a number of years of hard labor, he found that he had accumulated sufficient means with which to make a start in life. He first pur- chased a lot on Eighth Street for $209. upon which he built a house at the cost of $100. This he traded for a farm of one hundred acres. seven miles southeast of the city. in Warren County, in 1866. eighty acres of which was prairie land. the remain- ing twenty living covered with timber. After re- siding thereon, he soll. and purchased one hundred sixty acres, just over the line in Polk County, where he made his home for twelve years, when he bought a hundred-acre farm on section 29. Valley Town- ship, which he still owns. He has. however, since 1887. made his home in the city, but he still man- ages his farm, and is accounted one of the leading agriculturalists and stock-growers of Central lowa. He keeps on hand a good grade of cattle, and gives special attention to the breeding of horses. Norman and Clydesdale, of which he sold eight head for $1,500 each. Farm life seems especially adapted to his nature, and combining his love of the work with ceaseless industry and good management, he has been quite successful, and is now numbered among the prosperous citizens of the counmunity.
The marriage of Peter Hickey and Margaret Me- Namara, was celebrated on the 16th of August, 1858. The Holy was born June 18. 1839. in County Claire, heland, and their union has been blessed with eight children. as follows: John. Mary. Peter, Margaret. Machew, Cornelius, Anna and Kittie. The family are all members of St. Ambrose Catho- lie Church. Mr. Hickey cast his first vote in this country for James Buchman in 1856. and has since been a warm advocate of Democratic principles. He is one of the representative early citizens of Des Moines, having made his home in the city since it was a town of only four thousand inhabitants. It contained in brick houses at that time, nor had . with his young bride for Des Moines. For a you a Catholic Church been built. The first antes was Fafter his arrival in this city, he was alone in prae-
held in a little log cabin about twelve feet square. Afterward services were hell in a rented room on Sixth and Elm Streets until 1859, when SI. Am- brose Church was built.
ELSON ROYAL. of the law firm of Lewis & Royal. attorneys for the Lewis Investment Company of Des Moines, was born in Berk- shire County. Mass., July 9. 1853. and is a son of Ambrose and Mary ( Laboucher) Royal. His par- ents were both of French descent. and natives of Canada, where they were married. Shortly after their marriage, however, they removed to Berk- shire County, and when Nelson was about two years of age, went to the town of Coventry, in Tolland County, Coun., where the mother died about six years later. The father still sivives, and is living on the old homestead in that county. Our subject is one of five brothers, the eldest of whom is Di. George Royal, of Des Moines; Lewis E. resides in Mt. Pleasant. Mich., and is the present Mayor of that town; Nelson is the next younger ; Dr. Thomas C. is engaged in the practice of medicine in Sara- toga, N. Y., and Horace G., the youngest, is a resi- dent of Coventry, Conn. The only daughter of of the funily, Mary. became the wife of Hiram Monnette, and died at the old homestead in Con- neetieut in 1882.
After attending the public schools, and in Nat- chaug High School at Willimantic. Conn., at the early age of seventeen years, our subject began teaching in Manchester, where he followed that profession two years. During that time he con- tinned the study of Greek and Latin with Dr. Rob- ins, and also jainsued the study of law. Having determined to make the legal profession his life work. in 1850, he entered the Law Department of Yale College, from which he was graduated in the Class of 82. On the 25th of September following. he was united in marriage in New Haven, Conn .. with Miss Emmei J. Clark, danekter of Chapin E. Chork, mint ale it immediately thereafter started
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tive. when the present partnership of Lewis & Royal was formed. The firm does a good business. and stands high in the profession.
Mr. Royal has made his own way in life, his suc- cess being due entirely to his own efforts. He left home and began life for himself at the age of twelve years and securing a position on a farm. wrevived as compensation for his services, his board, cloth- ing. and four months schooling each year. He thus worked his way until at last he had segnired sufficient means to pay bis tuition in college. and embark in the practice of his chosen profession. He i- a thorough scholar, and possesses much natural ability. Koen of perception. and quick to catch a point, he has become an alde lawyer, and although comparatively a young practitioner. has received acknowledgements of his skill and ability. of which many an older member of the profession might well be proud. Hle is a member of the law faculty of Drake University, and delivers lectures on the fol- lowing subjects: Laws of Torts. Common Law Pleading and Practice, and Probate Law. In pol- ities, Mr. Royal is a Republican, and possesses much influence in the local councils of his party. He occupied the position of Treasurer of North Des Moines for three years, and was clected for a fourth term, hut refused to serve.
Mr. Royal and his wife have two interesting chil- dren. daughters, Myrtle E .. and Jo-ie C. The household is noted for its hospitality, and the fam- ily holds a high position in the social workl.
bon-partisan. It is ably edited, elegantly printed. and has a circulation of five thousand two hundred, a large share of its patronage being in the city and suburban towns.
Edward B. Whitcomb. the senior proprietor, was born in the town of Adams. Jefferson County, N. Y .. October 11. 1885. and is the son of Henry and Clarinda ( Holley ) Whitcomb, More than a pass- ing mention should be made of his estimable par- ents. His father. Henry Whitcomb, was a man of decided characteristics, firm and determined in everything that was good. He was one of the most scientifie men of his time, and had no peer as a mathematician in the great State of New York. where for nearly eighty years he lived. He figured in nearly all the coast surveys and eclipses, and was the inventor of many of the most useful things of the age. He was a polished and educated gen- tleman of the old style.
Clarinda (Holley) Whitcomb. his mother, was a woman possessed of rare attainments, always mak- ing home the center of attraction, and the most loved place. For over sixty years the two lived under the same roof. She was refined and cultured, and of a line of noted writers, not the least of whom is her niece Marietta Holley, the distinguished au- thoress known as "Josiah Allen's Wife." At the ages of eighty-four and eighty-seven years, Henry Whitcomb mol wife passed away, and are now sleeping in the cemetery in the quiet little village of Adams. N. Y.
Our subject received an nendemie education in his native town, and when twenty-two years of age learned telegraphy in I'tico. N. Y., being the first operator in the Empire State, to take messages by sound. He continued in that line of work for Inany years, and in 1.65. came to Des Moines. where he was variously employed until 6869. when he entered the servier of the Jowa State Register in the capacity of book-keeper and continued that commection for a period of nine years. He then bought into the Saturday Evening Mail, which was subsequently con olidated with the Times as pre- viously mentioned.
E DWARD B. WIHTCOMB. is senior partner amd! Forsiness manager of the firm of Whit- conb & Persinger, publishers and proprie- tore of the Mail and Times, a weekly society and literary paper of large circulation and greed popu- larity. This paper is an outgrowth of the Salu- day Earning Mail, which was established in 1875, and of the Des Moines Times, which sprang into existence in 1883. The two were consolidated by the present proprietors. April 1. 18SS, Inder the The marriage of Mr. Whitcomb was celebrated title of Mail Bad Times. The paper in size is an . in Des Moines. on the Ad of October, 1872. 1. mais eight-page of six columna, twenty inclus, and is , of his chose being Miss Maggie Lyon, a daughter
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of Jonathan Lyon, and one of the belle. of the cap- ital city society. Jis. Whitcomb was born in Des Moines. her parents being among the carly settlers of Polk County. A sketch of their live- apposirs 1 elsewhere in this volume, Mr. and Mrs. Whitcomb ,have one child. a son. namel Bonner. who was born in Des Moines, on the 19th of December. 1875, and is now a student of Callanan College.
M: Whitemal is a Democrat in politics, but has always refused to be a candidate for any political office. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity. and was made a Mason in Zion Lodge. No. 1, of De. troit. Mich., in which city he spent one year while on his way West. Mr. Whitcomb is a practical. up- right business man, and during his connection with the Saturday Berning Mail. and later with its sue- cessor, the Mail and Times, has by his enterprise and close attention to details. aided materially in building up a substantial and prosperous business. The Mail and Times is a model paper. not only in As literary makeup, but in its material and mo- chanical construction, and is the acknowledged leader of the many ably conducted literary papers of lawa. Mr. Whitcomb is a Director in the Oak Park Land Company, and also in the Zoological Park Company. and is an active worker in these and many other enterprises calculated to improve and build up the city. He is a recognized leader among the younger aml more enterprising business men of Des Moines, and has always contributed . laurally to worthy public enterprises. He believes in a progressive policy, and in the use of Des Join - capital to improve and build up bonne in- stitutions.
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