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 31
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60
When the war was ended Mr. Ryden returned to Princeton. Ill .. and resumed farming. On the 17th of March, 1868, he was united in marriage with Miss Christine Johnson, a native of Sweden, and a daughter of Olof Johnson. She was born in the sune neighborhood as her husband, and came to America in 1851. Five children grace their union. three danghters and two sons-Ella, Belle, Flor- ence, Roy and Hugo, all yet at home.
In 1868, accompanied by his young wife, Mr. Ryden came to Iowa, and took up his residence in Brooklyn. Poweshick County. but a year later lo ented in Des Moines. In 1873 he was appointed clerk of the shipping dopatiment of the office of Sporetary of State, which position he has held con- timmonly siner, covering a period of seventeen years. In politics he is a stalwart Republican, and has voted with that party since becoming an Anti- can citizon. Mi. Ryden and his wife, also their older children. belong to the Swedish Lutheran Church. of which he is an active and influential member. His long continuance in the service of the State is mily a just recognition of hi- fiolity to the trust reposed in him, and of the prompt and faithful discharge of every officiel duty. poredis,
650
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPINCAL ALBUM.
and a prominent officer of various Swedish socio. ties of Des Moines, He is President of the Swedish Benevolent Society. Secretary of the Swedish Mutund Society. and President of the Swedish Economical Society. Skandia. Among the people of his nation- ality who are residents of Des Moines, Mr. Ryden is looked upon as one of the most active and in- fuential. and is held in high regard by those who know him.
AYETTE MEEK, who is now living a re- tired life in Des Moines, has for more than half a century been a resident of Jowa, and for many years was numbered among the leading business men of Polk County. He was born in Clermont County. bear Cincinnati, Ohio, on the 9th of March, I84l. and is a son of Dr. Samnel G. and Marilla ( Newton) Meck. His father was a na- tive of Virginia, born in 1798. of English and Ger- man parentage and in an early day removed to Ohio, where he became acquainted with Miss New- ton, who was born in Boston. Mass. in 1814. Ile wooed and won the lady and in 1839. when our subject was a lad of eight summers, they emi- grated to the Territory of lowa. reaching their destination in November. They located in Bloom- ington. now the city of Muscatine, but a month later removed to Burlington, and afterwards be- came residents of Farmington, Van Buren County. Hle devoted his time principally to milling and mercantile parsnits. but in his latter yours he re- tired wholly from business life. Both Mr. Meck and his wife are now decreed ..
Our subject received but linked educational advantages as he was forest to attend the common schools of this State in an early day, when they had not att dined their present excellence, He en- tered upon his busines career as a clerk in his father's dry-good- house, where he Leesthe famil- iar with the methods and manner of ba -iness life. Later he was employed as a sdesman in a drug store and subsequently enbanke ling the same lin" in Konsonque. lova, as a partner of his brother-in- law. Gen. Tuttle. Their connection continued in
til 1568. when Mr. Meck sought a home in the Capital City. For a number of years he was prom- inently connected with the business interests of Des Moines. His first venture was in the grocery trade which he successfully carried on for three years. He then engaged in pork packing in which he continued until 1886. since which time he has lived a retired life.
In 1858, in Farmington, Iowa. he was united in marriage with Miss Caroline A. Dibble. a native of Rochester, N. Y., and a daughter of Judge Horace Dibble. Their union was blessed with four children but two are now deceased-Harper, the eldest, died at the age of twenty nine years; Alva is engaged in the grocery business in Des Moines: Gale died at the age of two years; and Dale is a member of the firm of Meek Bros. & Co., proprie- tor of one of the leading grocery houses.
In polities. Mr. Meck is a Republican but has never sought or desired official distinction, prefer- ing to devote his attention to his business and home interests. He possesses business ability of a high order. is enterprising and progressive and by his own eforts won a handsome competence which now enables him to spend his declining years in retirement. from all labor.
ILLIAM LOWRY. a well known ex County and City Treasurer, and a prominent car- peuter and builder of Des Moines. came to this city in October, 1856. He is therefore numbered among its pioneers and is well worthy of representation in this volume. He was born in Lancaster. Pa .. February 11. 1835, and is a son of William and Mary (Russell) Lowry. His parents were also natives of Lancaster, and were of Scotch- Irish descent. The priternal grandfather of our subject emigrated to this country from the north of Inband in 1758, and settled in the Keystone State. Later four of his brothers cante to this country and settled in different parts of the United Sabe but he never met any of them after they reached this land.
Our subject was educated in the common school
1
£
651
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL ALBEM
and supplemented his early knowledge by a course in Franklin College. He learned the trade of car- pentry in his native town. and in 1s55 emigrated to fowa. He spent the summer in Davenport and the following winter in Moline, IN. but returned to Davenport in the spring of 1856. The month of October the same year witnessed his arrival in Des Moines. whither he had come to work on the first capitol building erected in this city. He fol- lowed his trade until the spring of 1860. when at- tracted by the discovery of gold at Pike's Peak. he joined an expedition bouwl for that promising El- dorado. Crossing the plains he spent one som- mer in the gold region but failed to find the anticipated fortune.
In the fall, Mr. Lowry returned to Des Moines and on the 22nd of November, was joined in wed- lock with Miss Mary E. Turney, a native of Peters- burg, Md., and a daughter of Daniel and Ellen Turney. They have five children living and have lost one. William R., the oldest, wedded Miss Mary O'Conner, and is a resident of Des Moines ; Daniel Francis resides in the State of Washington: John D., single. is engaged with his father in the grocery business at No. 1304 East Ninth Street, Capital Park : Mary E., residesat home; Mark died at the age of seven years; and Alice T. is the youngest.
Mr. Lowry continued to work at his trade notil 1861. when he engaged as clerk in the store of J. M. Moody, with whom he continued mail elected to the office of City Treasurer in 1871. He was twice re-elected and served three terms. He was also the people's choice for County Treasurer in 1873. and served three terms in that office. While holding the latter position he was required to make good a loss of $7.000 county fmiels which he had on deposit with F. R. West & Son. bank- ers, at the time of their failure. This was an unjust and severe hardship to Mr. Lowry. but by a vote of the people of the county he was sub equally reimbursed. He was an efficient and faithful officer and his great popularity is shown by the fact that, while he was known to be or call- ;
est Democrat, he was three times desind in the re- sponsible office of County Treamer in the face of from thirteen hundred to sixteen honderd 1. pub-
lican majority. Mr. Lowry was reared under the auspices of the Presinterian Church, but after his marriage' united with the Roman Catholic Church. of which his wife lins been a consistent member since her girlhoud. He is a member of the An- cient Order of United Workmen and for a quar- ter of a century has been identified with the Masonic order.
G EN. JAMES BAIRD WEAVER. Inte met- ber of Congress from the sixth district of Iowa, and a prominent lawyer and politi- cian of the State, was born in Dayton, Ohio. on the 12th of June. 1833. Ilis parents. Abram and Susan ( Imley) Weaver. were also natives of the Buckeye State and became pioniers of Davis County, Towa. The family is of English origin and was established in America in Colonial days by emigrants from England who settled in New York. Members of the family served in the War for In- dependence and others became men of note in the various communities where they resided. William Weaver, grandfather of our subject, removed from New York to Ohio in the days of its early settlement and served as a Judge in one of the courts in that State. During the Indian Wars, he was in command of a fort that stood at a point, now the foot of Mail. Street. Cincinnati. He also participated in the Way of 1612.
Abram Weaver, father of Gen. Weaver. was born and reared in Ohio, and in 1835 removed with his family to Cas Conuty. Mieh .. where he followed farming mit ! 1819, when he emigrated Westward. On the 1st of May, 1813. (the first : day on which the whites were allowed to enter upon the reservation which had been purebasal of the See and Fox Indians) be settled in Davis County. lowa. He took an active jest in public affairs and fut ten years hold the odier of clerk. of the court of that county. Sobregently he re- 104.4 o Atchicos County, Kan. where ing served as clech of the court for fourten years. Mi death occurred in the city of Atchison in the spring of lox9, at the age of righty-three you .
6.12
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL ALBUM.
His wife, the mother of Gen. Weaver. was born in Obio, and was descended from an old and promi- nent New Jersey family. She died prior to her hus- hand, in the spring of 1888.
The subject of this sketch spent bis boyhood days upon his father's farin, and when fifteen years of age went to Bloomfield, where he availed him- self of such educational advantages as the pioneer schools afforded. During this period he was em- ployed a part of the time in carrying the mails on horseback between Bloomfield and Fairfield, his father having the contract on that route. In 1850, young Weaver decided to adopt the legal profes- sion as a business and entered upon the study of law in the office of Hon. Samuel G. MeAchran of Bloomfield, but soon afterwards, he entered the store of C. W. Phelps as salesman and pur- sued his readings in such Jeisure times as he found available. In 1833, he drove an ox-team across the plains to California for a relative and re- turned by way of the Panama route and New York in the fall of the same year. The following year he elerked for Edward Manning, a merchant of Bonaparte, Iowa. His employer urged him to re- main under the promise of increased salary and an ultimate partnership in the business, but this he declined and again turned to his favorite project. that of becoming a lawyer. In the autumn of 1851, he entered the Cincinnati Law School and was graduated in the class of 1855, with the de- gree of L. L. B. In May of the same year he opened a law office in Bloomfield, whoe he has pursued the practice of his profession except when in the service or employed in official of political work.
On the breaking out of the lite var, Mr. Weaver was one of the first to respond to President Lin- coln's call for troops, and in April, 1861, enlisted as a private of Company G, Second Iowa Infantry, intending to enter the First Regimeut, but missed it on account of his company not Alling cook enough. He was elected First Lieutenant of the company, which position he bell until October, 1862. Having participated in the battles of Don elson, Shiloh and the sige of Corinth, he wa; commissioned Major on the eve of the hat- ! the of Corinth, an honor tosolicited by law.
During the sanguinary battle of the following day Col. James Baker was mortally wounded. and the succeeding day Lieut. Col. N. IL. Mills fell a victim to the enemy's bullets. Thus the command of the regiment devolved upon Maj. Weaver until the end of the engagement. Seven days later he was unanimously chosen Colonel and was duly commissioned by Gov. Kirkwood. Within one week he had risen from lieutenant to colonel and continued to lead the gallant Sec- und lowa Regiment until the expiration of the term of service on the 27th of May, 1861, when he was mastered out. During his war exper- ience he never missed a march, a skirmish or a battle in which his command took part. At the capture of Fort Donelson a ball perforated his bat and cut a furrow through his hair, which is the nearest he came to being hit. He led the brigade which crossed the Oostenvala, during the battle of Resaca, Ga., discovered the enemy's position. land the pontoon bridges under fire. and after crossing, the brigade drove the enemy from the rife pits be- fore him. He bore the reputation of never shrink- ing from the most perilous position, while the magnetism of his presence inspired his subordinate officers and men with confidence and hope. He was brevetted Brigadier General on the 22nd of May, 1866, to date from the 13th of March, 1861. "for gallant and meritorious services," the United States Senate confirming the well deserved honor.
After the close of the war, Gen. Weaver resumed the practice of law in Hoouifield, and in 1866 was elected District Attorney of the second judicial dis- triet of Iowa, and the following year was appointed Assessor of Internal Revenue for the first district of the State which position he held six years, or until the office was abolislad by law. In 1871. Gen. Weaver cane within one vote of being the Repub- lican nominee for Congress from his district and in 1 275. against hi- wishes was a prominent can- didate for Governor. He was one of the organ- izets of the Republican party in Town in 1856, and affiliated with that party until 1>57; since which timc he has been prominently identified with the National Greenback: Labor party and its most con- pieten leader in the West. In The fall of 175, he was nominated by that party for Congress, in.
653
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL ALBUM.
dorsed by the Democrats, and was elected by a vote of 16,366 against 11.308 cast for E. S. Samop- son, the Republican nominee. On the 18th of March, 1879, he took his seat as a member of the Forty-sixth Congress. In June. 1880, he was nominated for the presidency by the National Greenback Labor party and in the November election received 307.740 votes for that office. In 1881 be was returned to Congress by the combined vote of his and the Democratic party and took his seat in the Forty-ninth Congress on the 7th of December, 1885. Having twice held the office the people knew of his worth and ability and again sent him as their representative to the legislative halls of the Nation. The broad and liberal views of puh- lic policy advocated by Gen. Weaver is shown in the spirit of his letter of acceptance when nom- inated for the presidency, from which we make the following extract :
"One of the grand missions of our party is to banish forever from American politics that deplor- able spirit of sectional hatred which for base pur- poses has been fostered by the leaders of the old parties. This has greatly deceived and embittered the publie mint? both North and South. Our ciy- ilization demands a new party dedicated to the pursuits of peace and which will not allow the war issues ever to be re-opoened, and will render the military strictly subordinate to the civil power. The war is over, and the sweet voice of Peace. long neglected. calls us to worship at her altars; let us crowd her temples with willing votaries. Let us have a free ballot, a fair count and equal rights for all classes; for the laboring men in Northern factories. mines aml workshop-, and for the struggling poor, both white and black. in the cotton fields of the South."
On the 12th of July. 1858, Gen. Weaver was married in Kessauqua. lows, to Miss Clana Vin- sou. a native of st. Mary's. Ohio. She is a woman . the Kirkwood. of which he became the owner and
Atkins, and is a member of the law firm of Gateh, Connor & Weaver of Des Moines; Susie is still at home ; Abram C. is engaged in farming near Bloom- field, Davi- County, Iowa; Laura, Ruth and Esther complete the family.
Gen. Weaver is a Knight Templar Mason and also a member of the Odd Fellows society. In the temperance cause he is an carnest worker and is an official member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. He was a lay delegate to the general conference which met in Baltimore in 1876. and has been prominently identified with that church for many years. Since 1883, he has been one of the editors and proprietors of the Fore Tribune of Des Moines, which paper is the recognized organ of the Nat- ional Lahor party in the West and a powerful champion of the rights of the people in opposition to all monopolies. Gen. Weaver is a clear and forcible writer. a talented and able lawyer. and one of the most eloquent and popular publie speak- ers in the United States. Ilis course as a lawyer, soldier and statesman has won for him a fore- most place among the distinguished men of the na- tion.
AMES C. SAVERY, the pioneer hotel man of Des Moines, came here in 1858 and opened a hotel in a log house which was situated at the southeast corner of Walnut and West Third Street and which was known as The Marvin. De also dealt in real estate and took an active in- terest in the improvement and development of the city. In 1856, when the capital was located in Fres Moines, a joint stock company was formed for the purpose of building a first-class hotel building. Mr. Savery was the leading spirit in the enterprise and the result was the savery Hotel, now knownas which was conducted by his brother until 1875. Financial troubles having overtaken him, he in contur tion with Mr. Allen, a banker in Des Moines. went to Sontama. where he engaged in mining and ated his fireincial condition he returned home srl became largely interested in real estate in Jowy th
of superior talent and culture, and is one of the leaders of the State in the Wommd's Foreign Mis- sionary work. Gen. and Mrs. Weaver have a VOI children living. two sons and five daughter and lo-t one son in infancy. Mand. the oldest of the , other enterprises. Having in a few years would- family became the wife of Rev. E. A. Robin-ot. of Cincinnati, lowa; James B. married Miss Foi
65 1
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL ALBUM.
=
connection with James Callanan, they buying all the lands of the American Emigrant Company. In last, a spirit of public improvement led to a desire on the part of the citizens of Des Moines to have a still finer hotel erected that should be second to none west of Chicago, and a movement was set on foot to effect that result. At the head of this movement was Col. Frank Riscley. A stock com- pany called the Savery Hotel Company was incor- porated, of which Col. Riscley was elected President and W. W. Witmer, Secretary. Mr. Savery was strongly urge to become a member of the com- pany and to let the proposed hotel bear his name. Yielding to the solicitations of his friends hi bought $100,000 of the stock and the work went on. The citizens furnished the site, which was valued at $50.000, as a subsidiary gift. The erec- tion of the building was begun in the spring of 1887. and completed, furnished and opened for bus- iness on the Ist of July, 1888, under the name of The Savery, with Col. Frank Riseley as manager. The hotel was built on the best modern plans and is furnished in the most elegant manner. The furni- ture and appointments are in keeping with the lux. urious style of the house. The very name of the place is suggestive of comfort and case, and under its able management the Savery has never disap- printed its owners or patrons. The value of the site. as previously stated. was $50,000, the cost of the stoneture $225.000 and the cost of finiture $50,000. making a grand total of $325,000. Mr. Savery, who began the hotel business in a log home in 1853. has reason to be proud of the pala- fed house of 1890 that beats his name.
James C. Savery was born in Wareham. Ma -.. on the Poth of November. Isto. His forefather was a number of the first Puritmn colety of 1620. Ilis immediate family redded in Saratoga. N. Y. dur- in: his childhood, and he is the only survivor of is children. He was married in Jamming. 185%. 1! - wife is a native of London. Her life has been devoted principally to literacy por uits.
l'in to coming to Des Moines in 1455 Mr. S.v. ery rested in New York. He went to California : mong the first at the time of the wold theenterica os Ga Parite ( cet. He was one of the fran kai- of the Asian Emight Company sed made
several trips to Europe on that business. This company has settled over a hundred thousand Scandinavians in the Northwestern States, Mr. Savery is at the head of this company at the present time. The reverses and successes of life have neither sauted or disturbed the even current of his nature. Kind and genial to all. he is a stanch friend to those who have won his regard. and has an especially warm corner in his heart for the friends of the pioneer days of the capital city. For several years past Mr. Savery has made his home in New York City, though his large property interests in Des Moines and throughout the West require him to spend considerable time each year among his old friends in Iowa's capital, an arrange- ment which it is needless to say, is found mutually agreeable.
ILLIAM KNOWLTON BIRD, eldest son of the Rev. Thompson and Anna P. (Knowl- ton) Bird. is a native of Indiana. He was born in Thornton. Boone County, on the 9th of September, 1810, and in 1847, accompanied his parents to Iowa. the family locating in Des Moines the following year In his youth he enjoyed un- usual educational advantages. receiving the tute- lage of his learned father and cultured, affectionate mother. who evidently molded his character and impressed upon bim those traits of integrity and sterling worth which have always characterized his intercourse with those with whom he has had business relations. In his youth he attended a se- leet school in Norwich, Comm., for a time, but was obliged to discontinue his studies on account of a weakness of the eyes. Returning home, he en- gaged in the profession of teaching for several tettas or until the breaking out of the late war, when, the to his patriotic impulses, he enlisted in the Second Iowa Infantry, but was rejected ou ac- count of the difficulty before mentioned, az attend- ing the purenal of his studies. He persisted, however, and findly mercoled in seeming a place in the ranks, but at the end of nine months he was obliged to return ha, and for more than these
. .
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL ALBUM.
years was physically incapacitated for business. On recovering his health, he entered a dry-goods store as a salesman, where his genial manners, cul- tivated mind and honesty of purpose at once made him popular.
In 1873 Mr. Bird engaged in business for him- self in the same line. occupying a portion of the then varant Ahorn House. Subsequently he trans- ferred his business to the newly-erected block of the State Insurance Company on the east side of the same street, between Walnut Street and Count Avenue, where he increased his stock and carried on an extensive business.
On the 14th of November, 1866, Mr. Bird formed a matrimonial alliance with Miss Mary II. Earle, daughter of William Earle, of Milton, Rock County, Wis. One child. a daughter, Anna May, was born to them, but died September 8, 1868.
W. WISE. Secretary and Manager of the Wise Ice Company, is one of the repre- sentative business men of Des Moines. From the age of thirteen years he has made his own way in the world, and though many are the difficulties and obstacles which he has met. per-e- verance and industry have overcome all opposi- tion, and he is now one of the well-to-do citizens of Polk County.
The history of his life is as follows: He was born in Jasper County, lowa, on the 19th of De- cember, 1861, and is a son of Edward and Adeline (Hunt) Wise, who are numbered among the curly settlers of Iowa. His father was a blacksmith by trade and died in the prime of life, leaving two children-Rose and our subject, who was then loit five years of age. The mother was afterwards again neuried, and is now living in this wanty.
Few, indeed, were the advantages afforded car subject in his youth of an educational character or otherwise. When a med bel he began york upon a farm, which he continued for everd .. . sons, and then went on the road as a train inn. after which he would hoy cholera not Meine. E. that
-
655
enterprise he was so unsuccessful that he lost all that he had made as a farm hand. The days were indeed daik to him about that time. He was next em- ployed a janitor in the Town Business College and turned the keys in the County Jail. Later, he was employed for some three years in the real-estate business for Adams & Hastie, and himself practic- ing the strictest economy, gave his money to his sis- ter that she might be educated. Scorning no labor whereby he might earn an honest dollar. he at length was recognized as a competent and faithful business man, and was given charge of the lumber yard owned by the Green Bay Lumber Company. of Oneida County. After his arrival in Des Moines, he engaged in book-keeping for the Wabash Coal Company until 1881. when he embarked in the real-estate business, which he has since continued, although he now handles little else than his own property. He is also engaged in the ice business, which in 1887 he commenced. having for a partner T. Christy. The following year the Wise Ice Com- pany was formed. of which he was elected Presi- dent. and in 1889 he was also made manager.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.