USA > Iowa > Clayton County > Portrait and biographical record of Dubuque, Jones and Clayton counties, Iowa. Containing biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens of the counties, together with biographies and portraits of all the presidents of the United States > Part 8
USA > Iowa > Dubuque County > Portrait and biographical record of Dubuque, Jones and Clayton counties, Iowa. Containing biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens of the counties, together with biographies and portraits of all the presidents of the United States > Part 8
USA > Iowa > Jones County > Portrait and biographical record of Dubuque, Jones and Clayton counties, Iowa. Containing biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens of the counties, together with biographies and portraits of all the presidents of the United States > Part 8
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The first public office to which Mr. Cleveland was elected was that of Sheriff of Erie County, N. Y., in which Buffalo is situated; and in such capacity it fell to his duty to inflict capital punish- ment upon two criminals. In 1881 he was elected Mayor of the City of Buffalo, on the Democratic ticket, with especial reference to bring- ing about certain reforms in the administration of the municipal affairs of that city. In this of- fice, as well as in that of Sheriff, his performance of duty has generally been considered fair, with possibly a few exceptions, which were ferreted out and magnified during his Presidential cam- paign. As a specimen of his plain language in a veto message, we quote from one vetoing an
iniquitous street-cleaning contract: "This is a time for plain speech, and my objection to your action shall be plainly stated. I regard it as the culmination of a most bare-faced, impudent and shameless scheme to betray the interests of the people and to worse than squander the people's money." The New York Sun afterward very highly commended Mr. Cleveland's administra- tion as Mayor of Buffalo, and thereupon recom- mended him for Governor of the Empire State. To the latter office he was elected in 1882, and his administration of the affairs of State was generally satisfactory. The mistakes he made, if any, were made very public throughout the na- tion after he was nominated for President of the United States. For this high office he was nominated July 11, 1884, by the National Demo- cratic Convention at Chicago, when other com- petitors were Thomas F. Bayard, Roswell P. Flower, Thomas A. Hendricks, Benjamin F. Butler, Allen G. Thurman, etc .; and he was elected by the people, by a majority of about a thousand, over the brilliant and long-tried Re- publican statesman, James G. Blaine. President Cleveland resigned his office as Governor of New York in January, 1885, in order to prepare for his duties as the Chief Executive of the United States, in which capacity his term commenced at noon on the 4th of March, 1885.
The silver question precipitated a controversy between those who were in favor of the continu- ance of silver coinage and those who were op- posed, Mr. Cleveland answering for the latter, even before his inauguration.
On June 2, 1886, President Cleveland married Frances, daughter of his deceased friend and part- ner, Oscar Folsom, of the Buffalo Bar. Their union has been blessed by the birth of two daugh- ters. In the campaign of 1888, President Cleve- land was renominated by his party, but the Republican candidate, Gen. Benjamin Harrison, was victorious. In the nominations of 1892 these two candidates for the highest position in the gift of the people were again pitted against each other, and in the ensuing election President Cleveland was victorious by an overwhelming majority.
Bem. Harrison
BENJAMIN HARRISON.
ENJAMIN HARRISON, the twenty-third President, is the descendant of one of the historical families of this country. The first known head of the family was Maj. - Gen. Harrison, one of Oliver Cromwell's trusted followers and fighters. In the zenith of Cromwell's power it be- came the duty of this Harrison to participate in the trial of Charles I., and afterward to sign the death warrant of the king. He subsequently paid for this with his life, being hung October 13, 1660. His descendants came to America, and the next of the family that appears in history is Benjamin Harrison, of Virginia, great-grandfa- ther of the subject of this sketch, and after whom he was named. Benjamin Harrison was a mem- ber of the Continental Congress during the years 1774, 1775 and 1776, and was one of the original signers of the Declaration of Independence. He was three times elected Governor of Virginia.
Gen. William Henry Harrison, the son of the distinguished patriot of the Revolution, after a successful career as a soldier during the War of 1812, and with a clean record as Governor of the Northwestern Territory, was elected President of the United States in 1840. His career was cut short by death within one month after his in- auguration.
President Harrison was born at North Bend,
Hamilton County, Ohio, August 20, 1833. His life up to the time of his graduation from Miami University, at Oxford, Ohio, was the uneventful one of a country lad of a family of small means. His father was able to give him a good education, and nothing more. He became engaged while at college to the daughter of Dr. Scott, Principal of a female school at Oxford. After graduating, he determined to enter upon the study of law. He went to Cincinnati and there read law for two years. At the expiration of that time young Har- rison received the only inheritance of his life-his aunt, dying, left him a lot valued at $800. He regarded this legacy as a fortune, and decided to get married at once, take this money and go to some Eastern town and begin the practice of law. He sold his lot, and, with the money in his pocket, he started out with his young wife to fight for a place in the world. He decided to go to Indian- apolis, which was even at that time a town of promise. He met with slight encouragement at first, making scarcely anything the first year. He worked diligently, applying himself closely to his calling, built up an extensive practice and took a leading rank in the legal profession.
In 1860, Mr. Harrison was nominated for the position of Supreme Court Reporter, and then be- gan his experience as a stump speaker. He can-
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BENJAMIN HARRISON.
vassed the State thoroughly, and was elected by a handsome majority. In 1862 he raised the Seventeenth Indiana Infantry, and was chosen its Colonel. His regiment was composed of the raw- est material, but Col. Harrison employed all his time at first in mastering military tactics and drill- ing his men, and when he came to move toward the East with Sherman, his regiment was one of the best drilled and organized in the army. At Resaca he especially distinguished himself, and for his bravery at Peachtree Creek he was made a Brigadier-General, Gen. Hooker speaking of him in the most complimentary terms.
During the absence of Gen. Harrison in the field, the Supreme Court declared the office of Supreme Court Reporter vacant, and another person was elected to the position. From the time of leaving Indiana with his regiment until the fall of 1864 he had taken no leave of absence, but having been nominated that year for the same office, he got a thirty-day leave of absence, and during that time made a brilliant canvass of the State, and was elected for another term. He then started to rejoin Sherman, but on the way was stricken down with scarlet fever, and after a most trying attack made his way to the front in time to participate in the closing incidents of the war.
In 1868 Gen. Harrison declined a re-election as Reporter, and resumed the practice of law. In 1876 he was a candidate for Governor. Although defeated, the brilliant campaign he made won for him a national reputation, and he was much sought after, especially in the East, to make speeches. In 1880, as usual, he took an active part in the campaign, and was elected to the United States Senate. Here he served for six years, and was known as one of the ablest men, best lawyers and strongest debaters in that body. With the ex- piration of his senatorial term he returned to the practice of his profession, becoming the head of one of the strongest firms in the State.
The political campaign of 1888 was one of the most memorable in the history of our country. The convention which assembled in Chicago in June and named Mr. Harrison as the chief stund- ard-bearer of the Republican party was great in every particular, and on this account, and the at-
titude it assumed upon the vital questions of the day, chief among which was the tariff, awoke a deep interest in the campaign throughout the nation. Shortly after the nomination, delegations . began to visit Mr. Harrison at Indianapolis, his home. This movement became popular, and from all sections of the country societies, clubs and delegations journeyed thither to pay their re- spects to the distinguished statesman.
Mr. Harrison spoke daily all through the sum- mer and autumn to these visiting delegations, and so varied, masterly, and eloquent were his speeches that they at once placed hint in the fore- most rank of American orators and statesmen. Elected by a handsome majority, he served his country faithfully and well, and in 1892 was nom- inated for re-election; but the people demanded a change and he was defeated by his predecessor in office, Grover Cleveland.
On account of his eloquence as a speaker and his power as a debater, Gen. Harrison was called upon at an early age to take part in the dis- cussion of the great questions that then began to agitate the country. He was an uncompromising anti-slavery man, and was matched against some of the most eminent Democratic speakers of his State. No man who felt the touch of his blade desired to be pitted with him again. With all his eloquence as an orator he never spoke for ora- torical effect, but his words always went like bul- lets to the mark. He is purely American in his ideas, and is a splendid type of the American statesman. Gifted with quick perception, a logi- cal mind and a ready tongue, he is one of the most distinguished impromptu speakers in the nation. Many of these speeches sparkled with the rarest eloquence and contained arguments of great weight, and many of his terse statements have already become aphorisms. Original in thought, precise in logic, terse in statement, yet withal faultless in eloquence, he is recognized as the sound statesman and brilliant orator of the day. During the last days of his administration Presi- dent Harrison suffered an irreparable loss in the death of his devoted wife, Caroline (Scott) Har- rison, a lady of many womanly charms and vir- tues. They were the parents of two children.
Dubuque, Jones and
Clayton Counties,
IOWA.
INTRODUCTORY.
HE time has arrived when it becomes the duty of the people of this county to per- petuate the names of their pioneers, to furnish a record of their early settlement, and relate the story of their progress. The civilization of our day, the enlightenment of the age and the duty that men of the pres- ent time owe to their ancestors, to themselves and to their posterity, demand that a record of their lives and deeds should be made. In bio- graphical history is found a power to instruct man by precedent, to enliven the mental faculties, and to waft down the river of time a safe vessel in which the names and actions of the people who contributed to raise this country from its primitive state may be preserved. Surely and rapidly the great and aged men, who in their prime entered the wilderness and claimed the virgin soil as their heritage, are passing to their graves. The number re- maining who can relate the incidents of the first days of settlement is becoming small indeed, so that an actual necessity exists for the collection and preser- vation of events without delay, before all the early settlers are cut down by the scythe of Time.
To be forgotten has been the great dread of mankind from remotest ages. All will be forgotten soon enough, in spite of their best works and the most earnest efforts of their friends to perserve the memory of their lives. The means employed to prevent oblivion and to perpetuate their memory has been in propor- tion to the amount of intelligence they possessed. The pyramids of Egypt were built to perpetuate the names and deeds of their great rulers. The exhu- mations made by the archeologists of Egypt from buried Memphis indicate a desire of those people
to perpetuate the memory of their achievements The erection of the great obelisks were for the same purpose. Coming down to a later period, we find the Greeks and Romans erecting mausoleums and inonu- ments, and carving out statues to chronicle their great achievements and carry them down the ages. It is also evident that the Mound-builders, in piling up their great mounds of earth, had but this idea- to leave soniething to show that they had lived. All these works, though many of them costly in the ex- treme, give but a faint idea of the lives and charac- ters of those whose memory they were intended to perpetuate, and scarcely anything of the masses of the people that then lived. The great pyramids and some of the obelisks remain objects only of curiosity ; the mausoleums, monuments and statues are crum- bling into dust.
It was left to modern ages to establish an intelli- gent, undecaying, immutable method of perpetuating a full history-immutable in that it is almost un- limited in extent and perpetual in its action; and this is through the art of printing.
To the present generation, however, we are in- debted for the introduction of the admirable system of local biography. By this system every man, though- he has not achieved what the world calls greatness, has the means to perpetuate his life, his history, through the coming ages.
The scythe of Time cuts down all ; nothing of the physical man is left. The monument which his chil- dren or friends may erect to his memory in the ceme. tery will crumble into dust and pass away ; but his life, his achievements, the work he has accomplished, which otherwise would be forgotten, is perpetuated by a record of this kind.
To preserve the lineaments of our companions we engrave their portraits, for the same reason we col- lect the attainable facts of their history. Nor do we think it necessary, as we speak only truth of them, to wait until they are dead, or until those who know them are gone: to do this we are ashamed only to publish to the world the history of those whose lives are unworthy of public record.
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HON. WILLIAM B. ALLISON.
BIOGRAPHICAL.
H ON. WILLIAM B. ALLISON. Not alone through the development of its material resources has Iowa gained a national rep- utation, but since its organization as a state it has contributed to our country many of its most emi- nent statesmen and gifted men, who, in its admin- istrative councils, and in both Houses of Congress, have reflected honor upon and given marked dis- tinction to our state. What is true in a national sense is also true as respects the management of our state affairs, which have been so conducted as to maintain the honor and integrity of our state at home and among our sister states.
Among the number of influential men, none are more widely or favorably known than the subject of this review, whose long public service in the House of Representatives and in the Senate has brought him into a constantly increasing promi- nence among the people. The events in the life of a public man are always read with interest, and this is especially true when, as in the career of Senator Allison, he has labored to promote the ad- vancement of the best interests of the people as le understood those interests. He has a well earned reputation for industry and activity in the great bodies of which he has been a conspicuous member.
The ancestors of Senator Allison were of Scotch- Irish origin. Both of his grandfathers migrated to Pennsylvania from the North of Ireland just after the closc of the War of the Revolution, where his father, John Allison, was born in 1798. That state was also the birthplace of his mother, who bore the maiden name of Margaret Williams. In 1824 John Allison, then married, settled in Perry Township, Wayne County, Ohio, on eighty acres
of land, where he built a house of rude logs and cleared a farm, which was afterwards enlarged to one hundred and sixty acres.
In this log cabin and on this farm, March 2, 1829, the subject of this sketch was born. In his early life he had the advantage of an excellent common- school education; afterward he spent a year at Al- legheny (Pa.) College, and another ycar at Western Reserve College, then located at Hudson, but now at Cleveland, Ohio. On leaving college, he read law at Wooster, Ohio, whence in 1852 he removed to Ashland and began the practice of law. He con- tinucd thus engaged with reasonable success until the spring of 1857, when he removed to Dubuque, Iowa, and herc he has since resided. He practiced law in Dubuque with good success until he entered the House of Representatives, March 3, 1863, hav- ing been elected from the Third District of Iowa in the fall of 1862. During 1861 and 1862 he was a member of the staff of Governor Kirkwood, and as such had full authority to raise troops for the war in the northern part of the state. Hc com- plied with the wishes and executed the orders of the Governor with fidelity and success, raising four regiments for the field. He was the first to sug- gest to Governor Kirkwood the importance of call- ing an extra session of the Legislature to authorize Iowa soldiers in the field to vote. Since March, 1863, with the exception of the years 1871 and 1873, he has been a member of the House or Sen- ate. He left the House March 4, 1871, and entered the Senate March 3, 1873, and when liis present term in the Senate expires, March 4, 1897, he will have served twenty-four years in that body. At the beginning of his second term in the House,
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PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
March 3, 1865, he was appointed a member of the Ways and Mcans Committee and so continued dur- ing the remainder of his service in the House, bc- ing one of its most conspicuous members on all questions relating to tariff, internal taxation and other questions of a financial character. Some of the most important legislation of that period bcars the impress of his guiding hand.
Senator Allison always advocated a tariff so ad- justcd as to afford protection to American indus- tries and American labor, but did not always fol- low the leaders of the party into what has been termed extreme protection, and some of his carlier speeches upon this subject have been criticised by his party friends and quoted by the opposing party as hostile to the policy of protection. In 1873 he entered the Senate, and four years later was placed on the Finance Committee, and from that time has taken a prominent part in all financial legislation. He was chairman of a sub-committee that revised the laws relating to the administration of the tariff, and framed the legislation now on our statute books relating to the collection of duties, and which was not disturbed in the revision of the tariff made in 1894. He was chairman of the sub- committee that framed thic Senate substitute for the Mills bill in 1888, and had charge of the bill in the Senate.
To currency legislation, and especially the silver question, Senator Allison devoted considerable at- tention, and was the author of the law of 1878 which provided for limited coinage of silver on account of the Government. These suggestions were brought forward in the form of amendments to the free coinage bill proposed by Mr. Bland, and were adopted by both Houses and passed over the veto of President Hayes. This measure was prob- ably the most conservative that could have been passed at that time, and, though much criticised, has borne the test of time. It remaincd unchanged until it gave way for the Sherman act of 1890. Senator Allison has always been a bimetallist in the true sense of that word, believing that both silver and gold, as full legal tender money, are necessary to the commerce of the world.
In 1888 Senator Allison's name was brought for- ward as a prominent candidate for the Presidency
and was favorably received. During his entire service in the Senate, he has been a member of the important Committee on Appropriations, and for twelve years, when the Republicans were in the ma- jority, and up to March, 1893, was chairman of the committee. Always careful in regard to details, he favored liberal and fair appropriations for every essential public purpose, and always held the con- fidence of his associates respecting these details. He was twicc tendered the position of Secretary of the Treasury, first by President Garfield in 1881, and again by President Harrison in 1889. He de- clined both offers, preferring to remain in the Senate.
Ontside of his official capacity, Mr. Allison is known and estcemed as a generous, benevolent inan, an agreeable companion, considerate friend and progressive citizen. Starting in life with notli- ing but his own energy and ability and upright character with which to make his way, he has achieved success beyond most of his fellows and sccured for himself an important place in the his- tory of his state and country. Though absorbed in great national questions, he has never failed to give full attention to every interest of his state, and no one ever sought his services from Iowa that did not find him ready and willing to render such aid as was in his power.
Mr. Allison has been twice married. In 1855 he was united with Anna Carter, who was a daughter of Daniel Carter, Esq., of Ashland, Ohio, and died in Dubuque, Iowa, in 1859. In 1873 he married Miss Mary Neally, of Burlington, Iowa, a niece and adopted daughter of the late Senator Grimes. She died in 1883. Senator Allison, though in com- fortable circumstances, has never turned his atten- tion to money making, as his whole time since he entered Congress has been absorbed in public and political affairs.
H ENRY HENKELS. It has been truly said that the prosperity of a community dc- pends upon the individual enterprise and uprightness of its citizens. In proportion as each person achieves success will the county and state
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PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
show a favorable advancement along the lines of material and commercial progress. The high stand- ing of Dubuque County and its prominence among the other counties of the state of Iowa may be at- tributed largely to the energy and progressive spirit displayed by its residents. As one of its suc- cessful young agriculturists we present the name of Henry Henkels, who owns and occupies a fine farm of three hundred acres situated on section 16, Peru Township.
Our subject was born in Mosalem Township, Dubuque County, on the 24th of December, 1859. He is a son of Michael and Catherine (Becker) Henkels. Michael came to the United States in 1843, landing in New York City; he remained there a short time looking around, then came to Dubuque County, Mosalem Township, where he worked on a flatboat for three years. He lived economically and saved his earnings, and at the end of that time he purchased forty acres of wild land, which he cultivated and sold. Hc bought eighty acres more of wild land, which he cultivated, and had increased to two hundred acres at his de- misc, June 27, 1883. He was well and favorably known throughout the county and occupied the position of Road Supervisor for four years, that of Constable for six years, and served his fellow-citi- zens in the capacity of member of the School Board for fifteen years and also as Trustee of the Town- ship.
Mr. Henkels married a most estimable lady, and to them were born cleven children, as follows: Catherine, Lambert Henry, (our subject), Nick, Maggic, Peter, Louisc, Aggie, Frank, John and Mary. To these he gave the best cducation that he could procure. He was a member of the Cath- olic Church, and in politics was an adherent to the Democratic party, using his right of franchise for the advancement of every party interest.
Our subject, Henry, worked on the old homc- stead until February 18, 1886, when he was united in marriage with Miss Anna Wagner. Hc then started out in the world for himself, and his first attempt was to rent the old homestead, which he worked for five years. By frugality and good business management he saved enough money to purchase forty acres of wild land, which he culti-
vated and improved and which he has since in- creased to three hundred acres. To him and his wife have been born two children, Nick B. and Josephine. This estimable couple are members of the Roman Catholic Church, and in politics Mr. Henkels is a Democrat and that party finds in him a strong adherent. He is always ready to help in any good cause, and he has represented his fellow- citizens, who find in him a man of exceptional abil- ity and worth, as Secretary of the Public Schools for the past thirteen years, and also as Assessor of the township for four years.
OHN PALMER, a retired farmer, now living in Dubuque, is numbered among the early settlers of this county and has witnessed much of its growth and development. A native of Christian County, Ky., he was born on the 3d of August, 1814, and is a son of Edward Palmer, a native of Virginia, who died in Galena, Ill., in 1828. The paternal grandfather, James Palmer, was a native of Virginia, and was de- scended from English ancestors who located in the Old Dominion prior to the Revolutionary War. The mother of our subject, who bore the maiden name of Rebecca Patton, was also a native of Vir- ginia, and her death occurred in 1836.
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