USA > Iowa > Lee County > Story of Lee County, Iowa, Volume II > Part 10
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Cedar township. He purchased one hundred and sixty acres of land and was actively engaged in its cultivation for many years. He is now past the eighty-second milestone on life's journey and makes his home with his son Frank and other children. The mother of our subject passed away in Lee county in 1906 at the age of sixty- eight years. She was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, to which denomination her husband also belongs. He is a democrat in his political belief and served for eight years as county super- visor. Fraternally he is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and of the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks. Frank M. Geese was the third of five children born to his parents, the others being: Otis T., a civil engineer, of Rogers, Arkansas; Mrs. Emma Tyner, a resident of Salem, lowa; Mrs. Effie Worthington, of Au- rora, Illinois; and Mrs. Nannie Reid, also of Aurora.
Mr. Geese of this review was three years of age when brought by his parents to Lee county and has made his home here ever since. He received a common-school education and assisted his father in the work of the farm during the summer months. Since reaching manhood he has continued to follow the occupation to which he was reared and is successfully operating the home place. He is ener- getic, planting his crops in good season and tending them carefully, and this, together with his knowledge of the best methods of agri- culture, insures gratifying financial returns. He was one of the organizers of the Mount Hamill Savings Bank, of which he is vice president, and the prosperity of that institution is in no small degree due to him.
Mr. Geese was married in 1889 to Miss Letta Brown, who was born in Fort Madison, lowa, a daughter of John and Eliza ( Bul- lard) Brown. Her grandfather Bullard secured land which is now the site of the west end of Fort Madison. Her parents came to Lee county in 1836 and her father carried on farming liere. He and his wife were members of the Methodist Episcopal church and were held in high esteem by all who knew them. Their children were as follows: Mrs. Mary Cadwell, of California; Mrs. Geese; Mrs. Susie Campbell, of Steamboat Rock, Iowa; Mrs. Nellie Cole, of Montrose, lowa; James T., of Fort Morgan, Colorado; and Alex- ander, who passed away in 1899 at Portland, Oregon.
Mr. Geese is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fel- lows, belonging to the lodge at Mount Hamill, and he also holds membership in the Modern Woodmen of America at Mount Hamill. His political allegiance is given to the democratic party and he has served in a number of local offices to the satisfaction of
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his constituents. He and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church of Clay Grove, Marion township, and are num- ยท bered among the valued residents of the county.
ARTHUR E. WIRSIG, D. D. S.
Dr. Arthur E. Wirsig is successfully engaged in the practice of dentistry at West Point, Lee county, lowa, and is proving himself thoroughly equipped for the exacting work of his profession. He was born in Warren, this county, July 31, 1882, a son of Paul H. and Ellenora (Vornkahl) Wirsig, the former a native of Rothwas- ser, Germany. His birth occurred in 1855 and two years later he was brought by his parents to Washington township, this county, where the father purchased three hundred and twelve acres of land. The paternal grandfather of our subject cultivated his extensive farm until he passed away at the age of seventy-two years. Paul H. Wirsig then assumed the management of the farm, devoting his time and energies to its cultivation for a number of years. Subsequently he removed to Van Buren township, this county, where he still re- sides. He is a member of the Evangelical church and is loyal in his support of its work. He is a republican in political allegiance and has been township trustee at different times and has also served as school director. His wife was born in Harrison township, this county, in 1859, and here grew to womanhood, their marriage occur- ring in 1879. She has become the mother of five children as follows : Elenora, who was born February 20, 1880; the subject of this review ; Arnold O., born March 9, 1884; Marvin A., February 5, 1886; and Cora Delia, December 18, 1887.
Dr. Arthur E. Wirsig attended the schools of Warren, Iowa, and later was a student in the Farmington (Iowa) high school, from which he graduated in 1904. He then entered the Keokuk Dental College, receiving the degree of D. D. S. from that institution in 1907. He practiced for fourteen months in Mount Sterling, lowa, and then for two years was located in Waterloo, Iowa. He then came to West Point, where he has since remained and where he is accorded a representative and liberal patronage. His prices are reasonable and his work is carefully and thoroughly done, his pros- perity being the merited reward of his efficiency and conscientious- ness.
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Dr. Wirsig was married on the 23rd of November, 1907, to Miss Lenora Doyle, who was born in Keokuk, a daughter of Michael and Norah (Burke) Doyle. Her education was received in the schools of Keokuk, lowa, and she has always resided in this county. By her marriage she has become the mother of two children: Dorothy, whose birth occurred September 29, 1908, at Waterloo, Iowa; and Elenore, born February 22, 1911, at West Point.
The Doctor is a member of the Lutheran Evangelical church, and fraternally he is identified with the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and the Masonic order, being a Master Mason. His political allegiance is given to the republican party and he has held a number of local offices, having served on the school board and on the city council. He has also been fire chief and in that capacity did much to insure the safety of life and property. He is yet a young man, but he has accomplished much, not only in the line of his own advancement, but also for the public welfare, and all who are asso- ciated with him hold him in the highest esteem.
CAPTAIN JAMES F. DAUGHERTY.
Captain James F. Daugherty is probably the oldest living settler in Keokuk in point of continuous residence. He has witnessed the growth of the city since the time when it was but a collection of little frontier houses and has been an active participant in promoting its material welfare and transforming it into the modern metropolis of the present. In the evening of life he can take a retrospective view of the years that have been filled with activities for the benefit of his fellowmen, winning him honors rarely accorded to a single individual.
Born at Chillicothe, Ohio, on the 16th of September, 1835, Cap- tain Daugherty has now passed the seventy-ninth milestone on life's journey. His parents were James and Sarah (Linn) Daugherty, in whose home his youthful days were passed in the usual manner of lads of that period and section. The family came to the west in 1841 and eleven years later the father passed away. The mother remained for many years a resident of Lee county and was numbered among the oldest of its pioneer women. Her demise occurred on Sunday, July 24, 1904, at the age of eighty-eight years, ten months and nine- teen days. She was born in Chillicothe, Ohio, October 1, 1815, and in 1834 became the wife of James Daugherty, with whom she re- moved to Hillsboro, Fountain county, Indiana, where they kept a
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CAPTAIN JAMES F. DAUGHERTY
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stage station and hotel. In 1841 the family left for the west and spent the winter in Terre Haute, Indiana, arriving in Keokuk on the 5th of February, 1842. Mr. Daugherty died of cholera on board the steamer Kansas on the Missouri river, July 15, 1852. Mrs. Daugh- erty passed through all the trials incident to pioneer life and was ever a consistent member of the Methodist church. At a meeting of Tor- rence Post, No. 2, G. A. R., at Keokuk on the 11th of August, 1904, a resolution was passed which read as follows: "Regarding the de- cease of Mrs. Daugherty this post desires to make recognition of the fact that a patriotic woman and mother of patriots, having four sons in the Civil war, has passed to her eternal reward. Therefore, be it resolved that in the passing of Mrs. Daugherty this community de- plores the loss of one of its oldest and most highly esteemed members ; the county an honored pioneer settler and the nation an ardent patriot and supporter, and in recording the decease of Mrs. Daugherty we hereby express and tender to our comrade and his family our sin- cere sympathy."
The early youth of Captain Daugherty was spent in Ohio. His educational opportunities were somewhat limited and he early learned life's lessons, recognizing the fact that self-denial, self-reliance and industry constitute a sure foundation upon which to build character and success. He was of a courageous spirit and possessed a strong desire to make his life worth while. His laudable ambition was un- doubtedly a large factor in his later achievement. He was not vet seven years of age when, in February, 1842, he was brought to Keo- kuk, where for a period of nearly seventy-three years he has now made his home. To write his record in detail would be to repeat much of the history of this locality, for his life work has been closely interwoven with the upbuilding and development of the city.
As stated, it was in the year 1842 that Captain Daugherty came overland from Terre Haute, Indiana, with his father, who had come ahead of the other members of the family to prepare a home for them. There were then only about one hundred residents within the present limits of Keokuk. There were no stores, save an establish- ment which was a combination of a general store and saloon. The houses were all log cabins and all business was done along the banks of the river. Stage coaches made daily trips to Des Moines and Burlington. James Daugherty, with his son, occupied a small cabin in the woods at what is now the corner of Des Moines and First streets until he could erect a two-story frame residence on what is now the corner of Johnson and Fourth streets. He procured a squat- ter's title to a claim that covered several of the present blocks. There Vol. II-7
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were no schools at the time of his arrival. The first school was held in a little log hut on the bluff, and his first teacher was a Miss Jones, while later J. C. Fletcher, a Philadelphia bachelor, came to Keo- kuk and took charge of the school. Captain Daugherty's school days ended in 1850, after which he worked in a small store for his father, who died in 1852, subsequent to which time he assisted his mother in rearing and providing for the family. At one time he was business manager of the first daily paper published in Keokuk known as the Nipentuck, which name was afterward changed to The Morning Glory. This was a local daily paper published in the '50s. Mr. Daugherty has written a very complete history of the newspapers of Keokuk and indeed has been well known as a writer upon many topics. the productions of his pen including a complete account of steamboating on the Mississippi.
Until the time of the Civil war his attention was chiefly directed to the bakery and confectionery business and to the conduct of a general dry-goods and notion store, but with the opening of hostili- ties between the north and south business and personal considerations were put aside and an offer made of his services to the Union. He recruited a company for the war at Keokuk. All Iowa regiments being full, he moved with his company to St. Louis, Missouri, was accepted by Governor Gamble and assigned to the Tenth Missouri Volunteer Infantry as Company H. Mr. Daugherty was then com- missioned by the governor to act as captain of the company, which did guard duty on the Missouri Pacific Railroad and at block houses. They had many skirmishes with the bushwhackers and guerrillas until April, 1862, when they were ordered to Cape Girardeau, Missouri, and thence to Pittsburgh Landing, Tennessee. They were then at- tached unassigned to the Army of the Mississippi until June. 1862, when they became a part of the Second Brigade, Third Division of the Army of the Mississippi, thus continuing until July. With this army Captain Daugherty participated in the advance upon and the siege of Corinth from the 29th of April to the 30th of May, 1862; the action near Corinth on the 29th of May; and the occupation of the city on the following day. With his command he also proceeded to Booneville and was on duty at Corinth Hill from the 31st of May until the toth of June. He was likewise in the expedition to Ripley and Rienzi from the 27th of June to the 3d of July, and on the 8th of July moved on to Corinth, being on duty there until the 23d of the same month. He was mustered out by reason of the consolidation of three skeleton Missouri regiments on the 25th of July, 1862, and was then honorably discharged.
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Following his return to Keokuk in the same year Captain Daugh- erty operated the steamboats Bridgeport and Imperial for a time and then turned his attention to the wholesale liquor business, in which he has since continued. In 1864 he crossed the plains to the Pacific coast, and the detailed account of his adventurous trip was read with pleasure and is yet recalled by the old-time citizens, for the story appeared in the "Gate City." It contains many things of thrilling interest, including an account of the meeting with the Indians and of the hardships incident to travel across the plains at that day, the trip being made with ox teams and prairie schooners. The history of the city of Keokuk and of Lee county has been enriched by many articles from his pen which have appeared in the press at different times. He has an accurate memory of early events and scenes and is graphic in his description of pioneer times.
Captain Daugherty served as a member of the city council of Keokuk for a number of years and in 1899 was elected mayor. His career as chief magistrate of the city was fraught with general good. He avoided useless expenditure and that equally useless retrenchment which blocks progress. He made many speeches in Keokuk and other cities, all tending toward the advancement and uplift of the people. Especially were his services of practical value to the county during the nine years which he spent as chairman of the board of Lee county supervisors, for during that period hundreds of thousands of dollars were saved to the taxpayers. Regardless of political creed he is universally conceded to have been been one of the most pains- taking and competent officials ever elected to local office. He was chairman of the board of supervisors convention of the first congres- sional district, held at Burlington in 1896, and was an enthusiastic advocate of the famous Keokuk water power dam, and was one of the original promoters and stockholders of the company. He has always been a democrat, his allegiance to the party being unfaltering. At the democratic state convention held in Des Moines August 17, 1899, he received one hundred and six votes for governor. He stood third on the ticket for the nomination.
Captain Daugherty has been three times married. By his first wife, who bore the maiden name of Carolina A. Langford, he had two children : James, now deceased ; and Alice C., the wife of Samuel P. Lauver, of San Francisco. To his marriage with Miss Mary Caldwell there were born two children, Frank and Emma. Follow- ing the death of his second wife he wedded Mrs. Delphine E. Resser. and unto them have been born the following named : Frances Maude, Myrtle, Della, Ralph and Maybel.
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Captain Daugherty is a Knight Templar Mason and a member of the Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. . For a time he was president of the Old Settlers' Association and has always kept in close touch with those who early became residents of Lee county and have been instrumental in molding its history and shaping its destiny. He has always taken the lead in promoting any- thing and everything that would tend to the advancement of Keokuk or the welfare of its citizens and was especially active in promoting the building of the county poor house. Possibly no one man has made more speeches advocating improvement for Keokuk and Lee county and for the benefit of the people than Mr. Daugherty, advocating all that would improve the city along business, intellectual and moral lines. He has been a careful student of important public problems and when he has decided upon a course which he has believed to be right he has followed it tirelessly and fearlessly. He has been very active as an advocate of good roads and is president of the Keokuk Good Roads Association. He belongs to the old school of gentlemen, is a good conversationalist and story teller and a man whom it is a decided pleasure to meet. There is perhaps no resident of the county who has been here for a longer period than Captain Daugh- erty and certainly there is none whose record is more faultless in honor, fearless in conduct and stainless in reputation.
FREDERICK BENJAMIN KREHBIEL.
Frederick Benjamin Krehbiel resides on his splendidly improved farm of three hundred and seventy-eight and a fourth acres on sec- tion 36, Pleasant Ridge township. He also has eight and a half acres on section 36, Denmark township, and sixty-eight and a quarter acres on section 31, Denmark township. This farm has been in his possession for a quarter of a century and is a splendidly improved property, indicating in its excellent appearance his care and super- vision.
Mr. Krehbiel is a native of Lee county, his birth having occurred in West Point township, January 4, 1851. His parents were the Rev. John C. and Katherine ( Raber) Krehbiel. The father died February 26, 1886, when about seventy-five years of age, and the mother's death occurred in 1869, when she was but forty-four years of age. He came to Iowa in 1840 to take up his permanent abode. He had, however, visited this state in 1838 or 1839 and, being
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pleased with the country, resolved to return. He was a native of Bavaria, Germany, and was first married in that country to Miss Volgamuth, who passed away in West Point township, after which he wedded Katherine Raber. He was a minister of the Mennonite church and preached for forty years at West Point, having marked influence over the moral development of that section. In his family were twelve children, of whom one died at the age of two years, while the others reached maturity and eight are still living. Of this number Frederick B. and his sister Mrs. Trowbridge are still resi- dents of Lee county. Of the others two are in Kansas, one in Okla- homa and three in California, so that the family is now widely scattered.
Frederick B. Krehbiel has always been a resident of Lee county, but has traveled quite extensively, visiting California four times. His educational opportunities were those accorded by the common schools and in the school of experience he has learned many valuable lessons, while reading has also aided in making him a well informed man. Much of his life has been devoted to general agricultural pursuits, but for twenty-eight years he worked at the blacksmith's trade at Denmark, this county. He is today the owner of a valuable farm property, constituting one of the most attractive features of the land- scape. At the present time he has his land leased. For ten years he resided in Fort Madison, but recently returned to the farm, which he has owned for twenty-five years and on which he has made many modern and substantial improvements. The buildings are com- modious, the fields are well tilled and the farm machinery is of the latest improved patterns.
On the 10th of September, 1876, Mr. Krehbiel was united in marriage to Miss Lena Linhard, who was born in West Point town- ship July 23, 1856, a daughter of George and Louisa ( Heassig) Lin- hard, both of whom were natives of Alsace, Germany. Coming to America in early life, they were married in Lyons, New York, and arrived in Lee county in the winter of 1855-6. Some years later they removed to Kirksville, Missouri, where their remaining days were passed. The father died February 7, 1898, at the age of seventy-five years, and the mother's death occurred on the 12th of November, 1906, when she was seventy-three years of age. Mrs. Krehbiel has a sister in Fort Madison, a brother in Lyons, New York, and also a brother and sister in Kirksville, Missouri. Mr. and Mrs. Krehbiel have become the parents of three children. George, who is the owner of an orange grove at Upland, California, married Mayme Figgins and has two sons, Leonard B. and Orville L. Mrs. J. A.
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Heberer, living at Fort Madison, Iowa, has two daughters, Mildred and Katherine. Mrs. Lewis Mack, a twin sister of Mrs. Heberer, resides at Macksville, Kansas, which place was named in honor of her husband's grandfather. She, too, has two children, Edwin Lewis and Eveline Maxine.
Politically Mr. Krehbiel is independent, voting as his judgment dictates without regard to party ties. He holds membership in the Mennonite church, and his wife is a member of the Christian church. They have a large circle of warm friends in the section of the county in which they reside and many good qualities have won for them the enduring regard of all with whom they have been brought in contact.
BERNARD B. HESSE, SR.
Bernard B. Hesse, Sr., of Fort Madison, is the proprietor of one of the leading men's furnishing goods stores west of Chicago. He has reached his present gratifying and enviable position in business through his well directed efforts, his success being due to his sound judgment, his unfaltering enterprise and his thoroughly reliable methods. He was born in Germany, July 15, 1842, a son of Franz Joseph and Frances Hesse, who crossed the Atlantic to the new world with their family in 1852, making their way to Fort Madison. The father was a miller by trade and followed that pursuit throughout the period of his residence in this city, but after living here for about six years was called to his final rest on the 8th of March, 1858. His wife survived him for about twenty years, passing away March 1, 1878. They had a family of six children, all of whom have passed away with the exception of Bernard B. and a sister.
Bernard B. Hesse was a lad of about ten years when the family left the fatherland and crossed the briny deep to the new world. He continued his education in the schools of Fort Madison and in his teens became connected with the tailoring trade, serving an appren- ticeship from 1855 to 1859 when he went to St. Louis, securing a position there on the 25th of September, 1859. He has since con- tinued in that line of business, working his way steadily upward. He was first made a cutter and afterward became buyer for the house with which he was connected. After leaving that position he entered into partnership with J. H. McAlpin, investing one thousand dollars in the enterprise. He remained for three years and three months in St. Louis as a partner in that business and then returned to Fort
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Madison in 1868. In this city he has since made his home and his progress along commercial lines has been continuous and gratifying. On the 9th of April, 1869, he opened a store in partnership with J. H. Sand and that relation was maintained for a decade, or until 1879, when on the 14th of July he sold out to his partner. He next opened a clothing store and tailoring shop in the Metropolitan Hotel block and in September, 1879, purchased a building at the corner of Second and Pine streets. He opened a tailoring establishment there in 1880, in the back part of his store, and soon afterward added a stock of ready-made clothing. He has since developed the business along substantial lines, adding to it year by year until he has one of the finest men's furnishing goods stores west of Chicago, occupying a building with a frontage of forty-seven feet and a depth of ninety- four feet. The upper story of the building is in part used for offices but a part of it is also used as a store. He carries an extensive line of ready-made clothing of the finest workmanship and also that of more medium price in order to meet the varied demands and tastes of his customers. His store is most pleasing and attractive in arrange- ment and anything in the line of men's wearing apparel may be found in this establishment.
On the 9th of August, 1870, Mr. Hesse was united in marriage to Miss Amelia Neighbors, who was born in Fort Madison, a daugh- ter of Theodore Neighbors, who in 1849 came to this city from St. Louis and was the builder of the Metropolitan Hotel. Their mar- riage was unique in that it was celebrated at 4.45 in the morning in order that they might catch an early train. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Hesse four children were born: J. H. McAlpin, who died at the age of six months; Bernard B., Jr., who is in business with his father; and Frank H. and J. C., who are also in the store. The boys now conduct the business, for Mr. Hesse has practically retired, and they are worthy successors of their father in the management and control of the enterprise, which is today one of the most important commercial features of the city.
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