USA > Iowa > Lee County > Story of Lee County, Iowa, Volume II > Part 18
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drove a delivery wagon for one year. In February, 1889, he entered the shoe factory of Huiskamp Brothers, where he worked until 1908. In that year he became deputy county recorder under Fred C. Cham- bers and served in that capacity until elected to the office of county recorder in 1912, the duties of which position he has since discharged in an efficient and highly satisfactory manner.
On the 18th of October, 1892, Mr. Vaughan was united in mar- riage to' Miss Katie Aiken, by whom he has one son, Henry Leslie. He is a republican in politics. He is a member of St. Francis de Sales Roman Catholic Church and is identified fraternally with the Knights of Columbus, the Ancient Order of Hibernians, the Ancient Order of United Workmen, the Loyal Order of Moose and the Fraternal Order of Eagles. He stands high in the esteem of his fellow citizens, and those who have known him from boyhood are numbered among his warmest friends.
JOHN INGERSOLL DAY.
John Ingersoll Day, a retired agriculturist, has long been num- bered among the prominent and successful citizens of Denmark township. His birth occurred at Sheffield, Lorain county, Ohio, on the 27th of November, 1838, his parents being John and Cornelia M. (Sackett) Day, who were born and reared in Massachusetts. In 1816, when a youth of fifteen, the father removed to Sheffield, Ohio, where he met and married Miss Sackett and where he spent the remainder of his life.
John I. Day, the second child born to his parents, supplemented his early educational training by a course of study in Oberlin Col- lege. He remained on the home farm until he had attained his ma- jority and in 1859 came west on a visit to his uncle, Kellog Day, a well known and successful citizen of Lee county, Iowa. He decided to remain here and continue the profession of teaching, which he had already followed in Ohio for two winters. During the summer months he worked as a clerk in the store of Day & Ingalls. In Oc- tober, 1860, he started for Pike's Peak, crossing the plains with a cattle team. He remained in Colorado for about four years, engaging in mining, and subsequently spent six years in Montana, where he followed farming on an extensive scale. After about ten years' ab- sence he returned to Denmark township, Lee county, and has here resided continuously since.
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In 1870 Mr. Day was united in marriage to Miss Mary Elizabeth Brown, her father being William Brown, an early settler of Lee county. She was born and reared in Denmark township, this county, and obtained her education in Denmark Academy. She taught school for several years prior to her marriage, which was celebrated in the house that remained her home until she was called to her final rest. Mr. Day purchased the interests of the other heirs and secured the Brown estate of two hundred and fifty acres, improving the prop- erty and devoting his attention to its operation throughout the re- mainder of his active business career. His present residence includes what was the first frame house in Denmark township. Mrs. Day passed away on the 14th of February, 1911, when almost seventy years of age. She and her husband had no children of their own but adopted a daughter when she was but ten weeks old, naming her Lillian A. Day. She is now Mrs. Charles Wharton and the mother of three daughters: Mildred Day, Edith Marie and Irene Elizabeth. Mr. Day has given her the home farm as well as two hundred and forty acres in Wisconsin and a tract of eighty acres in Kansas. Her husband has operated the farm near Denmark since Mr. Day put aside the active work of the fields.
Mr. Day is a stanch republican in politics and ably served in the capacity of township trustee for seven years in Denmark township. While residing in Montana he held the office of justice of the peace. For a number of years he also acted as a trustee of Denmark Acad- emy, of which both Mr. and Mrs. Wharton are graduates, the former now serving as treasurer of the institution. Mr. Day is a member of the Congregational church and deacon emeritus for life. He has now reached the ripe old age of seventy-six years and is well known and highly esteemed as one of the venerable citizens of Lee county whose life has been upright and honorable in every relation.
ALFRED S. NICHOLS.
Alfred S. Nichols, who was made manager of the Fort Madison Electric Company and the Dallas City Light Company on the Ist of July, 1913, was born in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England, in 1881, and his record of business success is indicative of the many opportunities for advancement that are open to young men of foreign birth in this land. His parents were Caleb and Alice Jane (Sayce)
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Nichols. His family has been engaged in the furniture trade in Cheltenham for several generations.
Reared in his native country, Alfred S. Nichols was graduated from the high school and afterward entered the merchant marine service, with which he was connected for seven years. He was an active participant in the Boer war, in the Imperial service, and he came to the United States in 1903, making his way to Boston as correspondent for the Boston Herald with the Honorable Artillery Company of London. In 1904 he became connected with the Boston & Maine Railway, remaining in that position for four years or until 1907. He was afterward with the firm of Stone & Webster as assistant treasurer of the Woonsocket Gas & Electric Company and later was assistant treasurer of the Mississippi River Power Company, in which capacity he took up his abode at Keokuk, Iowa, in January, 1912. He was afterward made manager of the Fort Madison Electric Company and of the Dallas City Light Company, in which position he has continued since July 1, 1913. He has thus steadily advanced in places of responsibility and power and is now well known in this connection throughout the middle west.
On the 5th of May, 1905, Mr. Nichols was united in marriage to Miss Florence E. Ferson, of Waltham, Massachusetts. Frater- nally he is connected with the Masons and with the Elks, and he belongs to the Commercial Club, in all three of which organiza- tions he is highly esteemed. His worth is widely acknowledged and his business qualifications and ambition indicate that the future holds in store for him still broader opportunities.
The Fort Madison Electric Company, of which he is now man- ager, was established and incorporated on the Ist of April, 1913, succeeding the Fort Madison Electric Light Company, owned by the S. & J. C. Atlee Company. The new company takes its power from the Keokuk dam and the old generating and distributing system has become obsolete. The electrical energy had one hundred and thirty-three cycles frequency but was not suitable for power pur- poses. The new company has a distribution of twenty-five cycle energy, which is especially adapted to large power consumers. They are encouraging all local manufacturing interests to use this power. The company has erected a large number of electric signs and im- proved the interior lighting of many stores as well as street light- ing. The business is owned by the Stone & Webster Association of Boston, Massachusetts. The local officers are: Alfred S. Nichols, manager; F. D. Gwynn, assistant treasurer; and J. L. S. Scadding, superintendent. The Stone & Webster Management Association Vol. 11-12
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manages property in forty-five states for the hundreds of plants under their control. The company has faith in the industrial devel- opment of this section and Mr. Nichols has proven both directly and indirectly a factor in bringing about this development, his efforts being thus an element in advancing the progress and material prosperity of this portion of the state.
JOHN CALVIN ARMENTROUT, M. D.
Dr. John Calvin Armentrout, deceased, was one of the founders of the Keokuk Medical College and was prominently known as a medical practitioner, educator and author, his efforts along these lines constituting a valuable contribution to medical science. A native of Iowa, his birth occurred at Wilton Junction, Cedar county, on the 25th of September, 1851, his parents being Joseph C. and Mary (Long) Armentrout, who have passed away.
Dr. Armentrout began teaching at the age of nineteen years, but during early manhood determined to make the study and practice of medicine his life work and for a time pursued his reading under the direction of Professor G. O. Morgridge, of Muscatine, Iowa. In further preparation for his chosen calling he entered the Iowa City Academy at Iowa City and for a time taught in that institution, but he did not abandon his determination to become an active representa- tive of the medical profession. In 1883 he was graduated from the medical department of the State University, which conferred upon him his degree. He began practice in South Bend, Indiana, but soon thereafter came to Keokuk, which place remained the seat of his activities throughout his remaining days. For a long period prior to 1890 he was professor of physiology, histology and diseases of the nervous system in the old College of Physicians and Surgeons, and later held the same chairs in the Keokuk Medical College, of which he was one of the founders. He was prominently and helpfully identified with the various medical societies and associations of county, state and nation, and he was the author of various articles on medical subjects, the most noteworthy, perhaps, being his published volume called Outlines in Anatomy, Physiology and Hygiene.
Dr. Armentrout was united in marriage to Miss Hattie Claring- bold, and two children were born unto them, of whom a daughter died in infancy, the other being Dr. C. R. Armentrout, now in active practice in Keokuk. Dr. J. C. Armentrout was a republican in his
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political views and took an active interest in local affairs of im- portance, but never held office, preferring to confine his attention to private interests. In religious faith he was a Methodist, holding to that belief to the time of his death, which occurred in February, 1894. He belonged also to the Masonic fraternity and was true and loyal to the beneficent teachings of the craft. In his demise the pro- fession lost an active student and honored representative, and the community a valued citizen. He always held to the highest stand- ards in his practice and in his public relations, and he was most es- teemed and honored where best known.
CHARLES WUSTROW.
Charles Wustrow, deceased, was a man uniformly respected throughout Keokuk, where for many years he conducted a meat market. He possessed the sterling traits of character which every- where command regard and confidence, and while he did not seek to figure prominently in public affairs his fellow townsmen recog- nized his genuine worth. A native of Germany, his birth occurred in Berlin about 1827. In his boyhood days he left the fatherland, embarking on a sailing vessel bound for America, whither thousands of his fellow countrymen had already journeyed in search of a home. He did not tarry long in New York city but came almost immediately to the west, locating in Lee county. For a time he was employed in different business houses in Keokuk. He had learned the butcher's trade in Germany and after saving a sufficient sum of money from his earnings he opened a meat market on Main street, between Tenth and Eleventh streets. Later he removed to the present site of the Evers market and there continued in business until his death, enjoy- ing a large, growing and profitable trade.
When war was declared between the north and the south Mr. Wustrow enlisted as a member of the Fifteenth Missouri Volunteers and served in that command with credit and distinction until honor- ably discharged at the close of the struggle. He participated in a number of hotly contested engagements and returned home with a most creditable military record. After being honorably discharged, he at once came to Keokuk and resumed his business, in which he continued until his death, in February, 1871. He left a wife and several children. He had been married in 1857 to Miss Margaret Lauterbach, a daughter of John Lauterbach, and they became the
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parents of four sons, August C., Henry, George and John. The mother passed away in February, 1912, having for forty-one years survived her husband.
AUGUST C. WUSTROW.
August C. Wustrow, son of Charles and Margaret ( Lauterbach) Wustrow, was born in Keokuk, November 16, 1858, and has spent practically his entire life in Lee county. He is indebted to its public- school system for the educational opportunities afforded him. He assisted his father in the butcher business until his father's death and then for two years followed farming. He learned the trade of carriage blacksmithing, and gradually has worked his way upward in that connection, erecting his present factory for the manufacture of wagons in 1891. He has built up an extensive and gratifying business, and the output of the factory is sold either directly or indi- rectly in six or eight different states. His enterprise and determina- tion have carried him into important relations with industrial activity in Keokuk, and he is today regarded as one of its substantial citizens.
On the 12th of October, 1882, Mr. Wustrow was married to Miss Mary Zobel, a daughter of John and Mary Zobel, and their children were: Carl, who died at the age of twenty years; Edmund; and Flora. He and his family attend the Trinity Methodist Episcopal church. His political indorsement is given to the republican party, and as a member of the city council he supports various measures for the general good. In other ways, too, he has furthered public progress, and his influence is always on the side of advancement and improvement.
GEORGE B. STEWART.
George B. Stewart, a law graduate of the University of Michigan of the class of 1888, has since engaged continuously in practice in Fort Madison and ranks with the eminent members of the pro- fession in eastern Iowa, for his knowledge of legal principles is comprehensive and exact and he is seldom, if ever, at fault in their application.
Mr. Stewart was born June 16, 1865, a son of the Rev. George D. and Emily (Walker) Stewart, the latter a daughter of Dr. Joel
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C. Walker, one of the honored pioneer residents of Fort Madison, who arrived in this city in 1835. He became active in molding public thought and action here and left the impress of his individu- ality upon the history of both city and state. He was chosen a dele- gate to the republican national convention in 1860 which nominated Abraham Lincoln, and during Lincoln's administration he was ap- pointed revenue collector at Burlington, but continued to make his home in Fort Madison, of which city he was the first graduate physician. He also served as one of the early mayors of Fort Madi- son and was clerk of the court in territorial days. He lived in Fort Madison when Iowa was part of Michigan and later of Wisconsin. He lived to witness the organization of the territorial government and later the admission of the state into the Union. He was a native of Ohio and was a graduate of the Jefferson Medical College of Philadelphia. He ranked with the most efficient representatives of the medical profession in his day, and his life was in many respects one of great service and usefulness to his community. The Stewart family is of Scotch descent, was founded in America in colonial days and was represented in the Revolutionary war.
Rev. George D. Stewart, father of George B. Stewart, was born in Pennsylvania and became a minister of the Presbyterian church. In 1859 he removed westward to Iowa, settling at West Point, and at different times he had pastorates in Burlington and in Omaha. In 1877 he came to Fort Madison and was pastor of the Presbyterian church of this city for twenty-seven years, or for a longer period than any other minister who has served in this county. His influence was far-reaching and beneficial, for he was not denied the full harvest nor the aftermath of his labors. He was earnest and logical, was a man of broad sympathy and kindly spirit and his memory remains as a blessed benediction to all who knew him. He died in the year 1910 and is still survived by his widow. In their family were four children, of whom three were daughters.
George B. Stewart, the only son, has been a lifelong resident of this state and its public-school system afforded him his early edu- cational opportunities. He afterward continued his studies in Lake Forest, Illinois, and pursued his more classical course in the Uni- versity of Pennsylvania at Philadelphia. For the study of law he entered the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor and completed his course there with the class of 1888. Immediately afterward he came to Fort Madison and entered into partnership with S. M. Casey, with whom he remained in continuous connection until the death of his partner in 1903. Since that time Mr. Stewart has prac-
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ticed alone, maintaining an enviable position as one of the foremost lawyers of the Iowa bar. In 1898 he was appointed assistant United States attorney for his district and filled that position for fourteen years, or until 1912, when he resigned. He then devoted his entire time to the practice of law and now has a large and distinctively rep- resentative clientage. For many years he has been connected with the most important litigated interests heard in the courts of his district and his ability in handling his cases is evidenced in the court reports, which indicate that he has won many verdicts favorable to his clients.
On the 25th of June, 1889, Mr. Stewart was united in marriage to Miss Adele Kretsinger, of Fort Madison, and they became parents of two sons, but lost one in infancy. The other, Alan K., is in school. The religious faith of the family is that of the Presbyterian church, and Mr. Stewart belongs to the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks. His political indorsement is given to the men and measures of the republican party, but outside of his profession, he has neither sought nor held office, preferring to concentrate his energies upon his law practice, in which he has advanced steadily, developing his ability and gaining that prominence which comes only through merit.
SANFORD P. POND.
Death called from earthly activities a very enterprising and highly respected business man of Keokuk when Sanford P. Pond passed to the home beyond. For many years he had been actively, extensively and successfully engaged in the wholesale butter and egg business in Keokuk and his enterprise and his honesty were universally recognized and admired. He was a native of Wrentham, Massachusetts. In the schools of that locality he received a limited education and there remained until early manhood, when he went to Troy, New York, where he engaged in the wholesale grocery business. Hearing the call of the west, he then proceeded to Detroit, Michigan, and assumed the management of the old Jefferson Hotel on Woodward avenue. He continued in that capacity until 1857, which year witnessed his arrival in Keokuk. Here he embarked in the wholesale butter and egg business, establishing an enterprise which was destined to become the largest of its kind in the United States. Possessing sound business judgment and a natural aptitude for the business, the firm grew and prospered and in the later '8cs,
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when Mr. Pond retired, the management was turned over to his sons. The business reached mammoth proportions and was a source of material benefit to the community, furnishing an excellent market for producers in this part of the state. Aside from his interest in that business, Mr. Pond was president of the Keokuk National Bank and one of the original stockholders of the waterworks. He was also a member of the Pond-Decker Lumber Company and the Pond- Decker Manufacturing Company. His ready recognition of possi- bilities enabled him to advance steadily and each forward step brought him a broader outlook and wider opportunities which he quickly improved not only to the benefit of his private fortune but to public prosperity as well.
In Troy, New York, Mr. Pond married Miss Lydia A. Rickard and they became the parents of the following named: Jennie R., deceased ; Charles S .; Thomas H .; Ada R .; and Grace L., deceased. Mr. Pond gave his political allegiance to the republican party and was always actively and helpfully interested in important community affairs, serving several terms as a member of the city council and contributing in many ways to the work of public progress. He and his wife were earnest, consistent and helpful members of the First Baptist church, of which he served as deacon for many years. He died February 25, 1909. He stood as a man among men, honored and respected by reason of the ability and integrity which he dis- played in his business career and by the many sterling traits of character which he manifested in every relation of life. As he ad- vanced he was willing to take others with him and was constantly extending a helping hand to a fellow traveler on life's journey. Those qualities which men most admire were his in large measure and he left behind him the priceless heritage of an untarnished name.
CHARLES S. POND.
Charles S. Pond, son of Sanford P. and Lydia A. (Rickard) Pond, was born in Keokuk, April 21, 1857, and throughout his entire life has made the city of his birth his home. After attending the public schools he entered the Illinois College at Jacksonville, Illi- nois, being a student there at the same time as W. J. Bryan and Richard Yates. Upon his return home he entered into active con- nection with his father's wholesale house, learning the details of the business.
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In the early 'gos the concern was reorganized and incorporated with Sanford P. Pond as president and Charles S. Pond as secretary, treasurer and general manager. They established branch offices throughout the country, continuing the business successfully until 1911, when they disposed of their entire interest to Swift & Com- pany, with whom C. S. Pond remained as manager at Keokuk, occu- pying the position to the present time. While he entered upon a business already established many a man of less force of character and ability would have utterly failed in carrying the enterprise forward and enlarging its scope. He proved able to meet every emergency and utilized his opportunities in such a way that the business grew along substantial lines, placing him among the suc- cessful men of the county. In 1912 he erected two large apartment buildings at an advantageous location overlooking the river, thus greatly improving the architectural adornment of the section in which they are located.
On the 13th of October, 1880, Mr. Pond married Miss Laura C. Bartlet, a daughter of Rufus Bartlet. He is well known in fraternal circles as an Elk, a Knight of Pythias and a member of the Royal Arcanum. He also belongs to the Chicago Athletic Association. His political support is given to the republican party and while he has never sought nor desired office he supports all measures and movements which are a matter of civic virtue and civic pride. He is a Baptist in religious faith, while his wife is a Presbyterian. Theirs is an attractive and hospitable home, its good cheer being greatly enjoyed by their extensive circle of friends.
E. C. WEBER.
E. C. Weber is a well known lawyer of Fort Madison who was connected with the office of city attorney, serving in that position for three terms and who has for the past three terms been deputy county attorney. The spirit of enterprise, characteristic of the mid- dle west, finds expression in his life. He is entirely an lowa product, for he was born, reared and educated in this state and has always made it his place of residence. His birth occurred at West Point, Iowa, May 18, 1867, a son of H. and Christina Weber, who came to Lee county at an early day, the father establishing himself in busi- ness as a harness maker and dealer at West Point. Both he and his
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wife are now deceased. In their family were four children, of whom one son has passed away.
Spending his youthful days under the parental roof, E. C. Weber became a pupil in the public schools and when he had completed that course he continued his education in the Baptist College at Burlington. Thus he laid a broad foundation upon which to build the superstructure of professional learning. Deciding upon the prac- tice of law as a life work, he then entered Drake University as a law student and was graduated with the class of 1894. The follow- ing year he came to Fort Madison, where he opened an office, and has since been actively connected with the profession in this city. In the intervening period of nineteen years he has made continuous advancement, his ability being recognized in a large and growing law practice. Not only has he been accorded a good clientage, but has also been called to public duty along professional lines, serving for three terms as city attorney, his reelection coming in recognition of the capability and fidelity with which he had discharged the duties of the office in his first term. He was then appointed deputy county attorney and has occupied that position through the past three terms.
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