USA > Iowa > Lee County > Story of Lee County, Iowa, Volume II > Part 19
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Mr. Weber is a democrat in his political views. He holds mem- bership with the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, is a Knight Templar Mason and has also crossed the sands of the desert with the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. His is a well developed and well rounded character, owing to the fact that he has ever maintained an interest in those things which are of essential value in life as an individual and as a citizen. He stands for those projects which affect the public welfare along beneficial lines and is interested in all that is a matter of civic virtue and civic pride.
JOHN HOUSTON, JR.
John Houston, Jr., like so many of the pioneers of Lee county, has passed to his reward and is beyond the reach of human praise or blame. Nevertheless, it is but just that his name be preserved in the records of this county as one who aided in its development in the early days of its history. He was born in Lyndeboro, New Hampshire, December 15, 1823, a son of John and Zervia (Fields) Houston, the former born June 5, 1787, and the latter November 1, 1784. Their marriage occurred March 21, 1811, and to their union
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were born the following children: Albert F., whose birth occurred January 15, 1812; Laura, who was born August 13, 1813, and mar- ried William Davis; Abigail, who was born April 2, 1815, and be- came the wife of Dr. George Shedd, a pioneer physician of Den- mark, Iowa; Sarah, who was born October 7, 1816, and married Warren Henderson; Zervia, whose birth occurred on the 13th of July, 1821, and who married a Mr. Bell; John, the subject of this review; Joseph, born September 13, 1826; and Mary Jane, who was born May 28, 1829, and married Joseph Ingalls.
John Houston, Jr., was a lad of ten years when he removed with his parents to Lowell, Massachusetts, where his father was a me- chanic in the woolen mills. The subject of this review was a pupil in the city schools of Lowell and there acquired a serviceable edu- cation. Subsequently the family came west, traveling by rail to Albany, New York, from that point on the Erie canal to Buffalo, thence by the Great Lakes to Chicago and then across the prairies by wagon, finally arriving in Lee county, Fowa, where they settled. The journey was a long and tedious one, but most of the early settlers of this county came in some such way. The family made their home with Fra Houston, a relative, until a building could be erected on the eighty acres which they had purchased at a dollar and a quarter per acre. John Houston, Sr., and his wife passed the remainder of their lives upon their farm in this county and here departed this life, mourned by their many friends. They were loyal and consistent members of the Congregational church.
John Houston, Jr., taught school for a number of years after coming to Iowa, but soon after his marriage took up his residence on the old homestead, which he farmed. He subsequently purchased an additional eighty acres and was known as one of the progressive and successful farmers of the county. He was always ready to utilize a new method or a new type of farm implement if it seemed rea- sonable that it would be advantageous to do so. He carried on general farming and stock-raising, and his farm was one of the well improved places of his locality.
Mr. Houston was married in 1849 to Miss Maria Sturges, a daughter of Isaac and Sarah Sturges, both natives of Connecticut. They joined a colony from that state at Granville, Ohio, and there their daughter, Maria, was born, the date of her birth being April 20, 1827. She came to Lee county with her brother, Albert A., who was the first teacher in Denmark Academy and one of three missionaries who established the foreign mission work in Micronesia. The children born to Mr. and Mrs. Houston were as follows : Albert
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S., born July 6, 1851, was graduated from Denmark Academy, Grin- nell College and a theological school in Chicago, and served for a number of years as missionary at Micronesia, but has passed away. Zervia J. was born September 8, 1853, and is the wife of Charles Swift, a resident of Oregon. Warren H., born November 23, 1854, was educated in Oberlin College and afterward became a Congre- gational home missionary but is now deceased. Laura MI., born November 27, 1856, was for a number of years a successful teacher and married Fred Bement, of Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Mary E., born January 25, 1859, is a teacher by profession. Hattie A. was) born August 7, 1862, married William Hitchcock, a professor in Jaffna College at Ceylon, India, and also superintendent of schools, in that city. John I., born May 23, 1865, died at the age of four all ban years. Asa T., a sketch of whom appears elsewhere in this work, completes the family.
Mr. Houston was prominent in the ranks of the republican party of Lee county and held a number of minor offices, including that of assessor. He was a deacon in the Congregational church and was most active in furthering all branches of the work of that organiza- tion. His death occurred December 23; 1898, but his widow sur- vives and now makes her home with her son, Asa T. Although Mr. Houston has been dead for over fifteen years, the influence of his upright life is still potent and his friends still recall his many quali- ties of noble manhood.
JOHN R. WALKER, M. D.
Dr. John R. Walker, engaged in the general practice of medi- cine at Fort Madison, is a native son of Iowa, his birth having oc- curred in Wayne county, April 8, 1875. His parents were James W. and America (Niday) Walker, the former a member of the bar. The father was also born in Wayne county and is a son of Saunders Walker, one of the pioneers of that section of the state, so that the family has been represented in Iowa through three generations.
Dr. John R. Walker acquired a public-school education and aft- erward had the benefit of further instruction in the University of Nebraska at Lincoln. He is a graduate of the College of Physicians and Surgeons at Keokuk, where he completed his course in 1904, and since that time he has practiced continuously in Fort Madison. It was not long before he had demonstrated his ability to cope with
John D. Car
Their child Henry P ..
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the intricate and complex problems that continually confront the physician. He has ever been careful in the diagnosis of his cases and is seldom if ever at fault in foretelling the outcome of disease. He belongs to the city, county and state medical societies, and is now president of the Lee County Medical Society and of the Fort Madi- son Clinical Society. Broad reading keeps him in touch with the advanced thought of the profession and he readily adopts new meth- ods of practice, yet is never over-hasty in discarding the old-time and tried methods, the value of which has been proven.
In 1900 Dr. Walker was united in marriage to Miss Bertha Hutchinson, a resident of Humeston, Iowa, and they have become parents of two children, Robert and John. Dr. Walker belongs to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and his religious faith is that of the Christian church. He is now serving as president of the church board. Politically he is a republican and, while he has never held political office, he has served the public as a member of the school board for six years, his term having but recently expired.
JOHN WESLEY BARGAR.
John Wesley Bargar owns and operates a finely improved farm of two hundred and eighty acres situated mostly on section 7, Har- rison township. He has resided upon this place ever since his birth and is one of the well known farmers of the county. He was born April 9, 1868, a son of Marchaud Lee and Narcissa (Lee) Bargar, a sketch of whom appears elsewhere in this work, and secured his education in the public schools of the neighborhood and at Mount Pleasant, Iowa. For the past twenty years he has carried on gen- eral farming upon the homestead and has also devoted considerable attention to stock-raising. For the first eight years of this period he was associated with his brother, Byron, but for twelve years has managed the farm alone. He is one of the most progressive farmers of the community and his wisely directed labors have brought him gratifying financial success.
Mr. Bargar was married in February, 1902, to Miss Maggie K. Robertson, who was born in Harrison township, March 27, 1873, a daughter of Thomas R. Robertson, of whom more extended men- tion is made elsewhere in this work. Mrs. Bargar received a good education, as she attended the Primrose select school. By her mar- riage she has become the mother of three children: Birdie E., who
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was born in April, 1903, and is attending school; Lisle L., who was born August 16, 1905, also in school; and Maud, born August 15, 1910.
The parents are members of the Methodist Episcopal church and support all movements undertaken for the moral betterment of the community. Mr. Bargar is an independent republican in politics and has served as a trustee of Harrison township for some time. He takes a great interest in everything pertaining to the public schools and for twelve years has been secretary of the school board, doing much in that time to improve the local school system. His father did much to further the development of the county and Mr. Bargar of this review is carrying on the family tradition of a useful and upright life.
CHARLES H. SULLIVAN.
Charles H. Sullivan who, in October, 1912, was made deputy warden of the state penitentiary at Fort Madison, with which in- stitution he has been connected since 1908, was born in Fayette county, Iowa, in 1878, his parents being John and Celistie (Grey) Sullivan. The father, a native of Ireland, spent the first eighteen years of his life on the Emerald isle and then sought a home in the new world. He was a railway man and came to this state in the middle portion of the nineteenth century.
Reared in his native county, Charles H. Sullivan attended the public schools of Fayette, Oelwein and New Hampton and he made his initial step in the business world in connection with the grocery trade, clerking in a store at West Union. There he remained un- til 1908. Acquainted with the warden of the state penitentiary at Fort Madison, he went to that institution as a guard and in the fol- lowing year, or in May, 1909, he was made receiving officer. Further advancement came to him in September, 1910, when he was ap- pointed assistant deputy warden, and after two years, or in October, 1912, he was made deputy warden, thus standing second to J. C. Sanders, the present official head of the institution. He shares in the purposes and plans of Mr. Sanders, who is one of the reform wardens of the country, and he renders good service to his superior, understanding the work so thoroughly that he can at any time assume charge in the absence of Mr. Sanders.
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In 1906 Mr. Sullivan was united in marriage to Miss Lou Smith, of West Union, Iowa, and unto them has been born a son, Charles Kenneth. His fraternal allegiance is given the Masons. He belongs to the lodge, to the Knight Templar Commandery and to the Mystic Shrine, and the purposes and tenets of the craft find in him a stanch advocate and supporter. He votes with the republican party and has firm faith in the efficacy of its principles as factors in good gov- ernment. He belongs to the Presbyterian church, and his life is guided by its teachings, so that he stands as a man among men, strong in his honor and his good name.
GEORGE RUMP, SR.
George Rump, Sr., deceased, was for many years one of the Icading business men of Fort Madison and one of its highly esteemed citizens. A native of Lee county, he was born in Pleasant Ridge township, April 19, 1842, and was a representative of a very old and honored family of this locality, his parents being John George and Catharine (Peicks) Rump, both natives of Germany. They were married, however, in Lee county in 1838 and continued to make their home here until called from this life. By occupation the father was a farmer. His children were: Elizabeth, who died in childhood; John, a resident of West Point, Lee county; George, of this review; Mrs. Mary Hamelman, who died in Kansas City in 1910; Katharine, also deceased; and Anna.
The first seventeen years of his life George Rump spent upon his father's farm in this county and acquired his education in the common schools of the neighborhood and the parochial school at West Point, Iowa. He then went to St. Louis, where he was em- ployed as clerk in a grocery store for about two years, and then established a store in Fort Madison in partnership with his father- in-law, George Borches, under the firm name of Borches & Rump. They began business here in a small way, carrying only a limited stock of groceries and provisions, but as time passed they added dry goods and were soon at the head of one of the leading business concerns of the city. Their store was located on Front street until after the death of Mr. Borches, when Mr. Rump removed to Second street, there conducting a dry-goods store under his own name for twenty-seven years. Carrying a large and well selected stock of goods, he secured an excellent patronage and continued to success-
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fully engage in business until about ten years prior to his death, when he retired. He passed away here on the 26th of April, 1910. In 1900 he erected the fine brick residence which his widow now occupies and besides this property owned three store buildings on Second street, which are now in her possession.
On the 13th of May, 1862, was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Rump and Miss Mary Engel Kur, who was born in St. Louis, Missouri, January 6, 1844, and came to Lee county, Iowa, about 1850 and has made her home in Fort Madison ever since. Her parents were Henry and Elizabeth Kur, both natives of Germany. Her father died when she was only nine months old, and her mother subsequently married George Borches. To Mr. and Mrs. Rump were born the following children : George Harmon, now a retired merchant of Fort Madison; Henry William, who is engaged in the grocery business on Second street; John Henry, who conducts a saloon in Fort Madison; Louis Henry, who is proprietor of a grocery store in the city and is now making preparations to enter into the wholesale grocery business; William Frank, who was in partnership with his brother, Louis H., until recently; Ella Elizabeth, at home with her mother; Clara Elizabeth, the wife of John Tierney of Fort Madison; and Minnie Loretta, the wife of V. C. Nagel of Fort Madison.
The family hold membership in St. Joseph's Catholic church, to which Mr. Rump also belonged, and his political support was given the democratic party. As a business man he gained the confidence of the public and success came to him as the result of his own individual efforts, for he was ever industrious, enterprising and progressive.
MARY J. RICHEY.
Mary J. Richey is successfully operating eighty acres of land situated on section 24, Van Buren township, and has had the control of the farm for the last twenty years, demonstrating her ability as a manager in her efficient direction of the farm work. She is the second child of James and Rebecca (South) Richey, a sketch of whom appears elsewhere in this work. Her birth occurred Septem- ber 24, 1846, on the farm where she now resides, and her girlhood was spent upon the homestead, where she thus unconsciously learned much concerning the best methods of farming. Her education was acquired in the Union school of Van Buren township and she has
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remained a resident of that township throughout her life. She en- gages in general farming, raising hogs, cattle and sheep for the mar- ket in addition to the grains and other crops best suited to the climate of Iowa, and the farm returns to her a good annual income. Her place compares favorably with the neighboring farms and every- thing about it is kept in excellent condition.
Although not a member of any religious denomination, Miss Richey attends the Methodist church and conforms her life to the highest standard of ethics. Her parents were for many years resi- dents of this county and did their share in promoting the agricul- tural development, and Miss Richey is ably carrying on the work that they began. Her many admirable traits of character have won her many friends and she is one of the valuable citizens of the county.
GERHARD SANDERS.
Germany has furnished to the new world many of its most enter- prising citizens who have met with remarkable success in their under- takings and are today numbered among the wealthy men of their community. To this class belongs Gerhard Sanders, who was born in Furstenau, Hanover, Germany, January 2, 1842, and was left motherless at the early age of four years. His father, Gerhard San- ders, Sr., followed the tailor's trade in early life, but later engaged in farming. He died at the age of forty-nine years. In the family were six children, namely: Ardelhide, who died of cholera in Cin- cinnati, Ohio; Elizabeth, who died in Lee county, Iowa, in 1910; Henry, who died in the old country; Mary, who died in Fort Madi- son, Iowa; Theresa, who died in Lee county in 1914; and Gerhard, of this review.
Our subject was but seventeen years of age when, in the fall of 1859, he came to the United States in company with his sisters Eliza- beth and Theresa, the journey being made on a sailing vessel and occupying nine weeks. They landed in New Orleans and were one week in coming up the river to Fort Madison, Iowa. They had an aunt who was living in this country, the wife of Barney Foeker, for whom Gerhard Sanders worked one year for seventy dollars. With this money he paid the expense of his passage to America and, although he and his sisters had only eleven dollars and an old gun remaining, they felt happy and contented. For three years he worked for his brother-in-law, Garrett Foeker, the husband of Eliza-
GERHARD SANDERS AND FAMILY
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beth, and then went to St. Louis, Missouri, where he was employed in a hotel for about three months. At the end of that time he returned to Lee county and was in the employ of others as a farm laborer until his marriage. In Germany he had received only eight dollars per year. At that time the best farm laborer received only eighteen dollars per year, but here wages were so much better that at the time of his marriage he was able to purchase thirty-five acres of land near Pilot Grove, in Marion township, which he improved and subsequently sold at a profit of three hundred dollars. In con- nection with another man he then bought an eighty acre tract and upon his portion he built a small house, and as time passed and he was able to add to his property he extended the boundaries of his place until he had six hundred acres in one body. Upon that tract he erected two sets of farm buildings and continued in the cultivation of the place until six years ago, when he sold the greater part of it. He now has two hundred and twenty acres, which he rents.
Leaving the farm in 1909, Mr. Sanders removed to Fort Madison, where he erected his present residence at No. 703 Fifth street, and four years ago he purchased what is now known as the Grand Hotel, formerly the Waverly House, which he has remodeled, making it an up-to-date hotel, which he conducts on the European plan. It has thirty-five rooms and is modern in all its appointments. Besides the property already mentioned Mr. Sanders owns six buildings and a vacant lot on Front street, Fort Madison. While engaged in farming he devoted considerable attention to the raising and shipping of stock for many years. He commenced with hogs and cattle, and later became quite an extensive feeder, feeding from one hundred to three hundred head of cattle annually. He also handled fast horses in connection with his son Joseph, and has been the owner of some valuable racers.
On the 20th of November, 1866, Mr. Sanders married Miss Mary Houchtons, who was born in St. Paul, Lee county, in 1852, and is a daughter of Christopher Houchtons, of German birth. Her father was one of the pioneers of this state and died of cholera in Ottumwa, Iowa, at an early day. Mrs. Sanders' mother was also a native of Germany and she died in Lee county. To our subject and his wife have been born twelve children, all of whom are still living, namely : Margaret, now the wife of Frank Mertens of Cottonwood, Iowa; John, president and general manager of the German-American Tele- phone Company of Houghton, Iowa; Joseph, who is vice president of the same company and lives on a farm near Cottonwood; Mary, who is housekeeper for Rev. Father Jacob Meyer of Riverside, Iowa; Vol. II-13
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Henry, who is engaged in the real-estate business and in dealing in horses in Beemer, Nebraska; William, a farmer of Mount Hamill, Iowa; Ben, who is now head lineman for the German-American Telephone Company and resides in West Point; Christopher, a real- estate man and horse dealer of Lindsay, Nebraska; Elizabeth, a seamstress living at home; Katharine, formerly head bookkeeper for the German-American Telephone Company, now the wife of Charles Rice; Anna Marie, a trained nurse in St. John's Hospital at St. Louis; and Stephen Paul, manager of the Grand Hotel of Fort Madison.
Mr. Sanders and his son John started the German-American Telephone Company, but our subject subsequently sold out to John. Although he has met with misfortune and hardships in the struggle of life, he has overcome all disadvantages and is today regarded as one of the prosperous citizens of the community. For ten years he was in ill health, but is now well and strong and able to look after his invested interests. Starting out in the new world without capital. the success that he has achieved has been due entirely to his own unaided efforts and excellent business ability. Since becoming a naturalized American citizen he has supported the democratic party and for twenty years most ably filled the office of county supervisor, at the end of which time he resigned. He has never regretted his emigration to the new world, for here he has prospered and has gained a high place in the esteem of all with whom he has come in contact. In religious faith he is a Catholic and fraternally belongs to the Knights of Columbus and the Roman Catholic Mutual Pro- tective Society.
GEORGE E. RIX.
George E. Rix was born at Gainesville, Alabama, on the 25th of June, 1853, his parents being George and Rebecca (Dial) Rix. The father was born in Royalton, Vermont, in 1806. As a young man he left his native state and went to Boston, whence he removed to Alabama, where he embarked in the mercantile business, owning seven establishments. He eventually disposed of his retail concerns and established a wholesale grocery business under the firm name of Rix, Kendall & Company. This concern was located in Mobile, and, the Civil war coming on, he was obliged to close up his affairs and in 1865 came to Keokuk, Iowa. Prior to his settlement here, however,
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he was one of the organizers of the private bank of Rix, Hale & Company, the resident manager being O. C. Hale. This firm began business in 1857 and it also felt the financial depression due to the war, closing the bank some time during that struggle, although it continued to loan money for a great many years thereafter. In 1872 George Rix, with his son-in-law, established a wholesale iron concern under the name of Rix & Stafford. In 1881 he retired, feeling that he had earned a rest from active business cares, and his son, George E. Rix, succeeded him in the firm. The father lived in quiet retire- ment until his death, which occurred in 1892, when he had reached the venerable age of eighty-six years. He was a man of strong con- victions and of superior business ability. He was proud of the fact that his credit was unquestioned and prouder that his word was as good as his bond. He was a powerful factor in all concerns or movements with which he was identified and commanded the un- stinted respect of all who came in contact with him in private or public relations. In religion he was a Presbyterian and in politics a democrat. Eight children were born to his union with Rebecca Dial, the only one now living being our subject, George E.
The latter came with his parents to Keokuk in 1865, at the age of twelve years, and attended the W. W. Jamieson school. In 1869 he entered Williston Seminary at East Hampton, Massachusetts, and was graduated from that institution in June, 1872. He returned to Keokuk and was employed by Rix & Stafford, and in 1881 suc- ceeded his father in that firm, the name, however, being changed to Stafford & Rix. In September, 1889, he went to Chattanooga, Ten- nessee, where he held the position of cashier in the Southern Bank & Trust Company. In 1896 he returned to Keokuk and became cashier of the State Central Savings Bank, serving in that capacity until 1906, when he was made vice president of the institution. The history of the bank dates back to the private bank of Rix, Hale & Company, of which his father was a member. After it closed Mr. Hale, a brother-in-law of his father, became connected with a branch of the old State Bank of Iowa, which had been organized in 1858, and subsequently became interested in the State National Bank. Upon the expiration of the charter of the State National Bank, business was continued under the name of the State Bank of Keokuk until 1893. About 1890 the Central Savings Bank had been organized and in 1893 this institution and the State Bank of Keokuk were merged into one bank under the name of the State Central Savings Bank, with a capitalization of one hundred thousand dollars. The first officers were: President, William Logan, who still holds the
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