USA > Iowa > Lee County > Story of Lee County, Iowa, Volume II > Part 35
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in the work of the church here has been most pronounced from the first. The parish owns a handsome church, a beautiful parochial residence, a sisters' home and a modern school building and the church property has continuously increased in value. Father Zaiser was also instrumental in the establishment of the sisters' hospital. He has thoroughly organized the work of the church in its different departments and his efforts have greatly promoted the interests of Catholicism in Fort Madison. Moreover, he takes an active interest in all that tends to the advancement of the community in which he lives and few are the prominent public gatherings in which he is not asked to take a part.
ALBERT LEE CONNABLE.
Albert Lee Connable was a man whose career was closely inter- woven with the early history of Keokuk and its present-day pros- perity. His birth occurred at Bernardstown, Massachusetts, on the roth of August, 1811. He was of New England parentage, being a son of Ezra and Abigail (Stevens) Connable, and he traced his ancestry in a direct line to John Cunnabell, who came from London, England, and settled in Boston, Massachusetts, about the year 1674. Ensign John Cunnabell served the colonies in their struggle for independence from Great Britain. In several walks of life various members of the family achieved prominence and renown and while the name has been spelled in numerous ways the present generation has generally adopted the spelling Connable.
When twenty-one years of age Albert Lee Connable left his father's home and went west to Eaton, Ohio, where he remained until 1843, when he came to Iowa, settling in Jefferson county. He was a man of more than average intelligence and of superior educa- tion and was therefore one of the leaders in that county during its formative period. He was elected a member of the board of county supervisors and his advice was listened to with the greatest respect and as a rule followed. In 1848 Keokuk, which was then attracting considerable attention because of its favorable geographical posi- tion, drew his attention and he moved to this city. He was awarded the contract for the construction of the Des Moines and Keokuk slack water navigation canal, the division of the canal which he con- structed being a three hundred and fifty thousand dollar proposition. He was also engaged in the wholesale grocery business for a time as
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well as in pork and beef packing. He was prominently connected with other business enterprises of the city, being an organizer of the Iowa State Insurance Company in 1856 and of the Keokuk Savings Bank in 1868, serving as a director and vice president of the latter. He was likewise one of the founders and a director of the Keokuk Canning Company. His many important business and financial con- nections proved him to have been a man with the true business instinct, farsighted in recognizing business opportunities and prompt in taking advantage of them.
On the 9th of October, 1849, Mr. Connable was united in mar- riage to Miss Sarah Hurst Finney, who was born on the 15th of November, 1822, in Baltimore, Maryland, a daughter of Louis H. and Annie ( Hurst) Finney. They became the parents of three children, as follows: Albert E., Edwin H. and Howard L.
Both Mr. and Mrs. Connable were members of the Unitarian church and scrupulously conformed their lives to its high standard of ethics. Mr. Connable was a republican in politics but was never desirous of holding office. It was only as a matter of public duty that he consented to serve for three years as a member of the board of Lee county supervisors and as a director of the Waterworks Com- pany. His sound business judgment enabled him to accumulate a considerable amount of property and he was always liberal in his support of laudable public enterprises. He passed away April 15, 1894, having survived his wife for a number of years, her death occurring on the 21st of January, 1885. They were among that band of pioneers who laid so firmly the foundation of the city's present prosperity and few left to their descendants a better record or a more honored name.
HOWARD L. CONNABLE.
Howard L. Connable was born in Keokuk, January 14, 1858, a son of Albert Lee Connable. He has always made this city his home and received his education in its public schools. Since reaching adult years he has engaged in mercantile pursuits, winning pros- perity therein. He is a man of business sagacity and this enables him to manage his affairs wisely, while his pleasing personality aids in securing patronage. He is also connected with financial affairs of the city as vice president of the Keokuk Savings Bank.
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Mr. Connable was married, October 31, 1898, to Miss Rose Mckenzie, by whom he has two children, Madeline H. and Ray- mond J. In politics he is a republican and he carries on the family tradition of honesty, uprightness and public-spirited interest in municipal affairs.
IRA STEPHENS SIMS.
The name of Ira Stephens Sims is closely associated with the history of Jackson township and Lee county, where for many years he made his home and was widely and favorably known as an enter- prising farmer and a man upright and honorable in all his dealings. He was born in Wayne county, New York, June 14, 1836, and there resided until fourteen years of age, acquiring a public-school educa- tion during that period. He came of a family in whom the spirit of patriotism was strong. All were stanch advocates of the Union cause during the Civil war and two of his brothers and a brother- in-law were soldiers on the field of battle. The family was estab- lished in America by two brothers, William and Andrew Sims, who emigrated to the new world from Scotland and fought upon opposite sides in the war of the Revolution, one remaining loyal to King George and the other espousing the cause of the colonies and serving under General Washington. The former later went to Canada.
When sixteen years of age Ira S. Sims started for the west to try his fortune in that section of the country. He settled first in Illinois, where he became a trusted agent for a contractor who was engaged in the construction of the Illinois Central Railroad between Centralia and St. Louis. His employer, Mr. Brigham, induced him to come to Lee county, where he owned a very large farm, which Mr. Sims managed for six or eight years. He afterward went to Keokuk and subsequently was superintendent of the Hines farm, in Jackson township. He also became superintendent of the freight lighters business at Des Moines rapids on the Mississippi river. Thus the years went on, years in which activity and energy counted for success. In 1870 he purchased the farm in Jackson township upon which his remaining days were passed. He developed and improved the land and thereon engaged in the raising of fine horses, meeting with good success in that undertaking. He was an energetic agri- culturist, and the methods which he employed in tilling the soil
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brought to him a measure of success which he well merited and which enabled him to leave his family in comfortable financial cir- cumstances.
It was on the 14th of June, 1859, that Mr. Sims was united in marriage to Miss Eliza Thompson, who was born in Birmingham, England, and in 1848 came to the United States with her parents, settling in Bond county, Illinois, where she lived for five years before removing to Iowa. Her father in his native country was a hardware merchant but after coming to the new world engaged in bookkeeping. After living in Illinois for some time the father removed with his family to Des Moines, where both he and his wife passed away. Mrs. Sims always proved of great assistance to her husband. She was indeed a helpmate as well as a companion to him on life's journey, and he greatly valued her advice and counsel. To Mr. and Mrs. Sims were born the following children: George, now living in Minot, Montana; Clara, a resident of Colorado Springs, Colorado; Ira Lambert, of Burke, South Dakota; Samuel, of Keokuk; Lucy Elis, the wife of George C. Bold of this county; James, of Seattle, Washington; and Fred, who died at the age of five years.
Mr. Sims was a member of the Baptist church. Words of com- mendation were spoken of him on all sides, for he was a reliable business man, a progressive citizen, a faithful friend and a good neighbor. He took an active interest in county affairs and was instru- mental in getting Jackson township separated from the city. To his family he was most devoted, spending all of his leisure hours at home, and he was never away from home but once in all of his married life. For twenty-two years of his life he was a patient suf- ferer, having had a stroke of paralysis. He was a most temperate man in all that he did and never used intoxicants in any form. He displayed many sterling traits of character, and his many friends and neighbors spoke of him in terms of high regard and since his death have cherished his memory.
ISAAC CLIFFORD CARRICK.
Isaac Clifford Carrick follows farming in Montrose township, upon a farm of fifty-six acres situated on section 36, near the town of Summitville. Lee county numbers him among her native sons, his birth having occurred in Jackson township on the 29th of September,
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1882. He comes of a family of English lineage. His grandfather, William Carrick, was a native of England and a farmer boy of that country. He and a brother came to the United States together, land- ing in New York, where the brother died soon afterward of cholera. William Carrick began work in a vineyard owned by a Mr. Burn- ham and continued in his employ for several years, or until his mar- riage. He wedded Mary Sulina and afterward came to Iowa, settling in Montrose township, Lee county, where he purchased and developed a farm, devoting many years to the cultivation and improvement of that property. Eventually he retired from active business life, selling his farm, and took up his abode in Keokuk, where his last days were spent. His wife also passed away in that city about 1887, at the age of fifty-one years. She had long survived her husband, who was born about 1826 and who died in 1862. Their children were: James Burnham; Hiram, who is living in the city of Fresno, California ; Ida, the wife of James Chenoweth, of Keokuk; and William, who married Miss Anderson and resides in Peoria, Illinois.
James Burnham Carrick, the father of Isaac C. Carrick, was born on the old homestead farm in Summitville on the 3d of February, 1856. He attended the Summitville and Reed schools, his first teacher being Lottie Mooney. When he had mastered the branches of learning taught in the district schools he attended the old high school of Keokuk, taught by Mrs. Kilbourne. The experiences of his youth were such as usually fall to the lot of the farm lad. From an early age he began assisting in the development of the old home- stead farm in Jackson township and became familiar with every feature of farm life. Eventually he started out in business on his own account, first renting land in Jackson township and afterward cultivating different rented farms for nine years. On the 29th of February, 1898, he purchased a farm from Robert Jewett and has since greatly improved this place. It comprises one hundred and three acres of rich and productive fields, in the midst of which stand fine buildings. In 1901 he erected his present residence, a two-story house containing eight rooms. He has also built substantial barns and other buildings, there being no buildings upon the place when it came into his possession. He has also set out orchards and, in fact, carried forward every feature of farm work that results in the attain- ment of success. He deserves much credit for what he has accom- plished, for he started out in life empty-handed when eighteen years of age. Leaving home, he went west to Kansas, where he spent one year, but, not liking it, he returned to Lee county and, as previously
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indicated, began for himself by renting land. Today he is one of the substantial farmers of the county, owning a property which is valu- able and from which he derives a substantial annual income.
On the 25th of December, 1881, Mr. Carrick was united in mar- riage to Miss Maria Van Ausdall, who was born August 29, 1851, in Eaton, Preble county, Ohio. Her great-grandparents were Peter and Rachel Van Ausdall, who spent their last days in Ohio. Her father, Isaac Van Ausdall, was born in Pennsylvania, but in his early boyhood was taken by his parents to Ohio, and in that state was united in marriage to Miss Eliza Grafft. In 1853 they arrived in Lee county, Iowa, settling in Jackson township, about two miles cast of where the Carrick home was established. Mr. Van Ausdall followed butchering in Ohio, but carried on farming after coming to this county, and he and his wife spent their remaining days upon the old homestead farm. Their children were as follows: Peter, David and Martin, all now deceased; Rachel, the wife of Henry Smith of Indiana; Caroline, who became Mrs. L. W. Hawkins and has passed away ; Mary, who became the second wife of L. W. Hawkins and now lives in Indiana; Mrs. Carrick; John, deceased; Isaac, living in Oklahoma; Harvey, a resident of Lec county; Lydia and Hattie, twins, the latter the wife of Roy Brown of Lake Charles, Louisiana ; and Lillie, the wife of Robert Kerr of Warsaw, Illinois.
Mrs. James B. Carrick was but two years of age when brought to Iowa by her parents, who settled in Jackson township, where she was reared and educated, attending the public schools. She remained at home until she gave her hand in marriage to James Burnham Car- rick, who then rented the Judge Chenoweth farm, upon which they took up their abode. They became the parents of a son and daughter, Isaac Clifford and Mary E., the latter the wife of William Younkin, of Montrose, by whom she has two sons, Glen and Stewart. The father has always given his political allegiance to the democratic party and has served as road supervisor.
Upon the old home farm Isaac Clifford Carrick was reared and acquired his education in the district schools and the schools of Keo- kuk. His text-books were put aside when he reached the age of seventeen or eighteen years. He continued upon the home farm until twenty-two years of age, giving his father the benefit of his services, and was married on the 6th of February, 1908, to Miss Gladys Fay Struthers, a daughter of William and Ella (Kite) Struthers.
At the time of his marriage Mr. Carrick purchased a sixty acre farm adjoining his father's place and thereon resided for three years. Vol. II-23
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He next bought a farm of two hundred and twelve acres in Summit- ville and continued upon that place for three years. At the end of that time he invested in his present property, which is a farm of fifty-six acres on section 36, Montrose township. This is one of the prettiest farms in his section of the county. It is pleasantly located, carefully cultivated and well improved and gives every evidence in its excellent appearance of the careful, practical and progressive supervision of the owner.
To Mr. and Mrs. Carrick have been born three children : Dorothy Maria, six years of age; Hugh Isaac, aged four ; and William Earl, a little lad of two summers. The parents hold membership in the United Presbyterian church, in the work of which they take an active and helpful part, Mr. Carrick serving at the present time as one of its trustees. In politics he is a stalwart democrat, and fraternally he is connected with the Modern Woodmen of America. He also belongs to the Anti-Horsethief Association No. 230. He represents one of the old families of the county, established here in pioneer times by his grandparents, and the work instituted by his grandfather and continued by his father is now being carried on by him, the family having through three generations been prominently connected with the agricultural development of Lee county.
SAMUEL W. MOORHEAD, M. D.
Dr. Samuel W. Moorhead, a prominent and successful representa- tive of journalistic interests in Lee county, has since 1902, with the exception of about one year, remained the able editor of the Keokuk Gate City. He took up his permanent abode in Keokuk in 1885, having in the previous year been appointed to the chair of materia medica and therapeutics in the College of Physicians and Surgeons. His birth occurred in Blairsville, Indiana county, Pennsylvania, on the 4th of March, 1849, and he received his primary education in the public schools. Subsequently he attended the Blairsville Acad- emy and later pursued a course of study in the Edinboro State Nor- mal School, near Erie, Pennsylvania. In the spring of 1870 he removed to Batavia, Jefferson county, Iowa, where his father had previously taken up his abode, publishing the Batavia Herald. The following year he located at Afton, this state, there publishing the Afton News until 1872, when he sold out and became city editor of the Council Bluffs Nonpareil, while in 1875 he became editor of
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that paper. While a resident of Council Bluffs he took up the study of medicine, attending lectures at the Medical Department of the State University of Iowa at Iowa City and later entering the Col- lege of Physicians and Surgeons at Keokuk, from which institution he graduated in March, 1883. He began the practice of his chosen profession at Eagle Grove, Wright county, Iowa, and in 1884 became a member of the faculty of the College of Physicians and Surgeons at Keokuk, but still continued his residence and practice at Eagle Grove until taking up his permanent abode in Keokuk in 1887. That city has remained his home for nearly three decades. He continued as a college lecturer and also practiced medicine until 1902, when he resigned his chair. In 1892 he was elected alderman from the fifth ward and in 1903 was chosen mayor of Keokuk. In addition to discharging the duties devolving upon him in this connection he also cared for his private practice for a time, gave medical lectures and acted as editor of the Keokuk Gate City. He first became con- nected with the Gate City in 1896, but severed the relations after a short time. In 1902 he again became editor of the paper and has been actively identified therewith to the present time with the excep- tion of about one year. Under his able management the sheet has maintained a large and gratifying advertising and subscription pat- ronage and ranks with the leading publications of the county. In 1906 Dr. Moorhead was appointed postmaster at Keokuk, and at the end of his four years' term was reappointed in 1910, making a credit- able and highly commendable record in that connection. In 1914 he was again elected mayor of Keokuk, which position he now holds. He is recognized as one of the leading and representative citizens of Lee county and enjoys an enviable reputation in social and profes- sional circles.
FREEMAN ALFRED DUNN.
Freeman Alfred Dunn, a contractor of Keokuk, conducting busi- ness as a member of the firm of Dunn & Matheney, was born August 6, 1877, in Clark county, Missouri, upon the farm of his maternal grandfather. His parents are William and Dora (Hayes) Dunn, who now reside upon a farm near Seaton, Illinois. The former is a son of Alfred T. Dunn, who is now living at the age of eighty-three years and makes his home with William Dunn, having lost his wife a few years ago.
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Freeman A. Dunn spent the first nine years of his life upon a farm and attended the public schools of his native county. He after- ward became a student in the Keokuk Business College, but in the meantime had taken up the tinner's trade and when he finished his education he returned to that trade, working under the supervision of Mr. Thomas and Mr. Brady of the Dupont Powder Company. His loyalty, capability and efficiency are indicated in the fact that he was connected with the Dupont Company for ten years. He afterward entered the employ of the Weber-Kirch Manufacturing Company, with which he was connected for some years, having charge of the shop much of the time. In March, 1912, he entered into partnership with T. P. Matheney and began a contracting busi- ness, in which he is still engaged. The firm has been accorded 'a liberal patronage and their trade is growing as the result of the excellence of their work and their reliable business methods.
Mr. Dunn was united in marriage in Keokuk, September 30, 1907, to Miss Birdie Matheney, of this city, and unto them have been born two children, Burdette and Gertrude. Mr. Dunn is an inde- pendent voter, casting his ballot for men and measures rather than party. He belongs to the Odd Fellows lodge, and his wife is a member of the Baptist church. They are well known in Keokuk, where Mr. Dunn has now made his home for eleven years. His advancement along business lines is attributable to his own efforts. Gradually he has worked his way upward, proving his worth in various connections and earning his advancement though indefati- gable industry.
JOHN L. KEETHLER.
Among those whose loyalty to the Union was tested upon south- ern battlefields John L. Keethler is numbered. He makes his home in Montrose township, Lee county, and for a long period has been engaged in blacksmithing at Summitville. He was born at the old family homestead in Montrose township on the 6th of October, 1848, and was there reared to manhood. His father, Andrew Keethler, was a native of Bracken county, Kentucky, born in 1807, and was a son of John Keethler, a native of Pennsylvania and of Dutch descent. The last named died in Clermont county, Ohio, where he had settled in pioneer times, aiding in the early development and improvement of that section of the state. Both he and his wife were devout mem-
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bers of the Christian church and led earnest, consistent Christian lives, in harmony with their religious professions. Their son An- drew Keethler, the father of John L. Keethler, spent his boyhood and early manhood in Kentucky and afterward went to Clermont county, Ohio, where he was united in marriage to Miss Mary Jones. In 1847 he removed to Iowa, making the trip by the river route, and in Lee county he made large investments in land, adding to his prop- erty from time to time until his holdings aggregated six hundred acres. He had also learned the blacksmith's trade in Ohio or in Kentucky and was a good workman along mechanical lines. He died in Summitville in 1888 and his remains were interred in the Dudley cemetery. His religious faith was that of the Christian church and to its teachings he was ever loyal. He had long survived his wife, who passed away in 1862. They were the parents of thir- teen children, only two of whom are living: Sarah, the wife of Christian Harader and a resident of Arkansas City, Kansas; and John L.
The latter was reared to manhood on the old homestead farm and attended the neighboring school, pursuing his studies under the direction of Mr. Wilson. He went to school a part of each year until he enlisted for service in the Union army when sixteen years of age. It was in the latter part of February, 1865, that he enrolled as a private of Company A, Nineteenth Iowa Volunteer Infantry, under command of Captain Thomas L. Spratt and Colonel John Bruce. He joined his regiment at Navy Cove, Alabama, and was with that command until the 4th of July, 1865, when he was trans- ferred to Company A, Twenty-ninth Iowa Volunteer Infantry, com- manded by Colonel Stone, with Lieutenant Kirkpatrick in charge of the company. Mr. Keethler was honorably discharged at New Orleans in September, 1865. He then returned to Davenport, where he was mustered out. He then returned home and through the suc- ceeding winter again attended school. He then took up his trade in his father's shop at Sandusky, his father having conducted the shop there at the time of the building of the canal. At intervals John L. Keethler also worked on the home farm. He started in business on his own account when his father became too old to longer conduct the business, at which time John L. Keethler took his place at the anvil. That was thirty-seven years ago and he still remains in the same smithy, although his trade has greatly changed in that time. In the olden days he also built wagons, but now confines his attention solely to the blacksmithing trade and enjoys a good business in that connection.
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On the 24th of November, 1878, Mr. Keethler was married to Miss Mary Manning, a native of Van Buren county, lowa, and a daughter of Andrew and Louisa (Davis) Manning. To Mr. and Mrs. Keethler have been born four children. Andrew M., now a practicing physician of Memphis, Missouri, married Maud Steph- enson, and their children are Andrew Ray, James Clarence and Mary Louisa. John L., who is cashier of a bank in Newark, Missouri, married Mabel Morris, and they have one child, Florence. Maytie Louise and Florence L. are both deceased.
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