USA > Iowa > Lee County > Story of Lee County, Iowa, Volume II > Part 5
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John C. Danover attended the public schools in the acquirement of an education and aided his father in the work of the homestead.
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After reaching manhood he decided that agriculture offered oppor- tunities for a successful, independent life to equal those afforded by any other occupation, and he has continued to farm. For five years after his marriage he rented one hundred and sixty acres of his father's land, but at the end of that time purchased the one hundred and twenty acre tract upon which he now resides. He has since be- come the owner of eighty acres located on section 27, Pleasant Ridge township, which he also operates. He is industrious and gives much thought to the planning of his work and, as his land is in a high state of cultivation, his labor is rewarded by abundant crops.
Mr. Danover was united in marriage to Miss Belle Hosier on the 9th of March, 1897. Her birth occurred on section 17, Pleasant Ridge township, and her parents were Henry and Mary (Brunson) Hosier. Their family numbered six children, two sons and four daughters, as follows: William, who died at the age of twenty-two years; Isaiah, whose birth occurred January 12, 1856, and who is mentioned elsewhere in this work in connection with Fort Madison; Clara L., who was born October 5, 1858, and is the wife of William Decker, a veterinary surgeon of Globe, Arizona; Alice C., who was born in 1861 and died in infancy; Rebecca Jane, who was born De- cember 17, 1863, and married Nathan Welch, an agriculturist by occupation ; and the wife of the subject of this review. To Mr. and Mrs. Danover have been born three children: Hugh E., whose birth occurred December 17, 1897, and who is now attending the public school and assisting his father on the farm; Eugene M., born April 17, 1900. and also attending school and assisting his father; and Virgie M., born July 27, 1910.
Although Mr. Danover was brought up in the Presbyterian faith, he and his family now attend the Methodist church at Woolen's Corner. They have many friends in the county and are respected by all who know them because of their sterling qualities of character.
HARRY W. HOUSTON.
Agricultural activity finds a worthy representative in Harry W. Houston, who is now the owner of two hundred and sixty-five acres of splendidly improved and highly cultivated land. This tract in- cludes the old Houston homestead, which he has owned for twenty years. He was born upon this farm and, although he has not resided thereon continuously, he has devoted much of his life to its cultivation
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and improvement. He began his education in the district schools and afterward attended the Denmark Academy. Later he concen- trated his energies upon general agricultural pursuits and for seven years he was a resident of Page county, where for three years he engaged in farming, while for four years he conducted a butchering business. For the past twenty years, however, he has owned and operated the old homestead farm and to it has added until within the boundaries of his place are comprised two hundred and sixty-five acres of rich and productive land, from which he annually gathers substantial harvests which return to him a good income.
In February, 1885, Mr. Houston was married to Miss Effie A. Riddle, a sketch of whose family appears elsewhere in this volume. She was born in Des Moines county, Iowa, in 1865, but from the age of twelve years was reared in Lee county and after attending the pub- lic schools was a student in the Denmark Academy. Mr. and Mrs. Houston have four children : Robert S., who was born in Page county, Iowa, and supplemented his public-school course by study in Elliott's Business College at Burlington ; Paul D., who was born in Lee county and has been attending the lowa Agricultural College at Ames for the past two years; and Bernice K. and Myron H., both of whom are natives of this county and are attending the local schools.
In his political views Mr. Houston is a republican and is recog- nized as one of the local leaders of the party. He is now a trustee of Denmark College and was a school director for a number of years. and the cause of education has always found in him a stalwart cham- pion. He belongs to the Modern Woodmen camp at Denmark and his wife is a member of the Congregational church, which is the oldest church west of the Mississippi river. High principles and noble pur- poses have actuated him throughout his entire life, and in every rela- tion he has been found true to high standards of manhood.
GEORGE HILL.
George Hill, deceased, was for many years a painter and paper hanger in Keokuk and did work on many of the important buildings of the city. He was born in Cookstown, Ireland, in 1837 and was brought to the United States by his parents when but a boy. The other children in his father's family were as follows: William, a railroad engineer, who in the war of 1861 carried supplies to the northern army and who passed away in Keokuk; Mary, who became
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Mrs. Copeland and is deceased; Robert, who was a carpenter by trade and made his home in Galena, Illinois, where he died; and James, who is deceased, but whose family resides in Pasadena, Cali- fornia. The subject of this review was the second in order of birth.
He acquired his education in Troy, New York, and there learned the trade of paper hanging and painting. When about twenty years of age he came to Keokuk, but remained only a short time, as he soon after located in Memphis, Tennessee. While there the Civil war broke out and although he was in a Confederate stronghold, he expressed freely his advocacy of the northern cause. He later went to New York and enlisted in the Federal navy. He saw serv- ice on a number of gunboats, including the Kearsarge, being on that vessel on the occasion of its memorable battle. He served throughout the war and when he was discharged held the rank of quartermaster sergeant.
His mother was left a widow soon after the close of the war and she and three sons came to Keokuk, where they made their home. George Hill spent the years 1866 and 1867 in Leavenworth, Kansas, and then returned to Keokuk, where, in connection with Captain Harry McQuilken, he engaged in painting and paper hanging. Their first shop was on the corner of Fourth and Blondran streets and was a little old frame building. They soon after removed to more commodious quarters situated on the opposite corner from their first shop. Captain McQuilken continued in the firm for fif- teen years, after which the subject of this review was alone until his death. He was a painstaking workman and took a great deal of pride in doing well everything that he set his hand to. This char- acteristic brought him a large trade and he won not only a reason- able financial success, but also the respect of those who knew him.
Mr. Hill was married November 25, 1869, in Keokuk, to Miss Annie Knight, the Rev. Crittenden and Dr. Brown officiating at the ceremony. Mrs. Hill was born in Kingston, Canada, August 7, 1844, and was but four years of age when brought to Keokuk, where she attended school until sixteen and then joined a sister at Jeffersonville, Indiana, pursuing her studies at that place for three years. Her father, John Knight, was also a native of Kingston and was one of the first white children born in that region, his birth occurring in 1782. He was a farmer by occupation and for some time lived within two and a half miles of Kingston, but in 1849 came to Iowa, where he died of cholera in 1855. He was a faithful member of the Methodist Episcopal church and a stanch follower of the Wesleys, though many of his people were Quakers. He was
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married in Kingston to Miss Rachel Peepells, who was born at that place and was a daughter of Francis Henry and Hannah Peepells. Her father was born in 1776 and her mother was a native of the Mohawk valley, New York. Mrs. Knight, who was a Quakeress, died in Keokuk in 1882. The children in the Knight family were as follows: James, a physician practicing in the state of Washing- ton ; Mary, who married John H. Williams and is deceased; Rachel, the deceased wife of Uriah Lewis; Sarah J., the wife of P. R. Sut- ton, of Keokuk; Annie; and Josephine, the wife of James R. Frost, of Dubuque, Iowa. Mr. and Mrs. Hill became parents of four chil- dren : Frances, now Mrs. Harry Pierson, of Brooklyn; Minnie and Florence, at home; and Sarah, now Mrs. C. H. Howell, of Denver.
Mr. Hill attended the Congregational church and fraternally was a member of the Masonic order. He also held membership in the Grand Army of the Republic, thus associating himself with others who served in the defense of the Union. He took an active interest in public affairs and served as alderman from the third ward. He was also secretary and director of the Building & Loan Association. He left to his children the heritage of an honored name, which is to be desired rather than great riches.
H. C. BROWN.
H. C. Brown is prominently connected with business interests in Keokuk as secretary of the Kellogg-Berge Company. He is a Ca- nadian by birth and his natal day was October 24, 1872. He crossed the border at the age of seventeen years and became a resident of the United States. He had acquired his education in the schools of Canada and after coming to this country entered the employ of the Michigan Central Railway, being in its telegraphic department and located in Chicago. He remained there for four years and then removed to Colchester, Illinois, where for eight years he was con- nected with the lumber and milling business. From Colchester he came to Keokuk, engaging in the milling business here until the year 1904. At that time he became an employe of the Kellogg-Berge Company as department manager. He handled the affairs of his department in a most competent manner, seeing that everything was brought up in good condition, and his administrative ability and initiative won him promotion until he became secretary of the company.
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In 1895 Mr. Brown wedded Miss Adah R. Kramer, of Chicago, who was educated in the schools of her native state-Pennsylvania. She is an active worker in the Young Women's Christian Association and also belongs to a number of social clubs. Mr. Brown is a men- ber of the Congregational church and serves as deacon in the same. He is a prominent Mason, having served for four years as eminent commander of the local Commandery of Knights Templar. He is president of the Young Men's Christian Association and under his administration it has become one of the most active and beneficial institutions of the city. He is also a member of the Country Club and greatly enjoys a round on the golf course. He is interested in all out- door sports and has done much to foster amateur athletics in Keokuk.
THE KELLOGG-BERGE COMPANY.
The Kellogg-Berge Company of Keokuk, Iowa, was founded in 1856 by C. P. Berge and W. E. Kellogg. After many years of suc- cessful existence as a firm it was incorporated in 1890. The present officers are Ira W. Wells, president; C. R. Joy, vice president; E. M. Majors, treasurer ; and H. C. Brown, secretary. Its affairs are most ably conducted and its business covers an ever increasing extent of territory. It is one of the largest wholesale and manufacturing grocery concerns in Iowa and its representatives travel over Michigan, Illinois, Missouri, Iowa, Wisconsin and Minnesota, in all of which states the Kellogg-Berge line of groceries is well known and con- sidered as more than satisfactory.
WILLIAM D. SCHULTE.
William D. Schulte is a young business man of West Point -- alert, wide-awake, energetic and ambitious. He is now engaged in mer- chandising as a dealer in clothing and shoes and is also filling the position of postmaster of the town, in which he was born on the 3Ist of July, 1886. He is a son of William and Mary ( Meyers) Schulte, who are still resident of West Point. In their family are two sons and five daughters, of whom William D. of this review is the eldest, the others being: Euphrosine, a graduate nurse, who is now connected in her professional capacity with Mercy Hospital of
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Chicago; George, who is associated with his father in the grocery business ; Louise, who is assisting the postmaster; and Marie, Isabel and Dorothy, all at home.
William D. Schulte was reared under the parental roof and after pursuing a course in a parochial school attended Johnson's Business, College at Fort Madison, where he was qualified for the duties of a commercial career. For four years, or from 1905 until 1909, he acted as rural mail carrier and since then has been closely associated with commercial interests in his native town, being a member of the firm of William Schulte & Son. The business was established by his father, William Schulte, on the 20th of March, 1909, and is now managed by William D. Schulte, who also employs one clerk and fre- quently has two in his service. Their's is a well appointed store and the business has constantly grown and developed along substantial lines.
On the 20th of November, 1912, Mr. Schulte was married to Miss Jean Lite, who was born in Minnesota, a daughter of Floyd A. and Catherine (White) Lite, who now reside at Lowell, Des Moines county, Iowa. Mr. Lite's father, a veteran of the Civil war, is still active at the venerable age of eighty-two years. The Lite family are from Virginia. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Schulte has been born a son, Harold. The family residence is at West Point, where they have many friends. They are members of the Catholic church and Mr. Schulte gives his political allegiance to the democratic party. He has served as a local committeeman of his party and does all in his power to further its growth and promote its success. On the 1st of Septem- ber, 1913, he was appointed postmaster at West Point by reason of his political affiliation and his acknowledged fitness for the office, and he is now making a creditable record in that connection.
HON. JOHN ENSTER CRAIG.
With public affairs in Keokuk Hon. John Enster Craig has long been prominently, actively and helpfully identified and as a mem- ber of the bar he ranks among the foremost. Keen intelligence has directed his efforts and a recognition of the obligations and duties of citizenship has made his service one of value, not only in the legal profession but in the broader field of civics.
A native of Pennsylvania, Mr. Craig was born in Washington county, March 14, 1853, and is a son of Alexander K. and Sarah
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HON. JOHN E. CRAIG
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(McLain) Craig. The father was a man of prominence in his com- munity and represented the twenty-fourth district of Pennsylvania in congress from 1890 until 1892. At the usual age John E. Craig became a pupil in the public schools of his native county and later entered Washington and Jefferson College, becoming one of its alumni in 1877. During the period of his later youth and carly manhood he was employed at farm labor through the summer sea- sons and engaged in teaching during the winter months in order to secure the money necessary to meet the expenses of a college course, his time being thus passed until he reached the age of twenty-four. The year following his graduation he came to the west, arriving in Keokuk on the Ist of May, 1878. Here he became a law student in the office of his uncle, Hon. John H. Craig, and was admitted to practice in 1879, immediately thereafter becoming a member of the law firm of Craig, Collier & Craig. His advancement from that time to the present has been continuous, and he has long been ac- corded a position in the front ranks of the legal profession in Lee county and the state. Thoroughness in the preparation of his cases has been one of his strong characteristics, and his analytical mind enables him to readily recognize the relation between a point in evi- dence and the law applicable thereto. He has never deviated from the highest standards of the profession, and his pronounced ability has won him a large and distinctively representative clientage.
Mr. Craig has been called to several offices in the line of his profession. He became one of the lawmakers of the state in 1886, when Lee county sent him as its representative to the Iowa legisla- ture. In 1888 he was reelected and while a member of the general assembly at Des Moines he took a prominent place among the law- makers of the state, being a recognized leader of the democratic party in the house. In 1889 he was elected mayor of Keokuk and was reelected in 1891, both times receiving a large majority. He was instrumental in inaugurating street paving in Keokuk, Main street being paved from Second to Eighth. Various other public improve- ments were instituted, including a sewer system, which was estab- lished and put in operation. It was also during his administration that the union depot was built and the electric street railway was established. He won so high a place in the regard of his fellow citizens of the town and county and indeed among the people of his party that he was prominently named as a candidate for governor at the democratic convention held in Sioux City in 1889. However, he refused to allow his name to be used in connection with the can- didacy for the office. For eleven years he served as a member of Vol. II-4
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the board of education in Keokuk and his fellow members of the board and the public in general strongly indorsed his services, recog- nizing their force as factors in the improvement of the school system of the city. In 1896 he was elected county attorney and served in that position for four years. In 1902 and again in 1904 he was the democratic nominee from the first congressional district for congress and in 1912 was the candidate of his party for judge of the supreme court of the state of Iowa. His party recognizes him as one of its leaders, a man capable of directing its best interests and standing for its highest principles.
The social features of Mr. Craig's nature have found expression in a happy home and in connection with several fraternal organiza- tions. He was married on October 7, 1880, to Miss Fame S. Coulter and to them has been born a son, MI. Coulter, now a civil engineer at Wilmington, Delaware. Mr. Craig holds membership in the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, the Knights of Pythias, the Royal Arcanum, the National Union, the Iowa Legion of Honor and the Keokuk Club. He is active in every good work promoted by the Westminster Presbyterian church, of which he has long been a devoted member. The welfare of Keokuk is dear to his heart and his interest therein has found tangible expression on many occasions. If rewards have come to him in the shape of public office they have been well merited. If they have not come it has not been a matter of deep concern to him, as he feels that the pursuits of private life are in themselves worthy of his best efforts.
WILLIAM GEORGE ALBRIGHT.
William George Albright, deceased, was one of the honored pio- neers of Lee county, having located here in 1839. He was born in Reading, Pennsylvania, June 10, 1816, and was a son of George and Sarah (Wilson) Albright, who spent their entire lives in that state. By occupation the father was a bookbinder, and in those early days all work in that line was done by hand. In his family were six sons who grew to manhood and one daughter, who died in childhood. Our subject was reared and educated in his native state and, as pre- viously stated, came to Lee county, Iowa, in 1839, by way of St. Louis, where he spent a year or two. Throughout his active business life he engaged in merchandising, beginning as clerk and subsequently
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becoming proprietor of a store in connection with one of his brothers. He carried on business in Fort Madison for 51 years and after a usc- ful and well spent life passed away here November 14, 1904, honored and respected by all who knew him. He joined the Presbyterian church in 1872 and was treasurer thereof for years. He was active in public affairs and took a particular interest in all that would tend to advance the interests of the community in which he lived.
Mr. Albright was married, November 18, 1841, in Illinois, just across the river from Fort Madison, to Miss Cynthia White, who was born near Springfield, Sangamon county, that state, September 29, 1822, and was five years of age when she accompanied her par- ents on their removal to Hancock county, Illinois, residing there until her marriage, since which time she has made her home in Fort Madison. Here she occupies a fine brick residence, built by Mr. Albright and his brother, Jacob W. in 1858. It is a double house, three stories and a basement, and contains thirteen rooms. Mrs. Albright is today the oldest resident now living in Fort Madison, having made her home here for almost seventy-three years. She is still a well preserved woman and takes an active interest in the affairs of life. She has been a member of the Presbyterian church since 1870, and is active in its work. She has been a member of the Mon- day Afternoon Club, and is now an honorary member of the club. Mrs. Albright has still very vigorous faculties, does unusually fine work with the needle, and takes part in affairs of the day.
Mrs. Albright's parents were Edward and Nancy ( Atherton) White, the former a descendant of Peregrine White, who was born on the Mayflower. Edward White died in Illinois in 1840 and sub- sequently his widow went to Oregon, the journey being made across the plains with ox teams. There she made her home with her chil- dren until she passed away in 1865. In the family were eleven chil- dren, of whom nine reached years of maturity, but Mrs. Albright is now the only one living. She became the mother of eleven children, of whom four died in infancy, the others being: Harry, who died in Lee county, at which time he was a grandfather; Caroline, who is now the widow of Robert B. Hatch and makes her home with her mother; Phobe, who died at the age of three years; Grace, who taught three years in Council Bluffs and eighteen years in Seattle, Washington, and who died in 1908; William George, a resident of Chicago; Virginia, the wife of W. W. Dearborn of Seattle, Wash- ington; and Cynthia, the wife of George R. Crosley of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Mrs. Albright has eleven grandchildren living and two deceased and also has eleven great-grandchildren.
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Robert Boyd Hatch was born in Bangor, Maine, in 1834, a son of Nathaniel and Elizabeth (Scott) Hatch, also natives of the Pine Tree state. After residing in Washington, D. C., for four years the family came to Fort Madison, Iowa, where both parents died. The father was a lumberman and claims collector and was identified with government work as claim agent in Washington, D. C. He had three sons and one daughter, namely: Edward, who became a gen- eral in the regular army and was in command of the Second Iowa Cavalry all through the Civil war and died at Fort Russell while commanding a colored regiment, being killed in a runaway; Robert Boyd; Elizabeth, who died in 1887; and Frank, who was injured in the battle of Bull Run.
At the age of seventeen years Robert Boyd Hatch went to Daven- port, Iowa, where he was identified with the lumber business, and later went to Muscatine, later returning to Fort Madison, where he was married in 1864 to Caroline Albright. They located in Musca- tine, and two years later they came to Fort Madison, but subsequently removed to St. Louis, where Mr. Hatch was identified with the lum- ber business during the last fifteen years of his life. He passed away in 1902. There were two children born to him and his wife, namely : Grace Virginia, who died in 1888, at the age of seventeen years; and William Albright, who was married in 1901 to Gertrude Stinger, of St. Louis, and now lives in Cleveland, Ohio. They have two chil- dren, Caroline and Joseph. Since the death of Mr. Hatch his widow has made her home with her mother and has become quite prominent socially in Fort Madison, being especially active in club work. She is a member of the Monday Afternoon Club, which is the oldest club in the city, and is limited to twenty-five members. It is a study club.
PALMER TRIMBLE.
Palmer Trimble was born at Bloomfield, Iowa, on the 13th of January, 1852, a son of the late Judge Henry H. Trimble, extended mention of whom is made elsewhere in this work. His early educa- tional training was obtained in the schools of his native city and he supplemented this by a course at the Iowa Wesleyan University at Mount Pleasant in 1874-5. He took his law work at the State Uni- versity of Iowa at Iowa City, from which he was graduated with the June class of 1876. He immediately located for practice at Bloomfield and on July Ist of the same year he became a member
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