The United States biographical dictionary and portrait gallery of eminent and self made men, Iowa volume, Part 22

Author: American biographical publishing company, pub
Publication date: 1878
Publisher: Chicago, New York, American biographical publishing company
Number of Pages: 954

USA > Iowa > The United States biographical dictionary and portrait gallery of eminent and self made men, Iowa volume > Part 22

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Upon his arrival at Eau Claire, Wisconsin, his old home, he at once proceeded to organize a com- pany, and enlisted as a private in the 16th regiment Infantry, but at Madison was promoted to the rank of surgeon of the Iron Brigade. During the retreat of the Union forces at the second battle of Bull Run, Dr. Allen, with self-sacrificing patriotisni and devo- tion, gave himself up as a prisoner, that he might attend to our wounded soldiers who were left on the field. He was retained a prisoner for eight days

before being paroled, and during that time worked incessantly with the wounded, without one third of the usual allowance of food, and when he came into our lines was utterly prostrated, and afterward con- fined to a hospital for four months. On recovering he was placed in charge of a hospital in Washing- ton during one year. The rest of the time, until the war closed, he was surgeon of the 5th Wisconsin Infantry. At the battle of Saylor's Creek he had the entire charge of the wounded, and superin- tended their removal to Berksville, Virginia, which task occupied about five days. It is doubtful if there was a more self-sacrificing and . more patriotic surgeon in the Union army.

Dr. Allen has been a member of the Masonic order since 1865.

He has always been a republican, and firmly ad- heres to the principles of that party. His religious sentiments are orthodox.

He was married on the 10th of November, 1857, to Miss Selah Denison, of Eau Claire, Wisconsin, and by her has two sons.

Dr. Allen thinks and moves rapidly, being of a nervous-bilious temperament ; is of average height, and weighs one hundred and sixty-five pounds. He settled in Mason City in 1867, and has built up an extensive practice ; and in all matters of public interest touching the welfare of his city or state he has shown a most admirable spirit of energy and enterprise.

HON. DELOS ARNOLD,

MARSHALLTOWN.

D' ELOS ARNOLD, born in Chenango county, New York, on the 21st of July, 1830, is of Scotch-English descent. His family was first rep- resented in this country just prior to the revolution- ary war, and settled in Providence, Rhode Island. His great-grandfather followed a sea-faring life after his arrival in America, and was lost while in com- mand of a vessel on a voyage from Bordeaux, France. Many of the descendants still reside in Providence; others are found living in various parts of the United States, serving their genera- tion in several industrial pursuits that make up American civilization. His father, a native of New York, was a tanner and trader by occupation, and died at Marshall, in 1856, while visiting his son.

When Delos was eleven years old, his parents re- moved to Chautauqua county, New York, and there he passed his youth and early manhood. At the age of fourteen he left home and spent a year and a half visiting various cities and places of interest throughout the country, and upon his return de- voted his attention to study. He spent about two years in Fredonia Academy, teaching during the winter months, and in 1851 entered the Albany Law School, from which he graduated and was admitted to the bar in 1853. Removing at once to Iowa, he settled at Marshalltown and began the practice of his profession; having been appointed prosecuting attorney the day after his arrival, an office to which he was twice elected, and in which

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he served four years. In the winter of 1853-4 he taught the first school in the county, occupying the court-house at Mariette for that purpose. In 1857 he was elected to the legislature, and served during the last session held in Iowa City. After the organization of the internal revenue department he was made the first assessor of the sixth district, embracing one-third of the area of the state, and held that position until his removal by President Johnson in 1865. In the fall of 1869 he was elected to the thirteenth general assembly, and served through the session of 1870. In 1861 he abandoned the profession of law, and at the close of his official term engaged in the real-estate and money-loan business, and in 1870 took charge of a furniture store, which he has since conducted.

In the summer of 1872 Mr. Arnold took an ex- tended tour, in company with several other gentle- men, through Colorado and the Rocky Mountains,

returning in the fall much improved in health and spirits. He spent the summer of 1873 visiting the World's Exposition at Vienna, and the noted places of Europe; and in the fall of 1875 was elected to the state senate for the term of four years. He is also at the present time (1877) engaged in the coal business, in Boone county, and is a half owner of the Iowa Railroad Coal and Manufacturing Com- pany.

In his political views, Mr. Arnold is identified with the republican party. He cast his first ballot for General Scott, and in 1856 supported Fremont.

He was married on the 28th of November, 1855, to Miss Hannah Mercer, daughter of John Mercer, of Ohio, and by her has three children.

Beginning without means, he has, by honesty, in- dustry and fair dealing, gained a liberal compe- tence, and lives now in the enjoyment of a pleasant home, surrounded by a wide circle of true friends.

HON. JAMES CUSHING,

DÙBUQUE.

N OT many genuine examples of sturdy western self-made men come into public notice. Born and brought up in indigence and obscurity, they have fought the battle of life so earnestly and well that they seldom think of congratulating them- selves upon their ultimate success; and in general they are unwilling to believe that they deserve any consideration for the notable examples of honest, healthy and successful life which they have given us.

James Cushing, the subject of this sketch, was born in West Scituate, Plymouth county, Massachu- setts, on the 4th of August, 1830. When eight years old his father's family removed to Peoria, Illinois, where his mother died the following year, and the breaking up of the family being the result, he hired to work on a farm at three dollars a month. His education was gained at the common schools, where he made good use of his time, and later, in his nineteenth year, using his accumulated savings, he attended for two years the academy at Mount Pala- tine, Illinois.

In his twenty-second year he commenced life for himself by going into the ice and wood business at La Salle, Illinois ; this he continued successfully until the spring of 1859, when he removed to Du-

buque, Iowa. Buying out the interest of his father in the firm of Carter, Piper and Cushing, ice dealers, he engaged in the same business. He finally bought out the entire interest by assuming the debts of the firm, which at that time would not pay fifty per centum. He had at that time two competitors, but by energy and fair dealing he soon gained the en- tire trade of the city, and during nine years had exclusive control of the business, and, after he had obtained that control, never took advantage of it, but made fair dealing his motto and successfully worked by it. After getting the business in his own hands he assisted one of his employes to an interest, doing so by taking his notes, which were promptly met, and the profits of the business have made him a man of property in the city. In 1863 he loaned money to a friend who was engaged in the manufacture of vinegar, in Dubuque, and in order to secure the amount found it necessary to take hold of the business with him, and in so doing expended much capital in bringing the arrange- ments for manufacturing to a successful condition. Owing to this circumstance he became associated with the manufacture of vinegar, and has continued it to this time, making it a study, and expending large sums to bring the methods of manufacturing

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to a higher state of perfection than had hitherto been attained. In this Mr. Cushing has been en- tirely successful. His trade is large, and extending all over the western country, and constantly increas- ing. In the summer of 1873, having outgrown his old accommodations, he erected his present large factory, which he has fitted up with various im- provements with reference to permanent business in the manufacture of vinegar for the northwest, his factory and business being the largest in the state.

Mr. Cushing has never been a politician or an aspirant for office; his political preferences being the republican party. In the municipal election in 1875 he was nominated by the republicans for mayor, as it was thought he would make a suc- cessful contest against any competitor that might be nominated by the opposition. His opponent was one of the most popular and earliest citizens, yet Mr. Cushing was elected by a handsome ma- jority. He filled the office with honor to himself and to the satisfaction of his constituents. He has always pursned a liberal policy toward the en- couragement of home manufactures and the build-

ing up of the general interests of the city, and no man has given more generously according to his means than he. He is popular with the people and has the sympathy of the working classes, and is the friend and patron of labor, as opposed to all forms of moneyed monopoly.

He is a member of the Masonic and Odd-Fellows fraternities, stands high in the first and has passed all of the chairs in the latter.

He was married, in 1854, to Miss Emma H. Masterman, by whom he had two children; she died in Dubuque in October, 1861. He married his second wife, Miss Mary A. Schermerhorn, of La Salle, Illinois, in October, 1863. By his second marriage he has four children.

Mr. Cushing is a self-made man; commencing in life with no means, he has by his own energy and ability made for himself a position among the leading men of Dubuque. Though not wealthy, he has made for himself an ample competency. Personally, he has rare qualities, and by his up- right course of life, his manly deportment and in- dependence of character, has made for himself an honorable reputation.

HON. JOSEPH HOBSON,

WEST UNION.

O NE of the self-made and truly successful men of Iowa is Joseph Hobson, president of the Fayette County National Bank, West Union. He is the son of John Wainwright Hobson, an English- man, who immigrated to this country about sixty years ago, and settled in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where the son was born on the 17th of October, 1823. His mother, whose maiden name was Abi- gail Bishop Scott, is still living. He was educated by private tutors in his native city. His father dy- ing in 1834, he was apprenticed to a cabinet-maker, but becoming dissatisfied his indentures were can- celed. He subsequently learned the carpenter's trade, and at the age of eighteen commenced life for himself. From the autumn of 1848 to the spring of 1853 he resided in Connellsville, Pennsylvania, as a partner in the foundry business, following his trade, and while there read law.

In the spring of 1853 he removed to Cleveland, Ohio, and thence to Sanilac county, Michigan. In April, 1855, he removed to Fayette county, Iowa;

purchased some government land a little south of Westfield, now Fayette; worked nearly two years on it; made up his mind that he was not a success as an agriculturist ; rented his farm; moved to the vil- lage just mentioned, and opened a law office. In those days interior towns in Iowa were small; law business was not extensive. Mr. Hobson could turn his hand to more than one pursuit, and during the sixteen or eighteen months which he spent in Fayette he not only attended to all legal business, but taught school one term, and assisted for a short time in editing a newspaper.

In 1858 Mr. Hobson was elected clerk of the dis- trict court, and removed to West Union, the county seat. He proved to be a competent officer, and ow- ing to the promptness, courtesy and efficiency with which he discharged the duties of that office, he was continued by the people of the county for ten con- secutive years.

In 1869 Mr. Hobson was elected to the thirteenth general assembly, serving one term, and watching

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well the interests of the state. He was then ap- pointed United States assessor of the third district of Iowa, and held the office three years, when it was abolished.

For several years Mr. Hobson was an active mem- ber of the West Union school board. He was the prime mover in originating the Fayette County Na- tional Bank, and has been at its head since it went into operation.

He has been a prominent member of the fraternity of Odd-Fellows, and still retains his connection with the order. He is also a Mason.

Mr. Hobson was originally a whig; cast his first vote, in 1844, for Henry Clay, riding fifty miles on the top of a stage-coach in order to do it. Latterly he has been a republican, a leader of the party in Fayette county.

On the 15th of April, 1847, Mr. Hobson was united in marriage with Miss Elizabeth Baker, of Allegheny county, Pennsylvania, a woman very act-

ive in benevolent enterprises, a veritable Dorcas in society. Her husband attributes his success in life largely to her influence. She has had eight chil- dren, and six of them, four sons and two daughters, are still living. The eldest son, Alfred Norman, is a partner of Hon. L. L. Ainsworth, in the practice of law; the second, Joseph Britton, a graduate of the academy at Annapolis, is a lieutenant in the navy, and the two other sons are conducting a job- printing office in West Union.

As counsel, Mr. Hobson is prudent and safe, and has the unlimited confidence of the people. He is honorable in his dealings as well as candid in his advice, and those who know him best declare that his integrity has never been questioned.

Mr. Hobson is an active business man, full of good, quick at repartee, and enjoys to laugh at a joke, even though it be at his own expense. He is kind to the poor - kind to everybody, and an inval- uable neighbor and citizen.

JOHN H. ALLEN, M. D.,

MAQUOKETA.

JOHN HENRY ALLEN, son of John Allen, civil engineer, and Catherine Van Allen, was born in Coos county, New Hampshire, on the 13th of June, 1818. The family moved to Albany, New York, in the early childhood of John Henry, and there he procured his literary education, finishing it at a French school and becoming quite proficient in that language. When about eighteen years of age he went to St. Pierre, an island off the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and acted as an interpreter one sea- son, there receiving the first money he ever earned. The next year he went to Senegambia, Africa, as a supercargo on the ship John Decatur, being absent nearly two years. Returning to this country, he read medicine with Dr. James F. Sargent, first in Lowell, Massachusetts, and then in Hopkinton, New Hampshire; attended lectures at Castleton and Woodstock, Vermont, and Hanover, New Hamp- shire, four terms in all, and spending a year with Professor Mussey, in giving especial attention to surgery. At Hanover he received his diploma, be- ing examined by Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes, who took the chair vacated by Dr. Mussey in the medical department of Dartmouth College.

Dr. Allen practiced in Boscawen and Concord,

New Hampshire, in all ten or twelve years, and in 1856 settled in Maquoketa. On his way to Iowa he was a passenger on the ill-fated steamer Niagara, which was burnt in September on Lake Michigan, off Sheboygan, and he came very near perishing. More than two hundred persons were drowned. A few were saved by sail vessels, and he and the cap- tain and mate were among the four who were taken off the wheel-house by the steamer Traveler.

Dr. Allen practiced here until 1862, in the sum- mer of which year he was appointed surgeon of the 18th Iowa Infantry, serving two years and then being discharged for disability. His early educa- tion eminently fitted him for field and hospital service, and the necessity for his resignation was deeply regretted by privates, officers, and especially the medical director, who bore strong testimony to his kindness and professional skill.

Since the rebellion closed, Dr. Allen has been almost constantly in some civil office. He was assistant assessor three years; postmaster about the same period of time; mayor three or four years, and is now a member of the council. He is prompt and efficient in all duties.

Dr. Allen has been a republican since there was

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such a party, and prior to that period was strongly anti-slavery. He is a man of strong convictions, well informed and very positive. He is well culti- vated in manners as well as in mind; courteous, social and genial.

Dr. Allen has been twice married. His first wife was Miss Judith Sargent, of Concord, New Hamp- shire, a sister of his early and esteemed preceptor; she died in 1852, leaving three children. Kate, the eldest, is the wife of Moff Trumbo, of Maquoketa; James H. lives in Chicago, and Sarah J., the young- est, is the wife of Mr. Ordway, of Boston, Massa- chusetts. His present wife was the widow of G. D. Lyon, of Maquoketa, their union taking place on the 24th of September, 1857, just one year after the burn- ing of the Niagara. Dr. Allen is her third husband. Her maiden name was Nancy R. Hall, and she was the daughter of Asahel Hall, an early settler in Ma- quoketa. She graduated at Miss Fields' seminary, Erie, Pennsylvania. She was first married to P. A. R. Brace, of Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, a member of the convention which framed the constitution for

that state. He left her a widow at twenty-one. She married Mr. Lyon in 1853, and he died of a fever in about two years. She had one daughter by her first husband, now the wife of William Stephens, the mayor of Maqnoketa; one son by her second, George B. Lyon, who has recently completed a very thorough education, and she has one child, Ethan Allen, by her present husband; he is a law student at Michigan University.

Mrs. Allen is a woman of fine culture, a vigorous writer, and quite active and prominent in the reform movements of the day. She was the first secretary of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union of Iowa, and was a delegate to the national temperance con- vention which met at Cleveland, Ohio, in 1875. She is an officer of the State Woman's Suffrage Associa- tion ; is a member of the executive committee of the national society of the same character, and a mem- ber of the Society for the Advancement of Women. She is a strong believer in human progress and rights, without reference to sex, and an influential and untiring worker for that end.

GEORGE H. FRENCH,

DAVENPORT.

G EORGE HENRY FRENCH, for more than twenty years prominently and actively con- nected with the business interests and public affairs of Davenport, was born at Andover, Massachusetts, on the 23d of February, 1825, and claims lineage from one of three brothers by that name who emi- grated from England about the year 1640 and settled in Braintree, Massachusetts, one of whom received the honor of knighthood from Charles I. His parents, George and Mary Richardson French, natives of the same place, both died ere he had attained his twelfth year, and he was at that tender age, without any patrimony, thrown upon his own resources, with the care and support of two infant sisters added to the responsibility, but he proved equal to the emergency. Up to the age of twelve he had attended the district schools. After that he was able, through his own efforts, to take about three years' tuition at Philips Acad- emy in Andover, and at the high school of Lowell, Massachusetts, both institutions of eminence, in which he acquired a liberal academic and mathe- matical education, earning his subsistence by act-

ing as clerk during vacations and holidays for a " notion " store.

At the age of seventeen he entered the large hide and leather store of Philip R. Southwick, of Boston, where he remained for five years, representing his firm one season in St. Louis, Missouri, and becom- ing one of the most expert and accomplished busi- ness men of the day. At the age of twenty-two he embarked in business on his own account in Boston, dealing in hides and leather with very considerable success for a period of nine years. Meantime his health had begun to show symptoms of decline, and he was advised, for the benefit of his health and that of his family, to go west, and in 1856 he left Boston and immigrated to Davenport, Iowa, being moved to select this point chiefly from the circumstance that it was already the residence of his brother-in- law, the late Bishop Lee, of Iowa. Soon after set- tling in Davenport he engaged in the saw-mill and lumbering interest, first in the firm of Cannon and French and subsequently that of French and Da- vies. The last-named firm transacted a very large business throughout the late war, furnishing the

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greater part of the lumber used in the construction of the several barracks and other buildings for camps Mcclellan, Hendershott, Herron and Rob- erts, and for the rebel prisons on Rock Island. In 1872 he sold out his interest in this business to his partner, having in that year been elected to the presidency of the Davenport and St. Paul Railroad Company, which position he retained until the cor- poration became embarrassed, after which he was appointed its receiver, a position which, however, he resigned after a few months. While acting as president he pressed forward the work of construc- tion with great energy, completing ninety miles and partially building forty more. The enterprise col- lapsed in the panic of 1874, Mr. French being him- self one of the heaviest losers. In 1876 the bond- holders took possession of the road under a fore- closure, reorganized, and the work is now being rapidly pushed to completion under the manage- ment of John E. Henry, Esq., of Davenport.

One year since Mr. French engaged largely in the manufacture of agricultural implements, in connec- tion with Messrs. E. P. Lynch and T. O. Swiney, in the Eagle Manufacturing Company, which, under their joint management, bids fair to outstrip many older establishments.

During his residence in Davenport his fine exec- utive abilities have been frequently called into ex- ercise by his fellow-citizens with the happiest results. In 1858 he was elected treasurer of the city school board, and reelected annually for twelve consecutive years. In this capacity he contributed very largely to the public school system of Davenport. At an early day he foresaw the wisdom of securing to the city the beautiful square upon which has since been erected the magnificent high-school building, one of the finest in the country, the most conspicuous ob- ject in Davenport and the source of its highest pride. In 1860 he was also elected treasurer of Griswold College, Davenport, an institution which was one of the cherished schemes of the late Bishop Lee, and which has already accomplished much in the way of a higher education and in the theological training of young men for the ministry. His man- agement of the funds of this institution was marked by like judgment and results. In the same year he was also elected treasurer of the diocesan fund of the Protestant Episcopal church in the diocese of Iowa, and to his management of certain real-estate investments is mainly due the ample resources from which the tasty and appropriate episcopal residence

was lately erected in Davenport, and the revenue from which the episcopate of the diocese is here- after to derive its support. In 1861 and 1862 he was chief magistrate of the city, filling the position, as he did all others, with credit to himself and the utmost satisfaction to his constituents. He was one of the original organizers of the First National Bank of Davenport, and its second president, which was the first bank in the country to open its doors under the national banking law. He served as aid to Governor Stone, of Iowa, during his guberna- torial term.

In the early years of his life he was a member of the Protestant Episcopal church, but his theological views having latterly undergone a change, he now attends the Unitarian church.

In politics, he was first a whig, and on the death of that party allied himself with the republican, and at every period of the late war he bore an active part in efforts to enlist and equip troops, furnish sanitary supplies to the soldiers, and in caring for the sick and wounded, and ministering to the wants of the families of those who were battling for their country. He took an active part, also, in securing the congressional legislation by which the United States arsenal was located on Rock Island.

Mr. French has long enjoyed the esteem and con- fidence of his fellow-citizens. As a business man. he has few equals and fewer superiors. His exec- utive ability is of the very highest order, qualifying him for the management of the most complicated enterprises. He is especially noted as an account- ant; as a ready reckoner, he is the peer of any man in the nation.

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The United States biographical dictionary and portrait gallery of eminent and self made men, Iowa volume, Part 22

Author: American biographical publishing company, pub Publication date: 1878 Publisher: Chicago, New York, American biographical publishing company Number of Pages: 954

Author: American biographical publishing company, pub
Publication date: 1878
Publisher: Chicago, New York, American biographical publishing company
Number of Pages: 954