USA > Iowa > The United States biographical dictionary and portrait gallery of eminent and self made men, Iowa volume > Part 23
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In social life, he is genial and companionable, warm in his attachments and firm in his friendships ; a gentleman of fine presence, liberal culture and re- finement ; a pleasing conversationalist, always "the life " of the social circle. Although he has not accus- tomed himself to public speaking, yet he can express his views clearly, forcibly and elegantly when occa- sion requires.
On the 12th of June, 1850, he married Miss Fran- ces Wood Morton, daughter of ex-Governor Marcus Morton, of Taunton, Massachusetts, a lady of high culture, liberal mental endowments and of rare per- sonal beauty, yet exemplifying in her daily life the richer adornments of a meek and virtuous spirit. They have six children living, four sons and two daughters. The two eldest sons, Morton and Na- thaniel have been thoroughly educated ; they stud-
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ied several years in Europe. The oldest is a metal- lurgist and mining engineer, and engaged in the mining interests of southern Utah; the other is a graduate of Harvard Law School, and was admitted to the bar in 1876, and is now practicing his profes- sion in the office of R. G. Ingersoll, of Peoria, Illi-
nois. The eldest daughter, Alice, is a young lady of literary tastes and brilliant talents, which are be- ing developed by a thorough course of training. George is a student at Phillips Academy, Andover, and the younger ones, Fanny and Bob, are still in infancy.
LEANDER O. HATCH,
McGREGOR.
B IOGRAPHICAL history is largely filled with the early struggles of farmers' sons in procur- ing an education and laying the foundation for fu- ture usefulness. The brief history of Leander O. Hatch is a fine illustration of what self-reliance can accomplish under discouraging circumstances. He was born in Mesopotamia, Trumbull county, Ohio, on the 13th of April, 1826, his parents being Anson and Mary (Moore) Hatch. They were both natives of Massachusetts, and moved into Ohio at an early day and settled in the woods. Leander lived on the farm, and aided in clearing and cultivating it, until he was eighteen years old, having the educational privileges of very inferior district schools during the winter months. At fifteen he went to Farmington Academy one short term, and after that age, for two years or more, he aided his father constantly, con- tinuing his studies without a teacher. He had a strong taste for mathematics, and mastered Day's Algebra and Davies' Legendre, branches to which he had paid no attention while in the academy. He was in constant communication with students there, and while working his full time on the farm did not allow himself to fall behind the classes in school.
At eighteen Leander taught his first district school, and continued teaching, studying and working on the farm about six years. Part of his studies during this time were in the department of law. He was ad- mitted to the bar at Chardon, Geauga county, in August, 1849. Before commencing to practice, he traveled about eighteen months in the interest of the American Anti-Slavery Society, distributing reading matter and lecturing against the theory of human bondage. In the autumn of 1853, after practicing law for one year in Cuyahoga county, Ohio, Mr. Hatch immigrated to Iowa, his first winter being spent in teaching a school at Hartwick, near Delhi, Delaware county. The following spring he located at Waukon, the new seat of justice of Allamakee
county, there being at that time but three dwelling- houses in the place. He immediately opened a law office there and practiced until the Ist of January, 1869, when he removed to McGregor, and formed a partnership with Reuben Noble, the law firm of No- ble, Hatch and Frese continuing until the first mem- ber went upon the bench in 1874. During these five years their business extended into every county in the judicial district, and either Mr. Noble or Mr. Hatch attended every term of the district and cir- cuit courts. They had a large and lucrative busi- ness. Mr. Hatch now limits his practice to Clayton and Allamakee counties.
In 1855, the next year succeeding that in which he located at Waukon, he was appointed treas- urer and recorder of the county, to fill a vacancy, and soon afterward was elected to the same office. In 1866 he was chosen attorney of the tenth judicial district. In view of the meager compensation he resigned before his term of office had expired. Mr. Noble extended to him an invitation to join him in what looked and proved to be much more profitable. At the time of resigning, Mr. Hatch having as part- ner at Waukon C. T. Granger, now circuit judge of the tenth district, this gentleman was appointed to fill the vacancy created by the resignation of Mr. Hatch.
From the origin of the republican party to the present time he has acted with it, excepting in 1872, when he voted for Horace Greeley for President.
Mr. Hatch does not belong to any church. His religious creed is expressed by himself in these words : "Loving obedience to the Divine Will."
On the 18th of November, 1856, Mr. Hatch mar- ried Miss Albina Spaulding, a native of Maine, and then a resident of Waukon. The fruits of this union are five children, four of whom are living. The eld- est child, Arthur, eighteen years old, is fitted for col- lege. The defects of his own early education only
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give him a keener appreciation of the advantages of literary attainments. When a young man, he worked on a farm half of each day, at five dollars a month and board, and gave the other half to scientific pur- snits. While he was teaching schools of a higher grade,“ branches with which he was not familiar were sometimes introduced, and in such cases he always completely mastered them, keeping ahead of the class. He has always been a student,-the law, of later years, of course, taking the precedence of every other study. In his profession he is well versed. One of his associates at the bar states that his perception is acnte, his mind mathematical and logical, and he can shave a point with remarkable precision and delicacy. He excels both before court and jury. He has a keen sense of right and justice, and, when district attorney, took unusual pains to acquaint himself with the probable inno- cence or guilt of parties under arrest before they
came to trial. His kindness of nature extends to all, the poor, the unfortunate and the distressed in any way, and he has a quiet, unassuming way of re- lieving many such cases.
Another associate of his at the bar, a leading attor- ney in the tenth district, thus speaks of Mr. Hatch :
In his mental processes Mr. Hatch is singularly inde- pendent, clear and simple. To him no tradition is too sa- cred for challenge, examination and, if need be, rejection. No amount of obloquy can deter him from declaring what his mind and conscience have once approved. Without apparent vanity, he is evidently conscious of his superior intellectual powers. I have thought sometimes, from his serenity in a whirlwind of opposition, he rather enjoyed the storm. As a lawyer, I have practiced with him and against him for many years. He always has himself well in hand, and is thoroughly master of his profession. For keenness of analysis, clearness of statement and accuracy of reason- ing methods, he is unsurpassed by his associates at the bar. To adverse counsel he is uniformly courteous; and few men are more liberal in making concessions to save incon- venience, for few know so well what may be safely con- ceded. With strong love of justice, quick sympathies, his intellect dominates his whole character.
TIMOTHY BROWN,
MARSHALLTOWN.
T IMOTHY BROWN was born in Otsego county, near Cooperstown, New York, on the 27th of December, 1827. He is the son of Loring Brown, who was a son of Timothy Brown, senior, who was a son of Noah Brown, of Connecticut. His great- grandmother was Irish; his parental grandmother was English. His maternal grandmother was Ger- man ; his maternal grandfather was a native of Con- necticut, of English descent. The progenitors of Mr. Brown have been engaged in various depart- ments of industrial and professional life, and con- tributed their share in developing our American civilization.
When Timothy was four years of age his parents removed to Unadilla, on the Susquehanna river. Here he remained until about twenty-two years of age, engaged in the various duties of farm life. Dur- ing his minority he shared the advantages of winter schools, and after his majority was for three terms a student in the Unadilla Academy. During the win- ters of his nineteenth and twentieth years he taught a district school, an event which turned his own mind more directly to the methods of study, and in the end was of material advantage to him. Previous to this he had taught two terms of select school in the vicinity of Unadilla. At the age of twenty-one
he became a law student in the office of Hon. J. C. Gregory of that place, now of Madison, Wisconsin. After two years' study he entered the office of his uncle, Elijah Brown, Esq., of Milford, New York. At the end of a year his uncle moved to New York city, and Timothy, being admitted to the bar, opened an office and began his professional career. In the spring of 1855, closing his business in Milford, he moved to the west and settled in Toledo, Tama county, Iowa, where he practiced law in partnership with I. L. Allen, since attorney-general of the state. In 1857 Mr. Brown moved to Marshalltown, where he has since been engaged in the practice of his profession. In the fall of the same year he was mar- ried to Miss Laura Wheeler, of Johnson county, and by her has three children.
Conducting his business in his own name until 1865, he then formed a partnership with H. E. J. Boardman. This partnership was strengthened for a time by the admission of Hon. J. L. Williams. In January, 1872, the partnership was dissolved and a new firm established, under the name of Brown, Wyllis and Williams, which was afterward dis- solved, and the present partnership of Brown, Sears and Stone formed. On the organization of the Central Railway of Iowa in 1870, Mr. Brown was
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chosen its attorney, and has since served in that capacity. As attorney for this road, he has, by pru- dent management, done much to remove the preju- dices against the railroad company, and enjoys the confidence and good-will of those opposed as well as of his clients. When Mr. Brown crossed the Mississippi river he had but twenty dollars in money, but by a life of industry and devotion to his chosen profession he has established a practice that ranks among the best in the state, and in doing so has been rewarded by a liberal income that places him among the well-to-do men of the west. Rising from
poverty and obscurity, and overcoming a thousand difficulties, he has advanced step by step until his name has become as a tower of strength in the pro- fession in which he is engaged. Earnest, studious, and faithful in his devotion to his clients' interests, he always wins their confidence as well as their case.
Mr. Brown is something above medium in stature, standing six feet in height, and weighing one hun- dred and eighty-seven pounds.
In politics, he is a republican ; is a member of no church, but contributes liberally to the support of all denominations.
DEXTER C. BLOOMER,
COUNCIL BLUFFS.
T HE subject of this sketch stands prominent among the leading men of western Iowa. A native of Cayuga county, New York, he was born on the 4th of July, 1816, and was reared under the in- fluences of the Quakers, his father being a member of that sect. He received a common-school edu- cation, and in early life developed a decided taste for literary pursuits. Finally, after attaining his twentieth year, he in 1837 turned his attention to the study of law, and soon afterward became deeply engaged in political matters. Later he became ed- itor of the " Seneca County Courier," at Seneca Falls, New York, a whig paper, and acted in that capacity with good success during a period of fifteen years. While living at Seneca Falls he held several local offices, and during the administration of President Taylor (1849-53) held the office of postmaster at that place.
With a view of bettering his condition and secur- ing a wider field for the employment of his powers, Mr. Bloomer, in 1853, removed to Ohio, settling at Mount Vernon, in Knox county, and there during the next two years was engaged in the publication of the " Western Home Visitor," a literary paper of much merit. Closing up his affairs, he, in 1855, left Mount Vernon and, removing to Iowa, settled at Council Bluffs, his present home, and established himself in the real-estate and law business. At that time the county was strongly democratic, and the old whig party having become disorganized, Mr. Bloomer, with Mr. John T. Baldwin, C. E. Stone, and others, took an active and important part in the organization of the republican party in western
Iowa. The interest which he manifested in political movements, and the able manner in which he per- formed the duties which were imposed upon him, caused his fellow-citizens to bestow upon him many trusts and political preferments, and he was fre- quently the candidate of his party for judge, repre- sentative, etc. In 1861 he was appointed by Presi- dent Lincoln receiver of public moneys, and held that position under the administrations of Presidents Lincoln, Johnson and Grant, during a period of twelve years, until the office was abolished. During the war of the rebellion he rendered efficient service to the Union cause, and was president of the Union League, an organization which controlled the politics of his part of the state.
Not only has Mr. Bloomer been active in political matters; in educational enterprises he has been es- pecially prominent, and to his untiring exertions is largely due the present high standard of the schools and school system of his part of the state. Being a man of fine executive ability, he was in 1864, elected president of the school board, and reëlected to the same office during a period of eight successive years, and in that time erected seven school buildings and fully organized the present excellent school system.
By reason of his holding a government office, Mr. Bloomer was disqualified for accepting many official honors which were tendered him, yet his fellow-citizens remember with gratitude the im- portant services which he in various ways rendered in behalf of their schools, and in 1860 he was elected a member of the state board of education. In 1869 he was elected mayor of his city, and reëlected in
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1871, and performed the duties of that office with credit to himself and to the satisfaction of his con- stituents. Throughout his varied career Mr. Bloomer has maintained his interest in literary pursuits, and during the years 1872-3 was editor of the Council Bluffs "Republican." He was also editor of the "Northwestern Odd-Fellow," a paper devoted to the interests of Odd-Fellowship and to literature.
Prominent and important among his literary pro- ductions is a history of Pottawattamie county, which was published in a magazine called "Annals of Iowa," under the title of "Notes on the Early His- tory of Pottawattamie County."
In all the various capacities in which Mr. Bloomer has acted he has maintained a character of the highest standing, and shown a degree of ability and
proficiency that have commanded universal respect. As a business man, he is prompt, reliable and enter- prising. As a politician, he is honorable and zeal- ous in what he esteems to be the cause of right. As a literary man, his writings are characterized by terseness and vivacity.
. In his religious communion he is identified with the Episcopal church, and for twenty years has been senior warden in that body.
He was married in 1840, to Miss Amelia Jenks. Mrs. Bloomer is a lady of culture, and heartily sympa- thizing with every movement of reform, has gained for herself a wide and worthy reputation for the active part which she has taken in dress reform and in the question of woman's rights. She also is a member of the Episcopal church.
HON. ABRAHAM G. ADAMS,
BURLINGTON.
A' BRAHAM G. ADAMS was born in Sterling, Worcester county, Massachusetts, on the 29th of September, 1830, and is the son of Reuben S. Adams and Maria F. née Gibbs. His parents were among the early settlers of Burlington, having re- moved from New England in 1838. Their method of traveling, by canal and boat, with teams and wagons, was tedious; they were six weeks in mak- ing the journey to St. Louis, where they remained part of the winter. His father had visited Burling- ton in July, 1838, and established there, on a small scale, a boot, shoe and leather trade, and was anx- ious to reach that place; the river being blocked with ice, he was forced to resume the journey with wagons and teams, and arrived there in December, 1838. He found a small town built of frame and log houses, with two or three brick dwellings of one story, and a population of three or four hundred. Being a thrifty and economical man, of great enter- prise and good business capacity, he acquired some wealth, and was always a public-spirited citizen. In 1840 he built what is now used as the Merchants' restaurant, on Main street, at that time considered an elegant house, and one that added much to the appearance and value of that locality. He died in April, 1864, mourned by an unusually large circle of friends and acquaintances, and respected and honored by all.
Abraham's education was gained much like that
of others, early in the new State. Part of the time he attended school in an old log school-house, with a puncheon floor and seats constructed of half of a log, with two sticks in each end for legs, while the other half was fastened to the side of the cabin for a desk. For these privileges his parents paid two or three dollars per quarter. Later he finished his educational course in the basement of the old Zion Church, under the direction of pioneer border peda- gogues, at the same time assisting his father in the little store, laying the foundation of the mercantile career in which he has been so successful. During 1847-48 he was engaged in a large boot and shoe jobbing house in St. Louis, whence he returned in 1849. In 1851 he formed a partnership with his father, conducting the business under the old name of R. S. Adams till 1863, when the firm name was changed to R. S. Adams and Co. His father having died in 1864, he commenced business alone in 1865, and has continued till the present, 1876, building up the business from the small start in 1838 to the largest jobbing house in his -line in the State. By his ability and perseverance Mr. Adams has acquired an ample competence. He is a public-spirited, en- terprising citizen, and is greatly esteemed.
In politics, he was originally a whig, and cast his first vote for General Scott. With the formation of the republican party he adopted its principles. and has remained a faithful worker in the interests of
A.S. Adams
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that party. He served during one session in the State legislature.
Mr. Adams was married in June, 1852, to Miss Emily S. Swain, who died in December, 1872, leav- ing a family of seven children, five having died.
He is an eminently self-made man. Commencing with little means, he has gained wealth and honor by pursuing a straightforward, true, honest and up- right course, and has been eminently successful in all that he has undertaken.
HORACE ANTHONY,
CAMANCHE.
T' HE subject of this biographical sketch, a son of Joseph Anthony, was born in Lima, Living- ston county, New York, on the 25th of July, 1816. His mother was a Gilbert, and died when he was seven years old. His paternal grandfather was in the first war with England, and his father, who was born in Connecticut, on the 19th of April, 1779, and died on the 26th of December, 1876, was in the second. The latter belonged to what were called the " Troopers," an independent company which reached Buffalo just in season to see it in ashes.
Horace spent his boyhood in various kinds of employment and in getting an education ; was four years a clerk in a store in New Haven, Connecticut; immigrated to the west in 1838, and worked one season in a saw-mill in Quincy, Illinois; clerked a short time for John Buford, of Rock Island, and in June, 1839, was in the employ of the United States Government, having charge of a squad of men on the lower rapids. From 1840 to 1850 he was en- gaged most of the time as a clerk in Rock Island, and in the latter year settled in Camanche, at first managing a store for other parties nearly five years. In company with others he built a saw-mill in 1855, and for twenty-two years has been engaged in the manufacture of lumber, with moderate success.
Mr. Anthony was in the general assembly in 1859, the first session held at Des Moines, serving as chair- man of the committee on public library, and was on other committees, and he was treasurer and recorder of Clinton county from 1862 to 1866. He aided in organizing the republican party in Iowa, and has since acted with it-a prominent politician in the county. In earlier life he was a democrat.
Mr. Anthony has been a professor of religion since 1843, and a deacon of the Baptist church nearly twenty years. He is a liberal supporter of religious and benevolent institutions; his heart is in every good cause, his hand in many a good work.
His wife was Miss Elizabeth McCloskey, of Dav- enport, their marriage occurring in 1840. Of nine children, the fruit of this union, eight are living. Mary C. is the widow of John D. Toy, and Martha O. is the widow of William H. Cady, both dying of diseases contracted in the late civil war; John J., a volunteer and veteran soldier, is married and lives in Camanche; Napoleon Buford, who was in the hundred-days service, is also married and lives at Stanwood, Cedar county, Iowa; Lucy Jane is the wife of Farris Tong, of Camanche; W. R. Anthony is also married and lives in Camanche; Edward Francis and Frederic Horace are single.
JAMES M. BALL, M.D.,
WATERLOO.
D R. JAMES MOORES BALI, was born on the 11th of May, 1812, in Salem, Jeffer- son county, Ohio, the son of Farlin and Elizabeth (Moores) Ball. The Balls are of Scotch and Quaker ancestry ; seven brothers and one sister came over from Scotland in the days of William Penn, and settled in Philadelphia. The great-grandfather of Dr. Ball removed in early life to Loudon county,
Virginia. He was a cousin of Mary Ball, the mother of General Washington. Ball's Bluffs and Ball's Cross Roads, now famous in American history, took their names from this family.
At the age of seventeen the father of Dr. Ball removed with his father to Steubenville, Ohio, and when of age became a millwright, and the owner of considerable land in Jefferson county.
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Our subject completed his literary studies at a college in Richmond, in his native county, and at twenty commenced his medical studies in the same place, with Dr. William Farmer. He graduated from the medical department of Western Reserve College, Cleveland, Ohio.
Dr. Ball followed his profession in Ohio until 1849, when he moved to Monroe, Green county, Wisconsin, and there continuing the same until 1866, and obtaining a very wide reputation as a skillful surgeon. In the last-named year he removed to Iowa, and practiced six years in Waverly, Bremer county, and removed in September, 1872, to Water- loo, where he still remains, delighted with the pleas- ant city, and actively pursuing his profession, with his full share of popularity and business.
In the late war of 1861-5 Dr. Ball occupied every position on the medical staff of the United States army from assistant-surgeon to that of medical di- rector of district, and was honorably discharged on the 28th of August, 1865.
For some time while in Monroe Dr. Ball was United States examining surgeon, and holds the same office in Waterloo. He is president of the Black Hawk County Medical Society, and is held in high esteem, alike as a medical practitioner and as a citizen.
Dr. Ball is a Royal Arch Mason. In his religious sentiment he is a Methodist; in politics, he has been a republican since that party was organized.
On the 4th of March, 1832, he was married to Miss Keturah Ford, of Jefferson county, and by her has four children. Mrs. Ball died in 1860. On the 9th of October, 1861, he was married to Miss Martha G. Glover, of Green county, Wisconsin, and by her also has four children.
A daughter by the first wife is married and lives in Monroe, Wisconsin. Her three brothers were in the Union army, and all distinguished themselves. Stephen F. Ball, the eldest son, was one of the brav- est men in the twentieth army corps; was compli- mented by General Hooker for his heroism and courage. The second, Farlin Q., went out as lieu- tenant of the 31st Wisconsin, and was breveted colonel for personal bravery ; he is now a lawyer of the firm of Monroe, Bisbee and Ball, of Chicago. The third, William H., went out as a private, and after the battle of Stone River his name was placed on General Rosecrans' roll of honor, for deeds of great coolness and daring.
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