USA > Iowa > The United States biographical dictionary and portrait gallery of eminent and self made men, Iowa volume > Part 26
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Madison, and, removing thither, was reëlected to the same office in 1874, and again in 1876, and is now completing his third term. His work in this position has been accompanied by great success, and during his wardenship many improvements have been made, and many reformns introduced into the penitentiary.
He is an influential member of the Masonic and Odd-Fellows fraternities, and also belongs to the Knights of Pythias.
In religious sentiment, he inclines strongly toward Universalism, but has never been identified with any religious organization.
Politically, Dr. Craig was formerly a whig, but upon the dissolution of that party, in 1854, he became a democrat and continued such until 1861, when he identified himself with the republican party,
to whose principles he has since remained a firm adherent. He has been actively engaged in politics for more than twenty years, and has become exten- sively known throughout the state.
Dr. Craig was married on the 28th of March, 1850, to Miss Susan M. Dunning, of Farmington. Mrs. Craig was a lady of fine attainments, and her death, which occurred in November, 1872, was deeply mourned by many warm friends. In 1873 Dr. Craig was married to . Mrs. Sarah A. Winther, of Fort Madison, a most estimable lady, a native of Northumberland county, Pennsylvania. He has six sons and two daughters.
His personal and social qualities are of a high order. As a father, he is kind and indulgent; as a husband, he is affectionate and devoted ; as a friend, he is true and constant.
COLONEL JOHN S. DAVID,
BURLINGTON.
JOHN SAMUEL DAVID, Burlington, Iowa, was born at Washington, Mason county, Kentucky, on the 10th of October, 1813. His parents were Michael and Celia David, who were early settlers of Kentucky, where they located about 1794. His father was a friend of Simon Kenton, the great Indian fighter, who made his home with them when- ever he visited that part of the country. He was of German and his mother English-Welsh descent. The school-days of the subject of our sketch were passed in the little log school-house, the pioneers of western education. He commenced his life in a small town, and was reared to habits of industry and economy. After leaving school he went into the em- ploy of Governor John Chambers as superintendent of a rope-walk, and from his excellent knowledge of hemp made most of the purchases of stock. In 1834 he started west, and after traveling extensively over the country settled in Burlington, Iowa, in the spring of 1835. His first year in part was spent in building houses for self and others. He erected many build- ings and carried on a number of branches of busi- ness, such as pork packing, brick making, livery and lumber, etc., in all of which he was the pioneer.
In 1835 he went into the wholesale grocery and commission business under the firm name of John S. David, and continued, with the exception of three years, till 1862. He was very successful. During
the gold excitement in the spring of 1849 he started overland for California, and engaged for a short time in mining, and removed to Sacramento and opened a trading post for the mines; at the same time he was engaged in a series of speculations, in which he met with great success. He returned to Burlington in 1851, and in 1853 recommenced the wholesale grocery business.
During the Mexican war Iowa was called upon for two companies for that service. He was com- missioned captain of one of them by Governor Clark, but they accepted but one and he remained. He was commissioned, by the secretary of war, colonel 7th Iowa Cavalry, but shortly after resigned. He was very prominent during the war in assisting in the measures of the government.
In politics, he was originally a whig, and has acted more or less with the republican party since its or- ganization ; but in this era of corruption of men high in office, he votes for the best man in his judgment, irrespective of party.
He has been a member of the Baptist church since 1851, of which he is an active supporter.
He is a stockholder in all the roads running from the city, and active in every enterprise for the de- velopment of the city and country.
He is a member of the Masonic order, having joined in 1837.
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He has traveled extensively over the country and through the provinces. He has done much for the improvement and development of the agricultural interests of the state.
He was first married, December 18, 1844, to Miss Mary A. Meason, of Uniontown, Pennsylvania, who
died from cholera in 1850. His second marriage was to Mary E. Cameron, February 21, 1854.
Colonel David is a self-made man. Commencing in life in straitened circumstances, he has by his own energy and perseverance gained a competence and the esteem and confidence of his fellow-citizens.
WILLIAM H. DECKER,
DAVENPORT.
W TILLIAM H. DECKER, of Davenport, Iowa, a prominent maltster and grain dealer, is one of those men to whom belong the honor of building their own fortune. Without the aid of too liberal education in his youth, his success may be attrib- uted solely to his own ability and persevering effort. He started from home young, with no means, yet a hopeful heart. To-day he is an esteemed citizen, with a fortune acquired by himself as a monument of his success.
Mr. Decker was born at Harrisburg, Pennsyl- vania, on the 16th of Angust, 1827, and is the son of Frederick and Elizabeth Decker née Boyer. His father was a native of Maryland and his mother of Pennsylvania. To the early training of- his parents he owes many habits of economy and industry. His education was limited, and confined to the ordinary branches in the common schools, which he left at fourteen years of age, going to work in a cotton factory, where he remained two years, afterward learning the plasterer's trade, at which he worked for a number of years. He left home on a borrowed capital of fourteen dollars in 1847, and went to Cin- cinnati, Ohio, where he worked at his trade until
1849, when, the gold excitement breaking out, he went to California. He worked in the mines for about a year, and then went into speculating and contracting. In this he was very successful, and laid the foundation for an ample fortune. He re- mained there eight years, and in 1857 removed to Dayton, Ohio, going into the grain and malt busi- ness. This he prosecuted very successfully for two years; then removing west to Iowa, and locating at Davenport, recommenced the same business. Mr. Decker now carries on the largest trade in his line in the state, if not in the west. He has been very fortunate in all his business relations, and his suc- cess may be attributed to his perseverance and en- ergy. He is interested in several local enterprises, and is president of the Davenport Street Car Rail- way Company. He is not a member of any church, but is liberal in his religious views.
He was married on the 12th of December, 1859, to Miss Sarah A. Monday, of Dayton, Ohio.
Mr. Decker is known as a man of sterling integ- rity, decided character and untiring energy, and he has gained the confidence and esteem of his fellow- citizens.
JEFFERSON P. CASADY,
COUNCIL BLUFFS.
AS S an example of western enterprise, he whose name heads this sketch is worthy of a most honorable mention. His life career, though marked by many vicissitudes, shows a gradual growth, and he stands to-day as a fair example of what may be accomplished by upright, persistent and persevering effort. A native of Connersville, Fayette county, Indiana, he was born on the Ist of September, 1828, and is the son of Simon Casady, a farmer by occu- 18
pation. He is of Scotch-Irish descent, and until he attained his eighteenth year assisted his father in his farm-work. He attended the common schools, and afterward pursued a course of academic studies, and finding the narrow routine of farm-life wholly unsuited to his tastes, early resolved to devote his life to some other occupation. Finding in the law a wide field for the employment and cultivation of his best powers, he decided to fit himself for that
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profession, and accordingly began his studies while yet in his native town, and in 1852, after removing to the west, was admitted to the bar at Des Moines, Iowa. Removing to Council Bluffs in April of the following year (1853), he there formed a partnership with Mr. H. D. Johnson, and established himself in the practice of his profession. He also established a land agency, and engaged in the purchase and sale of real estate.
As a lawyer, he soon became widely and favorably known, and in 1858 his fellow-citizens, recognizing his financial and judicial ability, elected him to the office of county judge. It is but due to say that this honor was wholly unsought by Mr. Casady. Each political party had put forth its candidate for the position, but the people being dissatisfied with the nominees repudiated the nominations, and with- out dissent or regard to political prejudices elected Mr. Casady. Under the law as it existed at that time, the county judge had full management of all the financial affairs of the county, and also of the probate court, so that the office was attended by a vast amount of responsibility and hard work. Not- withstanding this fact, Judge Casady continued the
office for two years, and at the same time conducted his own private business, which, until the year 1868, consisted largely of real-estate operations. During this last named year he was elected to represent the counties of Pottawattamie, Mills, Fremont and Cass in the state senate for a term of four years.
Judge Casady has always shown a worthy public- spiritedness, and has heartily sympathized with all local improvements and enterprises. He has been especially active in railroad operations, and on the 13th of July, 1861, he was elected a director of the Council Bluffs and St. Joseph railroad, and after- ward was elected president of the road.
In political sentiment he is a democrat, and has taken an active part in the workings of that party. He has frequently been a delegate to the state con- ventions. In 1872 he was the candidate of his party for state auditor, and although he ran far ahead of his ticket, the state was so overwhelmingly republi- can that he was defeated.
In his religious communion, Judge Casady is identified with the Presbyterian church, and is a worthy member. He has three children, two sons and one daughter.
ELIJAH BUELL.
LYONS.
T' "HE subject of this sketch, an early navigator of the northern lakes, and one of the first settlers in the State of Iowa, is a son of Jephthah Buell, a ship carpenter of the town of Florence, Her- kimer county, New York. He was born in 1803, and attended the common school of the neighborhood. His immediate ancestors resided in Connecticut, but his father was a native of New York. His mother (Rachel née Strong), a worthy and estimable lady, was a native of Connecticut. His paternal grand- father was a native of France, and accompanied the Marquis de Lafayette in his famous expedition to this country in behalf of the war for independence. On the arrival of that nobleman he joined the fed- eral army, and remained in the service during the entire period of the revolution. In 1811 his father opened a farın and settled near Sackett's Harbor, New York. The war of 1812 occurred during the residence of the family in this locality, and when nine years old Elijah witnessed the battle of Sackett's Har- bor, and still retains a vivid recollection of the same.
In 1813 his father died. Two years later the widowed mother, with a family of eight children - three girls and five boys-removed to where the city of Cleveland, Ohio, now stands, she having a sister residing in that region. Prior to this time Elijah had obtained the rudiments of an English education, and also received a few months of in- struction in the Cleveland Academy. He endeav- ored to qualify himself in the study of practical navigation, specially for the northern lakes, and in this branch soon became eminent. As a pilot or sailing master he had few, if any, equals, and cer- tainly no superiors. Entering upon this employ- ment at the early age of thirteen, he continued in it during the following ten years. He navigated these lakes long before the frontier forts were established. He supplied, subsequently, the military posts of Mackinaw and Green Bay with provisions, the firm of Mervin, Giddins and Co., of Cleveland, Ohio, being the contractors. In 1823 he left the lakes, and during the following twelve years devoted his
Eljech Bull
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time and energy to steamboating on the lower Mis- sissippi river, an enterprise in which he was emi- nently successful, and became widely known for his ability as an experienced pilot and master. Pru- dent and careful, and faithful in the discharge of his responsible duties, his reputation as a sailing master on the lakes and as a pilot on the Mississippi has never been sullied with any serious disaster.
In July, 1835, leaving his family in St. Louis, he landed from a steamboat in the vicinity of the pres- ent village of Lyons. It was two years after the close of the Black Hawk war. Here he opened a farm, and the first year put under cultivation some thirty acres. During the following three years he continued the improvement of his preëmption, until the first land sales at Dubuque in 1840, at which time he entered six hundred acres. At this period the nearest settlements were Galena on the north and Port Byron on the south. Previous to 1840, the land on which he had settled not having been surveyed, he traveled from Port Byron to New Boston to obtain the requisite information regarding numbers of land in the old military survey between those points. All his provisions and implements of husbandry had to be obtained at St. Louis. Pro- visions were very scarce, and prices for the same very high. In subsequent years he shipped wheat to St. Louis for six and a quarter cents per bushel, while his fare there and back was eight dollars. In 1842 and 1843 the Chicago market afforded greater attractions, and he hauled wheat thither, a distance of one hundred and thirty-six miles, for forty to forty-eight cents per bushel. At the ex- piration of the first three years his family, consist- ing of wife and children, joined him in his humble log dwelling.
At the time of his settlement here the Indians were quite numerous, but never troublesome, and in all his intercourse with them he invariably found them kind and faithful. Being possessed of indom- itable industry and perseverance, he started on his own account various enterprises pertaining to a new county, and made the wilderness "blossom like the rose." In 1849 and 1850 the point where he had settled was the principal crossing of the Mississippi by emigrants and gold seekers bound for California. At this point a thousand yoke of oxen have been transported across the river daily, affording much profit as a home market for all his farm surplus. At an early day Mr. Buell united with other neigh- boring settlers in organizing a common school for
the mutual benefit of their respective children. Land originally sold at one dollar and twenty-five cents per acre, but in 1852 and 1853 decreased in valuation to sixty and seventy-five cents per acre. In 1856, however, the price of land again rapidly increased beyond the original government price, large tracts having been bought up by speculators, together with railroad grants. The three lines of railway that now cross the state have tended to equalize the valuation of land in Iowa. The sea- board is no longer the market for the western farm- er, but a market is now provided at his own door. Notwithstanding the monopoly of railroads, they nevertheless furnish to every farmer a home market.
During his residence here Mr. Buell has dealt largely in real estate. He is at this time (1876) the owner of several farms in this section of country. His residence, beautifully located on an eminence overlooking the "Father of Waters," is a magnificent and stately edifice, built in a neat and chaste style of architecture. Fine old shade trees adorn the grounds of the family mansion, imparting an air of comfort and quietude to those who enjoy its hospi- tality.
Mr. Buell is a reader and thinker. Indeed, hav- ing passed so many years of his life with nature only as his companion, he long since learned to do his own thinking, and to trust and have faith in himself. Having never played tricks with his own mind, his self-reliance has never betrayed him. True to himself and nature, he has been true also to his fellows. Having confidence in his own opin- ions and judgment, he invariably respects the opin- ions of others.
In politics, he is a Jacksonian democrat. He is decidedly independent, both as a thinker and actor, and has no sympathy with the party hacks who make politics a trade.
In religious matters he is peculiar. He has no faith in the popular theology. His views are some- what indefinite. He is neither a skeptic nor a sectarian. Liberal and catholic in his religious sentiments, he claims the largest freedom in these matters, and awards the same to others. His motto through life has been never to owe a man anything, but "pay as you go," which is one great secret of his success.
Endowed with great bodily strength and vigor, he has a wonderful capability of endurance. Although somewhat advanced in life, his mind is active and vigorous, and his memory as tenacious as in youth.
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He is a remarkable specimen of manhood in its full maturity. His life has been eventful, but filled with usefulness. Equally eminent in the various depart- ments of business he assumed, he has achieved suc- cess in every enterprise undertaken, and ground his wealth out of poverty. He has accepted office only a few times, preferring to devote his entire time and energies to his legitimate calling. His nature is genial and social, and his manners simple, yet digni- fied and unostentatious.
In early life he married Caroline Boyd, who died in 1839. He was again married in 1840, to Louisa Peace, a highly respected lady of his neighborhood.
His tastes are scientific and literary, and in the education of his children he has patronized the best and most thorough institutions in the country. The high position he holds as a private citizen in Clinton county has been won entirely by his own talents, integrity and industry, since he began in the world without a dollar.
HON. WALTER I. HAYES,
CLINTON.
W ALTER INGALLS HAYES, judge of the seventh judicial district of Iowa, was born at Marshall, Michigan, on the 9th of December, 1841, and is the son of Dr. Andrew L. and Clarissa Selden (Hart) Hayes. His father was a native of New Hampshire, of Scotch-Irish ancestry, a scion of the New England Hayes family, his mother being a Sanborn, of Sanbornton, New Hampshire. Dr. Hayes was educated and bred to the profession of medicine in his native state, but commenced his professional life in Michigan, of which state he was an early settler, taking an earnest and active interest in its initial concerns. He was a member of the legislature that first sent General Cass to the United States senate, was a brigadier-general of the state militia, and took a lively interest in military affairs; served in the Texas war, and rendered important aid in the raising of troops at the commencement of the late rebellion, but died in 1861, before he had time to buckle on his sword in defense of his coun- try. Although a practicing physician throughout his life, yet he was commonly known in Michigan as General Hayes. The mother of our subject was born in Durham, New York, of English descent, her ancestry running back to the early Puritan stock of New England. She still lives in the enjoyment of health.
Michigan, the senior member of which was the Hon. D. Darwin Hughes, now of Grand Rapids in that state. He subsequently graduated at the law school of Ann Arbor, Michigan, and was admitted to the bar of that state in 1863. A year later he became a member of the firm of his late preceptors, which then went under the style of Hughes. Woolley and Hayes.
In 1866, being offered a desirable partnership by General N. B. Baker, late adjutant-general of Iowa, he removed to Clinton, Iowa, where he has ever since resided, and at once entered into active prac- tice, the firm being Baker and Hayes. This part- nership continued for about two years, and until General Baker removed permanently to Des Moines, after which he was without a partner till 1872, when he became associated with the Hon. George B. Young, then circuit judge, which position the latter resigned in order to resume his practice. This alli- ance, under the name of Hayes and Young, con- tinued with great success until August, 1875, when, upon the recommendation of the bar of the seventh judicial district, he was, although a democrat, ap- pointed by Governor Carpenter to complete the un- expired term of Judge Brannan, resigned, and in October following was elected to the same position By the people, without opposition. His professional career has been characterized by steady onward and upward progress. He has never deviated into spe- cial grooves, but has always been a court and trial lawyer, and eminently successful.
His parents being in easy circumstances, the early life of our subject was pleasant and smooth, free from the bitter but often beneficial experiences with which the early lives of many men of distinction have been fraught. Ile received his incipient edu- He was United States commissioner for the east- ern district of Michigan from 1864 until he left the state, and was city attorney of his native city for the cation at the common schools of his neighborhood, commenced the study of law at the age of nineteen years in the office of Hughes and Woolley, Marshall, | year 1865. He was appointed United States com-
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missioner for Iowa in 1867, and held the office till appointed district judge. He was city attorney for Clinton, Iowa, during 1869, and city solicitor during 1870 and 1871, and was again elected to that office in 1875, holding it until his elevation to the bench. He was the democratic candidate for circuit judge in the seventh district in 1868, but was defeated by Judge Young, afterward his law partner, and he is now (1876) democratic candidate for a seat on the supreme bench of the state, having been nominated for the position at the late state convention by accla- mation. He was a delegate to the democratic state convention of Michigan in 1864; also to the Iowa democratic state conventions as a rule since 1868, and to all the congressional conventions of his dis- trict since that period. In 1872 he was an alternate delegate to, and acted in, the Baltimore convention that nominated Horace Greeley for the presidency, and when appointed judge was chairman of the Clinton county democratic committee, a member of the district congressional committee, and a member of the state democratic committee. He is a stock- holder and director of the Clinton National Bank.
In accepting the office which he now fills with so much ability, Judge Hayes made a serious pecun- iary sacrifice, relinquishing a practice inferior to few in the state, and yielding a revenue of more than twice his official salary, and retains the position only at the request of the bar of the district, unanimously and emphatically expressed in public meeting held at Davenport in the summer of 1876. The district
is one of the largest and most important in the state, including not only the largest county (Scott) but the largest city (Davenport), and a bar inferior to none in the northwest.
It is superfluous to say that Judge Hayes has given universal satisfaction on the bench. He is not only a well-read lawyer, but is gifted with a master mind. In his decisions he is eminently equitable, looking only to the legal points and true issues of the controversy, irrespective of the standing of liti- gants or the prominence of attorneys, and fortifying them by sound reasoning and established precedent. As a result of this, his judgments have been sus- tained with remarkable uniformity by the supreme court where appeals have been taken. He is as active in mind as in body; thinks quickly, and decides promptly all questions submitted to him, and is the same courteous gentleman on the bench as in the social circle, never having been known to utter a harsh word to any attorney practicing before him. Whether in official or private life, he is char- acterized by the most thorough independence, tem- pered in all cases by the courtesy and blandness of the gentleman. His honesty as a man, and his abil- ity as a jurist, are of the highest order, and with continued health of mind and body, there is no limit to the distinction to which he may attain.
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