USA > Iowa > The United States biographical dictionary and portrait gallery of eminent and self made men, Iowa volume > Part 51
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counsels he sought to conduct his youthful steps aright, both in the social and professional path, and with a fixed purpose and inflexible will, coupled with great industry, secured a foothold in the esti- mation of the people as an earnest and thorough professional worker. In 1856 he was placed in charge of the city hospitals, and appointed prosector to the chair of surgery in the medical department of the then Iowa State University, the duties of which he satisfactorily discharged, meantime pursuing his profession successfully till the outbreak of the war of the rebellion, when, owing to his southern pro- clivities, he was ostracized by many of his patrons. Nothing daunted he determined to remain at his post steadfast to the few who adhered to him, and especially to his relatives in the southern states. Though repeatedly asked to accept a surgeoncy in in the Union army, he could only respectfully de- cline. In the fall of 1865 he had so far advanced in his profession as to win the compliment of an appointment to the chair of theory and practice, of medicine, without solicitation on his part, to the now College of Physicians and Surgeons of Keokuk. The class of that year numbered about forty, that of the present (1877-78) about two hundred and thirty-five, which increase is in part due to his known ability as a teacher, practitioner and ex- temporaneous lecturer. His reputation as an en- gaging, forcible and eloquent speaker has done much to elevate the school in the eyes of the pro- fession in the west. His professional reputation has now reached far beyond the borders of his own state. He has a large and ever-increasing consul- tation practice in almost every direction, which lat-
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ter is due to his wisdom as a diagnostician. He is a member of the American Medical Association, ex vice-president of the Iowa State Medical Society, ex secretary of the Keokuk Medical Society, and ex president of the city board of health. Was ap- pointed chairman of a committee of medical men, by the president of American Medical Association, to organize a state board of health for Iowa, in 1876. Is medical director for the Iowa Life Insur- ance Company. Was elected president of the Iowa State Medical Society (at one of the largest assem- blages that ever took place in the state) for the year 1878. Is a frequent contributor to the literature of medicine, and is said to be (by authors) the first physician in the United States who used and pub- lished the results of carbolic acid in the sore throat of scarlet fever.
He was raised an orthodox Presbyterian, but since thinking for himself, is somewhat skeptical.
In politics, he is a democrat of the old Jackson kind, and never sought nor would accept an office. In his life he has engaged solely in his profession, and given it his undivided attention. Having a great fondness for agricultural pursuits, he would gladly pursue them, but he is wedded to his pro- fession. He takes great interest in the success of democratic principles, using his interest and influ- ence to preserve the integrity and purity of that party.
Dr. Carpenter is a man of acknowledged abilities as a physician, and his services as such are recog- nized by a host of appreciating friends. His in- tellect is quick and incisive as well as compre- hensive, his temperament animated, and his style and address forcible and impressive. As a speaker and writer, he is clear and argumentative, arranging his subjects systematically, and clothing his ideas in appropriate words, of which he seems to have a ready command.
COLONEL ARTHUR T. REEVE, HAMPTON.
A RTHUR T. REEVE (brother of James B.), one of the leading men of Franklin county, is a native of Ohio, and was born at New Lyme, Ash- tabula county, on the 18th of December, 1835. The Reeves were a patriotic family : the grandfather of Arthur and three brothers were in the revolution- ary army, and two of them died in a prison-ship. Arthur's father was a farmer, and the son remained at home until his nineteenth year, having, meantime, one year's course of study at the Orwell Academy. In 1854 he removed to Iowa, settling at Maysville, six miles from the county seat, farming in the sum- mers and teaching in the winters. In the spring of 1858 he went to Buena Vista county, made a claim on the Little Sioux river, but lost it, and late in the same year returned to Franklin county, continuing his agricultural pursuits. The summer of 1860 he spent in the mines of Pike's Peak.
In 1861 he met John Brown, junior, in Chicago, and enlisted in the 7th regiment Kansas Cavalry, better known as the "Jay Hawkers." He started as a private, and became a non-commissioned officer, serving eighteen months.
As soon as colored men began to be mustered into the Union army, Mr. Reeve was detailed to or- ganize such troops. He soon had such a company
ready, at Corinth, Mississippi, for the 55th regiment Colored Infantry, and he was appointed its captain. A little later he aided in organizing the 88th regi- ment of such infantry, and was appointed major. Still later he organized a regiment of colored mili- tia, and was made its colonel.
Near the close of the rebellion Colonel Reeve was detailed for service in the Freedman's Bureau, being appointed superintendent of the same at Memphis. This office he held until January, 1866, when he returned to his home and farm at Maysville.
He moved to Hampton in 1870; had previously read law at sundry times; was admitted to the bar; and latterly has been in law practice and the real- estate business.
Colonel Reeve aided in the organization of Buena Vista county in 1858, and was elected judge of the same, serving until he left. He was elected to the same office in Franklin county in 1861, but before qualifying, enlisted in the army, as before stated. He was a member of the board of supervisors of Franklin county from 1867 to 1869, and then elected treasurer of the county, serving four years. He is one of the regents of the State University.
Colonel Reeve has always been a hater of human oppression ; for many years was an out-and-out
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abolitionist, and has never been ashamed of his political record. He glories in it. He votes the republican ticket.
On the 2d of April, 1858, he was married to Miss H. Lavinia Soper, of Maysville, formerly of St. Law- rence county, New York. They have had seven children, and six are living.
Colonel Reeve is a positive man. His convictions . of duty are strong, and when his mind is made up no power on earth or under the earth can swerve him an iota. He has been a very useful man in the county, and is not unknown in the state. He came very near receiving the republican nomination for treasurer of state four years ago.
HON. JAMES RENWICK,
DAVENPORT.
JAMES RENWICK, retired merchant and ex- mayor of the city of Davenport, Iowa, was born at Blantyre, Scotland, on the 6th of April, 1805. He is a direct descendant of the old covenanter stock of Presbyterians. He received a good educa- tion in his earlier days, and on leaving school ac- cepted a situation as book-keeper in his father's woolen mills at Blantyre, where he remained until his marriage, when he went to Liverpool, England, and engaged in business as merchant and shipowner.
In 1845 a large company was formed for the man- ufacture of lard oil in the United States, of which he was one of the directors. By correspondence with friends in this country, Davenport, Iowa, was se- lected as the place to establish the factory. To this end he emigrated to America and settled at Davenport, which place has been his residence since.
The company failed to carry out their project, and he embarked in the grain and commission and after- ward in lumber and real-estate business, in all of which he was eminently successful, except the real estate, acquiring a fortune, and retiring from active business in 1859. Mr. Renwick has done much in developing the resources and enterprises of the country, and has always been liberal in their ad- vancement.
In religion, he has been from youth a Presbyterian, and a liberal supporter of that church.
He has filled a number of public offices with honor to himself, and served one term as mayor of the city, though never taking an active part in polit- ical matters. At over three-score and ten his step is still firm, his form erect, and his countenance cheer- ful, and he bids fair to see a ripe, mellow old age.
REV. STEPHEN N. FELLOWS, D. D.,
IOWA CITY.
T THE subject of the following sketch is a fair example of what may be attained by perse- verance, industry and energy. He was born on the 30th of May, 1830, in North Sandwich, New Hamp- shire, and is the youngest of eight sons of Stephen and Rachel (McGaffey) Fellows, and of English descent. His ancestors were among the early set- tlers, coming to this country in the seventeenth cen- tury. When four years old his father and family removed to Dixon, Illinois; there in the midst of a wilderness and surrounded by Indians, and amidst the privations of wild frontier life, he spent his boy- hood.
In 1840, by the death of his father, the family were left to struggle with poverty and care for
themselves. His educational advantages were very meager, but throughout his boyhood he had a thirst for knowledge that led him to "devour " books and newspapers within his reach. Hard work and hard fare upon the farm developed a strong physical frame, and prepared him for the great struggle for knowledge.
At eighteen he entered Rock River Seminary, at Mount Morris, Illinois, but at the end of the fourth term, having spent all of his money, was obliged to discontinue.
In 1851 he entered the Asbury University, at Green Castle, Indiana, and by teaching, working on farms, and self-boarding, secured the funds necessary to finish his course, taking the degree of A.B. in 1854.
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During his junior and senior year he served as tutor in Latin and mathematics.
Just previous to graduating he was elected pro- fessor of mathematics and natural sciences in Cor- nell College, at Mount Vernon, Iowa. This he accepted and remained six years. His chief desire in seeking an education was to labor in the field as a minister of the gospel, and only engaged in teaching in order to earn money to pay debts, so as to enter upon his ministerial work unembarrassed. In 1860 he resigned his position in the college to engage in the pastoral work. Previous to this, in 1856, he had joined the upper Iowa conference of the Methodist Episcopal church. For seven years he. labored in the ministry, filling the following charges : 1860-61, Dyersville, Iowa; 1861-63, Tip- ton, Iowa ; 1863-66, Lyons, Iowa; 1866-67, Mar- shalltown.
In August, 1867, by unanimous vote and without solicitation, he was elected to his present position in the State University. In 1871 he received the degree of D.D. from Cornell College.
Dr. Fellows has ever been an earnest worker in the cause of temperance, and was active for years in the Good Templars society. He has been for eighteen years a member of the Masonic fraternity, and received all degrees to and including the knight
templar, and is now most excellent prelate in Pales- tine Commandery at Iowa City.
In religious views he is very liberal, though he has been a member of the Methodist Episcopal church since his sixteenth year, and a minister since his twenty-second year ; he supplies the vari- ous pulpits, in his city, of all denominations.
Dr. Fellows was raised in the republican school of politics, but is in no way a partisan.
He was married in 1856 to Miss Sarah L. Matson, daughter of Dr. S. G. Matson, of Anamosa, a lady of high attainments and distinguished for a marked excellence of womanly and christian virtues. They have had six children, four of whom, two sons and two daughters, still survive.
Dr. Fellows has pursued his chosen course with untiring zeal, and with a success which has already earned for him no inferior rank among the leading educators of the land. As a teacher, he is distin- guished by clearness of statement, comprehensive- ness of grasp, a synthetical method, intense ear- nestness, and an impatience of superficiality. As a preacher, he is vigorous in thought, argumentative, fervid and impressive. If his chief characteristic as a professor and a pulpit orator were to be ex- pressed in one word, that word would certainly be momentum.
CHARLES C. PARKER, M. D.,
FAYETTE.
C HARLES COLEMAN PARKER was born on the 12th of September, 1823, in Clermont county, Ohio. His father, Rev. Daniel Parker, a native of Newburyport, Massachusetts, immigrated westward at an early age, and spent all of his active life as a preacher of the gospel, believing in the final restoration of all mankind to holiness and happi- ness. For several years he was pastor of the First Restorationist Church, of Cincinnati, living at the same time on a small farm on the Ohio river, twenty miles from the city. He died at the age of seventy-six. The mother of Charles, Priscilla M. Parker, was born in Litchfield, Maine. Her father, Lieutenant Hugh Mulloy, was an officer in the rev- olutionary war, participating in the battles of Sara- toga and Ticonderoga, and one or two others, and who died in Ohio at the age of ninety-three. Mrs. Parker lived to her eighty-second year.
The early years of Dr. Parker were spent upon the farm, when the advantages of schools were very limited, but this lack was greatly compensated by the regular instruction of his mother, who was a woman of much intelligence, and a teacher of rare ability. Later, however, he attended one term at the Pleasant Hill Academy, when his eldest brother, James K. Parker, established, at the homestead, a school called Clermont Academy, where the subject of this sketch attended several terms, and where the rest of the family, seven in number, were educated. Charles, who was the third son, spent a few years in teaching, and in 1845 commenced the study of medicine with Dr. William Johnson, of Moscow, in his native county, and graduated at Starling Med- ical College, Columbus, in 1850. He began practice at his native place, but was invited to Columbus in 1852 to act as demonstrator of anatomy in the
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school from which he graduated. The peculiar ex- posure of his position as demonstrator, the confine- ment of the dissecting room, etc., induced disease, by which he was so prostrated that he was unable to complete the second year, and caused him to resign and leave the city of Columbus, where he had al- ready a respectable and growing practice. Several months before this step was taken, October 4, 1853, he had married Miss Sarah Maria, daughter of William P. and Sarah Lakin, of Point Pleasant, Ohio, and the doctor now returned with his young wife to her mother's, until his removal to Fayette, Iowa, in November, 1855.
One circumstance which perhaps more than an- other determined his location at Fayette was the fact of the establishment here of an institution of learning, in the success of which he took a lively interest. He has been a member of its board of trustees almost continuously since 1856 ; sometimes, in its earlier history, he taught classes in some of the natural sciences, when otherwise there would have been a vacancy in the faculty, and at other times giving a few lectures only in physiology, illus- trated by dissections and demonstrations with the use of his own microscope. This service he always rendered for the love of it, neither asking nor receiv- ing compensation, except when the executive board sometimes returned the compliment by remitting tui- tion fees for his sons.
Dr. Parker has resided at Fayette for twenty-two years, with only a few temporary absences. He spent the summer of 1860 in the Rocky Mountains, the winter of 1861-62 in the army, and the winter of 1862-63 in Chicago. He was surgeon of the 12th Iowa Infantry, but his health gave way, and he was obliged to resign. He was at the capture of Forts Henry and Donelson, and the battle of Pitts- burgh Landing.
Soon after his return from the south he was ap- pointed examining surgeon for pensioners, and still holds that position.
When the Hospital for the Insane at Independ- ence was established, his name was inserted in the original bill as a member of the board of trustees for its organization, and he served in that capacity four years. He took an active part in organizing the Fayette County Medical Society, was its presi- dent the first five years, and has attended every one of its meetings.
The reputation of Dr. Parker as a medical prac- titioner and surgeon is second to no man's in Fayette
county. In difficult surgical cases he is often con- sulted by parties in adjoining counties. Whatever else may have temporarily engaged his attention, he has always considered the practice of medicine as his life work, and believes the obligations of his chosen profession to be as sacred as he would those of the gospel ministry.
Up to 1854 Dr. Parker was a democrat, with anti- slavery proclivities, and since the republican party was formed he has voted with it. He is also an advocate of woman suffrage.
His religious connection is with the Methodist Episcopal church, of which he is a nominal mem- ber. As he expresses it, he " married into Method- ism," his wife being of a family prominent in the early history of that church in the west. He al- lowed her preference to influence him in the choice of his church relation, and has never regretted it. Rev. Benjamin Lakin, a noted pioneer Methodist, was an uncle of Dr. Parker's wife, and spent the last years of his eventful life as a member of the family in which Mrs. Parker was reared.
She, it is simple justice to add, is a woman of most amiable qualities, one who "looketh well to her household," and in whose heart, as well as on her " tongue, is the law of kindness." She has had six children, only four of them now living. The two eldest are sons, and students in the Upper Iowa University, located at Fayette. One of Mrs. Par- ker's brothers, William B., has been a member of both houses of the general assembly of Iowa, and was clerk of the court of Fayette county for six years. Another brother, James H., is auditor of Fayette county. He aided for three years in crush- ing the rebellion. He went into the army very young, as sergeant, bore the flag of the 3d Iowa In- fantry at Blue Mills, Missouri, Shiloh, and other battles, and was promoted for his gallantry. He came out as lieutenant.
Although past fifty-four years of age, Dr. Parker has lost none of his mental activity, and none of his love of study. He keeps thoroughly posted on the theory and practice of medicine, delights in ana- tomical investigations, and occasionally indulges in scientific pursuits, outside his profession. Recently he has been reviewing his botanical studies, for which, and collateral branches, he has great enthu- siasm. His love for such studies he attributes to the influence of his mother, who taught him the ru- diments of botany when he was a little child. He has a collection of herbaceous plants which he
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made nearly thirty years ago in Ohio, and he has nearly every kind of such plants found in the flora of Fayette county. In this branch one of his sons, Daniel M., studies with him, and both make their explorations and analyses con amore.
Dr. Parker is small in stature, not weighing over
one hundred and thirty pounds, yet is of good pro- portions, and perfectly erect ; has always taken su- perb care of himself; is of a nervous-sanguine tem- perament ; has a quick, elastic step, and illustrates, in his busy and laborious life, what good habits may do to preserve the vigor of early manhood.
GEORGE QUINBY,
BURLINGTON.
G EORGE QUINBY was born at Monmouth, Illinois, on the 3d of January, 1852. His father was Hon. Ivory Quinby, one of the most prominent men in the western part of Illinois, as also one of the most popular. He was an early settler, and did much for the advancement of the state to its present proud position. He was an in- timate friend of Stephen A. Douglass, whom he valued highly. On his arrival in Illinois he first went into the mercantile business, but, finding it unsuited to him, commenced the practice of law; was elected judge, and served a number of years upon the bench; retiring from which he went into the banking business, in which he remained until his death, in 1869. In life he had gained the con- fidence and esteem of his fellow-citizens, and his death was regretted by an unusually large circle of friends and acquaintances.
His mother's maiden name was Mary E. Pierce, who, as well as his father, was a native of Maine. George's early education was gained at the common schools and at Monmouth College. In February,
1873, he removed to Burlington and went into the general merchandise business, which he conducted with success during a period of one year, and in 1874 he opened an establishment for the sale of musical instruments and the publication of music, which is now the largest in that line in Iowa, and the largest west of the Mississippi river under the control of one man. His sales during the first year were about sixty thousand dollars, and by his push and good management he has been enabled to raise them to more than one hundred thousand dollars, and they are still steadily increasing, and the business will soon rank among the foremost in the United States. He has been a member of the Methodist Episcopal church since his twelfth year. He is republican in his principles, but in no way a politician.
He was married, on the 7th of November, 1871, to Miss Melissa J. Wotring, of Burlington.
Mr. Quinby's publications are found throughout the west, and his name is fast becoming a house- hold word.
JAMES C. PEASLEY,
BURLINGTON.
JAMES C. PEASLEY, president of the National State Bank of Burlington, Iowa, was born in Henderson county, Illinois, on the 30th of March, 1840, and is the son of Francis J. C. and Mary E. Peasley née Grannis. His father was one of the early settlers, having emigrated from Lower Canada to Illinois about 1835, and removed to Burlington in 1842, where he resided until his death. He was first a merchant and afterward a banker, being at the time of his death the senior partner of the banking house of F. J. C. Peasley and Co .; his part- 36
ner being F. W. Brooks, who continued the business until 1854, when he was succeeded by the firm of Coolbaugh and Brooks. Their business was merged into the Burlington branch of the State Bank of Iowa in 1859, which was again changed into the National State Bank in 1865. The father was of decided literary taste, and had a carefully selected library, which was well used by his children, and fixed in them a taste for books and reading never effaced. His death, in 1852, was regretted by an unusually wide circle of friends and acquaintances.
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Our subject was at Illinois College, in Jacksonville, Illinois, two or three years, but did not graduate, and left in 1860. His desire was to acquire a business education, and not long after returning from Jack- sonville he secured a situation in the Des Moines County Savings Bank, an institution doing business in Burlington under the management of W. W. White. In 1864 he received the appointment of assistant treasurer of the Burlington and Missouri River Rail- road Company, where he remained until the spring of 1866, when he became cashier of the National State Bank, at that time under the presidency of his
father's old partner, F. W. Brooks. After the death of Mr. Brooks, in the spring of 1869, Mr. E. D. Rand was elected president, and he was succeeded by Mr. Peasley in the spring of 1871. Mr. Peasley went into the banking business from choice, and has been very successful, and though still young, takes rank as one of the leading bankers and financiers of the state.
In politics, he is a republican, though he is in no wise a politician, never having filled a public office.
He was married on the 10th of October, 1866, to Miss Louisa S. Green, of Lawrenceville, New Jersey.
JOHN C. SHRADER, M.D.,
IOWA CITY.
W THILE the lives of self-made men seldom abound in sensational incidents, there is an energy, a perseverance and an underflow of char- acter that lends them a charm, an attractiveness and worth that merits admiration and careful thought. We need not look among those of royal blood to find lives worthy to be recorded. Among us they are the outcome of a stern conflict with opportuni- ties made and conquered to oneself, and are at once the support and the proud result of this grand American civilization.
Dr. Shrader began his career a poor boy, and has by his own effort risen to an honorable position both in professional and social life. He was born in Washington county, Ohio, on the 24th of April, 1830. His parents were John and Eliza Ann (Mel- vin) Shrader. His mother was a descendant of the old Dearborn family, of New Hampshire. John's boyhood was spent on the farm, and he was raised, as were the families of that day, to habits of econ- omy and industry. Owing to the illness of his father, on him, as eldest son, mainly devolved the support of the family, which denied him much opportunity for early education. A college education was be- gun, but abandoned for lack of means to complete it. But native talent and earnest study in later life have made the lack of college training imper- ceptible, and placed him the compeer of men with the culture of schools.
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