The blue book of Iowa women; a history of contemporary women;, Part 6

Author: Reeves, Winona Evans, 1871- ed
Publication date: 1914
Publisher: [Mexico, Mo., Press of the Missouri Printing and Publishing Company]
Number of Pages: 316


USA > Iowa > The blue book of Iowa women; a history of contemporary women; > Part 6


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In 1854 Mr. Grinnell, with three others, founded the town of Grinnell, Iowa, which was named in his honor


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and became his home thereafter, until his death, Mch. 31, 1892. This little prairie hamlet, a typical New Eng- lad village, had from the first an unusual history. "Consecrated to temperance, education, and religion" it bore a worthy part in the movements of the time and its influence became felt in state and nation.


Mrs. Grinnell shared with her husband in his plans for the development of town and college, and was the leading spirit in the formation of many organizations of a public nature. She was the organizer of the first Maternal Association west of the Mississippi River, which now bears her name; the founder of the Grin- nell W. C. T. U .; a charter member of the Congrega- tional church; an officer in the Ladies' Education So- ciety, etc. For many years she edited monthly a For- eign Missionary Column in "Congregational Iowa" and served on the executive committee of the Woman's Board of Missions of the Interior. She was a gradu- ate of the Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circle of the class of 1883 and a member of the Elizabeth Earle Magoun Club. The portraits of Honorable and Mrs. J. B. Grinnell have a place in the Iowa Historical Art Gallery at Des Moines, Iowa. In requesting these por- traits the Hon. Charles Aldrich who was then curator of the Historical Dept. said :


"I am of the opinion that none of the Iowa women whose portraits are likely to come here are more de- serving of this honor than your mother. She was a brave, intelligent Iowa pioneer, who not only sustained your father in his great works, but who has always been helpful to young people who needed assistance in acquiring an education and position in life."


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MRS. CHARLES P. FRANTZ


Mary Eliza Arnold Franz was born in Salem, Iowa, Feby. 29, 1876. She is the daughter of Columbus Ves- pucius Arnold and Adeline Patterson Howard. Her father was one of the prominent men of southern Iowa, living in Mt. Pleasant for nearly forty years. For twenty years he was treasurer of the lowa State Hos- pital for the Insane, for twenty-two years he was treas- urer of Henry county, for fifteen years he was cashier of the Henry Co. Savings Bank. It is interesting to note that Mr. Arnold's grandfather held the first patent for the threshing machine. Adeline Patterson Howard Arnold was a descendant of Henry Howard, the sec- ond son of the Duke of Norfolk who settled in America at Newbern, N. C. Her grandfather, Elisha Bates, was a Quaker preacher who stood very high in the councils of the church and was sent three times to church con- ferences in England.


Mrs. Frantz was educated in the public schools of Mt. Pleasant and in the Iowa Wesleyan College, being graduated in 1896, with the degree B. S., later receiv- ing M. S. She belonged to the College P. E. O. chapter, and to Alpha Xi Delta, which later supplanted it. She was married November 7, 1900, to Dr. Charles Peter Frantz, a successful practitioner of Burlington, where they reside in a beautiful home on North Hill. They have three children, Robert Arnold, Charlotte May and Howard Jerome. She is an active member of the M. E. church. She has served the Burlington chap- ter of P. E. O. as president three years, as organizer and as vice-president of the State Grand Chapter. She belongs to the Burlington Musical Club and to the Golf Club, enjoys society and her friends but finds her greatest interest in her family and home.


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MRS. F. F. FAVILLE


Cora Thornburg-Faville is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. A. S. Thornburg, who were Iowa pioneers, coming to Mitchell county in 1856. Her father established one of the first saw mills in Iowa, the engine and boiler of which were drawn by five yoke of oxen from Dubuque to Orchard on the Cedar River. Mrs. Faville was born at Orchard and received her education in the public school and normal schools. She began teaching when she was only sixteen years old. Her husband, Frederic F. Faville, is a lawyer by profession. Shortly after their marriage they moved to Des Moines where he was clerk of the twenty-third general assembly. In 1892 they moved to Sioux Rapids, where they lived for sev- eral years, from there moving to Storm Lake, where they now reside. They have two children, Stanton Sherwood and Marion Blanche. Mrs. Faville is Rec. Sec. of the I. F. W. C., has served on many committees of the Iowa Federation as well as on committees of the general Federation. She has spoken many times at district meetings and at the Iowa biennials and is always a delightful addition to the program. She was a charter member of the Tuesday Club and its president for sixteen years. This club has added books, pictures and statuary to the public library as well as helped to beautify the lake front. She is a member of the li- brary board and was instrumental in establishing a rest room which has come to be a sort of civic center. The Favilles have a summer home, "Idylrest," on the south shore of Storm Lake, where they spend a part of the year. Mrs. Faville is a woman of unusual poise, being able always to keep an ideal atmosphere in her home and yet extend her influence far beyond the con- fines of those four walls.


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MRS. BELLE HANSON


The splendid civilization of Iowa did not come into existance easily but through hard labor and endurance of privation by the early settlers. In 1850 when north- ern Iowa was a great field of prairie grass James John- son and his wife, Rusie Brannen Johnson, came from Indiana and settled on a farm in Iowa county, west of Marengo, which farm is still in possession of the family. In the family were ten daughters. Walt Whitman says that "The mother of a large family is one of the surest sources of wisdom;" if this be true then Mrs. Johnson was a wise mother. We know she was a good mother, judging from her children. The youngest daughter was Belle J. Hanson of Ida Grove, who was born in Marengo June 4, 1858. On Aug .. 27, 1877, she was married to Dwight Smith. To them were born two children, Nina de Estelle, and Dwight Curtis, the latter died at the age of two years. The daughter is now Mrs. Babcock and has three children, Phyllis Belle, Dwight Vincent, Dean Curtis. In 1882 Mr. Smith died and his wife bravely took up the burden of the support of herself and her daughter. For twenty-five years she conducted a millinery establishment at Ida Grove and had a photographic establishment in Mar- engo and in Ida Grove for a number of years. Her business experience has made her an earnest advocate of equal suffrage, for some time she was on the execu- tive board of the Iowa Equal Suffrage Association. On Dec. 31, 1885, she was married to Neil Hanson, who died in 1893. She is a member of the M. E. church, of the P. E. O. sisterhood and an equal suffrage club. She has a beautiful home in Ida Grove which is seldom without guests under its hospitable roof.


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MRS. DELL PHILLIPS GLAZIER


Mary Dell Phillips was born May 2, 1870, in Mereer county, Ill., coming to Iowa in 1872. She is the daugh- ter of Silas Phillips and Sarah Ann Patterson, both na- tives of Greene county, Penn. Her mother is a de- scendant from Lieut. Wm. Sayers of the Pennsylvania troops who fought in the Revolutionary War. On Aug. 28, 1895, she was married to Albert Edward Glazier, of Ft. Madison, which city has since been her home. Mrs. Glazier is the guardian of her nephew, Albert Phillips, who lives with them as their own son. She is a de- voted member of the Presbyterian church and for more than twenty years has been a teacher in the Sunday school. She is a charter member of Jean Espy, chapter Daughters of the American Revolution and has served as Regent for several years. She is a member of the P. E. O. sisterhood. Has served the local chapter as presi- dent and has been organizer, recording secretary, vice- president and president of the Iowa Grand Chapter and is now corresponding secretary of the Supreme Chapter. She has been a member of fifteen state con- ventions and three supreme conventions. She is a


member of the Pythian Sisters and has served that or- ganization in its highest office as Supreme Chief. She was thirty years old at that time and has the honor of having been the youngest woman elected to that office in the history of the order. Previous to being Supreme Chief she held a number of state offices, among them Grand Chief of Iowa. She is now chairman of the Committee on Written Laws in Iowa and in the Su- preme Temple also. She is the only member of the or- der who attended the organization of the Grand Tem- ple and every session since held in Iowa, twenty-four in all. She has attended nine sessions of the Supreme


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Temple. She was corresponding secretary of the Na- tional Council of Women; she is a member of the Inter- national Peace Committee of the International Coun- cil of Women. In the National Council of Women she had the honor to be associated with Mary Wright Sew- all, Anna Howard Shaw, Susan B. Anthony, Carrie Chapman Catt and other women who have helped make history. Locally she is an influential woman. She has served as president of the Woman's Auxiliary to the Y. W. C. A. She was chairman of the committee through whose influence the monument in the form of a chimney was erected to mark the site of the old Fort Madison. This fort was built in 1808, under the super- vision of Col. Zachary Taylor, who was sent by the government to build some forts along the upper Mis- sissippi River.


He built this one on the Iowa side about ten miles above the Des Moines Rapids, and named it Ft. Madison. This was in direct violation of a treaty with the Indians, who made bitter complaint and some time after under the leadership of Black Hawk they made an attempt to capture and destroy it. In 1813 the fort was burned, but for many years one lone chimney stood a land mark visible for miles. To replace this land mark Jean Espy Chapter, D. A. R., with Mrs. Glazier as chairman, was instrumental in erecting the new chimney of Bedford stone. She has traveled extensively in America, having been in fifty- one of the fifty-eight states, to Cuba and through Can- ada, and has visited some parts of the United States many times. She is a woman of strong character and remarkable executive ability. It is unusual to find a woman who has been so prominent and successful in a public way, to be domestic in her tastes and a good housekeeper; but in Mrs. Glazier is found that unusual combination.


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MRS. EDWARD D. CHASSELL


Mary A. Calkins, daughter of Dr. Martin H. and Lu- cinda Louden Calkins, was born in Wyoming, Ia., Dec. 13, 1865. Her parents came to Wyoming in 1856, where Mrs. Calkins still resides. Dr. Calkins died in 1909. For fifty years he was a successful practitioner and a writer of ability. He compiled a local history and delivered lectures on early Iowa history. He was a member of the 19th and 20th General Assemblies of Iowa. Mrs. Chassell was educated in the public schools and in Mt. Carroll, Ill., seminary and took advanced musical training in Chicago and Boston. She taught music in Drake University and other colleges. On Dec. 19, 1906, she was married to Edward D. Chassell, of Le Mars, by profession a newspaper man. He has been a member of the General Assembly and was also State Binder. She has one sister, Mrs. W. E. Briggs, of St. Paul, to whose children Martin Calkins, Walter Charles and Mary, she is devoted. Mrs. Chassell has served the I. F. W. C. as a state officer and on state committees. She is a P. E. O. and a D. A. R. She is descended from Sir Thomas Kinne, knighted in 1618, and from Mary Allerton of the Mayflower. She and her sister own the homestead in Oneida county, N. Y., which has been in the family since 1792. Here Chas. G. Finney, the founder of Oberlin College and Robt. G. Ingersoll were frequent guests of her great grand- father. She is an honorary member of the Pioneer Law Makers Association of Iowa. She originated the first Old Home Week, celebrated in Iowa on the 50th anniversary of the founding of Wyoming. Her father erected a monument in Wyoming to the memory of the 89 men to whom he administered the oath of allegiance and who formed the greater part of Co. K., 24th Iowa.


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MRS. GEORGE P. GRINNELL


Cleodora Hitchcock Grinnell was born near Morri- son, Ill., Oct. 22, 1858. She is the daughter of Gad Walter Hitchcock and Harriett Emily Topping, both natives of New York state. Her grandfather, David Hitchcock, was one of the early supporters of Oberlin College. The Hitchcock family were pioneers in Illi- nois, coming there in the early 50's, when only villages and settlements stood where now stand the cities of Illi- nois. On April 2, 1884, in Morrison she was married to George P. Grinnell and came to Grinnell, Ia., which is still their home. In 1887 Mrs. Grinnell helped to form the Industrial School of Grinnell, a mission school in which many useful arts were taught. She was superin- tendent or teacher in it until May, 1913, when the school was closed because the public schools had intro- duced manual training, domestic science, sewing, etc., all of which had been taught in the Industrial School, This school was a practical institution and was one of the forerunners of manual training as a part of the public school course. Mrs. Grinnell is a member of the Grinnell Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolu- tion and of the Woman's Relief Corps. She helped to organize the Priscilla Club which was the third club to be organized in Grinnell. Her husband is a nephew of J. B. Grinnell, one of the founders of the town which bears his name and one of the noblest men whom Iowa has yet produced.


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MRS. WILLIAM E. STEWART


Martha Evaline Pike Stewart was born Sept. 22, 1863, in Kirksville, Ia. She is the daughter of James Brown Pike and Prudence Jane Ross, who settled in Wapello county in 1858. Her grandfather was James Brown Pike, who was a brother of Lieutenant Zebulon Montgomery Pike, who was born in camp during the Revolutionary War; he was the first American to enter Iowa, 1805. the other white settlers having been Frenchmen. He was 24 years of age, when on Aug. 9, 1805, he started from St. Louis with 20 men in a boat 75 feet long, to explore the Mississippi. On August 20th they passed the mouth of the Des Moines River and stopped at the Sac village, now Keokuk, to explain the friendly object of the expedition. On September 4th he landed near McGregor and there met the Win- nebago Indians in council. On September 9th they reached the mouth of the upper Iowa River near the northern limits of Iowa. In 1806 he returned to St. Louis and was sent on that memorable trip west when he discovered the peak bearing his name. At the age of 34 he was a general, serving in the war of 1812, and was killed in the battle of York, Canada. His wife was Clarissa Harlow, the daughter of Capt. John Brown. Their daughter married Cleve Symmes Harrison, the son of Pres. William Henry Harrison.


Mrs. Stewart's great grandfather was Col. Zebulon Pike, who fought in the Revolutionary War under the direct command of General Washington who signed his commissions as Capt. and Major, Thomas Jefferson signing his commission as Colonel. Mrs. Stewart is a D. A. R., and has been regent of Jefferson Chapter. In 1884 she was married to Wm. Ellis Stewart of Jef- ferson, which city is still her home.


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DR. JENNIE G. GRIST


Jennie G. Grist was born July 4, 1869 in Wapello county. She is the daughter of Alonzo Garrison and Eliza Margaret Cross. Her mother was a daughter of Nancy Spelman who was a descendant of Henry Spel- man, the noted antiquarian who is buried in Westmin- ster Abbey. One of his sons came to America and was with John Smith during his captivity with the Indi- ans ; he was present at the marriage of John Smith and his picture is to be seen in the large painting at the landing of the stairs in the Capitol at Washington. Alonzo Garrison is a descendant of William Lloyd Gar- rison of Civil War fame. Dr. Grist received her pro- fessional education at the Keokuk Medical College, later taking post graduate work in Chicago, New York and in Vienna. July 3, 1890, she was married to David M. Grist, M. D. Their home is in Ames, where both very successfully practice their profession. They have two children, Orrie E. Grist and David Garrison Grist. Dr. Grist belongs to the State Society of Medical Women of which she was president in 1912. For a number of years she was president of the Ames Civic Improvement Society. She organized and conducted a baby health contest at the Tri-county Fair which was a very successful contest. She has given many talks and lectures before clubs and Y. W. C. A's. on social hygiene. She made a journey around the world, visit- ing hospitals and studying the diseases peculiar to the various countries. On her trip she observed the work of the medical missionaries and many times since her return she has spoken before churches and missionary societies on the subject of missions. Dr. Grist is one of Iowa's very successful professional women.


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MRS. DAVID BROWN HAMILL


Maria Louise Sullivan Hamill was born in Mt. Ver- non, Ind., Dec. 12, 1849, the daughter of Richard Lamb Sullivan and Maria Nettleton Sullivan. Her father was a banker by profession. The beautiful home in which she was born stands unchanged in Mt. Vernon and is now the residence of Col. Manzies. Her child- hood recollection of the Civil War is very vivid, their home being just across the Kentucky border and in the line of the famous Morgan's raid. As a child she helped make bandages and prepare supplies for the sick and wounded, as many battles were fought near by. The sudden death of her father was a tragedy in her life; on a trip to New Orleans he died very sud- denly from cholera.


She received her education in the public schools of Evansville and in a finishing school of that city. On June 2, 1870, she was married to Maj. David Brown Hamill, of Keokuk, which city has since been her home. Maj. Hamill is the oldest son of the late Smith Hamill, an Iowa pioneer and a man of splendid character, who founded the S. Hamill Co., wholesale grocers, of which firm Maj. Hamill is president. They have three chil- dren living : Mrs. Paul Dysart of Keokuk, Mrs. Frank R. Fry of St. Louis and Smith Hamill of Keokuk. Mrs. Hamill's father was a school-mate of Henry Ward Baacher and of Harriett Beecher Stowe.


She is descended from General John Sullivan, one of Washington's trusted generals, whose sword is a family possesion. She is eligible to both the D. A. R's. and Colonial Dames. She is a mem- ber of the First Westminster Presbyterian church, a devoted church woman and an interested worker in charitable, civic and social organizations.


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MRS. JULIA CLARK HALLAM


One of the really brilliant women of Iowa is Julia Clark Hallam, of Sioux City. She is an exceptionally well educated woman, a lecturer of power, and a writer of ability. She was a pioneer advocate of suf- frage and of the teaching of social hygiene, advocating these two ideas long before they came to be accepted as generally as they are today. She was born Jany. 7, 1860, in Portage, Wis. Her father was John Tellotson, Clark, and her mother, Louise Harriett Halley. She is a Mayflower descendant, tracing her ancestry direct to Gov. Bradford. She was graduated from the Uni- versity of Wisconsin, B. A., 1881, M. A., 1883. She received the degree M. A. from the University of Chicago in 1910. Elected to Alpha Chapter Phi Beta Kappa of Wisconsin in 1913. On Aug. 17, 1883, she was married to Joseph Wood Hallam. They have four children : Marguerite, now Mrs. A. L. Matthews of Los Angeles ; Clark, Arthur Wood, and Kirkland. For thirty years she has been a member of the First Con- gregational church and has been an active worker in the Sunday school and in boys' and girls' clubs. She has been state president of the Political Equality As- sociation, has been secretary of the I. F. W. C's., and has been a leader of the Child Psychology Section of


the Sioux City Woman's Club. She has served the Mothers' Child Study Club as president, and is a member of the D. A. R., church Missionary Society and Ladies' Aid. She has lectured throughout the state in Child Training and on Equal Suffrage. She is the author of "A Story of a European Tour," "Relation of the Sexes from a Scientific Standpoint" and "Stud- ies in Child Development," all of which have had wide circulation.


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MRS. THOMAS GOSS


Mrs. Frances Cornelia Lanius Goss was born Jany. 28, 1874, in Trenton, Mo.


Her father's name was Henry Clay Lanius, a native of Ohio. Her mother's name was Hester Anne Fouts, whose forbears were among the prominent fam- ilies of Virginia, and was the daughter of Elizabeth Perry, who was an own cousin of Commodore Hazard Perry, of Lake Erie fame.


Mrs. Goss was educated in the public schools of Tren- ton, Mo., and in Hardin College, Mexico, Mo., where she specialized in music. She was married in Septem- ber, 1893, to Rev. Wilbur M. Jones, a Baptist minister of Fairmount, Ill., where her work in the church re- sulted in much lasting good. Their one son, Thaddeus C. Jones, is now a student in Drake University, doing work preparatory to a Harvard University Law course.


She was married to Mr. Thomas Goss, a promient business man, and a member of one of Iowa's oldest and most highly respected families, in February, 1903, and went to live in Centerville, Iowa, where they now reside. To this marriage have been born two children, Frances Ima, age nine, and Henry Clay Goss, age six.


Mrs. Goss is a member of the P. E. O. sisterhood, of the Ladies Civic Improvement Club and of the M. X. L., a social organization. She has the honor to be a mem- ber of the Board of Education which position she fills with dignity and intelligence on matters relating to the welfare of the schools. She is a woman who has traveled widely and reads a great deal and is a delight- ful conversationalist. She is possessed of an abund- ance of good cheer and sees life through optimistic eyes, making her always a delightful companion.


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DR. ELLA RAY GILMOUR


Prominent among the professional women of Iowa is Dr. Ella Ray Gilmour of Sioux City. She was born in Holly Springs, Miss., March 3, 1866. Her father was a Baptist minister, Rev. Cyrus N. Ray, and her mother was Anna Lockhart Ray. She was educated at La Grange College and took her professional training at the American School of Osteopathy, at Kirksville, Mo., receiving the degree of Doctor of Osteopathy. She was married to Joseph B. Miller, a lawyer of Blackfoot, Idaho, on May 12, 1887. His death oc- curred in January, 1895. On July 24, 1898, she was married to Dr. George H. Gilmour, who died in May, 1907. Dr. Gilmour has three children by her first mar- riage, all of whom were adopted by her second hus- band and who therefore bear the name Gilmour. They are Ray B. Gilmour, Howard J. Gilmour and Mrs. Alta M. Quick. She has one grand child two years old, Roy F. Quick, Jr. She is a member of the American Osteo- pathic Association, and of the Iowa Osteopathic Asso- ciation of which she is president. She has served as president of the Fifth District Iowa Osteopathic Asso- ciation. During the World's Columbian Exposition at Chicago she was one of the Board of Lady Managers, representing Idaho. She is a member of the Order of the Eastern Star and has served as worthy Matron for three years. She is a member of the Baptist church, and like most business and professional women, be- lieves in equal suffrage. She is a successful prac- titioner and one who loves her profession.


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MRS. A. D. HOWARD


Maude De Vee Howard, the daughter of Vitruvius Tew, whose parents came from Tewshire, Eng, and Lide Shoup Tew, was born in Pekin, Ill. Her father served four years in the Civil War, enlisted in Co. B., 108 Ill. Vol. Inf., was transferred to the Fifth Veteran Corps and served until the close of the war. He was one of the soldiers selected to escort the body of President Lincoln after his assassination. Her mother's father, Solomon Shoup, was Colonel of the First Colo. Regi- ment, organized to fight the Indians in that territory in 1859-1863, and was the first post-master of Denver. Mrs. Howard received her education in the public schools of Jefferson, and in the Dunning Academy, of which she is a graduate. She was married on June 18, 1890, to A. D. Howard, a very successful attorney of Jefferson, which city is their home. They have one daughter, Helena De Vee Howard, who was born in Helena, Mont. Mrs. Howard is an interested club woman. She is a member of the Culture Club, having been its president two years. As a member of the City Federation of Women's Clubs she helped establish a rest room for women. She has attended every meeting of the Tenth District Federation since 1907. She has attended two State Federations as delegate and the General Federation at Cincinnatti. She is a member of the committee on Civil Service and Reform of I. F. W. C. She is a charter member of chapter CZ, P. E. O. She is past noble-grand of the Rebecca degree of Odd- fellowship. She is a very talented painter in oil col- ors, having displayed pictures in exhibits in Chicago, St. Louis, and other cities. Her work has received very favorable notice from art critics.




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