| History and Genealogy | |
Polk County, Iowa BiographiesAlonzo Abernethy Alonzo Abernethy was born April 14, 1836, in Sandusky County, Ohio. His early education was received in the public schools of that State. In March, 1854, he came with his father's family to Fayette County, Iowa. He entered the Chicago University, leaving the senior class in August, 1861, to enlist in the Ninth Iowa Infantry as a private. He was engaged in seventeen battles and won rapid promotion, attaining the rank of lieutenant-colonel before the regiment was mustered out. In 1865 he was elected to the House of Representatives of the Eleventh General Assembly from Fayette County. In 1870 he removed to Denison, in Crawford County, but was soon chosen president of Des Moines College. In 1871 he was elected on the Republican ticket Superintendent of Public Instruction, serving six years by reelections. He was largely instrumental in securing the enactment of the laws providing for Teachers' Normal Institutes and the establishment of a State Normal School. In September, 1876, he resigned his office to accept the presidency of the University of Chicago. After two years' service he made a trip to Europe and upon his return made his home on a farm near Denison. In July, 1881, he was elected president of the Cedar Valley Seminary at Osage. Colonel Abernethy has long ranked among the eminent educators of the State. [Iowa Biography By Benjamin F. Gue, 1903 – Transcribed by AFOFG] Mrs. L. F. Andrews Mrs. L. F. Andrews, literary woman, one of the leading club women of Iowa,, real Daughter of the American Revolution, at the age of 85, is recognized as a leader among the women of the state. She is the daughter of John Van Dalson, who was born in Newborough, N. Y. in 1702. He was a minute man and served during the whole of the Revolutionary War. He was with Washington at the battle of Trenton on Christmas night, 1776. He was in the battle of Saratoga and witnessed Burgoyne’s surrender; he was in the battle of Yorktown when the new nation won its victory there. At the close of the war John Dalson was married to Elizabeth Carr at Big Flats, N. Y. Their daughter, Sophia M. Dalson, was born in Elmira, N. Y., in 1829, and came with her parents in a covered wagon to Michigan in 1835. When a little girl she became proficient in household arts, learned to spin and to do the tasks which fell to the lot of the pioneers. Her early life was a struggle for an education in a day and land where there were few advantages. She taught school at intervals to pay the expense of her education. Mrs. Andrews has been twice married. Mrs. John W. Bishop of Santa Ana, Calif., is a daughters by her first marriage, and Mr. Frank M. Andrews, the very successful architect, is a son by her second marriage. Mrs. Andrews came to Des Moines in 1864, since which time she has been a leader in society, clubs, and literary life. She was one of the first women to be given a seat in the Iowa legislature as a press correspondent. She is a charter member of the Des Moines Woman's Club, organized in 1865, and first regent of Abigail Adams Chapter, D. A. R. [The Blue book of Iowa Women, by Winona Evans Reeves, Publ. 1914, Transcribed by Dana Kraft] Mrs. W. H. Baily Alice A. Crawford Bailey was born Feby 16, 1854. She is the daughter of John Barnes Crawford whose ancestors came from the north of Ireland in 1735 and whose grandfather was an officer in the War of the Revolution. Her mother was Naomi Davis Wood, whose ancestors came to America with William Penn in 1682. Mrs. Bailey was graduated from the University of Wisconsin in 1875 with the degree B. S. She was married Sep. 23, 1878, to William H. Baily of Spirit Lake, a graduate of the University of Wisconsin, the class of 1873, Ph. B. He was graduated from the Law Department of the University of Iowa in 1875. Mr. Baily died May 10, 1910, after having served his home city, Des Moines, and the State with distinguished legal ability and devotion. One son was born to them, Robert William Baily, who was graduated from the University of Wisconsin in 1907, in the Mechanical Engineering Department. Mrs. Baily is a member of the Central Presbyterian church and probably the only woman in the state who has served on the Board of Trustees in a Presbyterian church. She has served as president of the Des Moines Woman's Club; president of the I. F. W. C. ; president of the Conversational Club, and is now president of the Ex-Presidents Association of the I. F. W. C. Has served as regent of Abigail Adams Chapter D. A. R. By appointment of Gov. Cummins she served as chairman of the Woman's Auxiliary Committee of the Iowa Board of Managers for the St. Louis Exposition and in that capacity presided at the many functions held in the Iowa State Building. She is a woman of poise and executive ability of a high order, coupled with a gracious charming personality. [The Blue book of Iowa Women, by Winona Evans Reeves, Publ. 1914, Transcribed by Renee Capitanio] Miss M. Margaret Baker Miss Baker has rendered a peculiar service in the establishment of diet kitchens in hospitals and by compiling a book, "Recipes for Nurses," giving sick diet for patients under various conditions. She took her first training in the Department of Domestic Economy at the Iowa State College, which ranks among the finest institutions of its kind in the world. She took further work in Columbia University, N. Y. She was the first dietitian in the Iowa Methodist Hospital in Des Moines, from there she went to St. Joseph's Hospital in Chicago and organized the dietetic department there. She is now head of the Domestic Science department of the Wisconsin Dunn County School of Agriculture and delivers lectures in the state on dietetics and domestic science. Her father, Ira Baker, who was born in Marion county in 1852, is the oldest hardware and implement merchant in Iowa. Her mother, Emma Reynolds Baker, is a native of Iowa, her parents coming here in 1850. The Reynolds family has been prominent since pioneer days. Miss Baker's grandmother, Mrs. Reynolds, resides in Des Moines, and is able to tell interesting and thrilling stories of the early days in Iowa and of the dark days of the Civil War, when she, like other brave women of that day, cared for the family and the farm while her husband fought for the preservation of the Union. Beside her professional work Miss Baker has found time for church work, Y. W. C. A., P. E. 0. and local clubs. She is one of the successful young women of Iowa. [The Blue book of Iowa Women, by Winona Evans Reeves, Publ. 1914, Transcribed by Renee Capitanio] Henry M. Belvel BELVEL DIES IN IOWA Father of Mrs. H. H. Brown of This City – Was Prominent Newspaper Man Henry M. Belvel, father of Mrs. H. H. Brown of Colorado Springs, died early yesterday morning at Des Moines, Ia., according to press dispatches received here last night. Mr. Belvel was not related to Mrs. H. Howard Brown, wife of the well-known local baritone and the only other local woman of that name lives at 230 Victoria avenue. She could not be seen last night. Mr. Belvel was one of the best-known newspaper men and veterans of the Civil war in Iowa, he was secretary and the Democratic member of the Iowa voting machine commission, and had held many positions of trust and honor in the ranks of his party. At the time of his death, he was the editor and publisher of the Democrat-Chronicle, the only English Democratic paper published in Iowa. [Colorado Springs Gazette, January 30, 1910 – Transcribed by AFOFG] Mrs. James G. Berryhill Mrs. Virginia J. Berryhill, vice-president of the General Federation of Women’s Clubs, and the first president of the Iowa Federation of Women’s Clubs, was born in Fairfield, Iowa, the daughter of Christian Wolff and Nancy M. Seward Slagle. After completing the public school course, she entered the State University of Iowa, graduating in the class of 1877, A. B. Her college sorority is Phi Beta Kappa. In 1878 she studied in Berlin, taking the Victoria lyceum lecture courses. She taught for one year in a Female Seminary in Pennsylvania. On Jany 19, 1881, she was married at Fairfield to James G. Berryhill, of Des Moines. They have two children: James G. and Katherine. She is a member of the Unitarian church and active in the Unity Circle. She is one of the best known club women of Iowa, having made this state known favorably in the general federation. At the meeting of the general federation in Chicago, 1914, she was elected its vice-president, an honor altogether merited. When the Iowa Federation was organized in 1893, Mrs. Berryhill was elected its first president. She has since served on many state committees and was chairman of the legislative committee when at the biennial held in 1913, at Cedar Rapids, the Iowa federation declared for equal suffrage. She has served the Associated Charities of Des Moines as vice-president; she has served the Des Moines Woman's Club as president, and has also been president of the City Federation of clubs. She is a member of the Iowa Press and Authors’ Club and has been its president. She is corresponding secretary of the Colonial Dames of Iowa. She is the author of a biographical sketch of Prof. A. N. Currier, published in the annals of Iowa. [The Blue book of Iowa Women, by Winona Evans Reeves, Publ. 1914, Transcribed by Dana Kraft] Helen Adelaide Bonnell Billington Helen Adelaide Bonnell Billington inherited mental activity and refined gentility from parents of noted ancestry. She received her early education in the schools of Wisconsin and Indiana and finished school in a seminary on the Mt. Holyoke plan. She says the public library was her university. She was a successful teacher as preceptress in the German-English Normal School at Galena, Ill., and as Dean of Women in Coe College. On Dec. 22, 1873, she was married to T. E. Billington and lived in Marion. In 1882 she accepted a secretaryshsip in the Department of Public Instruction in Des Moines, which position she held many years. She has marked journalistic ability and has contributed articles to Chicago papers, Eastern magazines, conducted for two years “The Ladies’ Social Circle” in the Burlington Hawkeye, has been on the editorial staff of the Des Moines Capital. For the Register-Leader she wrote a series of sketches “Women Whom Iowa Delights to Honor,” a portraiture of Iowa home life such as had never appeared in print before. She has always been active in church an temperance work. She held membership in the Social Science club of Chicago and was one of the five Iowa members of the Association for the Advancement of Women which met in Des Moines in 1886. She was one of the founders of the Des Moines Woman’s Club and is honored with a life membership. She was president of the Iowa Press and Author’s Club in 1907-’08, is a member of Abigail Adams chapter D. A. R. She is a woman of unusual ability and she herself is a “Woman whom Iowa Delights to Honor.” [The Blue book of Iowa Women, by Winona Evans Reeves, Publ. 1914, Transcribed by Sally Masteller] George M. Booth, D. D. George M. Booth D.D. is the pastor of the M. E. church at Moscow, Idaho, and is a man of sterling qualities of worth and integrity, having labored in the vineyard for many years, preparing himself when still a youth for this responsible and praiseworthy calling, and it may be said that now, as the zenith of life's walk is drawing nigh, that he is a man who has achieved success in the real meaning of the word, and a retrospective investigation but presages a line of accomplishment with riper years and more mature talent from rich experiences and constant mental activity that will be a fitting crowning to a useful and highly commendable life. George M. Booth was born in Des Moines, Iowa, on January 2, 1852, being the son of Robert and Mary Booth, both still living at Grants Pass, Oregon. The father was a Methodist preacher for fifty years, doing noble and faithful service in the ripening fields where his labor was bestowed. The father was a native of England and came to this country in 1830. The mother was a native of Indiana. Our subject was educated at the Wilbur Academy, at Wilbur, Douglas county, Oregon, attending college also for three years at Ashland, in the same state. 1873 was the year in which he retired from the collegiate course, and in 1882 he began his life's work by preaching the gospel, the inception labors being at Waldron, Oregon, where three years were spent. Two years were consumed in proclaiming the message at Columbus, Washington, and then he stepped aside for a time from the direct preaching of the gospel to accept the presiding elder-ship of the Columbia district, wherein he was retained for nine consecutive years, closing his services in that line in 1896, and then removing to Moscow, where he has been since as pastor of the church of his denomination. The marriage of Mr. Booth and Miss Clara E. Staats was celebrated on January 3, 1878, and they have become the parents of the following children: Daisy, in the university; Winifred, teaching at Kendrick; Augusta, Wilford and Warren, the last three attending school also. Mrs. Booth was educated in the Willamette University, Oregon. Her father, Hon. Stephen Staats, came to Oregon in 1847, and was twice state senator from Polk county, in that state, also represented the county several times in the lower house, serving later as county judge. Mr. Booth has had the title of Doctor of Divinity conferred upon him, through meritorious labors and manifestation of excellent ability, and he has displayed commendable zeal and energy in the cause, being a man of fine address and talent and taking a firm hold on the hearts of his people, with whom, as with all, he is very popular. Mr. Booth has been twice elected to represent his conference at the general conference, and by the latter body he was chosen a member of the Book Committee, where fourteen constituted the body of the committee. [An Illustrated History Of North Idaho Embracing Nez Perces, Idaho, Latah, Kootenai, Shoshone Counties, State Of Idaho, Western Historical Publishing Company, 1903, submitted by Barb Z.] Otto L. Burns Otto L. Burns, ranchman; stockgrower; (Dem.); b. Sept. 11, 1868, Des Moines, Iowa; s. of L. D. and Minerva (Adams) Burns; educ. pub. schls. Des Moines; engaged in farming and horse commission business in Iowa; located in Wyoming, July 13, 1886, and has been engaged in ranching and stockraising since; member Wyo. H. of Rep., 1913-15; mem. Elks. Address: Laramie, Wyoming. [Men of Wyoming, By C. S. Peterson, Publ 1915. Transcribed by Anna Parks] John George Buth John George Buth, pastor of Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church in the town of Grant, Clark County, whose ordination to the ministry occurred 23 years ago today, was born September 22, 1876, at Polk City, Iowa, the son of Mr. and Mrs. William Buth. When he was nine years old he accompanied his parents to Orient, South Dakota, where he received an elementary education in the public school. Six years later the family moved to the vicinity of Toronto, Brookings County, where he assisted at home until 1901, when he entered St. Paul Luther College, St. Paul, Minnesota, to study for the ministry. He graduated in 1907 from the theological seminary, and was ordained June 30th. His first charge was at Fremont, in Waupaca County, Wisconsin, where he served two congregations for four years, after which he accepted a call to Warren, Illinois, where his field included three parishes. Three years later he went to New Douglas, Illinois, where he remained for three years. Then failing health made it necessary for him to take a vacation of nearly nine months. His next charge was at Madison, South Dakota, where he remained for three years, after which he retired for two years, recuperating at Davenport, Iowa, following an attack of a nervous disorder. From 1925 to 1927 he served a congregation at Lyons, Wisconsin, resigning to take up his present work, which also includes ministering to a congregation in the town of Pine Valley, Clark County. He was married in 1909 to Miss Anna Alborn of Caroline, Shawano County, who died in 1916. In 1918 he was married to Miss Minnie Prang of New Douglas, Illinois. They have four children: Olga, Wilfred, Lydia and Richard. A son by the former marriage died in infancy. Politically, he is Independent. His hobby is outdoor recreation. [Marshfield News Herald (Marshfield, Wood County, Wis.) 1 July 1930; transcribed by Marla Zwakman] Mrs. James Callanan Martha Coonley, early Iowa reformer and editor, was born near Albany, N. Y., May 18, 1863. She received an education such as the common schools of that period provided. In 1846 she was married to James Callanan, a lawyer by profession, but who was interested in many financial institutions in Des Moines. He was President of the Capital City Bank, a director in the Citizen’s National Bank, the State Savings’ Bank, and in the Iowa Loan and Trust Co., was one of the founders of the Hawkeye Insurance Co., and part owner of the Des Moines and Minneapolis Railroad. Possessed of great wealth and with a mind which saw the needs of those less fortunate than herself, and with a heart which prompted her to aid in all sorts of philanthropical and educational measures, she became one of the great philanthropists and reformers of Iowa. She was prominent in the work of the W. C. T. U., in both the state and national work, a liberal contributor to the Benedict Home for friendless girls, was one of the founders of the Home for the aged, was a supporter of the Methodist church in all of its lines of work, particularly in the cause of missions. She aided many struggling colleges and helped in the education of many boys and girls who, without her aid, would have missed the privilege of a higher education. In 1870 she helped to organize the Equal Suffrage Association of Iowa, at a convention called at Des Moines for that purpose. She gave liberal financial aid to the association and edited and published the Woman’s Standard, which advocated equal suffrage, temperance and other reform movements. She died Aug. 16, 1901. [The Blue book of Iowa Women, by Winona Evans Reeves, Publ. 1914, Transcribed by Dana Kraft] Dr. Carrie Butler Collier Prominent among the professional women of Iowa is Dr. Carrie Butler Collier, an unusually successful practitioner, secretary of the Iowa Osteopathic Association, a member of the American Osteopathic Asso., and one of the Board of Managers of the Still College of Osteopathy of Des Moines, she has had a wide professional experience. Her parents, Jacob and Martha Simonton Butler, came to Iowa in 1855. She was born in Clarinda, Dec. 29, 1862. Was educated in the high schools, receiving her doctor's degree at the Dr. S. S. Still College of Osteopathy in Des Moines. She was married to Dr. C. H. Collier, Sept. 10, 1884, and together they practice their profession. She is a woman who notwithstanding her busy life has found time to aid in many social reforms and to take an active part in the M. E. church, in the Sunday school and in the Missionary society of which she has been president for several years. She has delivered many addresses in the interests of missions, one in particular on “The Obligation of Christian Women,” was published in booklet form. She is a member of the P. E. O. sisterhood, the Shakespeare Club, the City Federation of Women's Clubs, the Beta Delta Omega Sorority and other local clubs. Her parents were pioneers in Southwestern Iowa and helped to build up that part of the state. Dr. Collier’s great-great-grandfather, John Simonton, was a Lieutenant in Capt. James Fisher's Co., First Battalion, in Cumberland Co., Penn., during the Revolution. Her great-great-grandfather on her father's side was a member of the convention which adopted the Federal constitution. She is a worthy descendant of a long line of ancestors and kinsmen who have excelled in the professions. [The Blue book of Iowa Women, by Winona Evans Reeves, Publ. 1914, Transcribed by Dana Kraft] Byron B. Cooper The subject of this brief review who is one of the successful and progressive ranchers and cattle men of Routt county, was born at Des Moines, Iowa, on April 14, 1857, and is the son of Peter and Amanda Cooper, the former a native of Delaware and the latter of Ohio. They lived for awhile in Indiana, then moved to Iowa when it was still a territory. Here the father was engaged in running a stage line for a time and afterward devoted his attention to farming. He was a member of the Masonic order and belonged to the Democratic party. He died in 158, leaving two children to be reared and supported by his widow. The children are Eugene E. and Byron B. At the time of his father’s death the latter was but one year old. The circumstances of the family and the struggle of the mother in rearing her young family made it impossible for the son to receive educational advantages of any magnitude or duration. When he was twelve years old he began to work in his mother’s interest, and he is still doing so. He left Iowa in 1880 and came to Leadville, this state, where he prospected without success until the fall of 1885. He then moved to the Bear river country, in Routt county, and took up a homestead which is part of his present ranch. To this he has added forty acres by purchase and now has two hundred acres. In connection with working this he farms his mother’s ranch of one hundred and sixty acres, which adjoins his. They have one hundred acres under cultivation and use the rest for grazing purposes, carrying on an extensive cattle business. Mr. Cooper is very enterprising and progressive, and manages his affairs with vigor and close attention, seeking by all means that are proper to secure the best returns for his labor. To the affairs of the community in which he welfare of its citizens is involved he gives the same energetic and broad-minded attention. He is a Democrat in politics and for four years served as deputy under Sheriff Dug Lee. On September 25, 1902, he was united in marriage with Miss Ossa L. Haughey, who was born in Iowa. They have one child, Maud R. [Progressive Men of Western Colorado, Publ 1905. Transcribed by Kim Mohler] Mary D. Couch The perfecting of the organization of the first high school in Oklahoma City was the work of Mary D. Couch, whose work as an educator makes her name worthy of permanent remembrance in the history of the city and county's schools. Mrs. Couch came to Oklahoma City and undertook the practical work of establishing a high school in 1892. During the following eight years she was connected with the city schools as ward principal and teacher of eighth grade work. In 1901 she was elected superintendent of public instruction for Oklahoma County under the territorial organization, and was re-elected in 1903. She retired from the position for two years, and with the advent of statehood government was again elected to the office. In every case she has been a popular and logical choice for the office, the result of her zeal and sound judgment in the conduct of an office which is so closely connected with the public welfare. Education as a career was her ambition and choice early in life, and she has attained a worthy position in this field. Mrs. Couch was born at Des Moines, Iowa, October 26, 1870, daughter of George W. and Emily H. (Butler) Dunn. Her father was a farmer, having resided formerly at Galesburg, Illinois, and later at Arkansas City, Kansas. In the latter place the daughter received her education in the public schools, and has perfected herself for teaching by various normal courses and a live interest in the work from the time she taught her first school to the present. From 1889 to 1892 she was a teacher in the schools of Labette and Cowley counties, Kansas. Having spent some of her early years on the southern Kansas border, she was familiar with all the movements and events of the Oklahoma boomer days, and three years after the opening of the territory she became a resident and an organizer in educational affairs. In 1892 she was married to John M. Couch, brother of Captain Couch the noted successor of Payne in command of the boomers. There is one daughter, Mary Emily. [Submitted by Dale Donlon] Mrs. Catharine Beattie Cox Mrs. Catharine Beattie Cox is one of the few real daughters of the American Revolution, living in Iowa. Her home is in Des Moines and she is a member of Abigail Adams chapter. Her father, Andrew Beattie, was born in Cumberland county, Pa. He was a mere lad when he enlisted, Nov. 1, 1780, in the Cumberland Co. Militia, under the command of Capt. Matthews. Records were not kept very accurately, but the family believes he became captain of a company, for he was known as Capt. Beattie. At the close of the war he married Judith Carter, a member of the family of Carters of Virginia, whose founder, John Carter, came from England in 1635, in the ship America. Mrs. Cox’s ancestor, Robert Carter, was born in 1660, and was president of the King’s Council in Virginia. His wife, Sarah Judith, was the daughter of Sir Thomas Ludlow, who was related to the royal house of England. From this Sarah Judith, Mrs. Cox’s mother was named. Andrew and Judith Carter Beattie immediately after their marriage set out on horseback for their new home in Kentucky. There being no roads they followed a blazed trail, encountered both Indians and wild animals on the journey. At the end of eight years residence in Kentucky they moved to Highland county, Ohio, on a farm of three hundred acres. Prosperity came to them, and a very comfortable log house was built, and eight daughters were born to them. Six weeks before the ninth daughter, Catharine, was born, the father died. Had the mother been born of less sturdy stock she would have given up in despair, but American pioneer women were the sort who endured and triumphed over hardships and difficulties. She rented a part of her land, reared and educated her daughters as well as the times permitted. One of the older daughters married and moved to Cincinnati, and here Catharine went to receive her education. In 1846 she was married to Dr. Henry Cox, a descendant of Gen. James Cox of the Revolution. Their first home was at Danville, Ind. Here they became leaders in church and educational work. Dr. Cox endowed the Methodist Academy there. At the outbreak of the Civil War, Danville was a hot-bed of secessionists, and the Cox home was a place of refuge for unionists, and their attic was used as an arsenal. Dr. Cox was not eligible to enlistment, but was allowed to go to the front as an army surgeon. He was with Sherman during his march to the sea. He refused pay for his service, saying he was glad to give that aid to the union army. In 1865, Dr. and Mrs. Cox moved to Des Moines, making part of the journey by stage coach. Through all the intervening years Mrs. Cox has been one of the most prominent women in Des Moines. In her childhood, Gov. Trumbell, the first governor of Ohio, had been a family friend. His daughter, Mrs. Thompson, had founded the W. C. T. U., because of this fact, as well as of her interest in temperance, she became a leader in the W. C. T. U. work, and had for a personal friend. Miss Francis E. Willard. Nearly thirty-five years ago she founded the Home for Friendless Children, which is still a splendid institution. She has been prominent in all branches of the M. E. Church. She is the author of many poems and verses of literary merit. She is the mother of five children. For a number of years she has made her home with her daughter, Mrs. W. P. Mitchell, of Des Moines. [The Blue book of Iowa Women, by Winona Evans Reeves, Publ. 1914, Transcribed by Dana Kraft] Miss Flora Dunlap “Let me live in a house by the side of a road, A wish to help, was the object which prompted the establishment of the Roadside Settlement House in Des Moines, than which there is no more helpful institution in all the state. For the past ten years Miss Flora Dunlap has been head resident and in that time the settlement has grown from a small struggling organization to one of the most prominent and best equipped in the State. The Roadside Settlement House was opened in September, 1896, under the auspices of the Des Moines Union of Kings Daughters. Later the management was vested in a settlement association with a Board of Directors composed of men and women prominent in business, social and professional life in Des Moines. In 1905 the present house was erected in an industrial neighborhood known as the Southeast Bottoms. The building contains an equipment for public baths, a public wash house, a gymnasium, assembly hall, library, day nursery, cooking and manual training rooms, club rooms and rooms for resident workers. In 1913 a cottage next door to the main building was fitted up as a model cottage, the furnishings being simple and of the kind any young people in the neighborhood might purchase in the establishment of a home. In this cottage lessons in housekeeping and housewifely arts are taught. The settlement is entirely non-sectarian and is open seven days in the week. It is a social and civic center and the best proof of its usefulness is the number of people of all ages who go in and out of its doors every day. Young people find here wholesome recreation and instruction. The people helped are for the greater part, hard working people, earning small wages, trying to raise their families decently and honestly. There are no parks in this neighborhood or recreation grounds of any sort. Very few have much money to spend for pleasure and that is why this building means so much to them. Here they come for books, for amusements, for employment and above all for fellowship and sympathy without which life were a dreary place indeed. In a large measure the genius which makes this work effective is the head resident, Miss Flora Dunlap, who did volunteer work in Kingsley House, Pittsburg, Goodrich House, Cleveland, and at Hull House, before taking charge of this settlement. Besides this work she is vice-president of the Des Moines School Board, the first woman elected to that body. She is president of the Iowa Equal Suffrage Association and has done much to carry forward the dignified campaign in this State for equal suffrage. She represents Iowa on the Board of the National Suffrage Association. She is a member of the National Child Labor Committee, the National Trade Woman’s League, and of the National Settlement Association. She is a woman of a great heart and a keen mind - a combination which always accomplishes great things. [The Blue book of Iowa Women, by Winona Evans Reeves, Publ. 1914, Transcribed by Sally Masteller] Mrs. I. M. Earle Mrs. Teda Morgan Earle, of Des Moines is the daughter of Elija Dodson Morgan, and Kirilla Ann Dorsa Wilhite, who came to Pella, Iowa, April 1, 1854, being the early settlers of that very interesting Holland colony. Beside the daughter, there were four sons in the family: John S. Morgan, who served through the Civil War and was promoted from the ranks to the office of First Lieutenant for the conspicuous gallantry in the field. After his return from the war he practiced law for several years, but died as a result of exposure while in the service. The other three sons were practicing physicians, --- Dr. Horace Wilbur Morgan, and Dr. Curtis Chapman Morgan, both of whom died a few years ago, and Dr. Benjamin Franklin Morgan, who practices his profession in Clay Center, Kansas. Mrs. Earle was educated at Central University at Pella, Iowa. In 1876, she was married to Ira Marshall Earle, of Des Moines, general counsel for the Bankers’ Life Association, and its vice president. Mrs. Earle is a member of the Christian Science Church, Des Moines Woman’s Club the Votes for Women League. In 1910 she published a charming book of verses, --- Jack Frost Jingles under the nom de plume of Earlaine Morgan. Other poems and verses have been published in the Mid Western, and other magazines. Her verses have all been well received. While she does not write as much as she did a few years ago, occasional verses still appear in magazines and periodicals. She has a fine appreciation of literature, music, and all of the refining things of life. She is a woman of poise, of remarkably sweet spirit, and optimistic in every view of life. [The Blue book of Iowa Women, by Winona Evans Reeves, Publ. 1914, Transcribed by Brenda Shaffer] Miss Lottie E. Granger Miss Lottie E. Granger, teacher, school officer and literary contributor, was born near Granville, Ohio. Her father, Sylvester Spellman Granger, was of English-Connecticut descent, dating back to Battle Abbey, 1087. Her mother, Elizabeth Walruth’s ancestors, were German, and settled in the middle of the 18th century in northwestern New York. Sylvester Granger inherited great riches, and a large estate, but was unfortunate in losing it. Miss Granger was educated in the public schools of Ohio and at Shepardson, the Woman’s College of Denison University of Granville, A. B., 1880; A. M., 1895. She studied two years at the Des Moines College, then affiliated with Chicago University. She took a two years course at the Bible Teachers’ Training School, New York. In 1886 she was elected superintendent of the schools of Page county, which position she held for three terms, refusing to be a candidate for a fourth term. In 1888 she was unanimously elected president of the Iowa State Teachers’ Association, the second woman in Iowa to be given that honor. She served on the board of managers of the Iowa State Teachers’ Reading Circle from the date of its organization. For six years she edited a magazine, “The Page County Teacher.” She was president of the W. C. T. U. of the eighth congressional district, and was offered the presidency of the State W. C. T. U. upon the resignation of J. Ellen Foster, but because of other duties, could not accept it. For eleven years she was a teacher of English in the high schools of Des Moines. For several years she was Associate Principal and Dean of Stanley Hall, Minneapolis, in connection with which duties she also taught English and English Literature. Of far reaching importance has been Miss Granger’s work as a volunteer teacher of the English Bible. She has had large classes in the First Baptist church of Des Moines, of which she is a member, and in the Y, W. C. A. She is chairman of the library committee of the Y. W. C. A., and editor of “Inklings,” the local association paper. She is the author of short stories, poems, and has written editorials for various publications. In collaboration with Mrs. Edwin Henshaw, she prepared for the publishers, the manuscript of “The Passing of the Word,” left in the first draft at the death of its author, Helen Henshaw. During her work as County Superintendent she formed a rarely beautiful friendship with Mrs. Henshaw, then of Clarinda, now of Des Moines. “A Woman of the Century,” says: “The name of Miss Granger and Mrs. Henshaw are almost synonomous in Page county,” For twenty-seven years this bond of friendship has held true, earnest of continuing true to the end. Miss Granger's permanent home has been with Mrs. Henshaw all these years. Miss Granger is a member of the Woman’s Club, the Robert Browning Club, Votes for Women League, Political Equality Club, all of Des Moines, and is active in every cause of welfare for which she can find time. She is a good club member, leader of program and committee member, and when she takes the floor is an impressive, forceful speaker. She has traveled much in this country, but has reserved the pleasure of foreign travel for days yet to come. She has given the fruitage of active years to the uplifting of many young people in Iowa, and still has so much reserve force that it is easy to believe that her best has not yet been given. [The Blue book of Iowa Women, by Winona Evans Reeves, Publ. 1914, Transcribed by Dana Kraft] Mrs. William Oglesby Griffith Helen Sherman Griffith (Mrs. William Oglesby Griffith) is the youngest daughter of the late Major Hoyt Sherman, of Des Moines, Iowa, and a niece of General William T. Sherman. Her father came to Iowa in 1848, and was a prominent lawyer, banker, and financier of Des Moines. During the Civil War, by appointment of President Lincoln, he was pay-master, with the rank of Major. Hoyt Sherman Place, the woman’s club house, was their old home. Mrs. Griffith had the habit of scribbling from her littlest girlhood, and occasionally was made blissful by having stories and sketches published in local papers and magazines. At the age of fourteen, when living with her married sister in Cincinnati, Ohio, she won a prize of $50.00 for the best short story submitted by girls of that age, or younger, in the state of Ohio. Miss Sherman was married in 1896 to William Oglesby Griffith, an Englishman on his father’s side, but on his mother's side, a grandson of General Oglesby, of New Orleans. After a year abroad, Mr. and Mrs. Griffith returned to the United States and settled in Washington, moving later to Philadelphia, and it is since then that Mrs. Griffith has done most of her literary work, which consists principally of twenty-four plays for amateur performance, eight books for girls—six. of them in a series known as the “Letty Books” two novels and many short stories appearing at different times in various magazines. Of these, one was a prize story, “Some Crimes and a Thief.” Mr. and Mrs. Griffith, with their four children, live at Chestnut Hill, a suburb of Philadelphia, where Mrs. Griffith continues her literary work, being at present engaged upon the seventh of her “Letty Series.” [The Blue book of Iowa Women, by Winona Evans Reeves, Publ. 1914, Transcribed by Dana Kraft] Mrs. Julia Chapin Grinnell Mrs. Julia Chapin Grinnell (Mrs. J. B. Grinnell) was born in Springfield, Mass., Nov. 2, 1827, and died in Grinnell, Iowa, Dec. 11, 1907. Mrs. Grinnell traced her descent from Deacon Samuel Chapin, the founder of Springfield, Mass., whose statue now stands in the public square of that city. Her grandfather was Judah Chapin, who enlisted in the Revolutionary War, December 25, 1776. Her father was Deacon Chauncey Chapin of the historical First Church of Springfield. The mother of Mrs. Grinnell, Nancy Jones Lombard, numbered among her ancestors Reverend John Eliot, the Apostle to the Indians, and others holding positions of honor and trust in Colonial history; among these were Governor Thomas Dudley of Massachusetts Bay Colony, Governor Thomas Wells of Connecticut, Governor William Leete of Connecticut and New Haven Colonies, and Governor William Brenton of Rhode Island. Mrs. Grinnell was a student at Mount Holyoke in the days of Mary Lyon. February 5, 1852, at Springfield, Mass., she was married to Rev. Josiah Bushnell Grinnell, then a Congregational minister in New York City, of Mayflower ancestry and a native of New Haven, Vermont. Four children were born to them, a daughter and a son died in infancy. Two daughters are living: Mrs. Mary Grinnell Mears, the wife of Rev. David O. Mears, D. D. Pastor-Emeritus of the Fourth Presbyterian church, Albany, N. Y., and Mrs. Carrie Grinnell Jones, wife of Professor Richard Jones, Ph. D. of Tufts College, Massachusetts. In 1854 Mr. Grinnell, with three others, founded the town of Grinnell, Iowa, which was named in his honor and became his home thereafter, until his death, Mch. 31, 1892. This little prairie hamlet, a typical New England 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 Grinnell W. C. T. U.; a charter member of the Congregational church; an officer in the Ladies’ Education Society, etc. For many years she edited monthly a Foreign Missionary Column in “Congregational Iowa” and served on the executive committee of the Woman’s Board of Missions of the Interior. She was a graduate 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 portraits 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 deserving 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.” [The Blue book of Iowa Women, by Winona Evans Reeves, Publ. 1914, Transcribed by Dana Kraft] Mrs. Nora Babbitt Harsh Mrs. Nora Babbitt Harsh was born in Ypsilanti, Mich., the daughter of Judge J. Willard Babbitt, who has in his line of ancestry two presidents of Harvard College. Her mother, Florence S. Babbitt, has a national reputation as a collector of antiques. The legislature of Michigan recently made an appropriation for glass cases to contain her collection of twenty-five hundred pieces of antique china at Lansing. She has collections in Kent Museum, Grand Rapids, at Detroit and in the State Normal College at Ypsilanti. Dr. Gunsaulus purchased in 1914, her collection of thirty cover lids, probably the largest single collection in the United States, for the Chicago Art Museum. Mrs. Harsh received her musical education at the Michigan State Normal Conservatory and in the Ann Arbor University School of Music. She later took lessons in voice with teachers in New York and Boston. She has taught voice in a number of cities and came to Iowa in 1899, and opened a conservatory in Creston, which was very successful. She was married Sept. 2, 1903, to F. D. Harsh. They have one daughter, Nancy Babbitt Harsh, born in Des Moines. July 2, 1904. Mrs. Harsh is interested in all the musical organizations of Des Moines, which city is her home. She has for a number of years been chairman of the musical department of the Woman’s Club, president of the Woman's Club Chorus, which is limited to forty voices and includes the principal soloists and semi professional singers of the city. She inaugurated in 1913 a series of Sunday afternoon concerts. The principal singers of the city appeared on the program, which were of the highest merit. It attracted very wide attention and letters were received from musical people all over the United States regarding the management of such a course. To make it a success The Des Moines Musical Association was organized with Mrs. Harsh as president. Every interest is represented in the association; on its board is the Governor of the State, the Mayor of the city, prominent business men, ministers, and musicians. The concerts have been a wonderful agent to educate the general public musically. She is very anxious that Des Moines shall have a permanent orchestra and has bent every effort to bring it about. Mrs. Harsh has written for many periodicals; she is the Des Moines critic for the Chicago Musical Leader, and is Iowa Editor of The Clef. She is a member of the Newspaper Women’s Club. Her daughter Nancy is named for her great-grand mother, Nancy Harsh, who was born in 1810, and who lived to be 103 years old. She was a resident of Creston and a wonderful woman. She was a handsome old lady, charming in her manner, with every faculty keen to the time of her death which was occasioned by a fall. In 1910 when she was one hundred years old, a reception was given in her honor at the home of her son, Hon. J. B. Harsh, to which all the residents of Union county were invited. Hundreds of people called that day to pay her honor. When she was a little girl she was one of twelve to strew flowers in the way of Genl. Lafayette on his visit to this country. Her picture hangs in the Iowa Historical Building. [The Blue book of Iowa Women, by Winona Evans Reeves, Publ. 1914, Transcribed by Dana Kraft] Helen Manville Henshaw Helen Manville Henshaw, author and secretary of the Young Women’s Christian Association, the only child of Edwin and Helen Hinman Henshaw, was born April 5, 1876, at Clarinda, Iowa, died at Des Moines, July 11, 1908. Her father and mother are descendants of early New England patriots of English origin dating back in clear line on her father’s side, to the family of Henry VII, and on her mother’s side, to Sir Edward Hinman, an officer in the body guard of Charles I. After preparation at Miss Clarke’s School, Des Moines, and at Stanley Hall, Minneapolis, Miss Henshaw spent four years at Vassar College, receiving her A. B. degree in 1900. The next five years she was at home, dividing her time among social interests, study, and volunteer service in the local Y. W. C. A., and the State Committee of Iowa. So splendidly did she perform these volunteer duties that she was called the most efficient worker of this kind in the United States. In 1905, she became Student Secretary of the Y. W. C. A. for Iowa, and continued so to serve until her death. As secretary she revealed marked adaptability. Her academic training, social charm, beautiful home life, and depth of religious life, combined to make her an unusual secretary. Her executive services and her effectiveness as a public speaker ranked her among leading Y. W. C. A. secretaries. These things, however, were not the measure of her greatness. It was in dealing with the personal problems in religious matters, that the student women of Iowa found Helen Henshaw an evangel. Wholesome, well poised, experienced, she won instinctive trust; sympathy and spontaneous love for young women made her a dear personal friend, a wise counselor. From the thick of the struggle for advancement comes the book with a message. There were in Miss Henshaw’s life and work numbers of vital incidents, striking examples of character development, evidences of the joy and power of applied Christianity. Little wonder that conclusions from such combinations were expressed in book form. From snatches of time she wrote, completing but a few weeks before her last illness her only draft of “The Passing of the Word,” a novel that has done splendid part in meeting some of the questions of modern doubt and in bringing scores to a Christian life. In the summer of 1905, Miss Henshaw, in company with Miss Ruth Paxson, now National Student Secretary of the Y. W. C. A. for China, attended the World’s Student Christian Federation in Zeist, Holland, and afterwards visited extensively in Europe. A rare Christian friendship united these two girls. Upon Helen’s death, Ruth gave sincere expression of a devoted heart in a matchless memorial booklet. Near the close of her work she was tendered the secretaryship of the Vassar College Christian Association in Tokio, Japan, but refused to accept the honor on account of the declining years of her parents. To be from home and her mother, as duty demanded, was grievous hardship, but to return after even the briefest absence was gladness unalloyed. Her generous fund of quaint humor was a well spring of joy in the home. One who never saw Miss Henshaw with her family failed in estimating her character, for here her being yielded its most natural fruitage. The Proteus Club, Des Moines, of which Miss Henshaw was a constituent member, memorialized her by hanging four choice copies of the old masters, on the walls of the Y. W. C. A. building. Her sympathies were with all activities advancing the cause of women. For equal suffrage she always stood firm. Hers was a rare soul, capable, unassuming, cheerful, heroic, adherent to every standard of truth and nobleness. In her passing, thousands of the young women of our land had common grief, but they have also abiding forever the uplifting power of her gracious Christian life. [The Blue book of Iowa Women, by Winona Evans Reeves, Publ. 1914, Transcribed by Sally Masteller] Mrs. F. M. Hubbell One of the most beautiful homes in Des Moines, surrounded by a great lawn, shaded with forest trees, and filled with beautiful things gathered from every country in the world, is presided over by Mrs. F. M. Hubbell. She is a woman of gentle manner, gracious and kind to all who enter the wide portals of her home. She was born near Toledo, Ohio, in 1840, and came to Iowa in 1845 with her parents, Isaac Cooper and Caroline Armstrong Cooper. Her father was a nephew of J. Fennimore Cooper, the novelist. They lived the life of the pioneers, and with strong hearts and great courage did their part toward laying the foundation which made possible our Iowa of today. On March 19, 1863, Mr. and Mrs. F. M. Hubbell were married in Des Moines and began life in a very unpretentious way. In March, 1913, they celebrated their golden wedding anniversary, the pleasure of which occasion was shared by hundreds of friends. In those fifty years through diligence and good business judgment Mr. Hubbel has come to be the richest man in Iowa. They have three children: Frederic Cooper Hubbell, Beulah C. Hubbell, now Countess Wechtmeister of Sweden, and Grover Cooper Hubbell. They have six grand children: Frederic Winson who made Harvard in three years, and James Winson now a Harvard student, both sons of Frederic C. Hubbell. Their daughter who is married to Count Wechtmeister, a diplomat from Sweden, now stationed at Cairo, Egypt, has a son five years old who will take his father's title. The youngest son, Grover Cooper Hubbell, has three little daughters: Frances Cooper, Virginia and Mary Belle. Mrs. Hubbell is an ideal mother and home maker. She has traveled the world over many times, which has only served to strengthen home ties. [The Blue book of Iowa Women, by Winona Evans Reeves, Publ. 1914, Transcribed by Dana Kraft] Harry Burt Jennings The gentleman whose name opens this biography, although young in years, has attained considerable prominence in Carbon county, Wyoming, where he is now serving as county clerk, having been elected in 1901 on the Republican ticket. He was born in 1872 at Rising Sun, Polk county, Iowa, and is a son of James B. and Mary L. (Raybuck) Jennings. James B. Jennings was born in Green county. Pa., in 1840, and served an apprenticeship at blacksmithing, and worked at that trade until the breaking out of the Civil War, when he enlisted in the Fifth Pennsylvania Cavalry, in which he was appointed first sergeant. He served with undisputed bravery and commendable devotion to duty until captured by the enemy and confined in Libby Prison at Richmond, Va., until released in 1863. He was mustered out in 1865 with the rank of brevet-lieutenant, in recognition of valiant conduct on the field. After the close of his war services Mr. Jennings came to Wyoming as quartermaster for the Indians at Bryan's Station, where he remained until 1881; then he went to Rock Springs, Sweetwater county, for a short time and in 1882 came to Rawlins. He is now engaged in active mining operations at Grand Encampment, which he is prosecuting with his usual energy, untiring vigor and satisfactory results. He is a strong Republican in politics, has served his party one term (1895) in the Wyoming legislature and is very popular throughout Carbon county. Mrs. Mary L. (Raybuck) Jennings, the mother of Harry Burt Jennings, was born in Washington county, Pa., in 1840, and is a daughter of John P. and Mary L. (Harmon) Raybuck. She was reared, educated and married in her native state and in early womanhood was a prominent teacher. After coming to Wyoming she served several years as school superintendent for Carbon county when it comprised all the territory extending from Colorado to Montana, and was probably one of the most intellectual women of the far West. Harry Burt Jennings was graduated from the Lincoln Business College in June, 1888, and almost immediately afterwards entered the office of the Union Pacific Railroad at Rawlins as messenger, and from this humble position was promoted regularly to ticket agent, his promotions being earned through attention to duty and personal merit. So satisfactory were his services that he was retained in the employ of the company for ten years, and he left only to enter upon the field of politics and public life, which his growing popularity had made peculiarly alluring and tempting. The first public position held by him was that of doorkeeper of the Wyoming senate. This position he relinquished to become secretary for J. W. Hugus & Co. at Rawlins, which he satisfactorily filled for six years. He next served for two years, to the eminent satisfaction of all concerned, as city clerk of Rawlins and in 1901 he was elected on the Republican ticket county clerk of Carbon county - the position he still so ably fills. H. B. Jennings was most happily united in marriage on June 21, 1894, with Miss Ethel Maxfield, the accomplished daughter of C. W. Maxfield, the present county commissioner of Carbon county. To this felicitations union have been born two children, Richard and Estella. Mr. Jennings has been very fortunate since coming to Carbon county, but this is chiefly owing to his personal merits and close attention to the interests of those by whom he has been employed, and to the able manner in which he has performed the duties pertaining to the various positions he has filled, backed by unswerving integrity. [Source: "Progressive Men of the State of Wyoming", 1901 - Submitted by Janice Rice] Lawrence P. Love The early spirit of personal independence that drove the men employed in the hard mining districts in Scotland to seek a broader and fuller life in the United States continues in a great degree to individualize the sons of Scotia. Isolation, dependence upon their own resources, and the combativeness always developed by being the smaller numerically in great combinations of people have doubtless had much to do in giving to these people their personal characteristics. Wherever they are found, in the army, in the professions, in business or in society, there is a spirit and a manner that tells us whence they came and who their fathers were. Lawrence P. Love, general manager of the Pershing Coal Company of Des Moines, was born January 22, 1874, at Braidwood, Will County, Illinois, and is a a son of Andrew and Marian (Piteaithley) Love, natives of Scotland, who immigrated to the United States in 1869 and settled in the mining regions of Pennsylvania. The entire family had been mining men in Scotland, and Andrew Love found employment in the Pennsylvania coal fields, but in 1873 came to Illinois, and after a short time in Will County went to Grundy County, in the same state, where he became a mine manager. Later he moved on to Wayne County, Iowa, where he was also a mine manager, and subsequently became the owner of a mine in Mahaska County, Iowa. On July 18, 1928, Mr. and Mrs. Love, who had been married for more than sixty-one years, came to Des Moines, where they are now living in comfortable retirement. They are members of the Latter Day Saints, and Mr. Love, who maintains independent views upon political questions, served in the Illinois Legislature on one occasion, having been elected on a Granger ticket. Mr. and Mrs. Love had eight children, of whom six are living, Lawrence P. being the fourth in order of birth. The paternal grandfather of Lawrence P. Love was William Love, a native of Scotland, and superintendent of mines, who was murdered there while carrying a pay-roll. The maternal grandfather, Lawrence Piteaithley, was born in Scotland, and, like his forebears, was a seaman. He assisted in the laying of the first Atlantic cable. Mr. Love's mother was one of twins, and was the recipient of a pound from the Queen Victoria, according to Her Majesty's custom upon such occasions. Mrs. Love was born in Queen's Castle, at Edinburgh, Scotland, and her mother was a MacFarlane. Mr. Love was born at Glasgow, Scotland, and they were married at Ardrie in their native country. Lawrence P. Love received his education in the public schools of Braidwood, Illinois, and Excelsior, Iowa, and in addition studied at night and took night school and correspondence school courses in mining and mine engineering, receiving a grade of 96-1/2. He was first employed by the Excelsior Coal Company, a subsidiary of the Chicago, Milwaukee & Saint Paul Railway Company, and later became mine manager for the Hocking Coal Company in Monroe County, Iowa. He then became superintendent of mines and a mine owner, being the owner of the Love-Carpenter Coal Company for eighteen months. He next became secretary of the Iowa Coal Operators, and was a commissioner thereof for more than twelve years, finally accepting his present position as general manager of the Pershing Coal Company, with offices in the Insurance Exchange Building at Des Moines. He is also a director of this company, whose mines, the largest in the state, are located in Marion County, and produce on an average of 1,200 tons of high-grade coal each day of eight hours. Mr. Love is an attendant of the methodist Episcopal Church. He is a Scottish Rite Mason, and has belonged to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows for thirty years and to the Ancient Order of United Workmen for thirty-three years. Like his father, he maintains an independent stand upon political matters, and on one occasion was nominated for the State Legislature, but refused the honor. In 1905 Mr. Love was united in marriage with Miss Anna Hall, who was born at Coal Valley, Illinois, of English parentage, and received her education in the public schools of Iowa. To this union there have been born four children: Iva, the wife of Cyril L. Kendree, assistant manager of the Phillips Oil Company of Des Moines; Victoria, the wife of Joseph Vandresser, of Prairie City, Iowa, general manager of the Dowden Potato Digger Company; Dorothy, the wife of Stanley Wells, of Boone, Iowa, with the General Foods Company; and Raymond, a law student at Drake University, who works part time for the Shell Oil Company. [Source: A Narrative History of The People of Iowa, 1931] Mrs. J. K. Macomber Mrs. J. K. Macomber, of Des Moines, by profession a travel conductor, was born in New York. Her maiden name was Mattie Locke; she came in infancy with her parents to Davenport, where her father helped to build the first bridge across the Mississippi river. At the age of fifteen she entered the Iowa State College at Ames; graduating from there she entered Ann Arbor, upon completing the course there she taught a year at Cornell College. She went to Germany to continue her studies, and then to France, specializing in languages. Upon her return to America she was offered a position as teacher of French in Vassar College, but declined the position, and was married to J. K. Macomber, science professor at Iowa State College, who later became a lawyer and practiced his profession in Des Moines until his death. They have seven children: Kingsley Macomber, living in California; Elsie, now Mrs. Louis Lower of Chicago; Kate, now Mrs. Charles Clarke, of Adel, whose husband is a son of Gov. Clarke; Locke Macomber, of Des Moines; Sumner Macomber, living in Mexico; Arabella, now Mrs. Fred Thompson, and Miss Bertha, who is still in school. Mrs. Macomber has for many years taken parties to Europe, to the Orient and to Mexico. She enjoys the journeys herself, is never blase, but gains each year herself a new fund of pleasure and information in studying the changed social conditions in the lands visited from year to year. She is a good business woman, and an accomplished linguist, two essentials in her profession. She has an unusual collection of old china and brasses. She is a member of the P. E. O. sisterhood and is one of the very well known women of this state. [The Blue book of Iowa Women, by Winona Evans Reeves, Publ. 1914, Transcribed by Dana Kraft] Mrs. Walter McHenry Louisa Caroline Cummins McHenry was born in Greene county, Pa., Oct. 25, 1865, the daughter of Thomas Layton Cummins and Sarah Baird Flanniken. She is the sister of U. S. Senator A. B. Cummins and J. B. Cummins of Des Moines. Her great grandfather was Judge Flanniken, a signer of the Mechlenburg Declaration, and a soldier in the war of the Revolution under Francis Marion. She was educated in the Green Academy, Carmichaels, Pa. On June 15, 1857, she was married to Walter McHenry, a prominent attorney of Des Moines, which city is her home. They have two children—Mary McHenry Williams and Harrison Cummins McHenry. In religious faith she is a Presbyterian. She is a member of the Outlook Circle, of the Des Moines Woman’s Club, and of the P. E. O. sisterhood. She has served chapter Q of Des Moines, which is the largest chapter in the sisterhood, as its president. She has been state cor. sec’y. for three terms, 1909-12; vice-president, 1912-13; president, 1913-14. She is a thoughtful, painstaking woman, conscientious in all she does, and possesses a good mind, reasoning out questions logically. A. B. Cummins, who was governor of Iowa for seven years, and who is serving his third term as U. S. Senator, is her oldest brother. He is a national figure, one of the best known men of this country. Before entering politics he was recognized as one of the foremost lawyers of the state. At the age of nineteen he became self supporting, working his own way through Waynesburg College. He came to Iowa in 1869, in 1877 he came to Des Moines where he practiced law successfully until 1899. [The Blue book of Iowa Women, by Winona Evans Reeves, Publ. 1914, Transcribed by Dana Kraft] R. Minter R. Minter is a native of Illinois, born in Brown County of that state, September 22, 1849. He is a son of Richard W and Mary A (Doye) Minter; was married January 06, 1881, to Miss Dosha Bradshaw, daughter of Lewis and Fannie Bradshaw, near Newark, Missouri. They have two children: Fannie Lou, born August 05, 1884; Roberta, February 15, 1888. Fannie Lou is the wife of Dr. F.O. Norton, Dean of Liberal Arts College, Drake University, Des Moines, Iowa. Mr. Minter and family moved to Kirksville, Missouri, November 19, 1905. Roberta is a teacher in Kirksville Public Schools. Richard W Minter, father of the subject of this sketch, was a Virginian, born in Henry County of that state in 1822. In his westward sojourning he tarried for a brief time in Mississippi, Tennessee, finally purchasing a home near the old town of Ripley, Brown County, Illinois, from which place he moved to Knox County, Missouri, in 1854, purchasing a new home near the present village of *Lucust Hill. Owing to extreme disturbances and local complications during the Civil War he left Knox County in 1864, moving to Canada, where he died September 08, 1866. Six years later Mr. Minter returned to Missouri, settling in Lewistown, Lewis County Missouri. Here he taught school, serving four years as County School Commissioner. In 1881, soon after his marriage, he moved to La Balle, Missouri, taking charge of the public schools as principal, later engaging in mercantile pursuits; then forming a partnership in loans, real estate and insurance, with E.A. Dowell, who was later State Senator from Twelfth District. Mr. Minter has been a resident of Kirksville since 1905, and was for several years engaged in newspaper work as editor of The Kirksville Democrat. He is now in real estate, insurance and Notary work, in which business he is active and successful, as a member of the firm of Minter and Winn. [A History of Adair County Missouri" by E.M. Violette (1911), sub. by Desiree Burrell Rodcay] Jess C. Olson Jess C. Olson, well known in business circles from coast to coast as the head of the Jess C. Olson Distributing Company of Salt Lake City, was born in Des Moines, Iowa, June 23, 1880, a son of George and Jennie (Israelson) Olson, the former a native of Denmark, while the latter was born in Sweden. The parents came to America in early life and became acquainted in Iowa, where they were married. The father engaged in the contracting business there until 1892, when he removed to Salt Lake City and here entered mercantile lines. Subsequently he became the district representative of the Anheuser-Busch Brewing Association of St. Louis and won substantial success in that connection. He afterward established business under the firm style of Olson & Son and occupied a prominent position in business circles until failing health caused his retirement. He was also an influential factor in public affairs, although he would never accept public office. In recent years he has made his home at intervals in Los Angeles, California. Both parents are still living and the mother is now in Salt Lake City, where the family home has always been maintained. With the father's retirement the business was turned over to his son, Jess C. Olson, who has continued his interests under the name of the Jess C. Olson Distributing Company, of which he is sole proprietor. He is the only child of his parents and in boyhood pursued a public school education, while later he became a student in the Lincoln Normal University, Lincoln, Nebraska, and there completed the normal course with the class of 1900. He afterward returned to Salt Lake City and entered the railroad office of the Oregon Short Line as a clerk. He continued there for a brief period and subsequently went to St. Louis, Missouri, where he again took up railroad work in clerical lines, remaining there for a brief period. Once more he became a resident of Salt Lake City and here entered the banking business as bookkeeper with the National Bank of the Republic, occupying that position for a number of years, when he resigned to become cashier with the Armour Packing Company at Salt Lake City. He| occupied the latter position for four years and at the end of that time was induced to accept a position in the office of the city treasurer but when a year had passed resigned to become associated with his father in the distribution of the Anheuser-Busch products through this district. He remained in business with his father until the latter retired and has since been most successful in carrying on business on his own account. Since the prohibition amendment has gone into effect he has devoted his efforts to the sale of non-intoxicating beverages and is sole agent in Salt Lake county for Becker's "Becco," a substitute for malt liquor, and the "Bevo" manufactured by the Anheuser-Busch Association, together with soft drinks such as grape juice and similar beverages. Mr. Olson states that his business has increased more than three times what it was when intoxicating liquors were sold and he is now at the head of one of the most successful commercial enterprises in his section, employing from seven to ten people in the warehouse alone and in handling the output. He has erected a modern warehouse and office at No. 553 West Fourth South street, which occupies a lot three hundred and thirty by one hundred and fifty feet, with trackage directly onto the platform of the warehouse where goods are received and shipped in carload lots. In Salt Lake City, on the 23d of December, 1916, Mr. Olson was married to Miss Willmina E. Delzell, a daughter of Will and Mina Delzell, residents of Denver and afterward of Salt Lake City. Mrs. Olson's name was formed of a combination of the names of her father and mother. On their wedding trip Mr. Olson took his bride to Honolulu where he spent several months before returning to the beautiful residence in Salt Lake City which he had provided for the homecoming. He belongs to the Commercial Club of Salt Lake City, also to the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, the Fraternal Order of Eagles and the Loyal Order of Moose. In politics he maintains an independent course. He is one of the most popular and prominent of the younger business men of Salt Lake City and his success is the direct outcome of his own labors, for he has never received assistance from anyone and through progressive measures has reached the place which he now occupies. [Source: Utah since Statehood: Historical and Biographical Volume 2; By Noble Warrum; Publ. 1919; Transcribed and submitted by Andrea Stawski Pack.] Mrs. Julia Ellen Rogers Although not a native of this state, yet a woman whom Iowa claims because of her long residence within its borders is Julia Ellen Rogers, author and lecturer. She was born in La Salle county, Illinois, Jan. 21, 1866. Her parents, Daniel Farrend and Ruth Dodd Lewellyn, lived on a farm and it was here that as a child she lived near to nature and learned to love and understand nature in her varied seasons and moods. In 1892 she was graduated from the State University of Iowa with the degree Ph. B. In 1892 she received the degree of M. S. in agriculture, in the College of Agriculture in Cornell University, New York. For many years she taught in the public schools and academies of Iowa. She was head of the Department of Biology in the East High School, Des Moines, and taught also in the Cedar Rapids High School. She taught nature science in many summer schools in different parts of the state. She has lectured in many cities on various phases of nature study, on civic improvement, the beautifying of cities by trees and parks and kindred subjects. She is the editor of the Nature Club department in Country Life in America and has done much to encourage her readers to love the out of doors and to conserve the beauty spots of our country. She is the author of a number of books, among them “The Shell Book,” “Among Green Trees,” “Earth and Sky,” “Trees Every Child Should Know.” She is a devoted member of the Presbyterian church and is a sorority woman, being a member of Pi Beta Phi and Phi Beta Kappa. She has a residence in New York at 2338 Loring Place. [The Blue book of Iowa Women, by Winona Evans Reeves, Publ. 1914, Transcribed by Renee Capitanio] Mrs. E. E. Sherman Josephine Ballow, born Dec. 22, 1864, in Blandinsville, Ill., daughter of Hiram Ballow and Fannie Chamberlin. The Ballow family is of Norman-French descent, and the Ballow Geneology contains many men and women of history, among them, Eliza Ballow Garfield, Hosea Ballow, and Guinebond Ballow, who fought at Hastinges, (1066) a marshal in the army of William the conqueror. Mrs. Sherman was educated in the Illinois Normal School and was a successful teacher for eight years. Was married to Dr. Elmer Emmett Sherman, Sept. 2, 1886, who is a successful physician of Keosauqua. For many years she has been a newspaper correspondent and has written many feature articles, as well as short stories, which have appeared in magazines. As the county representative of rural club work of the extension department of Iowa State College, she has delivered many lectures and conducted study classes. She is a charter member of the Woman’s Improvement Association, which has done much civic work. She is county secretary of the Christian Women’s Board of Missions. She is a member of O. E. S. She conducted the first Babies’ Health Contest held at a Chautauqua, in Farmington, in 1912. She was assistant superintendent of the second contest at the Iowa State Fair in 1912. She is the mother of five children, one of whom died in infancy: Evaline Sherman is a registered nurse in Des Moines; Dorcey E., a secretary for the Secretary of State, Des Moines; Esther, a milliner; Ruth, a school girl at home. Mrs. Sherman is an ideal doctor’s wife, a devoted mother, one who discharges her social obligations and withal finds time for study and much work outside her home. [The Blue book of Iowa Women, by Winona Evans Reeves, Publ. 1914, Transcribed by Sally Masteller] Mrs. Annice Baldwin Tracy Mrs. Annice Baldwin Tracy, is the woman to whom credit is due, for the establishment of the first hospital in Des Moines, and one of the first in the state of Iowa. Her father, Capt. James W, Davis, was a manufacturer of pig iron in Portsmouth, In 1861, on the outbreak of the Civil War, every man in his employ, several hundred in all, enlisted in 'the army. He closed his business and in November, 1861, came to Des Moines with his family, including Mrs. Tracy and her two children, her husband having died in 1854. Mrs. Tracy was a graduate of Steubenville Female Seminary, and a woman of marked ability. In 1863 her children died of diphtheria; this sorrow opened her heart to see the sorrow of others, and she gave much of her time to the relief of unfortunate people For years Des Moines had felt the need of a hospital, and in 1876 Mrs. Tracy called a meeting of a number of women of the Episcopal Church. As a result of this meeting, Cottage Hospital was opened, with Mrs. Tracey in charge of it. Generous contributions were made by the citizens and a five room house at 929 Seventh street was bought for $1,000. On May 27, 1877, a terrific storm swept away a bridge near Des Moines, causing the wreck of a passenger train, to which was attached one of P. T. Barnum’s show cars. The injured were taken to Cottage Hospital, among them a number of Barnum’s employes. So grateful was he for the care given them that he gave several thousand dollars to the hospital. A $10,000 hospital was then erected, which was used until it was supplanted by the Mercy and the Methodist hospital. Later she established the “Tracy Home,” a private hospital. She died Aug. 24, 1899. [The Blue book of Iowa Women, by Winona Evans Reeves, Publ. 1914, Transcribed by Dana Kraft] Mrs. Libbie Miller Travers Libbie Miller Travers was born Dec. 17, 1865, near Edina, Mo., the daughter of John Miller and Anne Bryson. She is a graduate of North Missouri State Normal school, B. S. She is a member of the Pi Beta Phi Sorority, being now a member of the alumni chapter at Des Moines. She has had seven consecutive years of reading in the Chautauqua course. She taught for several years in the Southern Iowa Normal school, at Bloomfield, and also in the Missouri Normal school at Kirksville. On Dec. 25, 1890, she was married at Kirksville to Frank C. Travers. She is a member of the Christian church and has been a prominent worker on the state board of the Christian Woman’s Board of Missions for a number of years. She is also state superintendent of Young People’s Work of the Christian Church. She has been sent by the State Board to many conventions and other special occasions to give addresses on the “United Mission Studies,” which she has been conducting for several years. She is the author of “The Honor of a Lee,” a book published in 1910, which has been favorably criticized and widely read. She is a member of the Robert Browning Club, the Aloha Club, and to P. E. O., in Des Moines, which city is her home. Her mother is descended from distinguished ancestry, the Stewarts, who trace a direct line to the Stewarts of England. Mrs. Travers has had some journalistic experience in contributing to magazines and periodicals, particularly to women’s magazines, and is best known through her literary work and in the state work in various departments of the Christian church. [The Blue book of Iowa Women, by Winona Evans Reeves, Publ. 1914, Transcribed by Brenda Shaffer] Milton G. Wylie WYLIE, Milton G., merchant; born, Brown Co., Minn., Mar. 25, 1867; son of John and Belle (Hogle) Wylie; educated in district schools of Polk Co., IA.; married at Clarkson, Mich., 1890, Millie M. Wolfe. Engaged in farming in Polk Co., IA., until 1886; then in lumber woods of Northern Michigan until 1888; was connected with Stanton, Sampson & Co., and later with Daniels & Ives, and Monroe, Rosenfield & Co.; associated with others and in spring of 1906 bought stock of latter firm, and has since been president of The Moore-Wylie Co., furnishing goods. Director Marvel Waist Co. Prohibitionist. Baptist. Office: 180 Jefferson Av. Residence: 24 Prentis Av. [The Book of Detroiters. Edited by Albert Nelson Marquis, 1908, submitted by Christine Walters]
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