H. P. Calonkey

It has been again and again proven that energy is the key which unlocks the portals of success and this finds verification once more in the life record of H. P. Calonkey, one of the most energetic and progressive business men of Dallas county, conducting at Woodward the largest butter factory in this part of the state. He was born near Galena, in Jo Daviess county, Illinois, on the 1st of January, 1848. His father, C. N. Calonkey, was a native of France and when ten years of age came to America with his parents, who settled first near East St. Louis, where they continued to reside for several years. They then went to Jo Daviess county, Illinois, where C. N. Calonkey was married to Miss Julia Bonnitel, also a native of France. He then followed farming in Illinois for several years, after which he brought his family to Iowa, settling in Boone county, where he engaged in carpentering for some time. He is now living retired in the city of Boone and is in his eighty-fifth year. His wife, however, died in Illinois during the early youth of the subject of this review.

H. P. Calonkey was reared upon his father's farms in Jo Daviess county, Illinois, and in Boone county, Iowa, and early became familiar with all the duties and labors that fall to the lot of the agriculturist. His education was acquired in the common schools, and he is one of the well informed men of his community, his knowledge being of a broad and practical character. It was in his early manhood that Mr. Calonkey was married, in 1871, to Miss Alice Wade, a native of Michigan and a daughter of Washington Wade, who was a Boone county (Iowa) farmer. His death occurred at his home in Woodward, in 1905. Following his marriage Mr. Calonkey rented land and thus engaged in farming for twenty years, after which he bought a farm of forty acres, upon which he lived for two years. He then traded that property for river land, upon which he lived for ten years and in 1892 he bought sixty-five acres adjoining Woodward. This he improved, putting up a good house and buildings and for several years he was successfully engaged in carrying on general agricultural pursuits there. In 1893 he purchased the creamery business in Woodward and has since conducted it with constantly growing success, until the enterprise is now a large and profitable one. His building was destroyed by fire in 1900, but he quickly replaced it with a modern and up-to-date plant, supplied with the latest machinery, while recently he has added a storeroom and cooler to meet the demands of the increasing business. He also has a large warehouse for ice. The business has constantly grown along substantial lines, owing to his careful management and modern methods, and is now the largest enterprise of this character in this section of the state. In 1901 Mr. Calonkey traded his sixty-five acre farm at Woodward for an eighty-acre tract in Peoples township, Boone county. The same year he built in Woodward a good, two-story, modern dwelling, with bath, electric lights, furnace, and in fact all the modern conveniences known to the city home.

Aside from his agricultural interests he is now a director in the Woodward State Bank and in the Woodward Improvement Company and from his investments derives a gratifying income which supplies him with the comforts that go to make life worth the living.

Mr. and Mrs. Calonkey are the parents of five children: A. B. Calonkey, the eldest, is associated with his father in business, having previously taken a course in dairying in the Ames Agricultural College. He married Carrie Gott, a daughter of F. M. Gott, and they have one child, Byron. Lucy, who for five years was a teacher in the city schools of Boone, Iowa, is now teaching in California. Clyde, who married Dolly Armstrong, is a farmer in Des Moines township. Olive and Josephine are both graduates of the Woodward high school and both are attending college at Ames, Iowa.

In his political views Mr. Calonkey is independent. While in Boone county he served as school director and as township trustee for several years and has been a member of the school board of Woodward. He has likewise served as mayor of Woodward for two years and in these various public duties he has been earnest and painstaking in meeting the requirements of the office. He belongs to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and is a past grand of the lodge at Woodward and in every relation in which he is found he is loyal to his convictions, efficient and trustworthy. In his political service and in fraternal offices he has won and merited high regard, and in his business life has met with a large measure of success.

Benjamin B. Campbell 

In compiling a complete history of Perry it is necessary that mention be made of Benjamin B. Campbell, who built the first house in the town after it was laid out.  Throughout the intervening years he has been a witness of the growth and development of this place but has also contributed to its upbuilding. He is now living retired in the enjoyment of a rest which he has truly earned, having passed the seventy-sixth milestone on life's journey. He was born near Lynchburg, Campbell county, Virginia, September 29, 1831, the county being named in honor of his great grandfather.  The family was founded in America in colonial days and representatives of the name have ever been valued citizens of the various localities in which they have lived.  The parents, Joshua and Mary (Harris) Campbell, were also natives of Campbell county, Virginia, the former born May 7, 1800, and the latter May 21, 1800.  They were married December 2, 1819, and they became the parents of seven sons and four daughters.  Four of the number are yet living: Benjamin B.; Charles, who was born January 26, 1838, and now resides in Des Moines, Iowa; Celia, who was born April 2, 1842, and is the wife of Charles Conway; and Jonas, who was born September 22, 1846, and is living in Williamsburg, Virginia.  In 1837 the father removed with his wife and son Benjamin to Hunterville, Randolph county, Indiana, making the journey in a covered wagon, drawn by horses. He was one of the pioneers of the locality and purchased eighty acres of land, for which he paid one hundred dollars.  There he built a log house, eighteen by twenty-six feet, with a kitchen fourteen by eighteen feet.  This was a very commodious and excellent residence for that period.  It stood in the midst of the wilderness and around it Mr. Campbell cleared the land and developed the fields.  He made his home upon that place until 1868, when he removed to Williamsburg, Indiana, where he spent his remaining days in retirement from labor, departing this life there in 1880, while his wife passed away August 14, 1872.  They were members of the Methodist Episcopal church and Mr. Campbell voted first for the whig and afterward for the republican party.

Benjamin B. Campbell was only six years of age when he accompanied his parents on the long and tedious journey across the country from Virginia to Indiana.  He lived at home until seventeen years of age, experiencing the hardships and privations of pioneer life and then started out to make his own way in the world.   He worked for his brother, John E. Campbell, as a farm hand at six dollars per month.  This was in the summer of 1848.  The following winter he was employed in a sawmill at ten  dollars per month, and there he worked his way upward until at the end of six months he was made head sawyer.  He spent three years in that employ, being head sawyer for two years and a half, when, believing that he might find a still more advantageous field, he took up carpentering in 1851. The following years he was employed by his uncle, James Harris, of Randolph county, Indiana, and there he took the contract to hew the timber for a barn for his uncle, John Harris. He also framed and raised this barn.  Gradually he  thoroughly acquainted himself with the builder's trade, becoming a proficient workman in that line.

Mr. Campbell was first married December 31, 1854, the lady of his choice being Miss Hannah Thornburg, who was born in Randolph county, Indiana, a daughter of Joseph Thornburg.  In 1864 they removed to Iowa but as his wife was in poor health they returned to Indiana, where she died on the 25th of August, 1864.  There were five children by that marriage, of whom three are living, Levi H., Laurinda J. and George L.  After two years spent in Indiana Mr. Campbell returned to Iowa in 1866 and located at Alton, near where the town of Perry now stands.  Here he got out the frame for a house but when he found that he could not get a clear title to the land upon which he was expecting to erect the house he hauled the lumber to the present site of Perry and built the first house in the town after it was laid out.  In 1868 he took the contract to build two stage stations, one at Beaver and the other at Pilot Lake on the line between Des Moines and Council Bluffs. He built the first house in Dexter and in many ways has been closely associated with early historic events of the county.  He employed the first school teacher in Perry--Miss Florilla, and the first meeting in Perry was held in his carpenter shop, which also served as the first schoolhouse.  Mr. Campbell continued in active connection with building operations in Perry and thus aided in large measure in the substantial improvement of the city until 1903, when he retired from active life.

For his second wife Mr. Campbell chose Miss Mary Elliott, whom he wedded on the 29th of January, 1866.  She was born in Wayne county, Indiana, September 23, 1842, and was a daughter of Jonathan and Amelia (Huff) Elliott.  Her father was born in North Carolina, August 31, 1811, and died January 18, 1867.  Mr. Elliott followed farming throughout his entire life, living for many years near Chester, in Wayne county, Indiana.  He held membership in the Society of Friends, or Quakers, and his political support was given to the whig party.  His first wife, who was a native of the Hoosier state, died during the early girlhood of Mrs. Campbell.  She was the mother of seven children but only two are now living: Eliza, the wife of John Bell, of
California; and Mrs. Campbell.  After losing his first wife Mr. Elliott
wedded Maria Maxwell, on the 17th of August, 1848. She was born September 14, 1818, and long survived her husband passing away November 27, 1901.  By this union there were four sons, John, Achilles, Albert and Linus.

Unto the second marriage of Mr. Campbell were born three sons and a daughter. Harry, who was the first white child born in Perry and the only baby at the first meeting held in Perry, is now a conductor on the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad, living at Harrington, Kansas.  Charles is a resident of Los Angeles, California.  Edgar is living in Seattle, Washington, where he is engaged in the grain and feed business as an exporter. Joanna is the wife of Ernest Lester, living in Perry.

Mr. Campbell belongs to the Odd Fellows lodge at Dexter, of which he was made a member in 1868, and he and his wife are connected with Edna Rebekah lodge, No. 263, at Perry.  In politics he is a prohibitionist in principle and at local elections votes for the best men.  Throughout the long years of his residence in this part of the state he has enjoyed to the fullest extent the good will and trust of those with whom he has come in contact.   Strong in his honor and his good name he has long been a prominent and influential citizen here, his labors being of practical benefit in the upbuilding and improvement of the county. His name is inseparably associated with Perry's history and his example is one well worthy of emulation.

Sidney M. Campbell

A farm of eighty acres on section 13, Walnut township, pays tribute to the care and labor of Sidney M. Campbell, who raises here both grain and stock. In connection with this property he owns a well improved and valuable farm of forty-four acres in Polk county within a mile of the home place. He owes his success not to any outside aid or influence, but to those forces which always win prosperity--keen discrimination, sound judgment and unfaltering diligence.

Mr. Campbell is a native of Ontario, Canada, born December 21, 1845. His father, Peter Campbell, was a native of New Brunswick and when a young man removed to Canada, where he wooed and won Elizabeth Wilkins, whose birth occurred in the state of New York, where her girlhood days were also passed. Peter Campbell followed farming in Canada for a number of years and nine children were born there unto him and his wife, including two pairs of twins. He made a trip to Australia and was engaged in mining there. Later he followed mining in New Zealand and subsequently made a trip around the globe. He then returned to his Canadian home, after which he came to Michigan, settling at Port Austin in Huron county, establishing his home in the midst of the forest. He entered land which was heavily timbered but cleared away the trees and opened up a farm which he continued to cultivate for a number of years. Subsequently he came to Iowa, settling in Dallas county, where he remained for two years, after which he returned to Canada. There he conducted a store for two years and on disposing of his mercantile enterprise returned to Grand Ledge, Michigan. There he built a brick hotel known as the Exchange Hotel and continued its conduct for a number of years, while the Exchange Bank was conducted in one end of the building. At length he sold out there and removed to Crystal Falls, where he lived retired. In his travels he met with many interesting experiences and adventures and he gained comprehensive knowledge of the world through his journeyings.

Sidney M. Campbell was one of a family of eleven children, all of whom reached mature years and were married. Nine of the number are now living. Mrs. Lucinda Cicero, the eldest, died leaving four children. Randolph W., a veteran of the Civil war, makes his home in Bay City, Michigan. Charles G., also a soldier, now living in Crystal Falls, Michigan, owns several tracts of land there and is serving as township clerk. Sidney M. is the next in the family. Adolphus Campbell, his twin brother, was a soldier of the Civil war and died some years later. Peter M., a resident of South Omaha, is employed at the stockyards of the Northwestern Company. George E. is a farmer of Page, Nebraska. William W., of Crystal Falls, Michigan, owns several hundred acres of land near that place and was formerly

railroad agent and operator there. Willard B., a twin of William, is living in Jackson, Michigan, where he owns considerable city property and is a railroad employee of the Jackson, Lansing & Saginaw Railroad. Sarah is the wife of Henry Baker, of Crystal Falls, who is now in the government employ. Hattie is the wife of Frank Vanderpool, a farmer and carpenter of Crystal Falls.

Sidney M. Campbell was reared to manhood on his father's farm in Michigan, remaining at home until twenty-one years of age, when he began lumbering in that state, which offers such excellent facilities for the conduct of a business of that character. There he remained for three years, when, in 1866, he came to Dallas county, Iowa. Here he worked on his father's farm for one year and then went to Michigan, where he devoted three years to lumbering. Again he came to Iowa, after which he rented land and carried on farming on his own account for two years, when he returned to Michigan and bought a farm near Lansing, which he cleared and improved, continuing its cultivation for three years. On the expiration of that period he sold out and during the succeeding two years operated rented land in Dallas county, Iowa, and in 1878 he bought eighty acres upon which he took up his abode. For several years he plowed his land and planted his crops here and in the autumn gathered good harvests, but once more he went to Michigan, where for a year he was connected with the lumber trade, after which he was out of business for a year. On the expiration of that period he returned to the farm, which he continued to improve, building a house and barn, and tiling and fencing the land. He thus added greatly to its productiveness and he also planted a large orchard, containing a fine variety of fruit. His farm property is now very valuable and, moreover, forms one of the attractive features in the landscape. He has since purchased forty-four acres in Polk county and the entire place is cultivated under his supervision and direction.

On the 12th of September, 1870, in Walnut township, Mr. Campbell was united in marriage to Miss Lucina Houghtaling who was born in Pennsylvania but was reared in Michigan and in Dallas county, Iowa. They now have two daughters: Lulu M., the wife of Wesley Fry, of Grimes, by whom she has two children, Sidney and Asel Fry; and Blanche F., the wife of Stewart W. Aldrich, a resident farmer of Walnut township. They have two children, Deloss and Orlo Aldrich.

Mr. Campbell is a member of Dallas Center lodge, No. 356, A. F. & A. M. He also belongs to Grimes lodge, No. 479, I. O. O. F., in which he has filled all of the offices and is a past grand. In politics a republican, he is deeply interested in the success and welfare of the party and has served as justice of the peace, as constable, as road supervisor and as school director. He has been president of the school board and the cause of education finds in him an earnest and valuable friend. Although he has made many removals to and from Dallas county he has for a number of years resided here continuously and has made an excellent record in business circles, both for reliability and for the practical methods which he follows and which lead to success.

Granville Cave

Agriculture has always been the basis of prosperity. The products of the soil form the foundation for all commercial activity and the property which pays a sure annual income, more reliable than that of any other investment, is the farm. Among the more successful agriculturists of Union Township is Granville Cave, who is now the owner of two hundred and fifty-three acres of fine land on section 1. He has always made a specialty of raising and feeding stock and in addition his labors in the cultivation of his fields bring him a good return.

He was born in this county on the 20th of May, 1861, his parents being John S. and Sarah (Payton) Cave. The father was born in Kentucky, in 1805, while the mother's birth occurred in Ohio in 1823. John S. Cave was married twice and unto his second union there were born five children: Marion, who is living in this county; Caroline, the wife of Joseph Naylor, now in Decatur county, Iowa; Edward, also of Decatur county; Granville, of this review; and one who has passed away. It was in the early '50s that the father came to Dallas county and purchased land, becoming a pioneer settler in a district where all of the evidences of frontier life were to be seen. He undertook the task of developing a new farm and as the years passed by he transformed the place into productive fields. For many years he successfully carried on general farming but his life's labors were ended ill death in 1895. His wife survived him for about eight years and died in 1903.

Granville Cave spent his boyhood and youth in his parents' home and at the usual age entered the public schools, where he mastered the common branches of learning, while under his father's direction he received the training in farm work that later qualified him for the conduct of a successful business on his own account. After arriving at years of maturity he was united in marriage to Miss Rhoda De Camp in the year of 1880. She was born in Indiana in 1863 and is a daughter of E. W. and A. E. (Howe) De Camp. Her father was born in Indiana, February 27, 1832, and the mother's birth occurred in New York, September 9, 1842. In his family were fifteen children. Previous to his marriage to Miss A. E. Howe, which occurred in Elkhart county, Mr. De Camp married Libbie Rosier, who died leaving two children: Warren, a farmer of Adams township, Dallas county; and Hiram, a machinist of Topeka, Kansas. The children by the second marriage are: Nettie, the wife of Emery Skinner of Adel; Marshall, of Springfield, Missouri; Mrs. Cave; Silas, of Redfield, Iowa; Lafayette, of Linn township, Dallas county;. Nellie, who died when two years of age; Emma, who passed away when a young lady; Nannie, the deceased wife of Frank Rogers, of Winfield, Kansas; Josie, the wife of J. Bonnett, of Santa Cruz, California; Ida, the wife of Frank Connelly, of Winfield, Kansas; Addie, who married L. A. Rising, also of Winfield, Kansas; Norman, living in Hamilton, Iowa; and Charles, of Adel township, Iowa. It was in the year 1863 that E. W. De Camp came to Iowa, settling in Dallas county, where he resided until 1886. He then removed to southeastern Kansas, where he lived for two years, after which he returned to Dallas county, Iowa, where he also lived for two years. In 1901 he took up his abode in Springfield, Missouri, and purchased a fruit farm. He and his wife are now living in that city and he is practically retired from active business life, having attained the age of seventy-five years.

The home of Mr. and Mrs. Cave has been blessed with a son and daughter. The elder, Marvin E., is a graduate of the Redfield high school and is now operating a part of his father's farm. He married Miss Nellie Shoberg. The daughter, Bertha May, is the wife of Sumner Davis, a resident of North Dakota, and they have one son whose name is Marvin. Mrs. Davis taught music for two years previous to her marriage.

The home of the family is pleasantly located on section 1, Union township, and the farm comprises two hundred and fifty-three acres of rich and productive land. The place is well tilled and Mr. Cave has made a specialty of raising and feeding stock. He has largely turned over the active work of the farm, however, to others and is now practically living retired, enjoying a well earned rest. His wife is a devoted member of the United Brethren church and both are interested in all that pertains to the moral and intellectual development of the community. Mr. Cave has served as a, school director for several years and the cause of education finds in him a stalwart champion. In his political views he is a democrat and socially he is, connected with the Modern Woodmen camp, No. 3498, at Redfield. As one of Dallas county's native sons he has a wide acquaintance here and his many good qualities as a business man and citizen have gained for him the warm and unqualified regard of the great majority of those with whom he has come in contact.

Franklin D. Chaney, a thrifty and enterprising farmer living on section 12, Colfax township, dates his residence in Dallas county from 1857, so that he is numbered among its pioneer settlers who for a half century has lived within its borders and has been not only an interested witness but also a co-operant factor in many changes which have here occurred.  He was only five years of age at the time of his arrival here, his birthplace being Highland county, Ohio, and his natal day the 19th of September, 1852. 

His parents were Lewis and Sarah E. (Hamilton) Chaney.  The father was born in Ohio, September 29, 1820, and the mother's birth occurred in Virginia, August 10, 1815.  Both have now passed away but for many years they were worthy and valued residents of Dallas county, having come to Iowa from Ohio in 1857, at which time they took up their abode in Adel township, where Mr. Chaney purchased one hundred and twenty acres of land. This was entirely unimproved save that a small log house had been built upon it. The family had few neighbors and the city of Adel was then a mere village, containing only a few dwellings.  There was no railroad nearer than Des Moines and the closest mill was at Oskaloosa, where they had to haul their grain to be ground, thus securing their breadstuffs. The roads mere "rivers of mud,"  as some  one  expressed it,  but though in the springtime after the rains these highways were almost impassable the settlers soon learned that the land was very rich and productive and would respond readily to the care and labor bestowed upon it, bringing forth rich crops.  The family suffered all the hardships and trials incident to pioneer life, when the homes were log cabins, when the heating apparatus was a fireplace and when the farm machinery was very crude as compared to the modern implements of the present day. 

Upon the old homestead farm here Mr. Chaney and his wife reared their family, numbering eleven children.  Six of the number, however, died in infancy.  The others were: Isaac, who is a resident of this county; Mrs. Lizzie White, who is a soldier's widow and lives in Oklahoma; Franklin D., of this review; Mrs. Martha E. Sharp, who died at the age of forty years; and Charles W., who died when sixty years of age.  The death of the father occurred on the 19th of January, 1894, while his wife survived for about two years and a half, passing away on the 16th of August, 1896, at the age of eighty-one years. 

Franklin D. Chaney, coming to Dallas county with his parents when but five years of age, received but very limited educational privileges, for there was no schoolhouse in the township until he was fourteen years of age.  He has by experience and observation, however, gained a good practical business education. He remained with his parents through the period of his youth early taking his place behind the plow, and after he had attained his majority he began working his father's land.  He lived with his parents and when his father became too old to work Mr. Chaney of this review had the entire management of the property.  He also cared for his father and mother during their last days and for five years prior to her death Mrs. Chaney was a helpless invalid. Following her demise Franklin D. Chaney purchased the interest of the other heirs in the old homestead and he now owns one hundred and twenty acres of fine farming land, together with twenty acres of timber land in Adel township.  His farm is richly cultivated and is equipped with all modern improvements and accessories, including the latest machinery to facilitate the work of the fields. 

Mr. Chaney was married on the 13th of December, 1874, to Miss Delana A. Collins, whose birth occurred in Adel township, Dallas county, September 8, 1855.  She spent her girlhood days here and the marriage was celebrated in one of the old time log cabins of pioneer days.  Her father, Adam Collins, was born in South Carolina, August 2, 1812, and died January 18, 1882, while his wife, who was born June 17, 1822, in Tennessee, passed away in 1892. They became residents of Iowa in 1854, settling in Adel township, Dallas county, on forty acres of wild land, a part of which was covered with timber. There were no improvements of any kind on the place and they had only one horse. It meant much arduous labor to cultivate and develop this property but Mr. Collins resolutely undertook the task and as the years passed by the result of his labors was seen in rich fields bearing good crops. He aided, too, in the general development and progress of the county and is numbered among the, pioneers whose worth was widely recognized.  In his family were fourteen children, of whom five died in infancy, while nine reached years of maturity.  Those still living are. Mrs. Chaney; Mrs. Mary A. Disbro of Perry, Iowa.; Mrs. Serena C. Noolan, who is living in Perry, Iowa; Joseph Collins and Mrs. Josephine Curry, who are twins and are residents of Perry; and Mrs. Rebecca M. Lee, of Clinton, Iowa. 

The home of Mr. and Mrs. Chaney has been blessed with two daughters and two sons and the family circle yet remains unbroken by the hand of death. These are: Mrs. Amy A. Harrison, who is living in Washington township and has two children, Florence A. and Elsie M.; Mrs. Alvie E. Corneleson, a resident of Adel; and Kenneth B. and Harvey E., at home. 

Mr. and Mrs. Chaney have a wide acquaintance in the county and a host of warm friends. His political views are in accord with the principles of democracy but he has never sought or desired public office.   He is a business man, active and energetic, who throughout his entire life has been connected with agricultural pursuits and who in his boyhood aided in developing the farm which is now his home.  A half century  has  come and gone  since he was brought to the county.  The railroads had not been built, few roads had been made, the streams were largely unbridged and the prairies uncultivated.  Many of the homes were log cabins and there were various evidences of frontier life.  Mr. Chaney has not only been a witness of the changes which time and man have wrought but has borne his part in the work of upbuilding as a progressive and public spirited citizen.

William J. Charlot is the owner of a neat and well improved farm of one hundred and eighty-four acres. It is pleasantly located near Minburn, on section 4, Sugar Grove township. Since 1890 he has been a resident of the county but his birthplace lies across the water. He is a native of Berlin, Germany, born on the 15th of February, 1852. His father, F. W. Charlot, was born in the vicinity of Berlin and was there reared and married, the lady of his choice being Miss Wilhelmina Witt, who was likewise born in the fatherland. In the year 1856 F. W. Charlot brought his family to the United States, settling first in Henry county, Illinois. He located on a farm, where he reared his family and there both he and his wife passed away.

William J. Charlot was reared to manhood in Henry county, for he was but four years of age when brought by his parents to the new world. His educational privileges were those afforded by the common schools, and he received ample training in the work of the farm from the time of early spring planting until crops were gathered in the late autumn. He thus learned to appreciate the value of industry and perseverance in the active affairs of life and these qualities have constituted an important element in his later success.

While still living in Henry county, Illinois, there occurred an important event in his life--his marriage to Miss Louisa Kuster, on the 15th of November, 1877. She was born in the vicinity of Berlin, Germany, and was brought to the United States when a little maiden of six summers, her childhood also being passed in Henry county. Following their marriage Mr. Charlot carried on farming in that county for a number of years and seven children were born unto them there. In 1890 they came westward to Iowa and he purchased the land which is now the family home. It was at that time a wild and uncultivated tract and he broke the entire place. After building a small house he began to improve the farm, and that he has prospered as the years have gone by is indicated by the fact that he is now the owner of a good, neat residence of commodious proportions. He has also built a big barn with sufficient cribs and a granary for the shelter of his grain. He has likewise set out an orchard and planted shade and ornamental trees, which add much to the pleasing appearance and to the value of his place. The judicious use of tile has made his fields well drained and augmented their productiveness and he has them all well fenced. In fact he has made a valuable farm by the care, labor and management he has bestowed upon his land, and in connection with farming he raises good grades of stock and also does a dairy business. It is due to his labor and diligence and the assistance of his estimable wife that he is now the owner of an excellent farm property and is one of the substantial farmers of Sugar Grove township. He is also a stockholder in the Minburn Co-Operative Store.

Unto Mr. and Mrs. Charlot have been born six sons and six daughters: W. F., who has started out in life on his own account; F. W., who is farming with his father; B. E. and E. B., who are also carrying on business on their own account; F. J., at home; Reynard, also at home; Mary, the wife of Albert Hoggenstine, of Minburn; Emma, the wife of Andrew Appenzeller, a farmer of Boone county, Iowa; Minnie, Elnora, Lorena and Esther, all at home.

The parents were reared in the Lutheran faith and still attend services at that church. Mr. Charlot is a member of the Masonic fraternity, belonging to the blue lodge at Minburn. Politically he is independent, supporting men and measures rather than party. He is himself a man of honor, whose word is as good as his bond. He is always to be trusted and his life in its unassailable integrity is certainly an example worthy of emulation.

George W. Clarke

George W. Clarke was born in Shelby county, Indiana, October 24, 1852. His father, John Clarke, was born in Warren county, Ohio, and his mother, Eliza J. Akers, was born in Floyd county, Indiana. They removed from Shelby county, Indiana, to Davis county, Iowa, in 1856, and settled on a farm near Drakeville, where they still live. Here also lived with them and worked on the farm their son until he was twenty-two years of age. In the winter he had taught school in the country and in Drakeville and later he taught in Bloomfield. He acquired his education at Oskaloosa College, Oskaloosa, Iowa, from which institution he was graduated in 1877. Immediately after, he entered the law office of Lafferty & Johnson, at Oskaloosa. After studying there for a time he entered the law department of the State University of Iowa and was graduated in 1878. In the same year he came to Adel, in Dallas county, Iowa, was married to Miss Arletta Greene and opened an office for the practice of law. A few years after he formed a partnership with J. B. White, under the firm name of White & Clarke. The firm is still in existence and is yet engaged in the practice of the law, as it always has been, at Adel.

During his first four years at Adel Mr. Clarke held the office of justice of the peace. He held no other office until he was elected to represent Dallas county in the legislature in the twenty-eighth general assembly, meeting in January, 1900. He was re-elected to the twenty-ninth, thirtieth and thirty-first general assemblies and in the last two was chosen speaker of the house, both times without opposition, republicans and democrats alike voting for him.

Mr. and Mrs. Clarke have four children. The oldest is married and is practicing law at Perry, Iowa. The others are still at home.

Henry Clay Clayton owns and cultivates a farm of two hundred and eighty acres on sections 34 and 35, Van Meter township, and is one of the enterprising agriculturists of the locality. In addition to the tilling of the soil he is engaged quite extensively in the raising of cattle, horses and hogs and in the conduct of a dairy business. His life is one of activity and enterprise and his intense and well directed energy has resulted in bringing him a goodly measure of prosperity.

Mr. Clayton was born in Lawrence county, Indiana, on the 4th of May, 1846, and is imbued with the spirit of progress which has dominated the middle west in its upbuilding and development. His parents were natives of North Carolina and in their family were nine children, of whom H.C. Clayton is the seventh in order of birth. They located in Iowa during its territorial days and came to Dallas county in 1853 when it was still a frontier region. Here they spent their remaining days.

At the usual age H.C. Clayton began attending the public schools and therein mastered the common branches of English learning. He aided in the arduous task of developing a new farm and continued to work upon the old homestead up to the time of his marriage, which important event in his life was celebrated on the 21st of July, 1878. The lady of his choice bore the maiden name of Sarah J. Roberts and was born April 7, 1856. Her father was a native of New Hampshire, while her mother was born in Massachusetts and of their seven children Mrs. Clayton was the second in order of birth. The Roberts family was also established in Iowa in early days, the parents of Mrs. Clayton remaining residents of Dallas county until 1900, when they removed to Dade county, Missouri, where they are still living. The home of our subject and his wife has been blessed with the following children: George Blaine, who was born March 30, 1879, and married Miss Emma M. Durkes; Bertha M., who was born July 21, 1880, and is the wife of Guy E. Pitzer; Jerry C., who was born June 17, 1885, and married Dolly J. Landers; Benjamin H., born April 5, 1888; John H., born June 21, 1890; and Roy A., born March 12, 1898.

Following his marriage Mr. Clayton began farming in order to provide for his family and has since continued in this pursuit, working his way steadily upward from a humble financial position to one of affluence. He today derives his revenue from a valuable and richly cultivated farm of two hundred and eight acres situated on sections 34 and 35, Van Meter township. It is supplied with all of the equipments of a model farm property of the twentieth century and in addition to cultivating the fields he makes a specialty of the dairy business, which yields him a good financial return annually. He also raises cattle, horses and hogs, selling a large amount of stock each year.

In his political views Mr. Clayton is a republican and has filled the offices of assessor and school director, acting in the latter capacity for several years. He has always been loyal and progressive in citizenship and at the time of the Civil war he manifested his fidelity to his country by active service in the south, enlisting as a member of Company C, Forty-sixth Iowa Infantry. With that command he went to the front and never faltered in the performance of any duty, whether on the firing line or on the lonely picket line. He is today equally loyal to the stars and stripes and in community affairs is interested in all that pertains to the general progress and improvement of Dallas county. He is a member of the Iowa Detective Association and he and his wife attend and support the United Brethren church, though he was reared a Quaker and still adheres to that belief. His life has been actuated by high principles and characterized by manly conduct and in the community where he has now lived for more than a half century he enjoys that warm personal friendship and kindly esteem which are always given in recognition of genuine worth in the individual.

William Cook

William Cook, of Waukee, is esteemed and respected by all who know him as one who has been an active and honorable factor in business life and public interests of Dallas county. He located here at an early period when there were many evidences of frontier life. Much of the land was wild and unclaimed and a number of the now thriving towns and villages had not yet been founded but the district was rich in its possibilities and, hoping to find opportunity here for successful work, he took up his abode in Dallas county in 1862. Forty-five years have since passed and he is today the owner of six hundred acres of rich and valuable land, while with the farming and stockraising interests he has long been actively associated.

Mr. Cook was born in Saxony, Germany, June 8, 1831. His father, John G. Cook, was also a native of that country and was there reared and married. Five children were added to the household ere the parents crossed the Atlantic to the new world in 1845, settling in Buffalo, New York. The father was a carpenter and cooper--in fact possessed considerable mechanical ingenuity and ability. Both he and his second wife remained residents of Buffalo until called to their final rest. The first wife, however, died in Germany.

William Cook was reared in Buffalo and in Erie county and, starting out in business life for himself, he was employed at farm labor for about five years. About 1850 he went to Illinois, settling in Warren county, where he was employed on a farm near Monmouth. He spent five years in that county, after which he removed to Gentry county, Missouri, now Worth county. There he continued to work as a farm hand and it was while he was living in Gentry county that he was married, on the 2d of September, 1860, to Miss Eliza Robinson, who was born in Shelby county, Ohio, January 10, 1832, and was a daughter of William B. and Sarah (Madearis) Robinson. Her great-great-grandfather, John Robinson, came to the new world in the Mayflower. Her great-great-half uncle was John Bull, who helped to frame the constitution of the United States. Her grandfather was Thomas Robinson, who was a soldier of the war of 1812. The family was also represented in the Revolutionary war. Her mother's cousin, Ephraim Elmer Ellsworth, was a soldier of the Civil war--long mourned by the nation. It is said that when Lincoln saw him in his coffin he wept over him. David Robinson, Mrs. Cook's brother, was in the Home Guard in Missouri. Later he went to a place of safety in Illinois with his family and enlisted in the Union army as an Illinois soldier. Mrs. Cook's father was a farmer and stock-raiser of Ohio whence he removed to Missouri but the family were driven out of that state because of the troubles which arose just prior to the Civil war. His father, Thomas Robinson, had entered one hundred and sixty acres of land from the government in Shelby county, Ohio, at an early day and later William Robinson purchased that farm. As stated, however, he left the Buckeye state and went to Missouri. When he was forced to leave the latter state in 1860 he went to Illinois. His wife was a daughter of John R. Madearis. Her great-grandfather was Oliver Madearis and belonged to a family related to the crown of England.

Following his marriage Mr. Cook carried on farming in Missouri and raised one crop in that state. On coming to Iowa he settled in Adair county, thence removing to Dallas county, in 1862, where he rented a farm for three years. Desirous of having a home of his own, he then invested his savings in eighty acres of land, to which he afterward added forty acres. The original tract was raw prairie land, which he placed under the plow and in its midst he erected a comfortable residence. As the years passed he continued the further improvement and development of the place and bought more land from time to time. At length he sold his first farm and purchased two hundred and eighty acres in Calhoun county, Iowa. This he rented, however, and bought another farm of one hundred and twenty acres, adding thereto at a later date until he had four hundred acres. Here he built a commodious and comfortable residence and large barn, and in fact added all the modern equipments and accessories to his place. He tiled the land, thus adding much to its productiveness, fenced the fields, set out an orchard and made an excellent property. The years passed and he annually harvested good crops as a reward for the care and labor he bestowed upon the fields. He also made a business of raising and feeding good stock and he continued upon the farm until 1902, when he purchased a residence in Waukee, where he has since resided. He has been interested in mining for three or four years, having investments in gold and silver mines in Colorado near Colorado Springs, from which the minerals are now being taken.

As the years passed by five children were added to the Cook household who are still living. Emma J. became the wife of John C. Emerick, now deceased, and by that marriage had four children. She has since married James Richie, of Valley Junction, and they have two children. William J. Cook, the second of the family, is a farmer and stock-raiser, having a large ranch in South Dakota. Harvey J. married Rosella Nutt, by whom he has four children. He follows farming in Calhoun county, Iowa, and also engages in merchandising at Farmville. B. R. wedded Myrtle J. Lord and has one child, their home being upon a farm in Boone township. Charles E., who married Hattie Smith, is a farmer and stock-raiser of Boone township, living on the old homestead. He has one daughter. Mr. and Mrs. Cook lost a daughter in infancy.

In March, 1907, Mr. Cook gave to each of his children a farm of one hundred acres valued at one hundred dollars per acre. He has always been very generous with his family and has found his greatest happiness in providing for the welfare and comfort of those dependent upon him. He still retains one hundred acres and his home upon his farm is one of the finest of the county.

Mr. Cook exercises his right of franchise in support of the men and measures of the republican party and while living on the farm served as road supervisor and justice of the peace. He was also connected with the school board for a number of years and did much to further the interests of good schools. He belongs to the Methodist Episcopal church at Waukee and is a Master Mason of Van Meter lodge. He has also been connected with the Odd Fellows for many years, affiliating with Commerce lodge, in which he has passed all of the chairs and is now a past grand. In the early days of his residence here he could drive half way to Des Moines without seeing a house or fence, such was the unimproved condition of the country. Great changes have occurred as man has wrought for the improvement and development of this portion of the state and in the work of general progress he has borne his full share. His business career is that of a man whose strong purpose and laudable ambition have constituted the secret of his success. He has ever been straightforward and upright in his dealings, has displayed keen sagacity and unfaltering diligence and as the years have gone by has made a most creditable record.

Winfield S. Crouse

One of the attractive features in the landscape of Colfax township is the fine farm of Winfield S. Crouse, who has one hundred and sixty acres of land divided into fields of convenient size which have been brought under a high state of cultivation. They give promise of golden harvests and the place in all of its appointments is modern and up-to-date.

Mr. Crouse is a native of Pennsylvania, having been born in Chester county, that state, on the 19th of July, 1852, one of the ten children of Jacob and Phoebe D. (Wallerton) Crouse, who were likewise natives of the Keystone state, the former born July 23, 1815, and the latter on the 4th of December, 1814. They were reared in Pennsylvania and in his youth the father learned the blacksmith's trade, which he followed in the east until 1856. That year witnessed his arrival in the Mississippi valley. He took up his abode in Carroll county, Illinois, and abandoning his trade turned his attention to farming, which he followed until 1870. In that year he removed to Iowa, settling on a tract of land of one hundred and sixty acres in Colfax township, Dallas county. Only a small part of this had been placed under the plow. A little house and barn had been built but the farm was largely unimproved, so that there was much arduous labor to be done but Mr. Crouse resolutely took up the work of the farm and transformed the raw prairie into fertile fields, from which he annually gathered good crops. He made that place his home until about four years prior to his death, when he sold the farm and spent his remaining days with his daughter, his wife having previously passed away. Her death occurred in May, 1888, while Mr. Crouse survived for almost fifteen years, departing this life on the 17th of January, 1903. His life was largely a period of unremitting activity and the comfortable competence which he had gained came to him as the reward of earnest and honest labor.

Unto Mr. and Mrs. Jacob Crouse were born eleven children, of whom two died in infancy, while Quincy A. died at the age of seventeen years. The others are: Levi H., who is living in Colfax township; John J., a resident of Stephenson county, Illinois; C. S., who is living in Adams county, Iowa; Jacob W., who makes his home in Sherman county, Kansas; Winfield S.; Laura C., who is living in Colfax township; and Mrs. Phoebe J. Badger and Louisa C., also of Colfax township. The two who died in infancy were Esther and Mary Ann.

Winfield S. Crouse was only four years of age when he was taken by his parents from his native state to Illinois and his early life was spent on the home farm where he worked in the fields and meadows. In the winter months, when the crops were harvested and the labor of the farm was practically over for the year, he attended the common schools and thus acquired a good English education, to which he has added by reading and observation until he is now a well informed man. He continued upon the old homestead with his parents until twenty-seven years of age, accompanying them on their removal to Iowa when he was a youth of eighteen years. He thus aided in the arduous task of developing the new farm here and shared in the hardships and privations of pioneer life which were yet to be met with here at that time. He made purchase of a farm for himself in 1887, when he became owner of one hundred and sixty acres in Colfax township. This had been fenced but otherwise there were no improvements upon it and its splendid condition is due to the labor, enterprise and progressive spirit of Mr. Crouse. In the midst of the farm stands a comfortable residence and nearby are commodious barns and outbuildings for the shelter of grain and stock. He uses the latest improved machinery to facilitate the work of the fields and has good farm animals upon the place. The methods which he follows are practical and at the same time are in keeping with ideas of progressive agriculture.

Pleasantly situated in his home life, Mr. Crouse was married to Miss Laura Row, who was born in Washington county, Maryland, June 23, 1856, her parents being Benjamin and Ann (Yeakles) Row, also natives of Maryland who are yet living and are now residents of Dallas Center, Iowa. On leaving the south they removed to Ogle county, Illinois, in 1857, and they resided there for about fourteen years, Mr. Row cultivating a rented farm until 1871, when he came to Dallas county, Iowa. Here he invested his earnings in two hundred and forty acres of land and carried on general farming until 1892, when he sold out and went to California with the intention of making that state his home but found that he preferred Iowa as a place of residence and after one year returned to the middle west, settling at Dallas Center, where he now owns and conducts a lumberyard. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Row were born eight children, five of whom are yet living: Mrs. Mary Folk, who is living in Woodford, Iowa; Mrs. Winfield S. Crouse; Mrs. Emma Ward, whose home is in Dallas Center; John F., who is also living in that place; and Mrs. Annie Rhodes, likewise a resident of Dallas Center. Those of the family now deceased are: Mrs. Jennie Hoff, who died at the age of twenty-nine years; Frank, who died when twenty-four years of age; and Gusta M., who passed away when nineteen years of age.

Unto Mr. and Mrs. Crouse have been born four children: Charles C., Samuel B., Phoebe D. and Clara A. The two last named are at home. The older son, Charles C., married Miss Edith Fish, and they have one daughter, Dorothy. Samuel B. wedded Miss Minnie Shade, lives in Minnesota and has three children: Alberta, George R. and Ray.

Mr. and Mrs. Winfield S. Crouse are pleasantly located in a comfortable home and in addition to this farm Mr. Crouse also owns ten acres of timber land. He and his wife are faithful and consistent members of the German Baptist church and his political support is given the republican party, of which he is a stalwart advocate. He believes firmly in its principles as conducive to the best interests of

the country but he has never been a politician in the sense of office seeking. On the contrary he is distinctively a business man, alert and enterprising, has made good use of his opportunities and has builded the ladder upon which he has mounted to success.

George W. Curtis, one of the leading financiers and business men of Dallas county, who has been a dominant factor in the upbuilding and development of the town of Redfield, is now cashier of the State Bank of Redfield. He was born in Cleveland, Ohio, July 4, 1852, a son of George M. and Catherine L. (Bates) Curtis, in whose family of two children he alone survives. The father was born in Vermont, removed to Ohio when a young man and in 1855 came to Iowa, taking up his abode

near Clinton. In 1896 he came to Redfield, Dallas county, making his home here until the time of his death in 1898.

George W. Curtis was reared under the parental roof, acquiring his education in the public schools. In early manhood he took up the study of telegraphy and was afterward employed by the Northwestern Railroad for about ten years. On the expiration of this period he entered a bank at Westside, Iowa, being there employed as bookkeeper for some two years. He was afterward engaged for two years as an employee of the Milwaukee road, and then went to Dedham, Iowa, where he identified himself with the lumber business as an employee. In 1886, Mr. Curtis was one of the organizers of the Bank of Dedham, being connected with that institution until 1892, when he came to Redfield. Soon after his arrival here, in company with S.M. Holmes, of Des Moines, Mr. Curtis organized the Bank of Redfield, becoming the cashier and practical head of this

financial enterprise. Mr. Curtis and Mr. Holmes built the first brick building in Redfield and otherwise aided in its material development. In February, 1907, the bank was reorganized into a state bank and is now recognized as one of the sound financial institutions of the county, the reliability and excellent business ability of its founders and promoters being unquestioned. Mr. Curtis was also one of the organizers of the Smith Produce Company, which aggregates some three hundred thousand dollars' worth of business annually, and is serving as secretary and treasurer of this company. Since the time of his arrival in the town of Redfield there has not been a movement or measure instituted for its material prosperity and progress in which Mr. Curtis has not been a dominant factor, and it is to him that the town is largely indebted for its present state of development and progress. Mr. Curtis, in association with Mr. Holmes, laid out the East Oak Park addition of Redfield and these gentlemen have always been foremost in all those things which tend to promote the welfare and substantial growth of a community.

In 1874 Mr. Curtis was united in marriage to Miss Anna E. Conrod, of Clinton county, Iowa, and to this union have been born five children: Ida L., who is at home; Francis W., also at home; George W., assistant cashier in the bank with his father; Claude E., who is acting as civil engineer with the Florida & East Coast Railroad, the road being built out in the ocean; and Mary, the wife of Walter E. Spillers, a resident of Adel, Iowa.

George W. Curtis is a member of Wiscotta lodge, No. 158, A.F. & A.M., and also of Redfield lodge, No. 346, K.P., the teachings of these organizations being exemplified in his daily life, for he is ever honorable and straightforward in all his dealings whether in public or private life. He is recognized throughout Dallas county as one of its leading and representative financiers and progressive citizens, whose labors have proved beneficial and effective in the upbuilding of his home town