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WILLIAM H. McHENRY, JR.
WILLIAM H. McHENRY, R., Attorney-at-Law, has passed his entire life in Des Moines, Iowa. He was born in this city on the 1st of January, 1860, his parents being Judge William H. and Mary (Butterfield) McHenry, who are well known in Polk County, especially among its best citizens. On leaving the common schools our subject entered the Iowa Agricultural College at Ames, from which he graduated in the class of 1881 with the degree of B.S. To further fit himself for the legal profession, which he had determined to make his life work, he entered and graduated from the law department of Drake University in the class of '83, with an L.L.B. degree. At the close of his course in that institution, he established himself in practice in his native city and soon won a fair share of the legal business of the local courts. On the 1st of January, 1887, he joined his father, who had recently retired from the bench, and was connected with him in practice until November, 1889, when the partnership was dissolved and he has since pursued his profession alone.
On the 9th of November, 1887, in Sioux City, Iowa, Mr. McHenry was united in marriage with Miss L. A. Wright, a daughter of A. R. Wright. The lady was born in the city were her wedding was celebrated and was educated at the same
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college and graduated in the same class with her husband. She is a most estimable lady and a consistent member of the Plymouth Congregational Church. Mr. McHenry is a member of Capital Lodge, No. 110, A.F. & A.M., and of Capital Lodge, No. 29, of K. of P. Like his father he is a stanch Democrat in politics. He inherited a positive quality of Democracy which time has never lessened, but which age only strengthened.
A peculiar incident in the professional experience of the McHenrys occurred a few years since, when the father was on the bench. It so happened that in a certain case on trial before him, his eldest son appeared for the plaintiff and the second son for the defendant, so that the trial, so far as court and council were concerned, was a family affair. The subject of this sketch, although comparatively a young man, has already won prominence at the bar and has shown marked ability in the line of the profession.
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JAMES A. MERRITT
JAMES A. MERRITT, Attorney and Couselor-at-Law, senior member of the firm of Merritt & Loutham, is engaged in the practice of his chosen profession in Des Moines, his office being situated in the building of the Iowa Loan and Trust Company. He has been a resident of Iowa for the long period of thirty-five years and has made his home in Des Moines since May, 1887. He was born in Livingston County, N.Y., October 10, 1852, and is a son of James B. and Laura C. (Wing) Merritt, the former a native of the State of New York, born on the banks of the Hudson river, the latter of Connecticut. In the spring of 1855, the family came to the new State of Iowa, an settled in Tama County.
Our subject here received liberal educational advantages. He attended Grinnell College and the State Agricultural College of Ames, later was a student in the State University at Iowa City, and afterwards entered the Western College of Toledo, Iowa, from which institution he graduated in the class of 1886. It had been his wish to make the legal profession his life work an din the meantime he had studied law under the preceptorship of Judge Struble of Toledo, ex-speaker of the Iowa House of Representatives, and also was a student in the office of Judge L. G. Inne, of Toledo. He was admitted to the bar of Tama County, Iowa, in November, 1878, and the following year began practice in Toledo, where he won an excellent reputation and secured a liberal patronage, there continuing to make his home until May 4, 1887, when he came to Des Moines. Opening an office he began to practice on the 16th of that month and has carried on his labors continuously since. He makes a specialty of mercantile law and cases relating to real estate.
A marriage ceremony performed in Marion, Linn County, Iowa, on the 9th of August, 1882, united the destinies of James A. Merritt and Miss Ida L. McClain, a daughter of James and Elizabeth McClain, of Linn County. Mrs. Merritt is a native of Rock Island, Ill. Their union has been graced with a family of three children, a son and two daughters, namely: Hazel Estella, who is now six years of age; Claude W. aged four; and Luetta May, a year old babe.
Mr. Merritt is a Republican in politics and served as City Attorney of Toledo for a term of one year. Socially, he is a member of Pioneer Lodge, No. 22. A.F. & A.M., of Des Moines, having been a member of the Masonic fraternity since 1885. Although he has been in Des Moines but a short time, Mr. Merritt has already succeeded in securing a fair legal business which is constantly increasing. He has recently formed a partnership with W. B. Loutham, who was his former partner while in Toledo, Ohio. Mr. Merritt possesses the ability of a first class lawyer and in the course of time will become a leader at the bar in the branch of the business which he makes a specialty.
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THOMAS C. DAWSON
THOMAS C. DAWSON, junior partner in the firm of Hume & Dawson, of Des Moines, is a native of Wisconsin, having been born in Hudson, that State, on the 30th of July, 1865. The family is of Scotch descent and was one of the first to settle in the Badger State, where its members
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became owners of valuable land near Milwaukee. The father of our subject, Allan Dawson, was a prominent attorney of the Badger State. He died while in the prime of life, Thomas C. being then but a child. His widow, in her maidenhood was Anna Cleland, a sister of the mother of Mr. Hume, and is now a resident of Enterprise, Fla.
The subject of this sketch was reared to manhood in his native State and by nature and training was especially fitted for the prominent position which he is rapidly gaining at the bar. He is a graduate of Hanover College, of Indiana, completing the course in 1883. But not content with ending his school life there, the same year he entered Harvard College and took a post graduate course at the famous seat of learning. His taste led him to select the legal profession as the one which he wished to make his life work and he began the study of law in Cincinnati, Ohio, in the office of Thornton & Hinkle, graduating from the law school of that city in 1886. The same year he came to Des Moines and shortly afterward the partnership of Hume & Dawson was formed. Although both members of the firm are young, both in years and practice, the firm has been recognized as one of ability and thus far has secured a liberal patronage which is constantly increasing.
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REINHARD FRANZ YOUNG
HON. REINHARD FRANZ YOUNG, President of the Union Coal and Mining Company and Mayor of the city of Sevastopol, is of German birth. He was born in Hesse Cassell, Germany on the 22d of December, 1826, and is a son of John P. N. and Jeannette (LeGoullon) Young. His father was also a native of Hesse Cassel, and belonged to one of the old respected families of that country. His mother, however, was born of French parentage.
The subject of this sketch received his education in a high school in his native country and was afterwards employed as book-keeper until 1847, when he determined to seek his fortune in the New World. He was then a young man of twenty years. Crossing the broad Atlantic he settled in Phillipsburg, Pa., but afterwards went to Pittsburg, where he served an apprenticeship to the locksmith's trade. He was also married in that city, on the 23d of June, 1849, to Miss Mary Klepstein, who was born in Mulhausen, Thuringia, Germany, and came to America in August, 1847, in company with her father, Samuel Klepstein and his family. Mr. and Mrs. Young were the parents of five children, three of whom are now living. Charles, the eldest, who was born March 31, 1850, died in infancy; Robert Koussath, who was born August 18, 1851, married Miss Lena Cordari, August 18, 1878, and died on the first anniversary of his wedding; Emilie, who was born May 1, 1854, is the wife of J. A. Lewis, who is engaged in the manufacture of artificial stone and resides in Des Moines; Ida, who was born August 13, 1857, is the wife of Frank X. Spitz, a cigar manufacturer of this city; Edward A., the only surviving son, married Miss Paulina Munzenmaier and is a grocer of Sevastopol.
Soon after his marriage Mr. Young removed to Brownville, Pa., where he engaged in the manufacture of soap and candles, continuing that busines suntil March, 1857, when he came to Des Moines, and established a small soap and candle factory on West Sixteenth Street, the first factory in that line in the city. In 1866 he removed to the south side of the Coon River, where he followed the same pursuit until June, 1883. Prior to closing out his soap and candle business, Mr. Young aided in incorporating the Union Coal and Mining Company, of which he was elected President and has held that position continuously since. The company was incorporated November 1, 1881, and F. W. Adlfinger was chosen secretary, a position he has retained to the present. The mine is situated in Sevastopol, a suburb of Des Moines and turns out as fine coal as any in the State. One hundred and fifty men are employed by the company and the value of the annual output averages about #100,000.
Mr. Young is a Democrat in politics and has been chosen by his townsmen to many offices of public honor and trust. He has been constantly in office ever since the city of Sevastopol was incorporated. For some time he served as Recorder,
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was Alderman several years and has been Mayor three years in succession. He was appointed United States Gauger in the spring of 1887, and served until the office was abolished, being the last to fill the position in this district. He is a member of Capital City Lodge, No. 110, A.F. & A.M., and a charter member of Sevastopol Lodge, I.O.O.F. He also belongs to the Des Moines Turners society. He has been an Odd Fellow for thirty-five years, has filled all the chairs in the subordinate lodge and has represented his lodge in the Grand Lodge of the State. Mr. Young is highly esteemed for his sterling integrity and enterprise, and enjoys the confidence of his fellow citizens to the fullest extent. He was the first of his father's family to come to America and as time rolls on his descendants may point with pride to the record of R. F. Young, the founder of their family in America.
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CHARLES CLINTON NOURSE
 CHARLES CLINTON NOURSE, was born at Sharpsburg, Washington County, Md., April 1, 1829, and was the third son of Charles Nourse and Susan Cameron. Charles Nourse was born at Frankfort, Ky., April 15, 1801. His father, Gabriel Nourse was one of the early settlers of Kentucky, but after the death of two of his brothers at the hands of the Indians he returned to Virginia where his family was reared. Charles Nourse was a teacher by profession and taught school for fifty successive years, first in Maryland and afterward in Ohio, Kentucky and Iowa. He died at Reynoldsburg, Ohio, in January, 1880. The mother of Charles Clinton Nourse, Susan Cameron, died at Shepherdstown, Va., in 1836. On the mother's side she was of the Clintons, and the name has been preserved in the family in honor of the grandmother. The genealogy of the Nourse family dates back to 1520 to John Nourse, of Chilling Place, Oxford,England, and his wife Phillipa, daughter of Sir Edward Terrill. The American branch of the Nourse family to which the subject of the present sketch belongs, descended from James Nourse and his wife Sarah Fonace, who emigrated from London, England, in 1769, and settled at Piedmont, Jefferson County, Va. This worthy couple were the parents of twenty-one children, among them Gabriel Nourse, the grandfather of the person of whom we write.
The subject of this sketch, Charles Clinton Nourse, enjoyed the advantage of a good education, received chiefly from his father's personal instruction. He graduated in the Law Department of Transylvania University at Lexington, Ky., in 1850. He came to Iowa in 1851 and commenced the practice of law at Keosauqua, Van Buren County. He was married, in Lexington, Ky., in 1853 to Miss Rebecca McMeekin. In 1858 he removed to Des Moines, where he has ever since resided. He has been honored with various official positions, was elected Public Prosecutor for VAn Buren County, in August, 1852; was Clerk of the Iowa House of Representatives in 1853-54, and in 1856-57 was Secretary of the Senate. He was elected Attorney General of Iowa in 1860 and re-elected in 1862. In 1865 he was appointed Judge of the Fifth Judicial District of the State. After being on the bench six months he resigned and resumed his practice, which he has since pursued with marked success. Judge Nourse took an active part in the organization of the Republican party in the State in 1856, and has been a stanch supporter of the principles advocated by it continuously to the present. He has also been an active and earnest advocate of the cause of temperance and legal prohibition.
Clinton C., is the only child of Judge and Mrs. Nourse. He was born at Des Moines, Iowa, in 1864, was educated at Callanan College and the State Agricultural College of Iowa. He married Miss Elizabeth Behring, of Ft. Dodge, in June, 1889, and is an architect by profession, now in business at Des Moines. Judge Nourse and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, having belonged to the same since their early youth. Among the most worthy and highly respected citizens of Polk County, no one stands higher or is entitled to greater regard for purity of character, high order of legal talent and the substantial qualities of an able and upright man than the Judge. In 1876 he was selected by the Governor of Iowa to deliver the Centennial address at Philadelphia in behalf
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of the State. This address is a condensed history of the State of Iowa, its early settlement, topography, resources, progress, politics and educational facilities. The State published twenty thousand copies of it for general circulation. In 1877 Simpson Centenary College conferred on the Judge the degree of Doctor of Laws. For thirty-nine years he has been identified with the bar of Iowa, and has been more or less prominently connected with public affairs in official and professional duties during that entire period. He has always proved himself capable and reliable in all he has undertaken, a faithful public officer, and a citizen of whom his townsmen speak only with pride.
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ALVAN A. HASKINS
ALVAN A. HASKINS, one of the leading young attorneys of Des Moines, Iowa, was born in Chicago, Ill., October 14, 1863, and is descended from old New England families. His father, Norman Haskins, was a native of New York, where for generations past his ancestors lived. He married Miss Julia E. Abel, who was born in Saybrook, Ohio, but comes of a New England family, her ancestors having settled in Massachusetts.
In 1870, the family came to Iowa, settling near Atlantic, whence they removed to Des Moines in 1872. Mr. Haskins received his primary education, in the public schools, which was supplemented by a course in Drake University in this city; he was graduated from the classical course in 1884, and from the law department in 1885. He entered upon his practice in company with Gen. A. J. Baker and Judge C. A. Bishop under the firm name of Baker, Bishop & Haskins, which connection continued until November 1, 1887, when Judge Bishop retired, the firm becoming Baker & Haskins. Those two gentlemen continued partnership until October 1, 1889, when the connection was dissolved, since which time Mr. Haskins has been alone in practice. In politics he is a Republican, but has never taken an active part in political affairs or sought public office. He resides in West University Place with his parents, the family there having a pleasant home. He is a rising young lawyer who possesses great legal talent and studious habits, which will in time win him a foremost place in his chosen profession. His colleagues acknowledge his ability, and his friends have just reason to be proud of the position which he already occupies.
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HERMAN D. REEVE
HERMAN D. REEVE, is the senior member of the firm of Reeve & Gaston, Government Claim Attorneys, whose office is situated at No. 616 West Locust Street, Des Moines. He is a Hawkeye by birth, having first opened his eyes to the light of day in Franklin County, Iowa, March 25, 1857. His parents, James B. and Adeline (Riggs) Reeve, left their home in Rome, Ashtabula County, Ohio, and by team made the journey to Franklin County, in 1852, while yet the country was wild and unsettled. Mr. Reeve helped to organize the county, and was elected its first judge, the balloting taking place in his old log house. He was a farmer by occupation, a Republican in politics, and a patriotic citizen. On the 6th of August, 1862, he was commissioned Captain of Company H, Thirty-second Iowa Infantry, and was in active service until his death, which occurred in Ft. Pillow, Tenn., January 24, 1863. He had two brothers and three sons in the army, and the brothers and one son died in the service. The son was a prisoner and died at Andersonville from the effects of the hardships and confinement of prison life. Mrs. Reeve survives her husband, and still resides on the old homestead in Franklin County. Their family numbered ten children, six sons and four daughters. The original American ancestor of Mr. Reeve was a Frenchman by birth, who accompanied LaFayette to America, serving with him until after the close of the Revolutionary War, when he resolved to make his future home in this country, and settled in New England. The spelling of his name was Revee, but it has since been changed to its present form.
Herman B.[D?] Reeve, whose name heads this notice, passed his early life in much the usual manner of farmer lads, and in the district schools received his
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primary education. He afterwards, however, became a student in the Iowa Agricultural College of Ames, and was graduated in the Class of '82, in the law department of the State University, and subsequently took a post graduate course in the National University at Washington, D.C., graduating from that school in the Class of '84. He began business in the Government service as special examiner of the Pension Office, which position he held from 1882 until 1885, when he came to Des Moines, and formed the existing partnership with Mr. Gaston. The firm of Reeve & Gaston has an extensive practice, and makes a specialty of Government claim business, having a branch office in Milwaukee, Wis., and another in Washington, D.C.
On the 3d of November, 1887, in Des Moines, Iowa, Mr. Reeve was joined in wedlock with Miss Hattie B. St. John, a daughter of Carlisle St. John. She was born in this city, and is a member of the Sixth Presbyterian Church. Her family were among the early settlers of Polk County. The union of Mr. and Mrs. Reeve has been blessed with one son, Herman D., who was born in Des Mines, October 21, 1888. In politics, Mr. Reeve is a Republican, and is a member of the town council of University Place. Socially, he belongs to the Orders of Red Men, Good Templars, and Sons of Veterans. He is a worthy and valuable citizen, honored by all who known him.
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AMOS WISELEY BRANDT
AMOS WISELEY BRANDT, Auditor of Polk County, and a leading citizen of Des Moines, was born in Auburn, De Kalb County, Ind., on the 24th of August, 1850, and is a son of Isaac and Harriet (Wiseley) Brandt. He came to Des Moines with his parents in April, 1858. HIs early education was received in the public schools of that place, but later he entered Monmouth College, of Monmouth, Ill., from which he was graduated in the class of 1871. He also pursued a course in Grinnell College, at Grinnell, Iowa.
On the 8th of May, 1872, Mr. Brandt was married, near Somonauk, Ill., to Miss Mattie L. Moffett, daughter of John and Lettie M. Moffett, and a native of Bloomington, Ind., born March 25, 1852. Six children graced their union, of whom four are now living——Guy M., Lettie H., Anna M. and Ruth. Isaac W. died at the age of four and a half, and another child died in infancy.
Mr. Brandt entered upon the study of law in the office of Conrad & Phillips, where he remained two years, when he entered the Iowa Law School, a branch of Simpson Centenary College, of Indianola, and was admitted to the bar in June, 1880. While pursuing his law studies he engaged in teaching for ten months. Previous to that time he had followed farming, in Valley Township, continuing the same till December 14, 1877, when he removed to the city of Des Moines. In the fall of 1880 he was elected Justice of the Peace for Lee Township, but after one year's service resigned. In January, 1882, he was appointed United States Store Keeper, and served until November 27, the same year, when he was appointed United States Gauger, and continued to hold that office until December, 1885. In the meantime he was off duty, in the spring of 1885, and organized the Black Diamond Mining Company, in connection with J. and G. E. Walters, and has maintained his connection with the company since. In the fall of 1887 Mr. Brandt was elected Auditor of Polk County, and re-elected in 1889, running two hundred ahead of his ticket. He is an earnest Republican in politics, and has done good service in support of his party. Both Mr. Brandt and his wife are members of the United Presbyterian Church. He has served six years as Superintendent of the Sabbath-school, and has been otherwise active and influential in church work.
The history of Mr. Brandt's early life, and his efforts to obtain an education, is interesting. He attended the first regular public school in Des Moines, and carried brick to be used in the construction of the first public school building. His first business venture was as a dealer in pop corn, with the proceeds of which he bought a pig. When the pig was nearly grown it was stolen from the pen by some soldiers who were camping in Des Moines. A neighbor kindly made him a present of two small hogs in place of the one he lost, and he made such progress in stock growing that when he
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left school for college he placed in care of his father stock to the value of $280. Between the ages of eleven and nineteen years he was janitor of the Good Templars' Hall, and received therefrom an income of from $1 to $2.25 per week. He furnished his own clothes and paid his own way, except board for that time. After his marriage he successfully conducted a farm for awhile, but at length lost heavily through extensive speculations in stock when prices were on the decline. He has been a very active worker in the cause of temperance, having joined the Good Templar's order at the age of twelve years, since which time he has faithfully kept the pledge. He has made a very efficient and popular county officer, and won the high regard of all. He is a candid, genial gentleman, always willing and ready to do his duty, and ever courteous and obliging. His personal popularity was evinced in his recent election when he received such a large majority.
Mr. Brandt's eldest son, Guy M., who is now sixteen years of age, graduated from Des Moines High School, and at present is a freshman in Monmouth College, where he is pursuing a classical course. He has the distinction at this time of being the only student of that institution who is a son of a graduate of the college. He is a member of the Good Templar's Society, and is a young man of much promise and ability.
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ALEXANDER SCOTT
ALEXANDER SCOTT deserves special mention in this volume, as he was prominently connected with the early history of Des Moines. He was a brother of James L. Scott, of this city, in whose sketch, found elsewhere in this work, are given facts relating to the family of our subject. Alexander Scott was born in Crawford County, Ind., December 18, 1818, and when the garrison was established at Ft. Des Moines he came to Polk County, being under contract to furnish the garrison with provisions. He remained at the fort three years, and, when the Indians were removed, accompanied them to Kansas in the capacity of an Indian trader. When the land of Polk County came into the market he returned, and entered about five hundred acres on the east side of the river, including all of what now constitutes East Des Moines, and in consequence the site of the present capitol, which he afterward presented to the State.
Alexander Scott was a man of large heart, and of liberal and generous impulses. He resided for many years on the land he had chosen for his home, and aided greatly in laying the foundation of the present beautiful and prosperous city of Des Moines by his enterprise and liberal gifts of time and money for its upbuilding. He constructed the first bridge across the river at this place, and refused his influence and liberal support to no interest that tended to promote the growth of the young town. The land that he had entered increased in value, and he became comparatively wealthy, and as his financial resources increased, his spirit of generosity and liberality also seemed to be enlarged. He was generous almost to a fault. He could not say no to an appeal for financial aid, and advantage was taken of his kindness by unprincipled men.He endorsed heavily and was compelled to meet the obligations of those who had sought his assistance and whom he had befriended, and soon his earthly possessions were swept away. In 1859, when the excitement attending the discovery of gold at Pike's Peak was at its height, Mr. Scott joined a party of adventurers and started for that region, but he did not reach his destination,death ending his unfortunate career in camp near Ft. Kearney. Once, while strolling over what is now Capitol Hill with his brother, James L. Scott, and admiring its surroundings and the beautiful view obtained from that location, he expressed to his brother a desire that his last resting place might be there. In accordance with that wish the brother proceeded to Ft. Kearney when he heard of the death of Mr. Scott, brought back the remains and buried them on the spot which he had chosen as his sepulcher. He left a wife, but no children. His widow after went to California, where she died some years later.
Alexander Scott lies buried on Capitol Hill, only a few rods from the magnificent Iowa State House, of which all citizens of Iowa are so justly proud,
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but he who once possessed those beautiful grounds, and by whose generosity they were conveyed to the State, lies in a neglected grave with no stone to indicate where he lies. May it not be long ere a fitting memorial shall mark the last resting place of this most worthy man.
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JOHN J. WILLIAMS
 JOHN J. WILLIAMS, one of the early settlers of Des Moines and a prominent real-estate dealer of that City, traces his ancestry back to the days when his great-grandfather, a Welshman by birth, emigrated to the North of Ireland, where he married and reared a family of children, to one of whom was given the name of Joseph. when the lad had grown to mature years he was married, and in 1808 sailed with is family to America, locating in Pennsylvania. When the War of 1812 broke out, he espoused the cause of his adopted country and served in that struggle. About 1820 he removed to Ohio, where he lived many years, and died at the age of eighty-one years.
Alexander Williams, the father of our subject, was born on the Emerald Isle, July 3, 1806. His mother died when he was about twelve years of age, but his father was again married, and his second wife proved to be a true mother to the young lad. Alexander remained at home until twenty-three years of age, when he left the parental roof to learn the trade of a millwright. In 1832 he purchased a small mill in Jefferson County, Ohio, but after six years sold out and removed to Gallia County, where he was extensively engaged in the mill business for some seventeen years, in connection with the operation of a farm. In 1856 he made a tour through Northern Missouri and Southern Iowa, and being pleased with the location of Des Moines and its future prospects, he invested in real estate, and then returned to Ohio. In 1859 he again came to this city and purchased the water power and a dilapidated mill. With the aid of our subject, he rebuilt most of the dam across the Des Moines River and erected a flouring-mill at the corner of First and Center Streets,in West Des Moines, which they successfully operated until 1873, when Mr. Williams retired from business. In political sentiment he was a Whig until the rise of the Republican party, when he espoused its principles, remaining one of its strongest advocates until his death.
In Jefferson County, Ohio, Alexander Williams wedded Mary Jackson, who was born in that county, December 17, 1805, of Irish and Scotch descent. She was a consistent member of the Presbyterian Church and died in full fellowship with that denomination, January 13, 1862. Mr. Williams survived a number of years, departing this life, May 20, 1878.
John J. Williams was the only child of his parents. He was born near Smithfield, in Jefferson County, Ohio, May 14, 1834, and during his boyhood days, when not in school, he assisted his father on the farm or in the carding and flour-mill, where he learned his business. His educational advantages were liberal. He pursued an academic course for two years after leaving the common schools, and subsequently read law for two years, being graduated from the Cincinnati Law School in the spring of 1860. He became associated in business with his father soon afterward, the partnership continuing until Mr. Williams, Sr. retired.
On the 25th of September, 1860, in Galliopolis, Ohio, John J. Williams led to the marriage alter Miss Cornelia M. Cating, who was born June 18, 1842, in Gallia County, a daughter of John and Isabella (Rogers) Cating. Her father was an energetic and prosperous farmer, and one who took an active part in local affairs. To Mr. and Mrs. Williams have been born nine children——Mary B., Jennie C., Cornelia M., Minnette, Gertrude (who died in infancy), Ida L., Alice W., John A. (who died in infancy) and Alexander. The mother is a member of the Presbyterian Church and a most estimable lady.
Mr. Williams has made Des Moines his home for twenty-nine years, and has watched its growth from a town of four thousand to a city containing a population of sixty thousand. With the growth of the city his financial interests have also grown. He is largely interested in real estate, both in and
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near Des Moines, and handles none save his own property. He has been prominently identified with the progress of the city, has aided in its upbuilding, and three times has served as Alderman. Politically, he is an outspoken Republican. A portrait of Mr. Williams will be found on another page.
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