-59- ALEXANDER D. ROBERTSON    Alexander D. Robertson, serving with credit and ability as assistant cashier of the Washta State Bank, was born in Cherokee, June 11, 1871, and is a son of James Robertson, of whom more extended mention is made elsewhere in this work. The subject of this review acquired his education in the grammar and high schools of his native city and took a Liberal Arts course in Northwestern University. He had been connected with the Washta State Bank, of which his father is president, one year before entering the university and afterward he again became connected with that institution. He is now assistant cashier and has made an excellent record in this capacity.    On June 2, 1897, Mr. Robertson was united in marriage to Miss Nannie Briggs, a daughter of John S. and Mary E. (Blatchley) Briggs, the former born June 8, 1839, in Cambridge, Ohio, and the latter January 1, 1846, in Valparaiso, Indiana. The mother was one of the board of lady managers of the World's -60- Fair at Chicago, representing Nebraska on the ladies' commission. Mr. and Mrs. Briggs resided in Omaha, Nebraska, where the father was at one time part owner of the Omaha Daily Herald. Both are now deceased. The Briggs family is very well known in the middle west, Mrs. Robertson's grandfather having been the first governor of Iowa. Mr. and Mrs. Robertson have become the parents of two children: Ansel Briggs, who was born November 17, 1899; and Catherine Comrie, born March 18, 1906.    Mr. Robertson is well known in the Masonic fraternity, holding membership in Little Sioux Lodge, No. 521, Washta; Burning Bush Chapter, Cherokee; Crusade Commandery, No. 39, Cherokee; and Za-Ga-Zig Temple, A.A.O.N.M.S., Des Moines, Iowa. He is also affiliated with the Modern Woodmen of America and he gives his political allegiance to the republican party. He was school treasurer for several years and since June 1913 has been secretary of the school board. From August 12, 1901, to August, 1912, he served as postmaster of Washta under appointment of President McKinley and has at all times been found efficient and reliable in positions of public trust and responsibility. He is one of the valued and representative citizens of Washta and will undoubtedly be carried forward into still more important relations with financial interests.

-60- C. H. LOCKIN   Full size    C. H. Lockin, who has lived retired in Aurelia since 1880, having in the course of his active life made many substantial contributions to the agricultural development of Cherokee county, was born in Wisconsin in 1851. He is a son of John and Mary J. (Gregg) Lockin, the former a native of New York state, where his marriage occurred. The parents afterward moved to Wisconsin, where they opened up a new farm in pioneer times, their land lying near the present site of the city of Watertown. After improving this farm for a number of years the father sold the property and moved to Fond du Lac county, where he bought one hundred acres upon which he lived until his death, which occurred in 1888. He and his wife were the parents of six children besides the subject of this review: J. C., of Aurelia; Ella, the wife of R. T. Dick, also of Aurelia; Angie, who married Rev. S. R. Beatty, district superintendent of the Cedar Rapids district of the Methodist church; and W. H., Emily and Mary J., all of whom have passed away.    C. H. Lockin was reared in Wisconsin, acquiring his education in the public schools of that state and afterward engaging in teaching for one term. When he was twenty-one years of age he came to Iowa and taught the first school in Aurelia for one winter. At the end of that time he purchased a tract of wild land, breaking the soil with ox teams and steadily carrying forward the work of improving and developing this property until 1880. In that year he retired from active life and built a fine home in Aurelia, where he has since resided. He still has valuable holdings in farm lands, his property being divided into three farms: one of two hundred acres in Buena Vista county; and two aggregating -63- eight hundred and forty acres in Cherokee county. These are all well improved and in a high state of cultivation. Mr. Lockin is a stockholder and director in the Farmers National Bank and has been for many years interested in the Lockin Hotel of Aurelia.    In 1877 Mr. Lockin was united in marriage to Mrs. W. H. Lockin, a daughter of F. P. and Betsy (Landon) Ferguson, natives of New York and early settlers in Wisconsin, where both passed away. In their family were four children beside the wife of the subject of this review: C. W. and H. L., deceased; Leander, of Brandon, Wisconsin; and William, of Madison, that state. Mr. and Mrs. Lockin have three daughters: Caroline, a graduate of Morningside College, Sioux City, and now engaged in teaching; Jessie Emily, also a graduate of Morningside College and for the past two years a teacher in the public schools of Cherokee county; and Clara Louise, who has engaged in teaching since graduating from Morningside College. Mrs. has also a son by her former marriage, Charles H., of Cherokee county.    Mr. Lockin is a progressive republican in his political beliefs and has held a number of local offices, serving as treasurer of the township and school boards. He and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church and both are active in religious work, supporting many projects for the building of churches and colleges. They are people of exemplary character and high principles and they command and hold the confidence and regard of a wide circle of friends.

-63- CHARLES J. MAHER    Charles J. Maher, one of the leading and able young lawyers of Cherokee, now filling the office of county attorney in a creditable and able manner, was born in Fort Dodge, Iowa, July 28, 1882. He is a son of Charles W. and Mary Elizabeth (Callaghan) Maher, the former born in Kingston, Canada, in October, 1839, and the latter in Connecticut. The father came to the United States in early life and settled first in Ottawa, Illinois, and then in Fort Dodge, Iowa. He is well known in business and financial circles of that vicinity, being director in the Iowa Savings Bank, the First National Bank, and the Iowa Telephone Company of Fort Dodge and president of the Badger Savings Bank of Badger and of the Harcourt Savings Bank at Harcourt. He is a member of the Roman Catholic church and a republican in his political views. He and his wife became the parents of nine children; Katheryn, the wife of Maurice O'Connor of Fort Dodge; William F., of the same city; Mary, who married L. C. Harmon of Manistique, Michigan; Ellen V., at home; Blanche, the wife of George Nicholson, also of Manistique; Charles J., of this review; Francis S., of Fort Doge; Olive and Angela at home.    Charles J. Maher acquired his early education in the public schools of Fort Dodge and afterward attended Notre Dame University at South Bend, Indiana. He was graduated from the law department of the University of Michigan in 1907 and immediately afterward began the practice of his profession in Cherokee, forming a partnership with A. R. Molyneux, which still continues. This is one of the strongest and most important law firms in the city and is connected -64- through an extensive and representative patronage with a great deal of important litigation. Mr. Maher has extensive property interests, owning three farms in Cherokee county and he is connected also with the Cherokee Sand & Gravel Company; the Huntley Valley Land Company and the Consolidated Lumber Company of Manistique.    Mr. Maher is connected fraternally with the Knights of Columbus, the Elks, the Eagles and the Foresters and joined Delta Chi during his university days. He is a devout member of the Roman Catholic church and gives his political allegiance to the republican part. He has gained recognition as one of the able and successful lawyers of Cherokee and by his high professional attainments and his sterling character has justified the respect and confidence in which he is held by the legal fraternity and the local public.

-64- A. H. WADDELL    A. H. Waddell, engaged in the cream and produce business in Aurelia,where he is ranked among the most progressive and successful business men of the city, was born in North Lowell, Dodge county, Wisconsin, in 1851. He is a son of James and Mary Waddell, the former a native of Edinburgh, Scotland, and the latter of Belfast, Ireland. They came to America when they were still very young and their marriage occurred in New York state. In 1846 they moved to Wisconsin, settling in Bariboo, whence they moved to Dodge county. There the father bought state land, purchasing six hundred and forty acres at one dollar and a quarter per acre, and this he operated until his retirement. He died at Beaver Dam in 1885 and was survived by his wife until 1903. To their union were born eleven children, eight of whom grew to maturity: Hester A., who died on the family homestead in Wisconsin at the age of fifty-two; James H., of the state of Washington; Mathew W., a resident of Beaver Dam, Wisconsin; O. D., of Aurelia, A. H., of this review; T. E., of Columbus, Wisconsin; George R., of the same city; and Charles R., of Beaver Dam.    A. H. Waddell acquired his education in the public schools of Dodge county and afterward moved to Minnesota, where he took up a homestead claim in Martin county. After eleven years he sold this and moved to Cherokee county in 1881. He bought eighty acres of land and afterward disposed of this farm and purchased another of two hundred and forty acres, located in Diamond township, six miles south of Aurelia. He engaged in farming upon this property until 1909 and then disposed of his land and moved into Aurelia, where he opened a cream and produce business which he has since conducted. He controls a large and representative patronage and his business has increased rapidly in volume and importance, for he manages it carefully and follows always the most progressive and practical methods. He is a stockholder in the Farmers National Bank and president of the Peoples Cooperative Telephone Company and he has valuable individual holdings in business and residence properties.    In 1872 Mr. Waddell married Miss Susan R. Smith, who was born in northern New York and who moved from that state to Wisconsin and thence to Minnesota, where her mother died in 1886. Her father afterward moved to -65- Iowa, where he passed away in 1902. Mr. and Mrs. Waddell have seven children: Guy L., of Arlington, South Dakota; Ray V., also a resident of South Dakota; J.J., of Cherokee, Iowa; W. C., at home; Carrie, the wife of John Dyslon, a farmer of Cherokee county; Lura, who married Fred Woodcock, of South Dakota; and Kate, the wife of Norton Converse, of Buhl, Idaho.    Mr. Waddell passed through all the chairs in Aurelia Lodge, No. 495, I.O.O.F., and is a member of the Knights of Pythias. He give his political allegiance to the republican party and has held various township offices and is now serving as a member of the city council. In all business, official and personal dealings he is straightforward and reliable and he enjoys to the fullest extent the confidence and regard of all who know him.

-65- JOHN W. STEVENS    On the roster of county officials in Cherokee county appears the name of John W. Stevens, a most popular and capable official now serving for the fourth term as county recorder. He is one of the native sons of Cherokee county, his birth having occurred July 29, 1876. The family is of English lineage and was founded in America by the grandparents of our subject , the father C. H. Stevens being born in Lafayette, Wisconsin, August 8, 1846., just two weeks after the arrival of his parents from England. When he removed westward to Cherokee county, in May, 1867, he made the journey with ox teams and covered wagon, after the primitive manner of the times. He was the youngest of the family of twelve children. As the years passed by, however, he prospered, owing to his capable management, his unfaltering industry and his laudable ambition. On March 28, 1875, at Cherokee, Iowa, he married Eva L. Porter, a daughter of C. M. Porter of New York, who had moved to Cherokee county. He became an extensive dealer in agricultural implements in Cherokee and is now an expert man with the International Harvester Company. His wife also survives and they are both active, well preserved people. In their family were six children.    Reared in the county which is still his home, John W. Stevens became a public-school pupil in Cherokee and advanced through consecutive grades until he became a student in the high school. After starting out in life on his own account he followed various lines of industry, including that of railroad work as clerk in the freight depot. In 1906 he was elected county recorder and his systematic methods, his promptness and reliability have made him most efficient. That the public has the utmost confidence in him is indicated in the fact that he has been three times reelected to the office and is now serving for the fourth term.    On the 20th of June, 1900, Mr. Stevens was married to Miss Rosa A. Moore, a native of Kentucky, and they have become the parents of six children: Mildred B.; Harris C.; John E.; Thomas L.; Thelma G.; and Rose. In politics Mr. Stevens is a republican, having always adhered to the faith of that party since age conferred upon him the right of franchise. He is an active worker in its ranks, yet never sacrifices the public welfare to partisanship. He belongs to a number of fraternal organizations, including the Modern Woodmen of -66- America, the Knights of Pythias and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, in which he is a past noble grand. He is interested in American ethnology and geology and especially in the study of the American Indian. He possesses a fine collection of Indian relics. A life long resident of Cherokee county he has witnessed much of the growth and development of his section of the state and there are few important points in its history unfamiliar to him.

-66- CALEB BUNN    Caleb Bunn, who now lives retired in Cherokee county, one of its most honored and venerated citizens, for many years followed farming in this county, gaining a comfortable competence. There is also due him public thanks for the part he took in the Civil war, when for three years he served under the Union flag. A native of England, he was born in Berkhampstead on November 20, 1845, a son of James and Mary Ann (Seabrook) Bunn, both natives of England, the former born January 9, 1815, and the latter December 7, 1813. The father was a blacksmith by trade, gifted with an inventive genius far beyond the ordinary. He invented a device for the transfer of mail on trains going at any speed and his invention was adopted by the London & Great Northern Railway of England in 1850. He made this invention in 1848 and it is still used by that railroad. In search of wider opportunities, he came to the United States in 1849, locating in Cleveland, Ohio, where he followed his occupation for about six years, when he sought the farther west, making a removal to Dubuque county, Iowa, and there continuing his vocation. In 1871 he made another change of residence, locating three miles southeast of Washta, in Ida county, where he bought a farm. There he died, highly esteemed and respected by all who knew him, on August 25, 1882. HIs wife survived him for nearly twenty years and passed away January 11, 1902, at the venerable age of eighty-eight years, one month and four days. They were members of the Methodist Episcopal church and upon coming to this county, the father gave his support to the republican party. In their family were six children: Isaac, of Denver, Colorado; Jacob, a resident of Los Angeles, California; Caleb, of this review; Sarah, the widow of Lucius Vandiver, of Seattle, Washington; John, of Washta, Cherokee county; and Alfred, of Lemmon, South Dakota.    Being brought to America when but four years of age and locating in Dubuque county when about ten, Caleb Bunn attended the common schools there and also received a few lessons in Ohio, but his opportunities for getting an education were limited. He worked on the farm until eighteen years of age and then enlisted as a private in Company L, First Iowa Cavalry, his date of enlistment being December 22, 1863. He participated in the battles of Jenkins's Ferry and Prairie D'Aulne, Poisen Springs, Arkansas, and in other skirmishes, being honorably mustered out on February 15, 1866, and discharged March 16, 1866. He then returned to the parental home at Worthington, Dubuque county, again taking up farming, and there he continued until 1871, when he removed to Washta. He there remained until March, 1877 and then followed farming in Silver township until February, 1903, employing the most practical methods and -67- gathering in annually good harvests which brought him substantial financial returns. In the latter year he retired, having gained a comfortable competence, and removed to Cherokee, where he now makes his home.    On January 16, 1868, Mr. Bunn was married to Miss Josephine De Long, a daughter of John and Mathilda Ann (Kibby) De Long, of Worthington, Dubuque county, who came from Indiana and who were the first couple married in Delaware county, Iowa. To this union two sons were born: John William, of Cherokee; and Charles W., of Fort Dodge, Iowa. Both are married and John W. has two children, Mildred and Harold, while Charles has a daughter, Alma Leota. Mrs. Bunn's father was of French descent but was born in Indiana. Her mother was also a native of that state and a granddaughter of Lucius Kibby. The latter served in the Revolutionary war under Washington as a member of a Connecticut regiment. He was born in 1760 and located in Worthington, Dubuque county, i 1836. Simon Clark, the explorer, preached the first sermon in Dubuque county in his home. The grandfather also built the first grist and saw-mill in that part of the state. He was one of the historic pioneers there and became a great friend of the Maquota tribe of Indians, who greatly respected him.    Mr. Bunn in his earlier years took an active interest in public affairs and while a resident of Silver township served as assessor, road supervisor, constable and justice of the peace, his election to these various public offices indicating his standing in the community. He attends the Methodist Episcopal church, in the work of which he takes a great interest, and fraternally belongs to the Cherokee lodge of the Odd Fellows, the American Brotherhood of Yeomen and the Grand ARmy of the Republic, being a member of Custer Post, No. 25, of Cherokee and at present its junior vice commander. Mr. Bunn takes a great interest in the development and growth of the city and district and is respected as a public-spirited citizen who has done a life's labor worthily and well.

-67- CHARLES ADDY    Charles Addy, a retired farmer living in Marcus, was born in Jackson county, this state, January 17, 1856. He is a son of John and Sarah (Holden) Addy, natives of Lincolnshire, England. The parents came to America in early life and located in Ohio, where they remained for two years and a half. At the end of that time they moved to Jackson county, this state,and the father purchased land there, operating a farm in that locality until his death,which occurred in November, 1896. He had long survived his wife, whose death occurred in March, 1872.    Charles Addy was reared in Jackson county and acquired his education in the public schools. He remained at home until he was twenty-two years of age and was then for four years a farm hand. On the 1st of March, 1882, he came to Cherokee county and bought one hundred and sixty acres on section 19, Sheridan township, paying nine dollars per acre. After he had improved and operated it for one year he sold it a profit of one thousand dollars and then bought one hundred and sixty acres on section 25, Amherst -68- township, continuing to make his home thereon for a number of years and steadily carrying forward the work of its development along practical and progressive lines. His well directed labors were rewarded by a gratifying measure of success and in 1912 he retired from active life and moved into Marcus, where he purchased a comfortable home four blocks from the business section. He is a stockholder and director of the First National Bank of Marcus and owns eighty acres of land in Sheridan township and one hundred and twenty acres in Marshall county, South Dakota.    On the 25th of April, 1883, Mr. Addy married Miss Bessie Pierce, a daughter of Emanuel Pierce, a native of England, who came to America in early life and located in Wisconsin. He afterward moved to Cherokee county and bought land, which he improved and operated until 1891, when he retired. He moved to Le Mars, Iowa, and there resided until his death, which occurred in April, 1910. During his life he followed mining to a considerable extent, working at that occupation in England and afterward in Michigan, Wisconsin and Colorado. Mr. and Mrs. Addy became the parents of four children: A. L., who is farming his father's property; Stanley C., engaged in agricultural pursuits in Cherokee county; Ivan P., also upon his father's farm; and Edward, who lives at home.    Mr. Addy is a member of the Methodist church and he gives his political allegiance to the republican party. He is one of the present county board of supervisors in the third year of his service and he has been a trustee of Amherst township several times. The present rest which he is enjoying is well deserved, as it rewards many years of active and well directed labor in the past.

-68- PRENTISS B. CLEAVES, M. D.   Full Size    For a decade Dr. Prentiss B. Cleaves has been engaged in the practice of medicine in Cherokee and displays more than ordinary skill in surgery. Thorough college training and wide reading have made him thoroughly well informed concerning the principles of medicine and his careful diagnosis of his cases leaves little doubt as to the result. He is yet a comparatively young man and the future undoubtedly holds in store for him continued success. He was born in Cook county, Illinois, in 1879, and is a son of Benjamin L. and Mary B. (Ingalls) Cleaves, the former a brother of Dr. R. L. Cleaves. Benjamin L. Cleaves died in the year 1883, after which his widow went to Maine, and in the public schools of that state Dr. Prentiss B. Cleaves pursued his early education. Subsequently he entered the University of Michigan and was graduated from the medical department with the class of 1902. He then located for practice in Ann Arbor, remaining in that city for a year, but in 1903 removed to Cherokee, where he has since remained. Here he conducts a general practice and, although he does not specialize in any particular line, he does a large amount of surgery. He is thoroughly conversant with the study of anatomy and the component parts of the human body and his coolness in emergencies, combined with his scientific knowledge, has made him very skilful [skillful] in this branch of the profession. -71-    In 1906 Dr. Cleaves was united in marriage to Miss Jane Delaplane, of Tipton, Iowa, and they have become the parents of two children, Prentiss B. Jr., and Richard D. their home is a hospitable one and its good cheer is enjoyed by many friends. In his political views Dr. Cleaves is an earnest republican but not an office seeker. Fraternally he is connected with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, while along strictly professional lines he is connected with the Cherokee county and the Iowa State Medical Societies and the American Medical Association. That he is esteemed and respected by his fellow practioners, who know him best, is indicated in the fact that three times he has been elected to the office of president of the County Medical Society. His brethren speak of him in terms of confidence and high regard and the general public recognize his ability and trustworthiness.

This nonprofit research site is an independent affiliate of the American History and Genealogy Project (AHGP), and proud to be hosted by USGenNet, a nonprofit historical and genealogical Safe-Site Server™ solely supported by tax-deductible contributions. No claim is made to the copyrights of individual submitters, and this site complies fully with USGenNet's Nonprofit Conditions of Use.

Mardos Memorial Library