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HON. HENRY
C. BRANDES.
While much is said concerning the dishonesty
and unreliability of those in high official positions--and
indeed there are too many lapses from the path
of rectitude--the great majority of men who are
in office are true to the trust and have the best
interests of the commonwealth and the country
at heart. Abraham Lincoln said, "You can
fool some of the people all of the time and all
of the people some of the time, but you can't
fool all of the people all of the time."
In this lies the safety of our American government
with its unlimited franchise, and election to
office is the expression of public confidence
in the individual. In the case of Henry C. Brandes
it is a confidence well merited---so says public
opinion--and as representative in the state legislature
he is proving an able member of the assembly.
Born in Brunswig, Germany, on the 14th of April,
1852, he is a son of Henry C. and Dorothy (Ketz)
Brandes, in whose family were four children but
he is the only one that has ever crossed the Atlantic
to the new world. Both the father and mother spent
their entire lives in Germany, Mr. Brandes wag
reared at home and obtained his education in the
public schools of his native country and of Illinois
after he came to the United States. In 1868, when
sixteen years of age, he sought a home in the
new world and took up his abode in La Salle comity,
Illinois, where he attained his majority. As opportunity
offered he there attended school and not only
acquired a knowledge of the branches of learning
therein taught but also acquainted himself with
the English language. For some years he worked
as a farm hand and afterward engaged in farming
on his own account on rented land.
In 1874 he made a trip to Pottawattamie county
and with the money which he had saved from his
earnings as the result of his industry and economy
he purchased one hundred and sixty acres of farm
land where he now resides. He did not remain in
Iowa at that time, however, but returned to La
Salle county, Illinois, where he continued to
make his home until 1877. He then brought his
family to Pottawattamie county, where he has since
lived, covering a period of thirty years. In his
business affairs he has prospered and has added
to his original investment from time to time until
his farm now comprises five hundred and twenty
acres of rich and productive land. It is, moreover,
one of the best improved farms in James township.
The land has been divided into fields of convenient
size by well kept fences and through the rotation
of crops and the careful cultivation
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of the fields he annually gathers abundant harvests.
The buildings, too, are substantial, modern and
in good repair and the latest improved farm machinery
is used- to facilitate the work of the fields.
In fact Mr. Brandes is regarded as one of the
most progressive agriculturists of the county
and his success is well deserved.
On the 11th of March, 1874, in La Salle county,
Illinois, Mr. Brandes was married to Miss Magdalene
Miller, a native of Livingston county, Illinois,
and unto them have been born eight children: George
and Walter, who are farming in James township;
Celia, the wife of Arthur Simon, of York township;
Ada, who is engaged in teaching school; Leslie,
Hattie, Milton and Raymond, all at home.
Mr. Brandes' position is never an equivocal one
upon questions of public interest. In politics
he is a pronounced republican and a stalwart champion
of the party, his opinions carrying weight in
its councils. He has served for years as a delegate
to the state and county conventions and in -1896
he was elected county supervisor, in which position
he served continuously by re-election until the
1st of January, 1906. He was elected to the state
legislature in November, 1906. He is now ably
serving as a member of the house and is recognized
as a working member of the law-making body of
the state. He belongs to Valley lodge, No. 439,
I. O. O. F., of Hancock; to Council Bluffs lodge,
B. P. O. E.; and to the Evangelical Association.
His membership relations indicate much of his
character, showing the principles which govern
his actions and shape his life. He stands today
as one of the distinguished residents of Pottawattamie
county, a man of great strength of character and
breadth of view, who has shaped his own destiny
and has arisen to his present position by reason
of individual merit.
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John P. Davis, manager of the Pioneer Implement
Company, of Council Bluffs, his intense and well
directed energy bringing to the enterprise a large
measure of success, is numbered among the native
sons of Illinois, his birth having occurred in
Fulton county, that state, in 1861. He is a son
of Joseph S. Davis, a native of New Jersey, who
at the time of the Civil war responded to the
country's call for aid. He had in the meantime
be come a resident of Illinois and later enlisted
in the regular United States Army and served for
several years, doing his full duty as a soldier
whose first interest is to his country. His loyalty
to the old flag was never questioned and he did
valiant aid for the Union cause.
It was in the year 1870 that Joseph S. Davis
removed from Illinois to Pottawattamie county,
Iowa, settling on the farm where John P. Davis,
then a youth of nine years, was reared. He attended
the public schools and remained at home until
1879, when he came to Council Bluffs and secured
a position as office boy with the Pioneer Implement
Company. The story of his fidelity to duty, his
trustworthiness and his capacity is shown in the
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fact that he is now manager and treasurer of
the company. Successive promotions came to him
in recognition of his merit and ability and he
improved every opportunity to familiarize himself
with the business and render his services of value
to the house. He is also recognized as a factor
in other successful enterprises of Council Bluffs,
being a director in the Shugart-Ouren Seed Company.
He has ever given undivided attention to his business
affairs, making the welfare of the house his first
interest and through his close application and
unfaltering diligence has attained the prominent
position in commercial circles which he now occupies.
Mr. Davis was married in Council Bluffs, in 1889,
to Miss Maie Oberholtzer, a daughter of H. H.
Oberholtzer, now deceased. They have one daughter,
June Davis. Mr. Davis is a republican in politics
but has never taken an active part in political
work nor desired office as a reward for party
fealty. He is a director in the Council Bluffs
Rowing Association, belongs to the Elks lodge
and possesses a social, genial nature which gains
for him friends wherever he goes.
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Dominick Gross, who for years has been engaged
in raising .Hereford cattle and is classed with
the leading farmers of Pleasant township, was
born ill Alsace, Germany, on the 21st of April,
1848. He dates his residence in Iowa from 1853.
He was, therefore, but five years of age when
brought to the new world by his parents, Dominick
'and Mary A. (Ledolph) Gross. In early life the
father learned the trade of cabinet-making, and
thinking to provide a better living for his family
in the new world, he came to the United States
in 1853, settling at Le Claire, Iowa, where he
worked at his trade until 1866. In 1873 he came
to Pottawattamie county, Iowa, and invested his
capital in two hundred acres of land on section
25, Pleasant township, where he made his home
up to the time of his death, which occurred in
1881, when he was fifty-nine years of age. His
wife died in 1896, at the age of seventy-three
years. The religious faith of the family was that
of the Catholic church and the political views
of the father accorded with the principles of
the democratic platform. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Gross
were born nine children, the surviving members
of the family being Dominick; Joseph, a resident
of Wisner, Nebraska; Julia, who is now Sister
Mary Joseph, in St. Bernard's Hospital at Council
Bluffs; and George, of Pleasant township.
Under the parental roof Dominick Gross spent
his boyhood and youth and that he might be qualified
for life's practical and responsible duties, his
parents sent him to the public schools, where
he acquired a fair English education. From early
boyhood he worked in the fields and he began an
independent career as a farmer by cultivating
rented land in Scott county, Iowa, in 1871. After
coming to Pottawattamie county he purchased one
hundred and twenty acres of land on section 25,
Pleasant township, and
665
with the further stimulus of owning the property
he resolutely set to work to bring it under a
high state of cultivation and make it very productive.
For years he has been largely engaged in raising
Hereford cattle and has produced some of the finest
specimens ever seen in western Iowa. Both his
farming and stock-raising interests have brought
him a good return, making his a leading agriculturist
of his community.
In 1877 Mr. Gross was married to Miss Josephine
Wiseman, of Pleasant township, a daughter of John
Wiseman, who came to Pottawattamie county from
Saxony, Germany. Nine children have been born
unto Mr. and Mrs. Gross: Mary E., now the wife
of John Doll, of Pleasant township; George A.,
whose home is in Harrison county, Iowa; Charles,
deceased; Josephine, the wife of Harry Sarvis,
of Shelby county, Iowa; William, Margaret, Frank,
Clarence and Bessie, all at home.
Mr. Gross votes with the democracy and is recognized
as one of the leaders in his party in this locality.
He has served repeatedly as a delegate to county
conventions and has filled the office of township
clerk for ten years, while for the past eight
years he has been treasurer of the school board.
He is a communicant of the Catholic church, is
a member of the Knights of Columbus and is justly
regarded as one of the leading and representative
farmers of the county.
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One of the most prominent attorneys practicing
at the bar of Pottawattamie county is Charles
G. Saunders, who has been a resident of Council
Bluffs since October, 1888, and has since been
identified with many of the most important cases
tried in this section of the state. A native of
New York, he was born in Westmoreland, Oneida
county, on the 10,th of April, 1861, and is of
English descent, his parents, George W. and Mary
E. (Walker) Saunders, both being natives of England.
The father was born in Cranbrook, Kent, and in
early life accompanied his parents on their emigration
to America, the family locating in Oneida county,
New York. Throughout the greater part of his life
he followed agricultural pursuits and died in
Crawford county, Iowa, in May, 1896. Our subject's
maternal grandfather, Thomas Walker, brought his
family to the United States when Mrs. Saunders
was in her girlhood and they, too, settled in
Oneida county, New York. By her marriage she became
the mother of eight children who grew to maturity,
Charles G. being the eldest, and seven of the
number are still living.
Charles G. Saunders was only seven years of age
when the family came to Iowa and took up their
residence in Iowa City. In 1873 they removed to
Adair county and three years later located in
Crawford county, where our subject grew to manhood
upon his father's farm, his primary education
being acquired in the public schools of this state.
In the fall of 1882 he entered Drake University
at Des Moines, where he pursued 'a classical course
and was
666
graduated in 1886. He then studied law and in
1888 was graduated from the law department of
the University of Iowa at Iowa City and was admitted
to the bar by the supreme court. In October of
the same year he came to Council Bluffs and hung
out his shingle. In 1900 Drake University conferred
upon him the degree of LL.D. As a lawyer he is
sound, clearminded and well trained and he well
merits the success that has attended his efforts
in his chosen profession. His ability was soon
recognized by his fellow citizens and in January,
1895, he was elected county attorney of Pottawattamie
county and creditably filled that position for
two terms or four years. Other positions of honor
and trust have been conferred upon him and he
has faithfully performed the duties of every office
in which he has served. In February, 1896, he
was appointed an aide on the staff of Governor
F. M. Drake, with the rank of lieutenant colonel,
and in 1898 was appointed judge advocate general
of the Iowa National Guard, serving as such until
November, 1906, when he resigned. His political
support is given the republican party and he has
taken a very active and influential part in public
affairs along political lines. In 1902 he was
elected to the state senate to fill a vacancy
and in the fall of the following year was elected
for a full term, being a member of the thirtieth,
thirty-first and thirty-second sessions of the
Iowa senate, where he served on the judiciary,
appropriation, railroads and cities and towns
committees.
On the 2d of July, 1890, Mr. Saunders was united
in marriage to Miss Flora D. Newkirk, of Delta,
Iowa, a daughter of John O. Newkirk, and to them
have been born three children, as follows: Vera,
Marion and Charles D.
Mr. Saunders is equally prominent in fraternal
as well as professional and political circles,
and was one of the five national directors of
the Modern Woodmen of America from July, 1901,
to July, 1905, during which time over twenty-six
million dollars were paid out in death benefits.
Besides this order he also belongs to the Elks,
the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Knights
of Pythias, the Royal Highlanders, the Ancient
Order of United Woodmen and is a chapter Mason.
Religiously he is connected with the Methodist
Episcopal church.
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NELSON D.
SANFORD.
Nelson D. Sanford is now living retired in Avoca
in the enjoyment of a rest which he has well earned,
for during a long period he was actively associated
with business interests. 4£e was born in
Litchfield county, Connecticut, on the 28th of
February, 1830, his parents being Daniel and Phoebe
(Burnham) Sanford, who were likewise natives of
the Charter Oak state and died in New Haven, Connecticut.
Their family numbered three children, of whom
two are living, the daughter being Fanny, now
the widow of D. P. Calhoue and a resident of New
Haven, Connecticut.
Nelson D. Sanford completed his education in
the high school of New Haven and when seventeen
years of age began teaching, which profession
he
669
followed for six consecutive years, giving uniform
satisfaction by reason of the able manner in which
he imparted to others the knowledge that he had
acquired. After attaining his majority he began
business on his own account in New Haven, Connecticut,
as a dealer in flour and grain and there continued
for some time.
Mr. Sanford has been married twice. In New Haven
he wedded Miss Mary E. Giddings and unto them
were born four children, two of whom yet survive:
Belle M., who is living with her father; and Edward
M., a resident of Atlantic, Iowa. The wife and
mother died in New Haven, Connecticut, and on
account of his health Mr. Sanford was advised
by his physicians to go to the west. Accordingly
in 1873 he came to Iowa and settled at Avoca,
where he turned his attention to the real-estate
and loan business, with which he was connected
for a third of a century. In fact he continued
in this line of operation until about six months
ago, when he was again forced to retire on account
of his health and his age. During his business
connection with Avoca he has made many acquaintances
and friends throughout the county and all have
found him honest, upright, thorough and energetic
in his business transactions.
In 1883 M. Sanford was again married, his second
union being with Miss Clara Wilkinson, who was
born in Indiana in 1843 and is a daughter of Truman
and Jane Wilkinson, both of whom were natives
of Vermont. They went to Indiana at an early day
and both died there. Their family numbered six
children.
Mr. Sanford exercises his right of franchise
in support of the men and measures of the republican
party. He is a member of the Congregational church
and he owns a fine residence, which he now occupies
in Avoca. He is well known in the town as a citizen
of genuine worth, who in all life's relations
has been deemed worthy of public confidence and
regard. His life record now covers more than three-quarters
of a century and in the evening of his days he
receives the veneration and respect which should
ever be accorded one whose life has been worthily
lived.
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W. C. Barton, at one time extensively engaged
in agricultural pursuits in Pottawattamie county,
is now living retired in Avoca. He was born in
Chautauqua county, New York, March 26, 1833, in
an old log house with puncheon floor and clapboard
roof, and was four years of age when the family
removed to Cattaraugus county, New York, remaining
there until going to Wisconsin. His parents were
James and Darcus (Ackley) Barton, the former of
English descent and the latter of Welsh ancestry.
The father, in company with our subject, removed
to Waupaca county, Wisconsin, and pre-empted a
claim from the government at a, dollar and a quarter
an acre. They improved the land and successfully
carried on general agricultural pursuits there
for eight years, at the end of which time the
father passed
670
away. The mother died at Durand, Wisconsin, four
years after her husband's death.
W. C. Barton acquired his education in an old
log schoolhouse with slab benches and other primitive
furnishings characteristic of those early days
in New York. Though the methods of instruction
were crude, he managed to acquire a good practical
education and has largely added to his knowledge
by reading and observation in later years. After
the death of his parents he sold the farm in Waupaca
county, Wisconsin, in 1866, and came to Iowa,
taking up his abode in Mitchell county upon a
farm which he purchased. He successfully operated
this tract until 1870, when he again sold out
and removed to Pottawattamie county, purchasing
a farm of one hundred and sixty acres on section
7, Valley township. He met with unusual success
in his farming operations here and continually
added to his holdings by additional purchases
until he became the owner of eight hundred acres
of rich and productive farming land. He now owns
but two hundred and twenty-five acres of this
tract, having divided a portion of it among his
children and sold another part of it. In 1891,
Mr. Barton retired from the active work of the
fields and took up his abode in Avoca, where he
has since lived retired in the enjoyment of many
of !the comforts and luxuries ,which go to make
life worth living. He owns three residences in
the town and is recognized as one of the representative
and enterprising citizens of Pottawattamie county,
having in former years been extensively and successfully
connected with its agricultural interests. He
owes his prosperity entirely to his own well directed
energy and capable business management 'and therefore
richly merits the rest which has come to him in
his later years.
Mr. Barton was married twice. His first wife
bore the maiden name of Diantha Dewey and was
born in New York, in 1834. She was a daughter
of Horace Dewey and a distant relative of Admiral
Dewey, and by her marriage become the mother of
five children: Marion, a resident of Nebraska;
Rosie, the wife of A. L. Palmer, of Winona, Minnesota;
Orrin, living in Avoca, Iowa; Roscoe, a lawyer
of Avoca; and Florence, the wife of Fred Bomboy,
who resides in Minnesota. After the death of his
first wife Mr. Barton was married, April 6, 1893,
to Mrs. Hannah Altig, a native of Fountain county,
Indiana. She was the widow of William Altig, and
a daughter of Caleb and Elizabeth Abernathey,
the former born in Ohio and the latter in Kentucky.
Mrs. Barton was one of ten children and both her
parents are now deceased.
Mr. Barton has always been a stalwart advocate
of the republican party and has served as school
director for eight years, the cause of education
finding in him a strong champion. He and his wife
support the Congregational church and are highly
esteemed throughout the community as people of
genuine personal worth and sterling traits of
character. He has made good use of his opportunities.
He has prospered from year to year and has conducted
all business matters carefully and successfully,
and in all his acts displays an aptitude for successful
management. He has not permitted the accumulation
of a competence to affect in any way his actions
toward those less successful than he and has always
a cheerful word and pleasant smile
671
for all with whom he comes in contact. He now
receives the veneration and respect which should
ever be accorded one who has traveled thus far
on life's journey and whose actions have at all
times been guided by honorable, manly principles.
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HENRY ADAMS
OTTO.
Henry Adams Otto, a prosperous and well known
citizen of Council Bluffs, was born near Freeport,
Stephenson county, Illinois, on the 20th of December,
1850. His parents were Daniel and Mary Magdalene
(Nayerhood) Otto, the former a native of Lancaster
county, Pennsylvania, where his birth occurred
in 1796. He was a carpenter and joiner by trade,
and in 1844 he located in Stephenson county, Illinois,
where he lived up to the time of his death) which
was occasioned by a railroad accident near Freeport,
Illinois, in 1861. At that time the railroad was
known as the Racine & Mississippi but is now
the Chicago & Milwaukee. Mr. and Mrs. Otto
were the parents of fifteen children, eight sons
and seven daughters. Four of the sons died in
infancy but the remainder of the children lived
to years of maturity. One son, John, who was born
exactly twenty-four years earlier than our subject,
passed away in 1900, and the mother of this large
and interesting family departed this life near
Freeport, Illinois, in 1862, when she had attained
the age of sixty-five years.
Henry Adams Otto attended the common schools
of Freeport, Illinois, for several years and also
at Dakota, Illinois. When sixteen years of age
he began to learn the trade of masonry, with which
he was connected for five years. At the end of
that time, on the 1st of June, 1871, he arrived
in Council Bluffs and took up the work of bridge
building in the employ of the Chicago & Northwestern
Railroad Company, between Council Bluffs and Boone,
Iowa. He was later given a position as foreman
in the building department on the division between
Council Bluffs and Carroll, Iowa, and is still
employed in this capacity, his long continuance
in the service of the railroad being proof of
the able and efficient manner in which he discharges
his duties.
On the 26th of October, 1869, Mr. Otto was united
in marriage at Freeport, Illinois, to Miss Louise
Henrietta Miller, who was born in Luzerne county,
Pennsylvania, February 21, 1853, and was a daughter
of Henry G. and Louis, (Taressa) Miller, of Freeport.
Her father was born in Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Germany,
April 6, 1823, while the mother's birth occurred
in Nice, Prussia, Germany, on the 21st of January,
1821. The former, who was a carpenter by trade,
came to Council Bluffs in 1865 and aided in the
construction of the Chicago & Northwestern
Railroad. For a time after arriving here he lived
with his family in a log hut which was built in
pioneer days by the Mormons on the site of the
present home of Henry A. Otto at No. 215 Vine
street, which was built by Mr. Miller. The latter
continued in the employ of the railroad company
until the spring of 1888,
672
when he was compelled to give up his position
on account of the ill health of his wife, who
passed away on the 15th of June of that year.
Her father was a captain in the German army and
saw active service in the Franco-Prussian war.
He was wounded during this conflict and on that
account was given a life position with the government.
Mr. Miller survived his wife until the 30th of
January, 1905, when he, too, was called to his
final rest, both funerals being conducted by the
Rev. T. J. Mackey, at that time rector of St.
Paul's Episcopal church in this city, who is now
filling the pulpit in All Saints church in Omaha.
Mr. Miller was a Presbyterian in religious faith,
while his wife was a Catholic, having been educated
in a convent in Germany. He served for nearly
three years during the Civil war, being a member
of Company I, Thirteenth Illinois Cavalry. He
was injured while in the service and received
a comfortable pension until his death. In his
fraternal relations Mr. Miller was a member of
the Masonic fraternity and his wife acted as treasurer
of the Eastern Star.
Unto this worthy couple were born six children,
Mrs. Otto being now the only surviving member.
She acquired a common-school education at Freeport,
and by her marriage has become the mother of the
following named: Albert Henry Otto, born in Freeport,
Illinois, July 24, 1870, attended the city schools
of Council Bluffs and was graduated from a business
college. After leaving school he was for some
time employed in a clerical position and later
assisted his father in railroad work. While aiding
in the construction of a bridge at Kansas City,
Missouri, in January, 1905, he received an injury
to his spine, from which he has never recovered.
He makes his home with his parents and is a member
of the Eagles and the Knights and Ladies of Security.
Louise Luella Otto, whose birth occurred in Council
Bluffs, June 26, 1875, was married to Adolph Kastner
on the 5th of October, 1897, by whom she has a
son, Ralph, born May 6, 1899. Mr. Kastner is employed
as bookkeeper for the John Deere Implement Company
in Omaha, but resides with his family in Council
Bluffs. Viola Victoria Otto, who was born in Council
Bluffs on the 26th of December, 1878, passed away
December 29, 1901. For several years and up to
within a very short time of her death she filled
the position of bookkeeper and later chief operator
for the Nebraska Telephone Company. She was a
member of the Episcopal church and her funeral
was conducted by Rector T. J. Mackey, who performed
her christening baptismal. Elmer Earl, born November
27, 1880, is a traveling salesman for the National
Refining Company of Omaha. He is a member of the
I1linois Commercial Travelers Association and
resides in Council Bluffs. Jesse Jerome, whose
birth occurred on the 24th of March, 1883, lives
in Denver and is employed as electrician for the
Union Pacific Railroad Company. He was united
in marriage, on the 11th of December, 1905, to
Miss Etha Floretta Florence, and fraternally is
connected with the Eagles. Ethel Etoyla Otto,
born in Council Bluffs, August 27, 1885, became
the wife of Noah Mattingly, a traveling salesman
for the National Refining Company of Omaha. The
marriage Wag celebrated on the 12th of October,
1901, and the young couple now make their home
in Council Bluffs. Pansy May Otto, whose birth
occurred in this on
673
the 17th of February, 1889, gave her hand in
marriage to Fred Fitch Chambers on the 11th of
May, 1907. Mr. and Mrs. Chambers reside in Council
Bluffs and he is a traveling salesman for the
Beebe-Runyan Wholesale Furniture Company of Omaha.
Walter Harold Otto, the youngest member of the
family, was born January 11, 1896. All of the
children received their education in the city
schools of Council Bluffs.
In his fraternal relations Mr. Otto is connected
with the. Masonic fraternity, the Independent
Order of Foresters, the Woodmen of the World and
the Knights and Ladies of Security, while his
wife is connected with the Lady Maccabees, Independent
Order of Foresters and the Knights and Ladies
of Security. In religious faith both our subject
and his wife are members of the Episcopal church,
and in his political affiliations Mr. Otto is
a democrat, though without aspiration for office.
In addition to his comfortable home at No. 215
Vine street he owns nine properties in this city,
which return to him a gratifying income, and he
is thus enabled to enjoy all of the comforts and
many of the luxuries of life. The family is widely
and favorably known throughout the community and
the hospitality of their pleasant home is greatly
enjoyed by their many friends.
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In a history of the business development and
commercial interests of Council Bluffs mention
should be made of Fred W. A. Geise, who was widely
recognized as a prominent young business man of
this city, having been the junior partner in the
brewing firm of C. Geise & Son. He was born
in Council Bluffs, August 13, 1865, his father
being Conrad Geise, who is still conducting the
brewing business and of whom mention is made elsewhere
in this volume, together with a complete record
of the family.
At the usual age Fred W. A. Geise became a pupil
in the public schools and when he had mastered
the elementary branches of English learning he
attended college at Davenport, Iowa, from which
he was graduated. He was thus equipped by liberal
education for life's practical and responsible
duties and returning to his home he- entered the
employ of his father in the bottling works. Closely
applying himself to the business, he mastered
it in principle and detail and was soon made manager.
Following his marriage he was associated in business
with his father at Council Bluffs for six months
and then removed to the south, settling at Chattanooga,
Tennessee, where he established a large brewery,
conducting business there on his own account for
three years under the corporate name of C. Geise
& Company. On the expiration of that period
he sold out and returned to Council Bluffs, where
he formed a partnership with his father under
the firm style of C. Geise & Son. This business
is still being carried on by the father under
the old firm name at No. 800 East. Broadway, where
he is conducting a brewing and bottling enterprise.
This is the largest plant of the kind in the city.
The buildings are well equipped for the successful
conduct of the business and
674
owing to the excellence of the product the trade
has constantly increased until it is now very
large. A number. of men and teams are employed
and the output is shipped to all parts of the
state. After his return from the south Fred W.
A. Geise continued in the brewing and bottling
business in connection with his father in Council
Bluffs until his life's labors were ended in death
on the 5th of May, 1904.
It was on the 5th of October, 1887, that Mr.
Geise was united in marriage in this city to Miss
Veronica Schott, a native of Council Bluffs and
a daughter of Albert and Veronica (Dauber) Schott,
both of whom were natives of Germany. They came
to America in early life and were pioneer residents
of Council Bluffs. Mr. Schott became one of the
first merchants of the city, conducting a grocery
store in an old log house which stood at the corner
of Broadway and Park avenue. He afterward removed
his stock of goods to a store on Main street,
having the first grocery store on that thoroughfare.
He continued in business throughout his remaining
days and had a large and profitable trade, being
recognized as one 6f the leading merchants of
the city. Mrs. Schott and her two sons now reside
with her daughter, Mrs. Geise. Unto our subject
and his wife was born one child, Marie, who is
at home with her mother.
In his political views Mr. Geise was a democrat,
unfaltering in his allegiance to the party, and
he took much interest in its work and growth.
In 1892 he was elected to represent his district
as alderman of the first ward and was the youngest
man ever a member of the city council, being but
twenty-seven years of age at the time. Whether
in office or out of it he was a stalwart champion
of progressive measures for the public good. Socially
he was connected with the Elks and he had an extensive
circle of warm friends, his cordial manner, genial
disposition and deference for the opinions of
others making him popular. Mrs. Geise and her
mother are both members of St. Peter's Roman Catholic
church. Mrs. Geise still owns an interest in the
bottling works and her property possessions include
a beautiful home at No. 432 East Washington avenue,
where she and her mother and their children all
reside.
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BARNEY
S. TERWILLIGER.
Barney S. Terwilliger, a resident of Council
Bluffs since 1865, is now practically living retired
although to some extent he yet engages in the
roofing business. The experiences of pioneer life
in the far west have been familiar to him, for
he made his way to Walla Walla, Washington, long
ere the era of railroad building and almost before
the tide of emigration had turned in that direction.
A native of Broome county, New York, his parents,
Barney and Phebe (Whitbeck) Terwilliger, were
also born in that state, and the father engaged
in farming in Broome county until 1857, when he
removed to the middle west, settling in Minnesota.
There he resided for several years and later spent
two years in Chicago, prior to coming to Council
Bluffs, where
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he lived retired in the home of his son Barney
until his death, which occurred in 1871. The mother
died in the west at the home of her daughter.
A brother of our subject also came to Council
Bluffs in 1869 and here resided for several years
but is now deceased.
In one of the old time country schools near his
father's home in Broome county, New York, Barney
S. Terwilliger acquired his education and when
his attention was not demanded by the duties of
the schoolroom he assisted in the work of the
farm, there remaining until twenty years of age.
He then came to the west, settling at Belvidere,
Illinois, where he lived for two years, when he
went to St: Paul, Minnesota. While there he assisted
in organizing a party going to the coast in 1862.
There were seventy-two in the party, with forty-two
wagons, constituting a large train. They left
St. Paul on the 14th of May, 1862, proceeded up
the Red river to North Dakota, being the first
party to cross that country, and thence continued
on their way toward the setting sun until they
reached their destination--Walla Walla. On the
way they killed a number of buffaloes, which supplied
them with meat. The trip was a long and arduous
one and not without its dangers, but on the 15th
of September they had gained their objective point.
Mr. Terwilliger spent nearly four years with that
party, traveling through the northwest and the
west as far as San Francisco, at the end of which
time he made his way eastward and chose Council
Bluffs as his future home, arriving in this city
on the 1st of October, 1865.
In the meantime Mr. Terwilliger had been married
in St. Paul to Miss Agnes McNellie, a native of
Utica, New York, while her parents were also born
in that state. They removed to the west at an
early day, settling in St. Paul, where the father
died, while the mother passed away in Council
Bluffs at the home of her daughter, Mrs. Terwilliger,
with whom she had been living for some time. Mr.
and Mrs. Terwilliger had one son, Claude G., born
at Council Bluffs, September 7, 1867, and died
May 14, 1896, being killed in Pueblo, Colorado.
He was well and favorably known in Council Bluffs.
When Mr. Terwilliger came to Council Bluffs he
established a paint and wall paper business at
No. 31 South Main street and continued in that
line of trade for twenty-three years with excellent
success, receiving a very liberal patronage. On
selling out he engaged in the livery business
at No. 222 South Main street, where he remained
for more than seven years, when he again sold
out. He next engaged in the real-estate business
and has since bought and sold city property, thoroughly
familiarizing himself with realty values and the
opportunities for sale or purchase. He now owns
property of various kinds in the city but is practica11y
living retired, transacting business only at his
home, his investments bringing to him a gratifying
annual income. He owns a commodious home at No.
549 Fifth avenue corner of Sixth street, where
he has resided for more than a quarter of a century.
In his political views Mr. Terwilliger has long
been a stalwart democrat but never an office seeker.
He belongs to the Odd Fellows lodge of this city,
and his wife is a member of the Presbyterian church.
He is a veteran fireman, having been one of the
first to join the fire department of the city
in
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the early days when it was a volunteer organization.
For forty-two years he has been a witness of the
changes which have occurred and which have developed
Council Bluffs from a small and inconsequential
town to one of metropolitan proportions, with
almost every business interest and enterprise
represented. Throughout the years he has stood
for substantial improvement and upbuilding, his
labors proving a co-operative factor in many plans
and measures for the city's welfare and growth.
He is widely and favorably known among the old
settlers and also has many friends among the arrivals
of a later date.
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