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JOHN H. PERRY.
John H. Perry, deceased, was a self-made man
whose well directed efforts in an active business
life gained for him a goodly property, so that
he was enabled to leave his family in comfortable
circumstances. Moreover, as a citizen he stood
for all that is beneficial to the community, being
greatly interested in its intellectual and moral
as well as its material development. His life
record began in Belmont, Ohio, on the 4th of June,
1836, and at sixteen years of age he accompanied
his parents on their removal from the Buckeye
state to Bureau county, Illinois, the family home
being established three miles east of Princeton.
Both the father and mother, Jesse and Malinda
(Smith) Perry, were also natives of Ohio. In their
family were six children and, like the others
of the household, John H. Perry performed such
service upon the farm as his age and strength
permitted, continuing to assist in its development
up to the time of his marriage. On the 10th of
January, 1861, he was joined in wedlock to Miss
Arminda Hoge, who was born in Belmont county,
Ohio, May 17, 1839, and was a maiden of seventeen
years when she removed to Illinois with her parents,
Nimrod and Sarah Ann (Palmer) Hoge, who were natives
of the Buckeye state and were of Quaker faith.
At the time of his marriage John H. Perry purchased
eighty acres of land near his father's home. He
was only able to pay one hundred dollars down
upon the place and thus had to assume considerable
indebtedness but with resolute spirit he took
up the work and soon discharged his financial
obligations, There was a very poor house upon
the place and in course of time Mr. Perry erected
a new residence and bought eighty acres more adjoining,
for as the years passed he prospered, owing to
his close application and unfaltering diligence.
In 1873 he came to Pottawattamie county and invested
in five hundred and forty acres of land about
a mile east of the present site of Carson, the
purchase price being eight dollars per acre. This
is today valued at one hundred dollars per acre
and it is still in possession of the family. After
three years, or in 1876, Mr. Perry brought his
family to his new home and sold his Illinois property.
He put all of the buildings upon the farm, adding
many modern and substantial improvements and used
the latest machinery to facilitate the work of
the fields. He made stock-raising the principal
feature of the farm and met with excellent success
in his undertaking. About 1888 he removed to the
village of Carson, where he purchased and afterward
improved the residence which is now the home of
his widow. It is a commodious and attractive dwelling
and is the center of a cultured society circle.
In the meantime, however, Mr. Perry had removed
with his family to Indianola, where he lived two
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years to educate his daughters, the eldest daughter,
Leonora, being a graduate in music there. He then
removed to Carson, where he spent his remaining
days. Here he entered into partnership with L.
F. Field, a lumber merchant, and for six years
continued in the business under the firm style
of Field & Perry, after which he bought his
partner's interest. Subsequently the firm of Perry
& Allensworth was formed and conducted the
lumberyard successfully for some time. Eventually,
however, Mr. Perry sold out and for two or three
years was not in active business. He then again
entered mercantile circles as a dealer in farm
implements and admitted his son-in-law to a partnership
but sold out two years prior to his death. In
all of his business relations he was found thoroughly
reliable and energetic and exemplified in his
life the spirit of progress which has been the
dominant factor in the upbuilding of the middle
west. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Perry have been born four
children but the first two, Albert and Adelbert,
twins, died at the age of four months. Ella Leonora
is the wife of R. E. Patrick, of Carson, and Sarah
Malinda is at home with her mother.
Mr. and Mrs. Perry resided in this locality before
the village of Carson was founded and heard the
whistle of the first train that entered the village
on the 4th of July, 1880, joining with their neighbors
in celebration of the event, which they knew meant
much in the development of the district. In his
political views Mr. Perry was a stalwart republican
and served as a member of the first board of trustees
of Carson township, while of the village he was
one time mayor, giving a public-spirited, business-like
and beneficial administration. As president of
the township school board he established the first
school which ever convened in Carson. He belonged
to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and was
an active and faithful member of the Methodist
church in Illinois. After coming to Iowa he assisted
in organizing a church of that denomination in
Carson, contributed generously to its support
and did everything in his power to promote its
growth and extend its influence. He died January
20, 1904, in the faith of the Christian religion,
resting in the promises which are made to those
whose lives have been upright and honorable. Although
he never sought to figure prominently in public
life and valued his own self-respect more than
wealth, fame or position, his genuine worth of
character was recognized by all with whom he came
in contact and his memory is cherished by those
who knew him and enjoyed his friendship.
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Abram B. Houghtaling, who is known as one of
the leading business men of Valley township, is
connected with various interests. He carries on
general agricultural pursuits, merchandising,
blacksmithing and stock-raising and in these various
lines is so conducting his interests that he is
prospering in his undertakings.
He was born in Adams county, Wisconsin, May 29,
1864, and is the eldest of a family of four children,
three of whom' are yet living. The
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parents were Aaron and Ursulla (Hawes) Houghtaling.
The father's birth occurred near Mud Hollow, New
York, in 1836, and there he resided until he had
attained early manhood, when he went with his
parents to Adams county, Wisconsin. He learned
the carpenter's trade, which he followed in connection
with farming, devoting his time to the dual pursuit
for a number of years. In 1901 he removed to Cedar
Falls, Wisconsin, where he has since lived retired,
deriving his revenue from extensive city property
which he owns there. His has been a useful and
busy life and in the community where he makes
his home he is held in the highest regard. Since
.age conferred upon him the right of franchise
he has been a stalwart supporter of the republican
party but has never been an office seeker. He
is numbered among the veterans of the Civil war,
having joined the army as a member of the Fourth
Wisconsin Regiment, with which he did active duty
at the front during the period of hostilities.
He now belongs to the Grand Army of the Republic
and thus maintains pleasant relations with his
old army comrades. The surviving members of his
family are: Edith G., the wife of Herbert Mason,
of Oxford, Wisconsin; Oscar A.; and Ernest O.
who is in partnership with his brother Abram.
.
In the county of his nativity Abram B. Houghtaling
spent his minority and the common schools afforded
him his educational privileges. When he had attained
adult age he began providing for his own support
by working as a farm hand and in 1887 he went
west to Nebraska, where he was engaged in breaking
prairie and in farming for seven and a half years,
thus becoming closely associated with the pioneer
development of that state. In the fall of 1894
he arrived in Pottawattamie county and established
his home in Hancock, where he was employed as
a salesman in the general store of Frank K. Van
Fossen. He also worked in a jewelry store in Hancock,
having acquired a knowledge of the business in
a brother's stare in Nebraska. For two years he
lived in Hancock and afterward turned his attention
to general agricultural pursuits.
In 1897 Mr. Houghtaling was married to Miss Alberta
Minick, a daughter of John Minick, one of the
leading farmers of Valley township. Following
his marriage Mr. Houghtaling rented a tract of
land and began farming. In 1898 he removed to
the place where he now resides and which belongs
to his father-in-law. He has since cultivated
this farm, which comprises one hundred and sixty
acres of rich and productive land. In 1906 he
erected a store building on the farm and has since
carried on general merchandising, the location
being a goad one, for it is five miles to the
nearest town. He also conducts a blacksmith shop
and has a huckster and a creamery wagon, collecting
milk from various farmers in this part of the
county. He likewise has a dipping tank and dips
all kinds of stock. He is likewise one of the
1eading stock-breeders of this section and is
the owner of two jacks and a stallion of the Percheron
breed. His business interests are thus varied
and .extensive and he is justly accounted one
of the leading business men of Valley township.
He is pre-eminently a man of affairs and of action
rather than of theory. While others are considering
things he does them, forming his plans readily
and executing them with determination and dispatch.
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The home of Mr. and Mrs. Houghtaling has been
blessed with four children but they lost their
eldest daughter, Nellie. The others are John,
Mary and Alice, all yet at home. The parents are
members of the Methodist Episcopal church and
Mr. Houghtaling exercises his right of franchise
in support of the men and measures of the republican
party, but though he is interested in its success
he has never desired public office, on the contrary
preferring to concentrate his time and attention
upon his business affairs, In which he is now
meeting with gratifying prosperity.
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William W. Wilson, prominent in business and
fraternal circles in Council Bluffs and the well
known proprietor of the Opera House Pharmacy,
was born on a farm in Mahaska county, Iowa, September
15, 1858. When still a child his family removed
to Warren county, Iowa, where they were well known
agriculturists. His father's people came of old
Quaker stock of North Carolina, while his mother's
family were from the County Cavan, Ireland, and
Mr. Wilson possesses the best qualities of bothe--the
modest, peaceful character of the Quakers and
the wit and alertness of the Irish people. He
was reared to manhood under the parental roof,
attending the district schools during the winter
months and working in the fields upon his father's
farm during the summer. His father, Dr. James
H. Wilson, is not only a pharmacist but also studied
medicine and has practiced extensively in Warren
county, Iowa. He built and conducted a drug and
general store on his farm and later removed to
New Virginia, Iowa, where he is still engaged
in the drug business.
William W. Wilson was practically reared in his
father's drug store and seemed, when very young,
to have absorbed most of the knowledge necessary
for conducting such a business. He remained in
Warren county until he had attained the age of
twenty-five, when he removed to Polk county, Nebraska,
locating on a farm which he operated for eight
years. He then removed to Nance county, Nebraska,
where he carried on an extensive farm. He was
much interested in bringing his land to a condition
where it would yield him abundant crops and added
all the improvements which made the place an up-to-date
home in every respect. In 1902 he removed to Blair,
Nebraska, where he entered the live-stock business,
shipping carloads of stock which brought him large
returns because of their superior quality. In
1903 he removed to Lake City, Iowa, where he purchased
a drug store, which he conducted until May, 1906.
The opportunity of buying his present business
in Council Bluffs came to him at this time and
he sold his business enterprise at Lake City and
became a citizen of Council Bluffs. Where a man
has early taken a liking to a certain line of
business and is able later to pursue that line,
he is without doubt destined to succeed. We do
best that which we like to do, and Mr. Wilson's
success in his present business is an illustration
of this saying.
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Mr. Wilson was married November 26, 1881, in
Warren county, Iowa, to Martha J. Duffield., the
daughter of Henry Duffield. Seven children have
been born to this union: Lloyd E., Carrie A.,
Philip W., William Edward, Mabel E., Roy F. and
Pearl R. This household is the abode of happiness
and the many friends of the family are always
sure to receive there a cheery welcome. Mrs. Wilson
takes an active interest in charitable and benevolent
work, always extending a helping hand to those
in need of assistance.
Mr. Wilson is much interested in fraternal organizations
and is prominent as a member of many of these
orders. He belongs to Washington lodge, No. 21,
A. F. & A. M., of Blair, Nebraska; Park City
lodge, No. 606, I. O. O. F.; Knights of Pythias,
Modern Woodmen of America, and to the Eastern
Star, all of Council Bluffs. In his political
affiliations he is a republican and formerly was
actively interested in his party but of late years
has preferred to devote his time to other interests.
He has always been strict in his business methods,
meeting every appointment to the very letter.
As is often the case with business men of this
type they are the most easily moved by distress
or suffering and Mr. Wilson is ever quick to relieve
any suffering where it lays in his power to do
so. His aid, however, is quietly and unostentatiously
given. He does not wish the commendation of his
fellowmen in his acts of charity. Public-spirited
and enterprising, he has always taken a deep interest
in everything pertaining to the public good.
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Marion Palmer has for almost a third of a century
lived upon his present farm of two hundred acres
comprising the southwest corner of the southeast
quarter of the northwest quarter of section 36,
Valley township. He took up his abode here April
8, 1876, and his time and energies have since
been devoted to the cultivation of the crops,
his labors resulting in making this one of the
good farms of the locality.
Mr. Palmer is a native of Mercer county, Illinois,
his birth having occurred there on the 5th of
April, 1851. His parents were Minor T. and Caroline
Palmer, who in the fall of 1853 brought their
family to Iowa, settling at Council Bluffs. About
a year and a half later, in the spring of 1855,
they removed to Big Grove, now Oakand.
Mr. Palmer of this review was therefore reared
in this county and the story of pioneer life here
is familiar to him as in his boyhood days he shared
with the family in the hardships and privations
incident to the settlement of the frontier. He
spent the winter months in the acquirement of
an education in the public schools and the summer
seasons were devoted to farm labor upon the old
homestead, for he lived with his parents until
he attained his majority. He then married and
established a home of his own.
On Christmas day of 1874 he was joined in wedlock
to Miss Susanna Davis and unto them were born
two children, who both died in infancy, while
the wife and mother passed away on the 26th of
April, 1882. On the 22d of
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March, 1883, Mr. Palmer was again married, his
second union being with Miss Lizzie J. Scott,
and unto them have been born seven children: Myrtle
A., born February 9, 1884; Gertrude M., May 6,
1885; Earnest, May 11, 1887; Lorin, January 14,
1890; Iva, September 6, 1892; Calla L., August
10, 1895; and Marion A., September 26, 1898. The
family circle still remains unbroken by the hand
of death and all of the children are yet at home,
with the exception of the two eldest daughters,
who are married and live in this neighborhood,
Myrtle A., being now the wife of F. E. Putnam,
while Gertrude M. is the wife of Roscoe Conklin.
Throughout his entire life Mr. Palmer has been
connected with agricultural interests. He located
on his present farm on the 8th of April, 1876,
and the tract of two hundred acres is now under
a high state of cultivation, responding readily
to the care and labor which he bestows upon the
fields. In addition to this property he owns other
land, including the northwest quarter of section
1, Center township, and the west half of the northwest
quarter of section 6, Wright township. As he has
found opportunity he has added to his original
holdings until he now owns good farm property,
well developed and returning to him a very gratifying
income. He has worked diligently and persistently,
accomplishing what he has undertaken by his determined
purpose and laudable ambition.
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John Olson, a well known grocery merchant and
alderman at large of Council Bluffs, is a native
of Denmark, where he Was born on July 10, 1856.
He received his educational advantages in that
country and was there reared to manhood. At the
age of twenty he was eager to try his fortune
in the new world and he accordingly set sail,
deciding to go directly to Council Bluffs. He
was obliged to borrow the money for this trip
and when he landed in Council Bluffs was not only
empty-handed but in debt. The spirit of self-help
has been the source of all genuine worth in this
man and has been the means of bringing to him
success when he had no advantages of wealth or
influence to aid him. With indomitable determination
he set out to find work. He was first employed
by General G. M. Dodge, who set him to picking
cherries for a dollar and a quarter a day. He
subsequently was a wiper in the Chicago, Burlington
& Quincy roundhouse for a year.
His parents had not been able to give him many
advantages but they had instilled into his mind
lessons of industry, frugality and perseverance,
so that he was well drilled in these lines, as
is evidenced by the fact that in these menial
employments he was able to save four hundred dollars.
With buoyant spirit and great hope, he and his
brother purchased a restaurant but they knew little
or nothing about the business and three months
later Mr. Olson had no capital and no work. He
was obliged to return to the Chicago, Burlington
& Quincy as wiper but he determined to go
higher than this in the employ of the road. It
was not long until he was made fireman and later
engineer. In
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1888 he became convinced that the happiest life
would come to him when he could be more at home
and he accordingly left the employ of the railroad,
which he had served so long and so efficiently,
and started a small grocery--a business in which
he has ever since been engaged.
Mr. Olson was married in Council Bluffs, in 1884,
to Hannah Skakson, a daughter of James Skakson.
Their union has been blessed with six children:
Ella M., Amos C., Louis A., Clara, Ethel K. and
Esther, the last two being twins. Mrs. Olson passed
away on February 7, 1907, and was mourned by a
most devoted husband and children, as well as
by a large circle of friends, who admired her
for her sterling qualities as wife, mother and
friend.
Mr. Olson has been a republican since attaining
his majority and has served for three terms as
alderman, being the first man who has succeeded
himself three times. He is a popular member of
the Ancient Order of United Workmen, the Tribe
of Ben Hur, the Danish Brotherhood and the Dannebo
Society. In his religious views he is a member
of the Baptist church, which he has always been
willing to support most generously. Success is
not measured by the heights which one may chance
to attain but by the distance between the starting
point and the altitude he has reached. Therefore
Mr. Olson has gained a great success--the just
reward of meritorious, honorable effort, which
commands the respect and admiration of all.
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Rev. Marcus Parrett McClure, who since November,
1905, has been pastor of the First Presbyterian
church of Council Bluffs, was born near Northfield,
Louisa county, Iowa, April 9, 1872. His father,
Isaac Newton McClure, is a native of the same
place, his natal day being February 1, 1844. He
acquired his education in the country schools
and also attended Howe's Academy at Mt. Pleasant,
Iowa. He spent the earlier years of his life on
a farm, being subsequently engaged in the mercantile
business at Mediapolis, Iowa, for about thirty-three
years or until 1907, when he retired from that
line of activity. He was then engaged as field
representative for the Presbyterian Ministerial
Sustentation Fund and now makes his home at Waterloo,
Iowa. On the 28th of December, 1870, at Lyndon,
Ohio, Mr. McClure was joined in wedlock to Miss
Elizabeth Susan Parrett. She was born at Lyndon,
Ohio, July 30, 1844, and supplemented the education
which she there received by a course at the academy
at South Salem, Ohio.
Rev. Marcus Parrett McClure acquired his preliminary
education in the village schools of his native
state and afterward attended Parsons College at
Fairfield, Iowa, from which he was graduated in
the class of 1893. In 1894 he had a fellowship
in Galludet College at Washington, D. C., and
was then engaged as a private tutor in Bristol,
Vermont, for the year of 1895. In the fall of
the same year he entered McCormick Theological
Seminary at Chicago, completing the course at
that institution in 1898. He was then made pastor
of the First Presbyterian church at Kilbourn,
Wisconsin, remaining there for
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two years. On the expiration of that period he
became pastor of Grace Presbyterian church at
Milwaukee, where he labored for three years, and
for a similar period he was pastor of the Frame
Memorial church at Stevens Point, Wisconsin. In
November, 1905, he came to Council Bluffs to assume
the pastorate of the First Presbyterian church,
located at the corner of South Seventh street
and Willow avenue, the edifice being one of the
largest in the city. There is a membership of
over five hundred and Rev. McClure holds regular
services twice each Sunday and prayer meeting
every Wednesday evening. He is well liked by his
parishioners, and is popular with people in general,
including those of other religious denominations,
for it is recognized that his, labors are a strong
element in the moral development of this part
of the state and that he has done not a little
to uplift humanity by pointing the way to a higher
and holier way of living than the mere striving
for creature comforts; and worldly goods.
On the 1st of September, 1897, at West Union,
Iowa, Rev. McClure was united in marriage to Miss
Stella E. Fuller, a daughter of Hon. William E.
Miller, who served for five years as member of
congress from the fourth Iowa district. He was
appointed United States assistant attorney general
to represent the government in the Spanish-American
treaty claims. He married Miss Lourisa J. Harper
and makes his home at West Union, Iowa. Unto our
subject and his wife were born two children: Donald
Fuller McClure, whose birth occurred June 26,
1898; and Kathryn McClure, born April 15, 1900.
In his political affiliations Rev. McClure is
a republican and fraternally is connected with
the Masons. He lives at No. 40 Bluff street, and
on week days. he may be found at his study at
the church after nine o'clock in the morning.
In every relation of life he has commanded the
confidence and respect of his fellowmen and, honorable
and upright at all times, has enjoyed to the fullest
extent their confidence and regard. As a minister
of the gospel his influence for good is immeasurable
and his labors are widely recognized as an important
factor in the moral and religious development
of the county.
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Calvin Hafer, a successful and enterprising lumber
merchant of Council Bluffs, is a native of Franklin
county, Pennsylvania, where he was born October
28, 1858. He spent his early years acquiring an
education in the common schools and assisting
his father in the work upon the home farm. When
he had reached his twenty-first year he decided
it was time for him to start out for himself and
he accordingly came to Council Bluffs, where he
secured employment in the lumberyard of Lewis
Hammer, where he remained for fourteen years.
He was an example of a determined, self-reliant
boy, willing to work for advantages which other
boys secured through inheritance, and he was destined
by sheer force of character to succeed in the
face of any opposition. During the last three
years of his connection with this company he was
a partner, the firm-being known as the Lewis Hammer
Lumber Company, Mr.
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Hafer being the company. While he appreciated
the kindness of this firm and their recognition
of his merit, he felt anxious to conduct a business
alone and in 1897 opened a lumberyard for himself.
In March, 1907, the business was incorporated
as the C. Hafer Lumber Company, the subject of
our sketch being the president and general manager;
Wiley W. Hafer, vice president; Paul I. Van Order,
secretary; and Clarence H. Hafer, treasurer. The
business has met with an unusual degree of success
and has grown so rapidly that the gentlemen who
have been most influential in its progress can
scarcely believe that it is the same business
in which they started. At its head is a man whose
managerial ability enables him to control its
interests with a steady, guiding hand that insures
prosperity to the undertaking. Though the above
mentioned business forms one of the most important
and extensive of Mr. Hafer's interests, he is
also president of the Iowa Lumber & Box Company
at Medford, Oregon, of which his son, Edgar, is
general manager and Clarence assistant general
manager. Mr. Hafer is also a director in the Western
Mutual Life Insurance Company of Council Bluffs.
In 1879 occurred the marriage of Mr. Hafer and
Alice Hambright, in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania.
She is the daughter of Cyrus Hambright and by
her marriage has become the mother of four children:
Edgar S., Clarence H., Wiley W. and Stella Maud.
Mr. Hafer is a member of the Independent Order
of Odd Fellows and religiously affiliates with
the Methodist Episcopal church. His political
support has always been given the republican party
and though he has never sought for its offices
or honors he has been ready to assist those who
have. His business has occupied so large a part
of his time that he has not been able to devote
his energies to politics. He is modest and unassuming
and indisposed to attract attention, either to
his success in business or to his efforts in aiding
the growth of Council Bluffs. From him few would
learn how much he has done in his life but his
most intimate friends attribute to him unlimited
energy, equal to grasping and mastering anything
which may present itself. He landed in Council
Bluffs with only thirty-five cents in his pockets,
and without acquaintances or friends and through
his own unaided efforts he has acquired a competence
and an honored place in business circles.
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FRANK SHINN.
It is imperative that mention be made of Frank
Shinn in the annals of Pottawattamie county. That
he is one of the most popular among the old settlers
is indicated by the fact that he was elected the
first president of the Old Settlers' Association,
organized by the pioneer residents of Pottawattamie,
Mills and Fremont counties. He now resides at
Carson and is accounted one of its most prosperous
citizens, who deserves, moreover, great credit
for what he has accomplished, inasmuch as he started
out in life empty-handed. He was born at Jackson,
now Peebles, Adams county, Ohio, October 28, 1843,
and is a representative of an old American family.
In the year 1735 John
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Shinn, a Quaker, came from England to the new
world, settling at Burlington, New Jersey, where
he founded the family in America. One of his five
sons was James Shinn, the father of Francis Shinn,
and the two succeeding generations in the line
of direct descent to our subject were represented
by George Shinn, first and second. The last mentioned
was the grandfather of our subject and the father
of Allen T. Shinn, whose son, Frank Shinn, is
the immediate subject of this review.
Allen T. Shinn was born in Hillsboro, Highland
county, Ohio, January 14, 1812, and learned the
trade of a saddler and harness-maker, which he
followed in early life. In 1849 he joined the
Ohio conference of the Methodist Episcopal church
and afterward engaged in preaching the gospel
in Ohio, Kentucky and Iowa, being a member of
the upper Iowa conference at the time of his death,
which occurred November 6, 1898. Before the first
legislature that convened in Des Moines in 1858,
when prohibition and state banks were the principal
issues, he offered the opening prayer, saying:
"Great God; bless the young and growing state
of Iowa; bless her senators, representatives and
chief officers; give us a sound currency, pure
water and undefiled religion, for Christ's sake.
Amen." This prayer was widely commented upon
by the newspapers of New York and the press in
other sections of the country. It was characteristic
of the man, who always expressed himself clearly
and forcibly upon every subject which he felt
to be a momentous one. In 1832 Rev. Shinn was
married to Malinda Fenton, who was born in Adams
county, Ohio, July 9, 1812, and when six weeks
old was taken by her parents to Kentucky, where
she was reared. She was a daughter of John and
Sarah (Field) Fenton, natives of Pennsylvania
and Virginia respectively. Her last days were
passed in Carson, Iowa, where she departed this
life on the 26th of December, 1885. In their family
were nine children, of whom five are now living,
while Elizabeth, Asa, John and Benjamin L. have
passed away. Those who still survive are: Frank;
George, a resident of South Dakota, who for some
years was a minister of the Methodist church but
is now retired upon a farm; Andrew, a retired
farmer living at Sioux City, Iowa; Fermon, a minister
of Mound City, Missouri; and Findley, a farmer
of Woodbine, Iowa.
Frank Shinn, a representative of the seventh
generation of the family in America, spent the
first nine years of his life in the place of his
nativity and then removed with his parents to
Quincy, Lewis county, Kentucky. He afterward lived
in Claysville, Harrison county, Kentucky, and
in Newport, Campbell county, Kentucky, until October,
185'6, when he became a resident of Marshalltown,
Iowa. The 4th of March, 1858, witnessed his arrival
in Macedonia, and for almost a half century he
has resided in Pottawattamie county. He had attended
school until his removal to this county. On the
6th of November, 1858, only a few months after
the removal to western Iowa, the father died and
in February, i859, the eldest brother of our subject
urged the mother to return to Ohio but this she
refused to do, saying she could not leave her
sons a richer heritage than a home in this country,
believing this the best place for poor people
to live. Her son then returned to the Buckeye
state, leaving Frank Shinn as the eldest member
of the
732
family in Iowa, there being four younger brothers.
Upon the father's death the possessions of the
family consisted of a team of horses, two cows,
one hog and two hundred bushels of corn, together
with the household goods and a few chickens, but
there was also an indebtedness of seventy dollars.
Frank Shinn resolutely took up the work which
devolved upon him as the eldest member of the
family in Iowa. In the spring of 1860 his older
brother returned home and remained for three weeks,
after which he went to Omaha, where he lived with
his uncle, the Rev. Moses F. Shinn, until the
spring of 1861. He then volunteered for service
in the Civil war, becoming a member of Company
A of the First Nebraska Infantry, and on the 10th
of July with his regiment went down the Missouri
river, remaining with the command until the 16th
of November, 1861, when he died of typhoid fever
and was buried in an unknown grave in Missouri.
Frank Shinn remained at home, cultivating rented
land until the fall of 1864, when as the result
of his industry and the frugality of the family,
they were enabled to purchase a farm of sixty
acres in Mills county. The property was in the
mother's name and Mr. Shinn performed the active
work of the fields, while the mother managed the
business affairs, he following her suggestions
in all things. He proved to her a dutiful, loyal
and loving son, remaining with her until twenty-five
years of age. In 1867 it would have been possible
for Mrs. Shinn to have sold the property they
had accumulated for thirty-five hundred dollars,
which was a considerable sum of money at that
time. Land was worth only five dollars per acre,
but they had accumulated much stock and valuable
personal property. Mrs. Shinn possessed' not only
excellent business ability and executive power
but was widely recognized, moreover, as a lady
of strong intellectual force. She was always a
great reader, making a specialty of history, and
on that subject was particularly well informed.
It had been the father's desire that Frank Shinn
should become a lawyer but the opportunities of
his youth were limited and fate seemed to will
otherwise. He had attended the public schools
of Kentucky up to the time he was fifteen years
of age, when the family removed to western Iowa.
There were no organized school districts in the
county at that time but in the spring of.1858
the Macedonia district was established and Mr.
Shinn attended the first school for four months
and eighteen days, which was the length of the
school year. Thus was ended his education at the
age of fifteen, save that since that time he has
constantly. broadened his knowledge by reading,
experience and observation. He has possessed an
observing eye and retentive memory and through
his own efforts became a well informed man. When
in school he studied McGuffney's reader, in which
he took great pride, and also received instructions
in geography, history and grammar. The father
had a library of five hundred volumes, which,
however, were largely upon theological works.
Frank Shinn, however, read as opportunity offered
and thus continually developed a naturally strong
intellect. In February, 1864, he tried his first
case to help a neighbor out of trouble, the neighbor
insisting that he act as attorney in recovering
attached property. He succeeded admirably after
being shown the law by Squire Thomas Connor, of
Grove town-
733
ship, and his desire to attain a broader knowledge
of legal principles was met with in a degree when
Henry C. Watkins, of Glenwood, loaned him a copy
of Blackstone. He then began trying cases in the
justice courts and in this way secured quite a
clientage. In the meantime he read law books as
opportunity offered and eagerly availed himself
of every chance to augment his legal knowledge,
and on the 16th of April, 1877, he was admitted
to the bar. In the meantime he had been winning
considerable success at his farm work and because
of this he hesitated about taking up the law,
which was to him an untried field. However, upon
his admission he put aside active agricultural
pursuits in order to devote his entire attention
to law practice, opening an office in Emerson,
where he remained for six years. In 1883 he removed
to Carson, where he has since resided, being here
actively engaged in the practice of law for almost
a quarter of a century. Trial work is his strong
forte and he has tried cases in all of the courts.
Much important litigation has been entrusted to
him and he has had a very large clientage, his
legal interests and other business winning for
him a goodly share of success, so that he is now
one of the men of affluence in Pottawattamie county,
if not one of the men of wealth.
Widely known because of his activity in .the
field of politics, Mr. Shinn gave stanch support
to the democracy until 1881, since which time
he has been a loyal republican, and during the
past twenty-four years he has been active in campaign
work. In 1887 he was prevailed upon to accept
the nomination on the republican ticket for state
senator at a time when the district was largely
democratic, and although he was defeated, he ran
far ahead of his ticket. He wrote the bill that
first brought forward the enjoining of saloons
for the legislature of 1884, known as house bill
No. 481. This bill was taken before the supreme
court of the United States and was held to be
constitutional. In his political work his mind
has been free from the bias of animosity. Strong
and positive in his republicanism, his party fealty
is not grounded on partisan prejudice and he enjoys
the respect and confidence of all his associates
irrespective of party. Of the great issues which
divide the two parties, with their roots extending
down to the very bedrock of the foundation of
the republic, he has the true statesman's grasp.
Well grounded in the political maxims of the schools,
he has also studied the lessons of actual life,
arriving at his conclusions as a result of what
may be called his post-graduate studies in the
school of affairs. Such men, whether in office
or out of it, are the natural leaders of which
ever party they may be identified with, especially
in that movement toward higher politics which
is common to both parties and which constitutes
the most hopeful political sign of the period.
On January 25, 1869, Mr. Shinn was married to
Miss Almira Schenck, a daughter of James and Almira
(Fisher) Schenck, the father a farmer of Macedonia
township. Mrs. Shinn was born near Rockville,
Parke county, Indiana, and was married in Council
Bluffs. The children of this marriage are: Addie,
who was born October 28, 1869, and died at the
age of thirteen years; Linnie, the wife of Ira
Stitt, who is an attorney in the office with her
father; James A., who died October 28, 1882, at
the age of ten
734
years; Kate, the wife of C. C. Johnson, a druggist
of Carson; and Myrtle, the wife of Walter B. Lytle,
a farmer of this county.
In his fraternal relations Mr. Shinn is a Mason,
belonging to Coral lodge, No. 430, A. F. &
A. M. As stated, he was elected the first president
of the Old Settlers' Association when the pioneers
of Pottawattamie, Mills and Fremont counties met
on the 14th of September, 1886, to form this society,
which has since held annual meetings. He served
for one year as its chief executive officer and
has always been an active and valued member of
the organization. Few men are as familiar with
the history of the county. Events which are to
others a matter of record are to him matters of
personal knowledge or experience. He has witnessed
the growth of the county from an early epoch in
its development to the present time, his memory
compassing the period of its early progress as
well as of its later day prosperity. He has done
not a little in molding public thought and action
in his section of the county, his opinions being
an influencing factor in public life, while his
labors have been effectively directed toward improvement,
reform, material growth and municipal virtue.
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