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748
JOHN HAMMER.
John Hammer is a retired contracting mason of
Council Bluffs, whose skill and ability in the
line of his chosen calling is manifest in many
of the earlier and more substantial business houses
and residences of the city. He has now passed
the eighty-third milestone on life's journey and
a review of his career shows that he has lived
worthily, commanding the respect and confidence
of his fellowmen.
His birth occurred in Germany, on the 3d of October,
1824, and he was in his fifth year when brought
to America in 1829, the family home being established
in Elyria, Ohio. There he was reared and educated,
and in March, 1855, he became a resident of Council
Bluffs. More than a half century has since come
and gone and the small town to which he made his
way has become a city of large commercial and
industrial importance. For many years he figured
as one of its enterprising and successful business
men, carrying on business as a contracting mason,
in which connection he erected many of the older
business houses and residences of the city. Much
important work was entrusted to him and he continued
as a contractor of Council Bluffs until 1895,
when he retired permanently from active business
life. He had always been faithful to the terms
of a contract, reliable in every business transaction,
and diligent and industrious in carrying on his
work, and the years brought to him a gratifying
measure of success.
While in Elyria, Ohio, in 1849, Mr. Hammer was
married to Miss Mary J. Packard, who died in 1895,
leaving two daughters: Mary E., now the widow
of David Gray; and Clara M., the wife of H. Schicatanz.
On the 21st of June, 1903, he married Mrs. R.
D. Amy, who bore the maiden name of Mary E. Edwards
and was born in Liverpool, England, coming to
this country with her widowed mother, who resided
in St. Louis for several years. In 1851 Mrs. Hammer
became a resident of Council Bluffs and three
years later gave her hand in marriage to R. D.
Amy, who was one of the pioneer hardware merchants
of this city. After his death she carried on the
business for eighteen years. By her first marriage
she had eight children, namely: Royal James Amy;
a resident of Omaha; W. S. Amy and Mrs. Maggie
Holst, both of Council Bluffs; Mrs. Mamie B. Husbands,
of Salt Lake City; Lee D.; May; Dixie; and Mary
Ellen. The last four are now deceased.
Since the organization of the republican party
Mr. Hammer has given it his support, has rejoiced
in its victories and done all in his power to
promote its successes. In earlier years he was
quite active in political circles and served for
eleven years as a member of the city council,
exercising his official prerogatives in support
of every measure and movement which he deemed
would
748
prove of public benefit. He also served for one
term on the school board. He is now living quietly
in the enjoyment of a well earned rest but he
has not ceased to feel a deep interest in his
city and country, keeping in touch with the onward
march of progress. He has lived to witness great
changes that the nineteenth and twentieth centuries
have brought about the introduction of the telegraph
and telephone, the building of railroads, and
the reclamation of vast areas of wild land for
the purposes of civilization. Council Bluffs,
too, has kept pace with the trend of the times
and Mr. Hammer has borne his full share in promoting
public improvement here.
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GEORGE S. DYE.
George S. Dye, who owns and controls valuable
farming interests on sections 8 and 9, Carson
township, has made his home in this county for
almost a quarter century, having arrived in
September, 1883. He is a representative of one
of the old families of Pennsylvania, where occurred
the birth of his great-grandfather, Andrew Dye.
His grandfather, John Dye, became a pioneer
of Ohio. His father, Henry Dye, was born in
Miami county, Ohio, on the 27th of November,
1813. In 1838 he came to Iowa as a widower,
his first wife having lived for only a year,
and at her death left one son, Andrew, who died
in a hospital in St. Louis, Missouri, while
serving in the Civil war. Henry Dye came to
Carson with the subject of this review and spent
his last days in Pottawattamie county, where
he passed away at the age of seventy-five years.
For his second wife he chose Jane Mickelwait,
who was born in Yorkshire, England, April 23,
1823, and came to the United States when eight
years of age with her parents, who first settled
in Illinois and later removed to Van Buren county,
Iowa. The death of Mrs. Dye occurred in Lee
county, this state, September 25, 1861, and
it was subsequent to this time that Henry Dye,
the father, came to Carson with his son. Throughout
his entire life he followed farming and was
successful in that work. He was actively and
helpfully interested in both educational and
political affairs in his community, and he gave
his political allegiance to the democracy. His
family born of the second marriage numbered
the following: Sylvester, a retired farmer of
Council Bluffs; Mrs. Mary A. Gilmer, the widow
of Robert Gilmer and a resident of California;
John, of Macedonia township; Willoughby, of
the same township; George; Charles H., an attorney
living at Oregon City, Oregon; and Charlotte,
who died at the age of nine years.
The birth of George S. Dye occurred at Fort
Madison, Lee county, Iowa, April 6, 1854, his
father having become one of the pioneer residents
of that part of the state. He attended the public
schools and remained in his native town until
his removal to western Iowa in September, 1883,
since which time he has resided in Pottawattamie
county. He worked with his father on the old
home farm in Lee county and in 1883 he purchased
his
751
present farm, becoming owner of one, hundred
and sixty acres of land. Upon this tract the
house now stands. At the time of his purchase
the place was unbroken prairie land but soon
the track of the plow was seen across the fields
and in course of time abundant harvests were
being gathered as the result of the care and
energy which Mr. Dye had bestowed upon the place.
He has added to his original holdings until
the farm now comprises three hundred and sixty
acres, on which are two sets of farm buildings.
Mr. Dye has made all the improvements, having
erected two dwellings and put up three barns
and various sheds for the shelter of grain and
stock. He uses the latest improved machinery
to carryon the work of the fields and in the
cultivation of his farm employs the most modern
and successful methods. The place is now known
as the East Lawn Stock Farm and is devoted to
the raising of grain and the feeding of cattle,
his specialty being full blooded polled Angus
cattle. Mr. Dye is a man of resourceful business
ability and has extended his labors into other
departments of activity. He owns an interest
in the general store of Dye Brothers Company
in Macedonia, is a director in the Macedonia
State Bank and was one of the organizers of
the State Savings Bank of Carson, of which he
has since been a director and is now vice president.
In addition to his home farm he owns forty acres
of land inside the corporation limits of Carson
and has two hundred and forty acres in Harlan
county, Nebraska. His investments have been
judiciously made and his holdings are now valuable,
bringing to him a splendid financial return
for his industry, economy and capable management.
On the 7th of November, 1878, Mr. Dye was united
in marriage to Miss Julia Celestia Kirk, who
was born in Plattsburg, New York, March 11,
1855. She was reared, however, in Pittsburg,
Pennsylvania, whither she removed with her parents,
Joseph and Charlotte (Meyer) Kirk, the former
a native of Vermont and the latter of St. Petersburg,
Russia. Her father was a civil engineer on the
first railroad -of Russia built between Moscow
and St. Petersburg. On his trip there in 1843
he became acquainted with Charlotte Meyer, whom
he wedded the following year. Her father was
a Bea captain and had three children born on
the ocean. After her father's death Mrs. Kirk
went to St. Petersburg. Mr. Kirk was a man of
considerable ability and ingenuity in mechanical
lines and aided in the construction of several
men-of-war for the United States at the iron
works in Pittsburg. He built the Manayunk and
afterwards the Ajacks. Both Mr. and Mrs. Kirk
passed away in Pennsylvania and their daughter,
Mrs. Dye, afterward became a resident of Denmark,
Lee county, Iowa, and for a time was a student
in the academy there. She also engaged in teaching
school in both Wisconsin and Iowa. She was one
of a family of five children and the third in
order of birth. The others were Joseph L., now
of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania; Mrs. Charlotte Sloat,
of Denmark, Iowa; Mrs. Olga Dewey, living in
Fort Madison, Iowa; and Albert, deceased. Unto
Mr. and Mrs. Dye have been born eight children:
Henry K., who is clerking in his father's store
at Macedonia; Ralph B., a farmer of Oklahoma;
Albert L., Olga J., Georgia S., J. Merl, Walter
L. and Chester H, all yet at home.
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In politics Mr. Dye has been a life-long democrat,
unfaltering in his advocacy to the principles
of the party. He belongs to Coral lodge, No. 430,
A. F. & A. M., of Carson, and also to the
Modern Woodmen camp of Carson. The first one hundred
and sixty acres of land which he owned in this
county was given him by his father, it being then
a tract of unbroken prairie worth not more than
ten dollars per acre. Through his industry and
capable management he has accumulated the rest
of his possessions and his property interests
are now the visible evidence of his life of thrift
and industry. Moreover, he is well known for his
business integrity and has found in this western
district the opportunities which he sought. His
life proves that success and an honorable name
may be won simultaneously.
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The present financial position of Henry Wiese
is in strong contrast to his possessions at the
time he arrived in America after a voyage from
the fatherland to the new world. The intervening
years have been fraught with earnest, persistent
labor and there has been no esoteric phase in
his career but on the contrary his industry and
perseverance constitute not only the foundation
but also the superstructure of his success.
Mr. Wiese was born in Holstein, Germany, on the
26th of December, 1848, his parents being Joachim
and Bertha (Stoltenberg) Wiese, whose family numbered
six children, four now living in America. The
eldest sister of our subject is Margaret, now
the wife of C. H. Beuck, city engineer of Davenport,
Iowa. His brother Peter is living in Nevada, while
Mrs. Anna Rehr, the younger sister, is now living
in Chicago. The parents were both natives of Germany,
where they spent their entire lives.
Henry Wiese was reared in his father's home and
acquired his education in the schools of Germany,
early attending a preparatory school at Kiel,
while later he was a student in the Polytechnic
School in Hanover, this being one of the most
noted schools of Europe. Riel, during his boyhood
days, was a little city of fourteen thousand population
and today it contains about two hundred thousand
and is a great naval station, having one of the
finest harbors in the world.
In the Polytechnic School Mr. Wiese pursued a
course in civil engineering, and in 1868 he came
to the United States, locating temporarily at
Davenport, Iowa, where he followed civil engineering
for five years. He was employed on a survey of
railroad lines through Illinois, Indiana, Ohio,
Wisconsin, Michigan and Minnesota and thus traveled
quite extensively throughout the middle west,
so that he became well versed concerning this
section of the country and its possibilities.
In 1873 he made his way to Avoca, Iowa, and for
a time was engaged in the land business. For four
years he sold farm lands and during that period
he entered into partnership with H. O. Seiffert,
who had come to Avoca from Davenport in 1874.
In connection with their land business they extended
their operations to other fields of activity,
building and conducting a brickyard. In 1877 they
also engaged in the lumber business and yet continued
in the manufacture of brick.
Mr. Wiese was interested in both lines of business
until 1900, when he sold out and retired from
active life save for the supervision which he
gives to his investments. About 1893 he became
identified with the Avoca State Bank and since
that time has been a member of the board of directors
of
754
this well known and reliable financial institution.
He is also a stockholder in and one of the directors
of the Avoca Electric Light Company, and for years
has been one of the dominant factors in the business
circles of Avoca. Its commercial and industrial
prosperity is due in no small degree to his efforts
and he belongs to that class of representative
American men who, while promoting individual success
also contribute in large measure to general prosperity.
He derives a large share of his income from fourteen
hundred acres of farm land, which he owns in Pottawattamie
county. His large investments in real estate and
varied business interests have made him one of
the wealthy men of this section. He is now extensively
interested in timber land in Washington and has
made numerous trips to that region for the purpose
of investments.
On the 25th of March, 1876, Mr. Wiese was united
in marriage to Miss Wilhelmina Wiese, of Schoenberg,
Holstein, Germany, having returned to his native
country for his bride. In 1882 he again took a
trip with three of his children to the fatherland,
and in 1899 he traveled through Old Mexico, while
in 1901, in company with his daughter Meta, he
traveled quite extensively through the principal
countries of Europe. Unto him and his wife were
born six children: Edward W., who is engaged in
the wholesale lumber business at Seattle, Washington;
Gustav H., a member of the American Timber Company,
operating at Coos Bay, Oregon; Meta, who was a
student in Monticello Seminary, at Godfrey, Illinois;
William W., who is employed by his brother Edward
in Seattle, Washington; Otto, who is attending
the Wisconsin State University, at Madison, Wisconsin;
and Hertha, who is a student in Monticello Seminary,
at Godfrey, Illinois. All four of the sons attended
Military College at Upper Alton, Illinois, and
Blees Military College, at Macon, Missouri.
Mr. Wiese votes with the republican party where
national questions are involved but is liberal
in his views and at local elections casts an independent
ballot. He has never been an office seeker but
has served as a member of the town council and
has been on the board of township trustees. Events
of public importance claim his interest and co-operation
and since becoming an American citizen he has
been most loyal to the welfare of the community
in which he has lived. Throughout his life he
has directed his efforts along those lines where
mature judgment and keen discrimination lead the
way, and in all things he has manifested an aptitude
for successful management, readily solving intricate
business problems, utilizing his opportunities
to the best advantage and creating them where
none have existed.
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Harry G. McGee, to whose enterprise and executive
ability the beautiful suburb of Morningside owes
its existence, is engaged in the real-estate and
loan business in Council Bluffs, and in this connection
has contributed in large measure to the substantial
upbuilding and improvement of the city.
755
His life record began in Taylor county, Virginia,
in 1858. His father, Manasseh McGee, came to Council
Bluffs in 1855, entering from the government a
large amount of land, which has since become very
valuable. He did not make a permanent residence
here, and having made his investments returned
to the east, where he resided until his death.
His family, however, removed to Council Bluffs
in 1874, having in the meantime, however, resided
in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, for eight years.
During that period Harry G. McGee was a student
in the schools of Pittsburg and he afterward attended
the Western University at that place for two years.
In 1874 he came with his mother and the other
members of the family to Council Bluffs, being
then a youth of sixteen years. Soon afterward
he entered upon his business career as a clerk
in a hardware store, filling the position of salesman
for five years, while for a similar period he
was proprietor of the establishment. He carried
on business under the firm name of Cooper &
McGee and thus continued until 1887, when he began
dealing in real estate, opening an office for
this purpose. He has thoroughly informed himself
concerning realty values, knows almost every piece
of property that is on sale in the city, the possibilities
for purchase and the opportunities far development.
Although he conducts a general real-estate business
he devotes his attention principally to the platting
and improving of residence property and has platted
several of the finest residence additions to the
city, including Morningside, the most beautiful
and attractive suburb, the location of some of
the finest homes of Council Bluffs.
Mr. McGee is pleasantly situated in his home
life. He was married in Council Bluffs, in 1893,
to Miss Margaret Green, and unto them have been
born three children. Mr. McGee has held some local
offices and gives loyal support to the principles
of the republican party, in which he is a firm
believer. He holds membership in the Presbyterian
church and fraternally is connected with the Independent
Order of Odd Fellows, the Elks and the Royal Arcanum.
His genial manner renders him a social favorite,
while his unfailing courtesy and cordiality are
an element in his business success, which is also
based upon sound judgment, keen discrimination
and strong executive ability.
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George Groneweg, who for fourteen years has been
one of the active and successful business men
of Minden, is one of the native sons of Pottawattamie
county, having been born in Council Bluffs, December
31, 1865. His father, the Hon. William Groneweg,
is a native of Germany, became an early settler
of Council Bluffs and is still one of the prominent
and influential business men of that city. His
life work has touched various interests bearing
upon the public welfare and his labors have been
at times an essential factor in the promotion
of movements and measures for the public good.
In fact he has left the impress of his character
and his individuality upon the welfare of
756
the state, discharging his duties in public office
with a singleness of purpose and a fidelty to
principle that has been above question. He has
been mayor of Council Bluffs and has represented
his district in the state senate. Still active
in business, he is regarded in his home locality
as a man of affairs and one who has wielded a
wide influence, carving his name deeply on the
record of the political and commercial history
of the state, which owes not a little of its advancement
to his labors. Further mention of him is made
on another page of this work.
George Groneweg was reared in the city of his
nativity and is indebted to the excellent school
system of Council Bluffs for the educational privileges
he enjoyed. At a comparatively early age he entered
his father's store and received a thorough, practical
business training. In 1893 he came to Minden,
where he engaged in business, bringing with him
a stock of new goods and establishing a store
here. Since 1894 he has erected a brick business
block and has a neat, well lighted and well arranged
store, in which he carries a carefully selected
line of general merchandise. He is one of the
wide-awake and public-spirited business men of
the county, recognizing and improving his opportunities.
At all times in his business career he has wrought
along modern lines and in addition to displaying
an aptitude for successful management he has proven
that his business principles are in strict conformity
with a high standard of commercial ethics.
Mr. Groneweg was married in Council Bluffs, in
May, 1891, to Miss Clarissa Green, a daughter
of John Green, also one of the pioneers of Pottawattamie
county. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Groneweg have been born
two children, Ernest and Esther, who are students
in the Minden school.
Politically Mr. Groneweg is a democrat and while
never a politician in the sense of office seeking
he was elected alld is now serving as city treasurer
of Minden. He has also been a delegate to state
and county conventions and is deeply interested
in those issues which affect the national welfare.
He and his wife are members of the Minden Methodist
Episcopal church and give their endorsement to
every movement calculated to prove of public benefit.
Minden has profited by his co-operation in her
behalf, while his diligence and enterprise have
advanced its commercial prosperity, at the same
time bringing to Mr. Groneweg a very gratifying
financial return for his labors.
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Among the younger but none the less successful
physicians of Council Bluffs is numbered Dr. Matthew
Earl O'Keefe, who was born at Waterloo, Iowa,
February 22, 1879. In both the paternal and maternal
lines he is of Irish lineage. His father, Timothy
O'Keefe, was born in Dublin, Ireland, in 1837
and has been in America for a half century. He
is now living retired in Waterloo. His wife, who
bore the maiden name of Bridget Howe, was born
in Cork, Ireland, in 1843, and also survives.
In their family were eleven children, of whom
nine are still living.
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Entering school at the usual age; Dr. O'.Keefe
passed through successive grades until he was
graduated from the high school at Waterloo as
a member of the class of 1898. In 1900 he entered
the collegiate department of Drake University
at Des Moines, there pursuing his more specifically
literary education by the completion of a three
years' course. In 1903 he took up the study of
medicine in the same institution and continued
his reading for two years. He afterward spent
a similar period in the medical department of
Creighton University, and thus well equipped for
active practice he entered the field of professional
labor. Coming to Council Bluffs in May, 1906,
he was appointed house surgeon of Mercy Hospital.
This position he filled for fifteen months, when
he resigned to devote all of his time to general
practice, in which he is now engaged. He has offices
at 500 Broadway and enjoys a very lucrative practice,
his skill and ability being thus acknowledged
by the general public. Dr. O'Keefe is thoroughly
interested in everything pertaining to his profession
and keeps abreast with the trend of modern progress
along this line. He is now serving on the house
staff of Mercy Hospital and is a member of the
Missouri Valley Medical Society.
In his fraternal relations Dr. O'Keefe is connected
with the Phi Beta Pi, with the Knights of Columbus
and the Elks. His political allegiance is given
to the democracy but the honors and emoluments
of office have no attraction for him and he prefers
to give undivided attention to his professional
duties, which he performs with a sense of conscientious
obligation and with due regard to a high standard
of professional ethics.
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The growth of a city and the character of its
substantial development depend largely upon those
who control its real-estate interests, and in
this connection Harry W. Binder is well known,
being successfully engaged in the real-estate,
loan and fire insurance business. He was born
in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on the 23d of June,
1864, and spent the first seventeen years of his
life in his native city, acquiring his education
in its public schools. In 1881 he went to Blue
Hill, Maine, where he engaged in the granite business,
his father, Christopher Binder, owning extensive
granite quarries. The son was associated with
the development and conduct of the enterprise
there for eight years, or until 1889, and on the
11th of January, 1890, he came to Council Bluffs.
Here he began dealing in real estate and has since
continued in this line, covering a period of about
eighteen years. On the 1st of July, 1901, he organized
the present firm of H. W. Binder & Company,
which is one of the strong real-estate firms of
the city, handling much valuable property and
doing much to develop Council Bluffs through real-estate
negotiations and sales. Mr. Binder possesses strong
executive force and keen discernment and his laudable
ambition to win success has brought him his present
desirable place in real-estate circles.
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Mr. Binder is a supporter of the democracy and
an advocate of the gold standard. While he keeps
well informed on the questions and issues of the
day, he never seeks nor desires office for himself.
He is interested, however, in community affairs
to the extent of giving active and helpful co-operation
to many movements for the public good. He is a
member and president of the library board and
a past president .of the Commercial Club. He is
also well known in fraternal circles, belonging
to the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks,
while in the Masonic fraternity he has attained
the Knight Templar degree and is also a member
of the Mystic Shrine. He belongs to the Episcopal
church and in his life has manifested those sterling
traits of character which work for activity and
integrity in business, for progressiveness in
citizenship and for honor in all relations of
life.
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JOHN F. OWENS.
John F. Owens, filling the position of postmaster
at Hancock, is numbered among the veterans of
the Civil war, and in days of peace as in days
of strife he has ever been 16yal to the best interests
and welfare of his country. He was born in Greene
county, Ohio, on the 23d of August, 1839, his
parents being George B. and Ellen (Brewington)
Owens, whose family numbered four children, although
only two are now living, the elder brother of
our subject being Ira S. Owens, whose home is
in Montgomery county, Ohio. The father was a native
of Virginia and the mother's birth occurred in
Salisbury, Maryland. While they were children
they removed with their respective parents to
Greene county, Ohio, where they were reared and
married. The father prepared for the ministry,
but prior to entering upon the active work of
preaching the gospel he engaged in teaching school
for a number of years. He then was ordained to
the ministry and continued to fill the pulpit
up to the time .of his death, Which occurred in
1862, being a member of the Cincinnati conference
of the Methodist Episcopal church for a period
of fifteen years. His wife survived him for a
number of years, but has now passed away.
John F. Owens was reared under the parental roof
and pursued his education largely in the public
schools of Ohio, but afterward attended the Farmers
College at College Hill, Ohio, for one year. When
about fifteen years of age he entered a harness
shop in Yellow Springs, Ohio, and served a regular
apprenticeship. He afterward worked at his trade
of journeyman for twenty years and in 1872 came
to Iowa, settling in Avoca, where he resided for
eighteen years. In 1890 he removed to Hancock
to take charge of the hardware store of F. G.
Hetzel, and for twelve years continued as manager
of the business. On the 20th of April, 1906, he
was appointed postmaster of Hancock and on the
7th of May assumed the duties of the office, in
which he is now serving, giving a capable administration,
one which is winning for him many friends. He
has also filled other local offices, having served
for several terms as a member .of the town council
of Hancock,
761
including service as a member of the first council..
He is now serving for a third term as assessor
of the town, and in these different position has
discharged his duties with promptness and fidelity.
His political allegiance is given to the republican
party.
At the time of the Civil war, Mr. Owens offered
his services to the government, enlisting in August,
1861, at Cincinnati, Ohio, in the Fifth Ohio Cavalry,
with which he served for ten months. He was honorably
discharged at Corinth, Mississippi, and after
returning home he re-enlisted at Springfield,
Ohio, in August, 1862, this time becoming a member
of the Forty-fourth Ohio Infantry. On the re-enlistment
of the troops in 1863 their company was mustered
in as part of the Eighth Ohio Cavalry, with which
command Mr. Owens served until the close of the
war, being mustered out at Clarksburg, West Virginia,
in August, 1865.
In 1867 Mr. Owens was united in marriage to Miss
Kate M. Stevenson, of Yellow Springs, Ohio, and
unto them have been born a daughter and son; Emma
L., now the wife of W. W. Bingham, of Hancock;
and William E., who is living in Hastings, Iowa.
In his fraternal relations Mr. Owens is connected
with Mt. Nebo lodge, A. F. & A. M., of Avoca;
Rabonni chapter, No. 85, R. A. M., of Avoca; and
U. S. Grant post, G. A. R., at that place. He
thus maintains pleasant relations with his old
army comrades and takes great delight in the camp-fires,
recalling reminiscences and scenes of the tented
fields. He is a member of the Congregational church
and is a man whose life in all of its purposes
has been honorable and upright. He has been diligent
in business and straightforward in his dealings,
patriotic in citizenship, and faithful to the
ties of home and friendship.
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