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STEPHEN SUMNER
RUST.
Stephen Sumner Rust, vice-president of the Citizens
State Bank of Oakland, is prominently connected
with the business life of that town, his energy
and well directed labor proving an element in
its present commercial prosperity. He is the owner
of one of the principal business blocks of Oakland
and aside from his interests here he has large
land holdings in Nebraska and
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Colorado. His life proves the value of unremitting
diligence and strong purpose, for his success
has largely been attained through his own labors.
Mr. Rust was born in Henderson county, Illinois,
February 23, 1848, and his father, Jacob Rust,
was a native of Ohio county, West Virginia, his
natal place being near Wheeling. The family is
of English lineage and four of the uncles of Jacob
Rust were soldiers of the Revolutionary war, enlisting
from Virginia, one holding the rank of captain
and another that of first lieutenant, while still
a third was promoted to office. The family was
represented in the engagement at Yorktown, which
brought an end to the war through the final surrender
of the British troops to General Washington.
Jacob Rust was reared in Hardin county, Kentucky,
and volunteered for service in the war of 1812.
He was a farmer by occupation and also possessed
much mechanical ingenuity, being able to do almost
anything with tools. In early life he was quite
successful. In 1855 he came to Iowa and took up
government land in Valley township, Pottawattamie
county, erecting thereon a log house of one room.
After living upon that farm for five years he
removed to Center township, where he continued
to make his home throughout the remainder of his
life, passing away in 1887 at the age of ninety-two
years. He was a well preserved man but met with
an accident that resulted in his demise. Of the
Christian church he was an active and faithful
member and of the republican party a stalwart
supporter. For about ten years he filled the position
of justice of the peace and the decisions of his
court received the endorsement of all those who
favored law and order.
Jacob Rust was twice married and by the first
marriage had fourteen children, of whom three
are now living: Mrs. Melvina Ward and Mrs. Charlotte
Chastain, both residents of Oregon; and Mrs. Didamie
Brunk, a widow living in Missouri. For his second
wife Mr. Rust chose Mrs. Eda (Palmer) Morris,
who was born in South Carolina and died in 1898
in her ninety-fourth year. She was of German-English
stock. Her people were early settlers of South
Carolina, where they owned and conducted plantations.
At an early day in the development of Indiana
her parents removed to the southern part of that
state. They were members of the Baptist church
and were influential factors in promoting the
material and moral development of their community.
Mrs. Rust was married twice and by her first marriage
had six children, of whom three are living: Ben,
James and William Morris. Unto Jacob and Eda Rust
were born three children: Isabelle, the wife of
Reuben Morris, a farmer of Center township, this
county; Stephen S., of this review; and Samuel,
who died at the age of seven years.
Stephen Sumner Rust began his education in a
log schoolhouse in Center township, the furnishings
of which were very primitive, the seats being
made of slabs. He later walked three miles to
school. He was reared upon a farm, remaining at
home until thirteen years of age, when he began
working by the month and was in the employ of
one man for five years with the exception of six
months when working for his brother-in-law. After
his marriage he engaged in the operation of rented
land and lived in a log cabin for five years.
He then purchased forty acres of land, which he
broke and improved, making his home thereon for
six years.
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In the fall of 1880 Mr. Rust removed to Oakland,
where he established a grain business, and in
1883 he extended the field of his operations by
organizing a private bank called the Citizens
Bank, which was incorporated in 1892 as the Citizens
State Bank, with W. H. Freeman as president; S.
S. Rust, vice president; and L. F. Potter, cashier.
Before the incorporation Mr. Freeman and Mr. Potter
were taken in as partners in the private bank
and some time before the incorporation Mr. Freeman
had been a member of the Oakland Bank, which was
merged with the Citizens State Bank at the time
of its incorporation. Mr. Rust is not only active
in the control and management of the bank but
is also closely associated with other business
interests of the city and is a typical American
business man-alert, energetic and watchful of
opportunities, which he utilizes to the best advantage.
He owns one of the principal business blocks of
Oakland and his real-estate holdings also comprise
eight hundred acres of land in Merrick county,
Nebraska, and twelve hundred and forty acres in
Logan county, Colorado.
On the 2d of September, 1865, Mr. Rust was married
to Miss Mary N. Strong, who was born in Ohio,
February 18, 1845, and the following year was
brought to Iowa by her parents, James M. and Mary
Strong, who first located in Jefferson county.
After residing there for six years they settled
on a farm near Fairfield, Iowa, and in 1864 came
to Pottawattamie county, locating in Center township.
Mr. and Mrs. Rust have one child, Bertie M., who
was born June 5, 1866, and is the wife of Frank
Robinson, a farmer and carpenter living in Logan
county, Colorado. They have three sons and two
daughters, namely: Guy, Mary, Clare, Olive and
Gilbert.
Mr. and Mrs. Rust hold membership in the Congregational
church and for many years he served as one of
its trustees. He has always voted with the republican
party and for many years was treasurer of Center
township, while in Oakland he has been village
treasurer and also a member of the council. His
interest in community affairs is deep and sincere
and has led to active cooperation in the various
plans instituted for general advancement and progress.
He was made a Mason at Oakland in 1881 and is
now a member of Arch lodge, No. 335, at that place.
He is also an Odd Fellow and his life has in large
measure been characterized by the principles which
constitute the basic elements of those orders.
He is one of the wealthy men of Oakland and one
of its most progressive citizens, standing as
a high type of the American manhood which advances
the public good while promoting individual prosperity.
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Charles Ray Spangler needs no introduction to
the readers of this volume for the Spangler family
is very widely known in Pottawattamie county.
He whose name introduces this record is treasurer
of the Walnut Milling Company, and he has spent
his entire life in Walnut, his native city, his
birth haring occurred here on the 6th of January,
1879. His father is Irad T. Spangler, a sketch
of whom is given elsewhere in this volume. In
his boyhood days
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Charles R. Spangler was a pupil in the Walnut
schools, passing through successive grades until
he completed the high school course by graduation
in 1897. He then went to Valparaiso, Indiana,
where he pursued a business course in the Valparaiso
Business College, being graduated therefrom in
the spring of 1899. Immediately afterward he went
to Chicago, where he accepted a position with
the commission firm of Greer, Mills & Company
at the Union Stock Yards. There he remained with
the firm until the 1st of February, 1902, when
he returned to Walnut and assumed the office management
of the Walnut Milling Company. .In November, 1906,
he acquired an interest in the business, was made
treasurer of the company, and has since acted
in that capacity. He is a young man possessing
commendable ambition and strong purpose, and the
qualities which actuated him in his business career
are such as lead to success.
Mr. Spangler is a republican of firm faith in
the party principles. He has served as secretary
of the school board for the past five years and
for four years has been city clerk, discharging
his duties with a promptness and fidelity that
have led to his retention in the office through
successive terms. Fraternally he is connected
with Diamond lodge, No. 374, K. P., and Walnut
lodge, No. 194, A. O. U. W.
Mr. Spangler was married July 1, 1903, to Miss
Clara Hector, daughter of Julius Hector, a banker
of Walnut. The young couple are prominent socially,
while the hospitality of their own home is greatly
enjoyed by their many friends. Having spent almost
his entire life in this locality Mr. Spangler
is well known, and as a representative business
man is entitled to mention in this volume, while
furthermore he is known as a worthy member of
one of the leading families of this county.
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Judge Jefferson P. Casady, deceased, left the
impress of his individuality upon public thought
and action not only in Council Bluffs but throughout
the state as well. The consensus of public opinion
accorded him high rank, his native talents, his
acquired ability, his laudable ambition and his
lofty purposes enabling him to advance steadily
in the professional path which he chose to follow,
his influence, however, extending far beyond legal
circles into those realms where it touched the
general interests of society.
A native of Indiana, Judge Casady was born at
Connersville, September 1, 1828, and was a son
of Mr. and Mrs. Simon Casady, who gave to the
world five sons, all of whom became prominent
in their respective localities and chosen fields
of labor. In remoter generations the family was
Scotch-Irish and during the long years in which
the ancestry has been represented in America it
has furnished men notable in public life. Reared
as a farm boy to the age of eighteen years, Judge
Casady pursued his elementary education by study
in an academy and, wishing to prepare for one
of the professions, he became a student in the
office and under the direction of the Hon. Samuel
W. Parker in
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the days when the principles of the law rather
than the cases were studied and when the eminent
lawyers of the day kept the Bible and Blackstone
side by side upon their desks. Judge Casady's
tutor was one of a coterie of great lawyers who
made the bar of Indiana famous and he thus imbibed
an exalted opinion of the law as practiced by
men of learning and virtue.
Following his removal to Des Moines in 1852 he
was admitted a member of the Iowa bar and in 1853
became a resident of Council Bluffs, where he
entered into partnership with Hon. Hadley D. Johnson
for the practice of their profession and also
for the conduct of a land business. He limited
his activities to civil law and in that great
department of jurisprudence soon gained favorable
recognition, of which the public gave manifestation
in his election to the office of county judge--an
honor that came to him unsolicited. Each of the
old parties had placed nominees in the field but
the people at large were dissatisfied with the
nominations made and without dissent or regard
to political prejudices elected Mr. Casady. Under
the laws that existed at that time the county
judge had full management of all financial affairs
of the county and also of the probate court, thus
putting upon the officer an unusual amount of
hard work and responsibility. Judge Casady performed
the work of the court with notable dispatch and
at the same time his decisions were strictly fair
and impartial. He also conducted his private business
in connection with his official duties, it consisting
largely of real-estate operations. In July, 1861,
however, he was elected a director of the Council
Bluffs & St. Joseph Railroad and subsequently
was chosen president.
In 1868 Judge Casady was chosen to represent
his district, comprising Pottawattamie, Mills,
Fremont and Cass counties, in the state senate.
A coincidence worthy of mention is the fact that
his brother, the Hon. P. M. Casady, of Des Moines,
represented that district in the state senate,
while Hon. Samuel H. Casady was representative
from northwestern Iowa in the lower house of the
state legislature and Hon. J. P. Casady was member
of the senate from Council Bluffs. His partners,
too, the Hon. Hadley D. Johnson and Hon. James
D. Test, also represented the Council Bluffs district
in the legislature.
In politics Judge Casady was a democrat of the
Jeffersonian school, his opinions carrying weight
in the councils of his party, while on various
occasions he was chosen as a delegate to its state
conventions. In 1880 he was made one of the vice
presidents of the national convention. In 1872
he was nominated for auditor of state and although
Iowa has ever been strongly republican he ran
far ahead of his ticket--a fact which indicated
his personal popularity and the confidence reposed
in him by those who knew him. While a member of
the senate he was instrumental in securing the
appropriation for the building of the deaf and
dumb institute at Council Bluffs and was connected
with much other important legislation. He had
no ambitions in the line of office holding but
probably there was not a man of large private
interests in Council Bluffs that felt a more hearty
concern for the public welfare or was more helpful
in bringing about those purifying and wholesome
reforms which have been gradually growing in the
political, municipal and social life of the city.
It is true that his chief life work was as a lawyer,
banker and real-estate dealer but the range of
his activities and the scope of his influence
reached far beyond this
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Special field. Unselfish and retiring, he preferred
a quiet place in the background to the glamor
[glamour] of publicity, but his rare aptitude
and ability in achieving results made him constantly
sought and often brought him into a prominence
from which he would naturally have shrunk were
less desirable ends in view.
On the 16th of June, 1856, Judge Casady was married
to Miss Hannah Joiner. Two of their five children,
Lawrence and Jefferson J., are deceased, while
Thomas E.) a practicing attorney of Moline, Illinois,
Ida, of Council Bluffs, Iowa, and Albert W., of
Kansas City, Missouri, still survive. The wife
and mother passed away May 6, 1882, and the death
of Judge Casady occurred April 27, 1892. Early
in their married life he and his wife became members
of the First Presbyterian church of Council Bluffs
and were always loyal to its interests, contributing
liberally to its support and doing everything
in their power to advance its interests.
Judge Casady was a charter member of Council
Bluffs lodge, No. 49, I. O. O. F. While his public
service, both in the line of his profession and
in politics, was of an important character, it
was the strong and individual traits of the man
that endeared him so closely to his fellowmen.
In much that he did he was actuated by a spirit
of kindliness and helpfulness. Young men particularly
found in him a stanch friend and more than one
now successful and prominent owes his first progressive
steps to the aid of Judge Casady. He seemed always
to bring out the best in others, undoubtedly owing
to the fact that his life was actuated by high
principles and he was always looking for the good
in others. His life record finds embodiment in
the words of Pope:
"Statesman,
yet friend to truth; of soul sincere,
In action faithful and in honor clear;
Who broke no promise, served no private end,
Who gained no title and who lost no friend."
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William Steel, residing on section 14, Lewis
township, largely derives his income from his
fruit-raising interests, devoting his time especially
to the cultivation of berries. He was born in
Harrison county, Ohio, July 1, 1841, his parents
being Samuel K. and Rebecca (Kerby) Steel, the
former born in Northumberland county, Pennsylvania,
in 1815, and the latter in Maryland in 1817. The
paternal grandfather served his country as a soldier
in the Revolutionary war and later received a
land warrant from the government in recognition
of the aid that he had rendered. Three uncles
of our subject were valiant soldiers in the Mexican
war and thus the family has a most creditable
military record, for Mr. Steel himself gave practical
demonstration of loyalty by active service on
the battle-fields of the south during the Civil
war. His parents were married in Ohio, the father
owning and cultivating a farm in
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Harrison county. He continued its further development
and improvement until 1856, when he sold his property
and started overland with his family for Iowa.
On reaching Burlington he sought employment and
worked there until 1876. He also owned a small
fruit farm in that locality. In the centennial
year he came to Pottawattamie county and bought
eighty acres of wild land in Lewis township. This
place he developed and improved, making his home
thereon until within five years of his death,
when he sold out and went to live among his children.
His wife died in January, 1891, while Samuel K.
Steel passed away in April, 1903.
William Steel was the eldest of a family of six
children, all of whom still survive. He acquired
his education in the common schools of Ohio up
to his fifteenth year, the schoolhouse being about
three and a half miles from his home. His opportunities
were accordingly somewhat limited, owing to the
distance and to the fact that his labor was often
needed on the home farm but through study and
observation in later years he has added greatly
to his knowledge and is now a; well informed man.
He continued to engage actively in general agricultural
pursuits until after the outbreak of the Civil
war, when on the 17th of October, 1863, he offered
his services to the government and became a private
of Company H, Thirteenth Iowa Infantry. He enlisted
at Burlington and immediately started to join
his command. He did not reach his regiment, however,
but was sent to the command of General Thomas
at Nashville and from there to Chattanooga. For
a year and a half he did scouting duty in Tennessee
and Alabama, being thus engaged until the close
of the war, when he joined his regiment at Raleigh,
North Carolina. From there he was sent to Washington
to participate in the grand review and later the
regiment proceeded to Louisville, Kentucky, where
the troops were mustered out on the 22d of July,
1865, going thence to Davenport, Iowa, where they
were honorably discharged in the month of August.
Mr. Steel had accompanied his parents to this
state when a youth of fifteen years and after
the war he turned his attention to farming, cultivating
a tract of rented land in Des Moines county for
two years. In 1867 he removed to Pottawattamie
county, settling in Lewis township, where he purchased
eighty acres of wild land. There were no buildings
upon the place and he camped out while constructing
a dwelling. In 1875 he tore away his first home
and built the one which he now occupies. He has
also added barns and outbuildings to his place
and as the years have gone by has carried on the
work of the farm. Since 1882 he has largely devoted
his time and attention to horticultural pursuits.
In that year he planted an apple orchard of about
four acres. About fifteen years ago he set out
two acres of grapes--thirty-five hundred vines
and about ten years ago planted an acre and a
half to blackberries, while recently he has set
out three-quarters of an acre to raspberries.
In the year 1907 he has disposed of three hundred
cases or seventy-two hundred quarts of blackberries,
and he sells annually from fifteen hundred to
eighteen hundred baskets of grapes. The fruit
is shipped to all parts of the United States and
it is from his berries that he derives the greater
part of his income. He has set out excellent nursery
stock and the tine quality of his fruit enables
him to
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command the highest market prices. He is still
the owner of seventy acres of his original purchase.
On the 31st of December, 1862, Mr. Steel was
united in marriage to Miss Mary E. Houx, a daughter
of William and Eliza (Purcell) Houx, of Des Moines
county, Iowa. Her father went with his parents
to Ohio at the time the Indians still lives in
that state and in that locality he was married.
In the early '50s he removed to Des Moines county,
Iowa, where both he and his wife resided until
called to their final rest., Unto Mr. and Mrs.
Steel have been born seven children: Lucy, who
is the widow of Jasper Robinson and has two children,
Guy and Florence; Clara, the wife of E. L. Gladwin,
of Tabor, Iowa; James H., of Mapleton, this state;
Hattie, the wife of John Altmanshoffer, of Mapleton;
William, also of Mapleton; John, of Council Bluffs;
and Mabel, the wife of John Thomas, of Mapleton.
The eldest daughter, with her two children, is
now living with her father.
Mr. Steel is a member of Lincoln post, G. A.
R, of Council Bluffs, but seldom attends its meetings.
In matters of citizenship, however, he is as true
and loyal to his country in days of peace as when
he followed the old flag upon the battle-fields
of the south. He has worked diligently and persistently
to secure the success which he is now enjoying
and he is well known in his part of the county
as a leading fruit-raiser.
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During forty-one years Joseph C. De Haven has
figured in commercial circles in Council Bluffs.
Business conditions have greatly changed in that
time and the city, with its metropolitan interests
and opportunities, was then a small town upon
the western frontier, rich in its possibilities
but with comparatively little actual, development
or commercial prominence. Joseph C. De Haven has
contributed to the general development here and
throughout the years has maintained an enviable
position in trade circles as a druggist.
His life record began in Waterford, Saratoga
county, New York, on the 7th of February, 1838.
The family is of French extraction and Peter De
Haven, the grandfather of our subject, was born,
lived and died in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
His son, Dr. Augustus Atlie De Haven, was born
in Philadelphia, in 1804, and died in the state
of New York in 1840. He married Ann Courtney,
and they had four children: Augusta, the widow
of Dr. Bunn, of Philadelphia; Anna M.; Mary D.;
and Joseph C. After losing her first husband Mrs.
De Haven became the wife of Abram Williams in
Wisconsin and died in that state in 1863, leaving
two children: Winfield Scott Williams and Emma,
now the deceased wife of Samuel Allen, of Freeport,
Illinois.
In 1841 Joseph C. De Haven was taken by his parents
to Plattville, Wisconsin, where he was reared
and attended school. There he remained until 1856
and on leaving Plattville removed to Chicago,
at that time a city of one hundred thousand population.
He entered the office of the Tribune as a printer,
having previously learned the trade, and was on
that paper for two years,
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after which he went to Albany, Missouri, where
he soon afterward purchased the Albany Courier,
a weekly democratic paper, which he published
until 1861. In that year he sold out and began
freighting across the plains from Nebraska City
and northern Missouri to Denver and California
Gulch, now the site of Leadville. A year was thus
passed and in April, 1862, he came to Council
Bluffs, where he secured a clerkship in the Johnson
Honn drug store on Upper Broadway.
On the 15th of September, 1862, however, Mr.
De Haven put aside all business and personal considerations
in order to respond to his country's call. On
that day he enrolled his name on the list of the
members of Company E, Sixth Iowa Volunteer Cavalry
as a private and served until mustered out at
Davenport, Iowa, on the 15th of October, 1865.
He was at once made orderly sergeant and was commissioned
first lieutenant January 31, 18'63, by Governor
Kirkwood. The Sixth Regiment spent much time in
Dakota and Montana, guarding settlers from the
Indians, and had several fights, including the
engagement at Whitestone Hill and two in the Black
Hills.
After the war Mr. De Haven returned to Council
Bluffs and organized the firm of Dougherty &
De Haven. They opened a stock of drugs and continued
together for a year when Mr. De Haven purchased
his partner's interest and has since been alone
in. business. He is one of the oldest merchants
of the city in years of continuous connection
with commercial interests here and throughout
the years he has maintained a place as one of
the foremost business men, alert, enterprising
and progressive. He has always stood for advancement
and has made fair dealing the basis of his success.
On the 24th of February, 1864, Mr. De Haven was
married in Albany, Missouri, to Dalia A. Wood,
a daughter of Colonel Wood, ex-land commissioner
of Missouri. They have two daughters. The elder,
M. Eugenia, is the wife of James E. Kelbey, chief
law officer of the Nebraska division of the Chicago,
Burlington & Quincy Railroad and a resident
of Omaha, Nebraska. The younger daughter, Charlotte
Louise, is at home.
Mr. De Haven gives his political support to the
democracy and although he has never sought or
desired the emoluments of political office he
served on the school board for one term. He belongs
to Lincoln post, G. A. R., of Council Bluffs,
and thus keeps in touch with his old army comrades,
taking great pleasure in the campfires. In his
citizenship he has always been loyal; in business,
ever progressive and reliable; and in every relation
of life trustworthy and honorable.
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E. T. JOHNSTON.
E. T. Johnston, a resident farmer of Crescent
township, living on section 25, was born in Jefferson
county, Ohio, August 25, 1830, his parents being
William and Rosanna (Todd) Johnston. The father
was born in Maryland and died in Ohio at the age
of seventy-one years, while the mother, whose
birth occurred in Washington county, Pennsylvania,
reach the very advanced
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age or ninety years, also passing away in the
Buckeye state. She belonged to a family noted
for longevity. John Johnston, the paternal grandfather
of Mr. Johnston, was a native of Ireland and became
a sailor of the British merchant service. At the
outbreak of the Revolutionary was he was in Boston
harbor and joined the colonial army, his sympathies
being with the colonists in their struggle for
independence. He participated in the battle of
Bunker Hill and served throughout the remainder
of the war under General Wayne, whose intrepid
bravery and fearlessness in the face of danger
caused him to be known as "Mad Anthony."
The grandfather lived to be one hundred and nine
years of age. In the maternal line E. T. Johnston
is descended from Hugh Scott, a native of Scotland,
who came to America early in the seventeenth century.
In the family of William and Rosanna Johnston
were twelve children but only three are now living.
Under the parental roof at the family home in
Ohio, E. T. Johnston spent the days of his boyhood,
remaining with his father until eighteen years
of age. He afterward worked for a time at the
carpenter's trade in Wheeling, West Virginia,
and then proceeded down the Ohio river by steamboat.
He round employment as a carpenter on a Mississippi
river boat, which on the next trip after Mr. Johnston
has left her was blown up. In 1852 he became a
resident of Davenport, Iowa, where he worked for
a time at the carpenter's trade and later became
patternmaker, following that pursuit for thirty
years. Removing to Council Bluffs, he was for
two years employed in the Ogden Iron Works, on
the expiration of which period he determined to
retire from mechanical pursuits and devote his
time and energies to agricultural interests. Accordingly
in 1889 he purchased one hundred and sixty acres
in Crescent township, where he has since made
his home. This was an improved farm but he has
since made many changes, remodeling the buildings
and constructing others, securing the latest improved
machinery and keeping everything about his place
in a state of good repair. Mr. Johnston does general
farming, making a specialty, however, of dairying
and is meeting with good success in his undertaking.
He is largely relieved of the active work of the
farm by his youngest son but still gives supervision
to the place.
In early manhood Mr. Johnston was married to
Miss Catherine High, a native of Pennsylvania,
who died six years ago at the age of seventy.
In their family were six children: Emma, the wife
of William Case, a resident of Omaha, Nebraska.;
George, who died ten years ago; Anna, the wife
of Lewis Mangold, of Blair, Nebraska; Caroline,
the wife of James Case, of North Tonawanda, New
York; Mary, at home; and Curtis G., who is an
intelligent and enterprising farmer, conducting
the old home place and displaying in its management
excellent business ability combined with practical
and progressive ideas.
While living in Davenport Mr. Johnston witnessed
the transporting of the first railroad locomotive
ever brought this side of the Mississippi river.
A track was built to the edge of the water on
the Rock Island side and from there the engine
was run onto a flat boat. The track was then built
in the same way on the Davenport side and the
engine steamed off from the boat. The second engine
crossed the river on the ice, the wheels being
taken off to
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make it as light as possible and the boiler put
on skids. He saw the building of the first railroad
bridge across the Mississippi river at Davenport,
a wooden structure, which, however, has long since
been replaced by a fine steel bridge. His long
residence in the state has made him largely familiar
with its history and with the many events which
have shaped its development and marked its progress.
He is now seventy-seven years of age but is still
a hale and hearty man. He possessed much natural
mechanical ability and devoted the greater part
of his life to pursuits of that character but
now in the evening of his days is living upon
the farm, enjoying the freedom of the outdoor
life. During his residence in Crescent township
he has gained many friends and has the respect
of young and old, rich and poor.
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Andrew G. Gilbert is engaged in the coal and
ice business in Council Bluffs-his native city.
He was born August 27, 1858, of the marriage of
Alexander; G. and Ann (McPherson) Gilbert. The
father, a native of Liverpool, England, was born
in 1825 and came to America in 1850, spending
a few months in St. Louis, Missouri, after which
he removed to Council Bluffs, where he was first
engaged in the tent and wagon cover business,
outfitting emigrants for California. He also engaged
in freighting from Council Bluffs to Denver, while
later he engaged in the ice business, in which
he continued up to the time of his death, which
occurred in 1876. He was married in St. Louis
to Miss Ann McPherson, a daughter of John McPherson,
a sea captain, and unto this marriage there were
born three children: Belle, now the widow of W.
W. Chapman, a resident of Council Bluffs; Andrew
G., of this review; and Edward J., also of this
city. The mother still survives at the age of
seventy years and makes her home in Council Bluffs.
The subject of this review was reared in his
native city and pursued his education in the public
schools to the age of twelve years, when he put
aside his text-books and began working for his
father, who was engaged in the ice business--the
first to deal in that commodity in Council Bluffs.
Here he continued for some time and then for five
years was a news agent on the railroads. In the
spring of 1876 he returned to Council Bluffs and,
his father having died in that year, succeeded
him in the ice business, in connection with his
brother Edward, the partnership being continued
until the latter retired from business in 1905.
In 1904 the brothers extended their business by
adding a coal department and Andrew G. Gilbert
continues to deal in coal as well as ice. He has
a liberal patronage in both lines and his trade
is constantly growing because of his honorable
methods, his unfaltering diligence and his strong
purpose.
In 1900, Mr. Gilbert was married, in Council
Bluffs, to Miss Ella Dall and they have one daughter,
Eleanor Gilbert. The young couple are prominent
in social circles and enjoy the hospitality of
many homes. In his political views Mr. Gilbert
is a democrat and in 1904-5 served as alderman
at large.
937
While a member of the city council he was chairman
of the finance committee and served on other important
committees, exercising his official prerogatives
in support of many progressive public measures.
Whatever he considers will benefit the community
receives his endorsement, whether in office or
out of it, and his labors have been of direct
benefit to the town. He attends the Presbyterian
church and is a man who in every relation of life
has been found honorable, upright and trustworthy.
The proof of this is found in the fact that many
of those who have known him from his boyhood are
numbered among his stanchest [staunchest] friends.
He has always lived in Council Bluffs and thus
for almost a half century has been a witness of
its development and upbuilding. He is largely
a self-made man from the fact that he left school
and started out for himself at the age of twelve
years and has since been an active factor in the
world's work.
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William A. Steinkopf, president of the Standard
Fuel, Feed & Seed Company of Council Bluffs,
his progress being made by successive steps from
a humble position in the business world to one
of prominence in his community, was born on a
farm in Clayton county, Iowa, on the 23d of July,
1860. His father was William Steinkopf, a native
of Germany, born in 1817. He came to America in
1852 and established his home in Clayton county,
Iowa, whence he removed in 1869 to Council Bluffs.
Here he established a grocery store, which he
conducted successfully for thirty years, or until
his death in 1899. He married Louisa Bock, who
departed this life in Council Bluffs in 1896.
They were the parents of a daughter, Mary, the
wife of Charles Conley, and of two sons, Henry
A. and William A.
The latter, coming with his parents to Council.
Bluffs at the age of nine years, was here reared
and in the public schools acquired much of his
education. His training along commercial lines
was received in Bryant & Stratton Business
College of Davenport, Iowa, from which he was
graduated in 1882. returning to Council Bluffs,
he entered the employ of Scofield & Cavin,
dry goods merchants, with whom he continued for
eight years, when he became an employe of J. C.
Hoffmayr, proprietor of the City Roller Mills.
He was at first city salesman but later he became
traveling salesman and continued with the house
for six years, or until 1891. At that date he
began traveling for the Crystal mill and remained
upon the road for four or five years, after which
he became traveling salesman for Groneweg &
Schoentgen, wholesale grocers. He was recognized
as a popular and able salesman in the trade and
so continued until 1903, when he organized the
present firm, conducting business under the name
of the Standard Fuel, Feed & Seed Company,
with William A. Steinkopf as president; his brother,
H. A. Steinkopf as vice president; and Mrs. M.
C. Conley, treasurer. The business has now had
an existence of five years and has become one
of the strong commercial enterprises
938
of the city, its patronage steadily increasing,
while its business methods are such as to insure
a continuance of the public support.
Mr. Steinkopf was married on the 25th of May,
1897, in Missouri Valley, Iowa, to Miss Carrie
Ennes, and they have four children: George E.;
Harold A.; and Ruth and Gladys, twins. Mr. Steinkopf
belongs to the Royal Arcanum and to the Iowa State
Traveling Men's Association. He has a wide acquaintance
throughout the state, and in various cities to
which his business interests have taken him he
has gained many warm friends by reason of a geniality
of manner and kindly spirit, which everywhere
awaken regard and esteem.
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Adolph Baustian, long connected with the agricultural
interests of Pottawattamie county and now successfully
engaged in the raising of shorthorn cattle, is
a self-made man, who received little assistance
at the outset of his career. No special family
or pecuniary advantages aided him, and on the
contrary he placed his dependence upon the safe,
substantial qualities of diligence and determination.
Gradually he has worked his way upward until he
is now a leading representative of farm life in
this part of the state.
He was born in Scott county, Iowa, on the 28th
of March, 1857, his parents, being John C. and
Dora (Nissen) Baustian, who were natives of Mecklenburg,
Germany, in which country they were reared and
educated. They came to the United States some
time in the '40s, locating in Scott county, Iowa,
where they were married. There the wife and mother
died about 1863. The father, however, long survived
her and passed away in Scott county in 1898. He
owned four hundred and eighty acres of land, having
made judicious investment in farm property, which
brought to him a good financial return and made
him one of the men of affluence in the community.
In addition to tilling the soil he raised cattle
on quite an extensive scale. His cash capital
when he arrived in America consisted of only one
dollar and fifty cents, but he realized the fact
that diligence and strong purpose constitute a
good foundation upon which to build success and
he thus became the architect of his own fortunes.
In religious faith he was a Lutheran, while in
his political views he was a republican. Unto
him and his wife were born seven children, but
only three of the number are now living, namely:
Henry, whose home is in Garrettson, South Dakota;
Adolph; and Ida, the wife of William Witt, of
Davenport, Iowa.
Adolph Baustian was reared in his native county
and at the usual age began his education in the
district schools, where he mastered the common
branches of learning. He was reared to the occupation
of the farm and his labors brought him the practical
experience which enabled him to successfully carryon
farming on his own account at a later day. He
soon became familiar with the work of tilling
the soil and caring for the stock and upon his
removal to Pottawattamie county in 1882, when
he was about twenty-five years of
939
age, he purchased one hundred and seventy-five
acres of land on section 31, Pleasant township.
He began to develop and improve this with characteristic
energy and about ten years later he bought one
hundred and seventy-five acres more. Later, however,
he disposed of the second tract and invested in
three hundred and twenty acres in Nebraska, which
he continued to own until the fall of 1906, when
he sold it at a profit of ten thousand dollars.
He then purchased four hundred acres in Harlan
county, Nebraska, which he still owns. In early
manhood he was given four horses by his father,
who also gave him the necessary seed for planting
and with that assistance he started out in life
on his own account and is today one of the prosperous
agriculturists of this part of the state. He owes
his success entirely to his own labors and his
business worth and enterprise are demonstrated
in the prosperity which he is now enjoying. In
addition to the tilling of the soil he raises
shorthorn cattle, which proves to him a profitable
source of income.
Mr. Baustian was married to Miss Anna C. Schmidt,
of Scott county, Iowa, and they became the parents
of two daughters and two sons: Hilda, Mabel, John
and Adolph, all yet at home. The family are well
known in the community, occupying an enviable
position in social circles. Mr. Baustian is a
republican, pronounced in his views on political
questions, yet never bitterly aggressive. He served
for seven years as township assessor and for the
same length of time has been justice of the peace.
He likewise belongs to the Modern Woodmen camp
of Hancock. He is justly accounted one of the
leading and representative farmers of Pleasant
township--a position to which he has attained
solely through his own labors and capable management.
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Robert E. Anderson, conducting business as a
druggist of Council Bluffs, was born in Shelbyville,
Illinois, on the 2d of August, 1874, and was there
reared to the age of eighteen years. His father,
Dennis Anderson, a native of Ireland, was born
in 1831 and in early manhood came to America,
settling first in Shelbyville, Illinois. He was
married in New York, in 1854 or 1855, to Miss
Mary Curran, and they became the parents of ten
children, of whom eight are yet living, Robert
E. being the ninth in order of birth. At the time
of the Civil war Dennis Anderson espoused the
cause of his adopted country and served from 1862
until the close of hostilities as a defender of
the Union cause. He remained a resident of Shelbyville,
Illinois, until 1889, when he removed to Council
Bluffs, where he carried on contracting and building
for five or six years, when he retired. His wife
is still living in this city.
Robert E. Anderson remained a resident of his
native town to the age of eighteen years and at
the usual age entered the public schools, passing
through successive grades until he had acquired
a good education. In 1890 he came to Council Bluffs
and entered the drug store of Joseph C. De Haven,
with whom he remained for six or seven years.
During that period he thoroughly acquainted himself
with the business, after which he secured a position
940
in the drug store of F. E. Sellers, with whom
he remained for two years. He was afterward upon
the road as a traveling salesman for a drug house
for about a year and in 1902 he established his
present store, which is well equipped with a large
line of drugs and sundry goods. He has secured
a very desirable patronage, meeting with the success
which always follows close application, earnest
effort and straightforward business methods.
Mr. Anderson belongs to the Knights of Columbus
and is a democrat in his political views but not
active in the work of the party. His time and
attention are given to his business affairs, which
demand the greater part of his attention, leaving
him little leisure for outside interests.
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