The above
image is of my ancestors.
Please do not copy.
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Dr. Thomas B. Lacey, who for almost a third of
a century was engaged in the practice of medicine
and surgery in Council Bluffs, and whose professional
skill and ability constantly increased as the
years passed by reason of his study and investigation,
was born in New Milford, Connecticut, in 1853,
his parents being Thomas and Rachel (Noble) Lacey.
On leaving New England the family became residents
of Racine, Wisconsin, and in 1863 took up their
abode in Chicago, Dr. Lacey being at that time
a youth of ten years. His father and his grandfather
were both members of the medical profession and
whether an inherited tendency, environment or
natural predilection had most to do with Dr. Lacey's
choice of a life work it is impossible to determine.
It is evident, however, that he was well fitted
for the calling which he chose and in which he
gained most desirable success. His common-school
advantages were supplemented by study in Oberlin
College, at Oberlin, Ohio, where he completed
his more specific literary course prior to entering
the Chicago Medical College, from which he was
graduated in 1875.
For a year following his graduation he was in
active practice at the Soldiers Home in Milwaukee,
Wisconsin, but in March, 1876, came to Council
Bluffs, where he remained until his death on March
24, 1907. He was not long in demonstrating to
the public that he possessed an accurate knowledge
of the scientific principles of medicine and was
correct in his application thereof to the needs
of his patients. Moreover, he gave evidence of
his skill and ability in diagnosing a case and
his broad humanitarianism was proven in his ready
sympathy. Within a short time he had gained a
liberal patronage and became recognized as one
of the most prominent and able physicians of western
609
Iowa. He was made medical director of the United
States Masonic Benevolent Association of Council
Bluffs and for a period of four years was associated
with Drs. Macrae and Thomas on the board of pension
examiners. Anything which tends to bring to man
the key to that complex mystery which we call
life was of interest to Dr. Lacey, who was ever
a deep student, carrying his investigations far
and wide into the realm of medical knowledge.
Dr. Lacey was also a prominent Mason, having attained
the thirty-third degree. He was accorded high
honor by the craft, serving as past grand commander
and also that of past grand high priest in the
grand commandery and in the grand chapter, respectively.
He was ever in thorough sympathy with the principles
and purposes of the order and did much to advance
its interests in the state. He had ample opportunity
to put his knowledge into practice in the discharge
of his professional duties and he neglected no
opportunity to assist his fellowman.
Dr. Lacey was married to Miss Mary C. Adkins.
Dr. Thomas B. Lacey, Jr., the only son of Dr.
T. B. Lacey, Sr., was born October 12, 1880, in
Council Bluffs, and spent his youth in this city.
He acquired his primary education in the public
schools and was afterward a student in Cornell
University for two years. Subsequently he attended
the University of Southern California, at Los
Angeles, and in 1906 he was graduated from the
Creighton Medical College, at Omaha, Nebraska.
He then located for practice in Council Bluffs,
where he has since remained and although one of
the younger he is also one of the stronger members
of the medical fraternity, having the ability
and the ambition to advance in his profession.
He belongs to the American Medical Association,
the Iowa State Medical Society, the Pottawattamie
County Medical Society, the Council Bluffs Medical
Society and the Medical Society of the Missouri
Valley.
Something might be learned of the character and
interests of Dr. Lacey from the fact that he is
a member of the Masonic fraternity, being also
a Knight Templar, and the Ancient Order of United
Workmen, and also holds membership in the Episcopal
church. His entire life has been passed in Council
Bluffs and the fact that many of his friends are
numbered among those who have known him from his
boyhood is an indication of an honorable and upright
career.
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William Stull, equal partner in the Avoca Printing
Company and superintendent of the printing department,
was born in Saunders county, Nebraska, January
2, 1874, a son of Mr. and Mrs. M. P. Stull. He
spent his first eight years in the place of his
nativity and then went to Marengo, Illinois,-the
home of his father in boyhood days. In 1884 he
returned to Nebraska, locating at North Bend,
and having in the meantime acquired such an education
as is afforded in the common schools, he began
learning the printer's trade in the office of
the North Bend Flail, January 9, 1888. He has
worked
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along this line almost continuously since and
on the 1st of July, 1907, formed a partnership
with G. D. McClaskey under the name of the Avoca
Printing Company. They are publishers of the Tribune
and in connection do a large job printing business,
Mr. Stull being superintendent of the printing
department, his previous years of practical experience
well qualifying him for the work.
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More than a third of a century has come and gone
since William N. Hatch arrived in Pottawattamie
county and became identified with its farming
interests. He had previously lived in Mills county
for a few years and in 1873 arrived in this county,
where the years have witnessed his steady progress
in business life until he has today gained the
plane of affluence. His farming interests embrace
three hundred and forty acres of rich and productive
land on section 36, York township, and he is well
known as a successful stock raiser and feeder,
at the same time carefully cultivating the crops
which are best adapted to the soil and climate.
Mr. Hatch has always lived in the Mississippi
valley, his birth having occurred in Menard county,
Illinois, December 11, 1848. There he was reared
on a farm and to a limited extent attended school
but is largely self-educated, acquiring his knowledge
to a great extent through reading, observation
and experience since attaining his majority. He
remained with his father up to the time of his
enlistment for service in the Civil war, being,
however, but sixteen years of age when in 1864
he offered his services to the government and
joined Company E of the Tenth Illinois Cavalry.
He then went south and did scouting duty in Louisiana,
Alabama, Tennessee, Arkansas and Texas, serving
until the close of the war when he was mustered
out at San Antonio, Texas, and honorably discharged
at Camp Butler in Springfield, Illinois, January
6, 1886.
When the country no longer needed his aid, the
preservation of the Union being now an established
fact, Mr. Hatch returned to the home farm, where
he remained for a few years. As a companion and
helpmate for life's journey he chose Miss Hanna
Sampson, whom he wedded in Menard county, Illinois,
October 10, 1867. She was born and reared, however,
in Davis county, Iowa. Following their marriage
the young couple lived upon a rented farm in Davis
county for three years and then returned to Menard
county, Illinois, where Mr. Hatch carried on general
agricultural pursuits until his removal to Mills
county, Iowa, in 1871. A year and a half later
he became a resident of Pottawattamie county and
invested in one hundred and sixty acres of land
of which eighty acres had been placed under the
plow, while the remainder was raw prairie. There
were also some buildings upon the place and he
at once took up the task of further developing
and improving the farm. He prospered in his undertakings
and added to his possessions from time to time
until he now owns three hundred and forty acres
of valuable land, of which one hundred and sixty
acres is in the home place, one hundred and
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twenty acres just across the road in Washington
township, and sixty acres on section 3'6, York
township. Upon the home farm stands a comfortable
dwelling and two good barns. He also has a good
orchard and the farm presents a neat and thrifty
appearance with its substantial buildings, its
well kept fences, its richly cultivated fields
and its good stock. Mr. Hatch raises, feeds and
fattens stock, annually shipping about one carload
of hogs and three or four carloads of cattle,
for which he receives a good price on the market,
this adding materially to his yearly income.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Hatch were born the following
children, those living being: T. J., a resident
of McClelland, Iowa; Newton, who assists his father
on the home farm; Mary, the wife of Dr. Means,
of Holyoke, Colorado; Gertie, the wife of J. O.
Griffith, of Winona county, Iowa; Emma, the wife
of Fred Reser, a farmer of York township; Jennie,
the wife of Harry O'Donnell, of Janesville, Wisconsin;
Cassie, the wife of Charles Bonham, living near
Pollard, Washington; Louise, Frances and Inez,
all at home. Of the three children who have passed
away Nellie reached womanhood, was married and
died in 1900; Birdie died when about two years
of age; and E. W. Hatch passed away July 18, 1907,
at the age of thirty-six years.
Mr. Hatch is a stalwart republican who cast his
first ballot for General Grant in 1868 and his
last presidential vote for Theodore Roosevelt.
He has never desired public office as a reward
for party fealty and the only political office
he has ever filled was that of road boss. He has
ever been deeply interested in the cause of education
and has done effective work in its interests while
serving for a number of years on the school board.
He has found in his business life ample opportunity
for the exercise of his industry and energy his
dominant qualities. For forty years he has lived
in Iowa and its history is therefore largely familiar
to him, while in the county of his residence he
has been connected with many events which have
left their impress upon public progress. His life
has been honorable, his actions manly and sincere,
and the principles which have governed his conduct
are those which ever command confidence and good
will.
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The state of Iowa with its pulsing activities
and rapid development has attracted within its
confines men of marked ability and high character
in the various professional lines, and in this
way progress has been conserved and social stability
fostered. He whose name initiates this review
has gained recognition as one of the able and
successful physicians of the state, and by his
labors, his high professional attainments and
his sterling chracteristics [characteristics]
has justified the respect and confidence in which
he is held by the medical fraternity and the local
public.
Dr. Hombach is a native of Germany, having been
born there on December 24, 1862. At the age of
six he came with his parents to America and with
them took up his home in Boone county, Iowa, removing
eight
612
years later to Carroll county, this state. It
was there that he received his primary education,
supplementing it later by a course at the University
of Illinois. The medical profession had always
held great attraction for him and he decided to
take up study along that line. Accordingly he
entered the College of Physicians & Surgeons
in Chicago, from which he was graduated in 1901
and located immediately in Council Bluffs, where
he has since built up his large and successful
practice. He has not been contented with the information
gained alone in his college course but has always
kept pace with the times by pursuing post-graduate
work at the Illinois School of Therapeutics, at
the College of Eye, Ear, Nose & Throat, and
by courses in gynecology and abdominal surgery
in the same city. The medical practice is not
an experiment with him, for he is particularly
strong in diagnosing cases-the most difficult
and the most necessary work which a physician
encounters.
Not only is Dr. Hombach a prominent physician
of the city but is well known throughout the state
and the Missouri valley. He belongs to the American
Medical Association, the Iowa State Medical Society,
the Pottawattamie County Medical Society, the
Council Bluffs Medical Society, the Medical Society
of the Missouri Valley and the Northwestern Medical
Society. He is also a member of the medical staff
of Mercer Hospital.
Dr. Hombach belongs to the Elks and the Knights
of Columbus, and in his religious relations is
devoted to the Catholic church, He has always
been a stanch and active democrat and was chairman
of the Carroll county (Iowa) democratic central
committee. He served as auditor of Carroll county
for four years, and for four years was a member
of the city council in Carroll, as well as being
a justice of the peace in that county for ten
years. From this it will readily be seen that
while the Doctor is devoted to his profession
and is an unusually busy man he has had time to
do his duty as a citizen. He is a very successful
practitioner and is a man of the highest and purest
character, an industrious and ambitious student
and an able physician, Genial in disposition,
unobtrusive and unassuming, he is patient under
adverse criticism and in his expressions concerning
brother practitioners is friendly and indulgent.
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CHESTER D.
BOILER.
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for full size
Chester D. Boiler, a capitalist of
Walnut, whose intense and well directed activity
is manifest in his successful control of invested
interests, was born in Muscatine, Iowa, January
23, 1875, his parents being Joseph and Julia (Dickinson)
Boiler. The father, a native of Piketon, Ohio,
was born December 10, 1834, and was reared to
farm life, acquiring his education in the common
schools. He remained at home until he attained
his majority, He then engaged in farming on his
own account and early in the '60s he went west
with three brothers to Montana, traveling from
Muscatine county, Iowa, with ox teams, In Montana
they were engaged in
615
mining gold. They were associated in their mining
operations for about one year, but not meeting
with the success they had anticipated they separated,
each starting out for himself. Joseph Boiler afterward
discovered a paying placer mine, which he sold
to good advantage. He then returned to Iowa, after
three years spent in Montana, and settled in Muscatine
county, this state, where he carried on agricultural
pursuits.
In 1874 he came to Pottawattamie county and in
company with his father purchased land in Wright
township, after which he brought his family to
Walnut in 1875. At the time of the building of
the railroad through the town, he purchased a
section of land in Shelby county, near the proposed
line of the road and from this time on he continued
to deal in farm lands, which he purchased at a
low price, holding them until his death. They
greatly appreciated in value owing to the settlement
of this section of the state and the improvements
made upon the farms, and thus through his operations
in country property Mr. Boiler became a wealthy
man. He had faith in the future of Iowa and with
wonderful sagacity foresaw the rapid growth of
the state and the splendid business development
which would follow. His investments were extensive,
including lands in Cass, Cherokee, Pocahontas
and Pottawattamie counties, and thus at the time
of his death he was enabled to leave his family
a very valuable estate. Moreover, during his entire
business life he was honorable and reliable, never
taking advantage of the necessities of his fellowmen
in any business transaction. He died on the 24th
of June, 1900, and thus the county lost one of
its prominent and honored citizens.
In politics he was a sound money democrat, but
was without desire or aspiration for public office.
He was a consistent member of the Presbyterian
church. Though his business interests were extensive,
he was preeminently a man of domestic taste, whose
interest centered in his family. He loved his
home, was devoted to the welfare of his wife and
children, and his best traits of character were
reserved for his own fireside. Mrs. Boiler still
survives her husband and is yet living in Walnut.
They were the parents of four children: Nettie,
now the wife of H. M. Wilson, of Spencer, Iowa;
Nora, the wife of E. H. Carey, of Le Mars, Iowa;
Ada, at home; and Chester D.
The only son spent his boyhood days in his parents'
home and supplemented his preliminary education
by study in the Iowa College at Grinnell, from
which he was graduated with the class of 1896,
when the degree of bachelor of arts was conferred
upon him. Following his graduation he returned
.home and was connected with his father in the
management of his landed properties up to his
death. Later, Chester D. Boiler purchased an interest
in the Exchange State Bank and for four years
was assistant cashier of that institution. In
1904 he resigned his position in the bank but
still retained his stock therein and is a member
of the board of directors. Since leaving the bank
he has given his entire time to the management
of his own and his mother's business interests.
On the 26th of April, 1899, Mr. Boiler was married
to Miss June Mosher, daughter of Orris Mosher,
cashier of the Exchange State Bank of
616
Walnut. They occupy a very enviable position
in social circles and are greatly esteemed throughout
the community. Mr. Boiler has no political ambitions
but exercises his right of franchise at the ballot
box in support of men and measures of the republican
party. He belongs to the Presbyterian church and
for a number of years has been one of its trustees.
His interests are thoroughly identified with those
of western Iowa, and at all times he is ready
to lend his aid and co-operation to any movements
calculated to benefit this section of the country
or advance its wonderful development.
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Henry Franz, a retired agriculturist 11ving in
Avoca, Iowa, was formerly extensively connected
with the farming interests of Pottawattamie county,
being still the owner of six hundred acres in
Pleasant township. He was born in Germany on February
4, 1848, a son of John and Martha E. (Baker) Franz,
who were also natives of the fatherland. John
Franz died in that country and the mother afterward
came to America, in 1875, remaining a resident
of the new world until her death in the year 1897.
She had become the mother of eight children, five
of whom still survive, as follows: Catharine,
the wife of Chris Young, living in Hancock, Iowa;
Henry, of this review; Elizabeth, residing in
Oklahoma; Martha E., the wife of Charles Baker,
who lives in Iroquois county, Illinois; and Helweg,
of Council Bluffs, Iowa.
Henry Franz pursued his education in the schools
of his native country and remained under the parental
roof until he had attained the age of seventeen
years, when he determined to seek his fortune
in the new world. After his voyage across the
briny deep he took up his abode in La Salle county,
Illinois, in the fall of 1865, making his home
with his mother's brother for a time. Later he
worked for his brother-in-law and another man
for two years and then hired out as a farm hand
to C. W. Wagner, in whose employ he remained for
three years, receiving fifteen dollars per month
for two years and twenty-one dollars the third
year but not his washing. He then began business
on his own account, operating a rented farm for
six years. During all these years he labored indefatigab1y
and perseveringly and thus acquired the capital
which in 1877 enabled him to purchase a farm of
two hundred acres in Pleasant township, Pottawattamie
county, Iowa. As his financial resources increased
he gradually added to his holdings and is now
the owner of six hundred acres on sections 14
and 23, Pleasant township, and one hundred and
sixty acres near Redfield, Spink county, South
Dakota. In addition to carrying on the work of
the fields Mr. Franz also fed and raised stock,
principally shorthorn cattle, the latter enterprise
also proving a source of profit to him. He was
widely recognized as one of the prominent and
representative agriculturists of the county, having
acquired his prosperity entirely through his own
efforts and capable business management. In 1899
he left the farm and removed to Avoca, where he
and his wife are now living retired in their
617
beautiful home, which was built by him in 1898.
He also purchased a fourth of a business block
here and is well known as one of the town's progressive
and enterprising citizens.
In 1870, in La Salle county, Illinois, Mr. Franz
was joined in wedlock to Miss Mary Berg, who was
born in Prussia, Germany, in 1852, a daughter
of John and Mary Berg, also natives of Germany.
Her father came to this country in 1868, locating
in La Salle county, Illinois, where he followed
farming until 1873, when he removed to Cass .county,
Iowa. Mr. and Mrs. Berg are both now deceased,
and in their family were four children. Mr. and
Mrs. Franz became the parents of nine children,
five of whom are still living: Augusta, the wife
of Edward Everhart, of Pleasant township, Pottawattamie
county; William, who is now operating his father's
farm; Mary, the wife of George Busse, living in
James township, this county; Henry A. at home;
and Eleanor, also under the parental roof. Of
the four children, Helena, Louisa, John and William,
who are deceased, three were laid to rest in Avoca
cemetery and the other lies buried in the cemetery
at Ransom, La Salle county, Illinois.
In his political affiliation Mr. Franz is a republican
and has served as school director for several
terms. He and his family are members of the Congregational
church at Avoca, in the work of which they are
deeply and helpfully interested. The subject of
this review is a self-made man, who, without any
extraordinary family or pecuniary advantages at
the commencement of life, has battled earnestly
and energetically, and by indomitable courage
and integrity has achieved both character and
fortune. In an anlyzation of the character and
life work of Henry Franz we note many of the characteristics
which have marked the German nation for many centuries,
the perseverance, reliability, energy and unconquerable
determination to pursue a course that has been
marked out. It is these sterling qualities which
have gained to our subject success in life and
made him one of the substantial and valued citizens
of the land of his adoption.
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Hiram Shoemaker, a prominent and well known citizen
of Council Bluffs, was born in Mentor, Ohio, on
the 10th of June, 1836. His parents were Dr. Alexander
and Elizabeth (Harmon) Shoemaker, the former born
near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, June 10. 1801,
and the latter at New Lisbon, Ohio, in 1808. They
were married in New Baltimore, Ohio, in 1825,
and the father practiced medicine in Portage and
Mahoning counties, Ohio, previous to his arrival
in Council Bluffs on the 10th of May, 1854. He
came here on a steamboat which he purchased at
Wellsville, Ohio, in partnership with William
McClelland. They went down the Mississippi river
to St. Louis and thence came to Council Bluffs
by the Missouri river. This boat was afterward
used as a ferry on the latter stream, plying between
Florence, Nebraska, and a point opposite in Iowa
seven miles above Council Bluffs. Dr. Alexander
Shoemaker was engaged in the practice of his profession
in Council Bluffs un-
618
til the time of his death, which occurred on
the 22d of August, 1867. He had gained a wide
and favorable reputation as a medical practitioner
of skill and -ability and his death was therefore
deeply deplored throughout the community. His
wife survived him for a number of years, passing
away here on the 21st or May, 1884, in the faith
of the Methodist Episcopal church, of which Dr.
Shoemaker had also been a member. A brother of
our subject, Judge W. S. Shoemaker, is a prominent
attorney of Omaha.
Hiram Shoemaker acquired a common-school education
in his native state, where he remained until 1855,
coming thence to Council Bluffs, where he clerked
for a time in the general mercantile store of
Babbitt & Ross. He then engaged in the real-estate
business and entered some land in Harrison county,
Iowa, which he farmed for several years, making
his home, however, in Council Bluffs. From] 859
until 1863 he conducted the City Hotel, which
stood on the northeast corner of Park avenue and
Broadway, where the Ogden Hotel is now located.
He was next engaged in the drug trade for a short
time, was subsequently identified with the meat
business for a few years and later conducted a
confectionery store. At intervals, however, and
up to the present time he has been engaged in
the real-estate business, though failing health
does not permit him to devote as much time to
it as he formerly did. Few men are more prominent
or more widely known in the enterprising city
of Council Bluffs than Mr. Shoemaker. He has been
an important factor in business circles and his
prosperity is well deserved, as in him are embraced
the characteristics of an unbending integrity,
unabating energy and industry that never flags.
He is public-spirited, giving his co-operation
to every movement which tends to promote the moral,
intellectual and material welfare of the community.
At the time the Civil war broke out he helped
to recruit Company A, Twenty-ninth Iowa Infantry,
and Company D, First Nebraska Infantry, thus proving
his loyalty to the Union cause.
On the 14th of November, 1860, Mr. Shoemaker
was united in marriage to Miss Mary A. Gardner,
who was born in Worcestershire, England, on the
14th of November, 1842, and during her girlhood
came to America with her parents, being reared,
educated and married in Iowa. She is a daughter
of James and Sylvia Gardner, who came to this
country from England in 1853, entering land adjoining
the city of Council Bluffs. The father departed
this life in the year 1884 and his wife survived
him for only a short period. Unto our subject
and his wife were born the following named: Ada
Belle, whose birth occurred October 6, 1861, passed
away at the age of two and one-half years. George
W., who was born September 7, 1863, is engaged
in the railroad business. He makes his home in
Council Bluffs and by his marriage to Anna Throop
has one child, Laura. James A., who was born September
30, 1865, died two years later. Frank G., whose
birth occurred November 5, 1867, makes his home
in Council Bluffs. Charles H., born December 24,
1869, resides at Wall Lake, Iowa, where he' is
engaged in the lumber business. By his marriage
to Sana Sherwood he has two children, Charlie
and Mary. Horace G., who was born March 19, 1872,
left here in 1891 on a trip west and has not been
heard of since. Wilson C., whose natal day was
September 19, 1874, makes his home in Council
Bluffs. He is traveling salesman for the
619
wholesale firm of Paxton & Gallagher, and
by his marriage to Bessie Delosh has one child,
May. Elizabeth May, whose birth occurred on the
1st of March, 1877, has passed away. Fred H.,
born June 25, 1879, lives in this city and is
connected with the. Independent Telephone Company.
He married Miss Minnie Faust and they have two
children, Frederick and Howard. Edmund G., who
was born December 20, 1881, makes his home with
his parents and is traveling salesman for the
Missouri Valley Milling Company. In February,
1906, he was united in marriage to Miss Buddie
Morgan, who passed away two months later. All
of the children of Mr. Shoemaker were born and
educated in Council Bluffs.
In his political views our subject is a repu£1ican
and is a worker in the local ranks of his party.
He served for several years as councilman from
the first ward, and was city assessor for nine
years, as well as township trustee. During his
term of service in the latter office he had authority
to check on the county funds to pay expenses of
the poor and those needing help from the county.
His accounts were always found to be correctly
kept, and the able and efficient manner in which
he discharged all his duties made him a valuable
incumbent in any public office to which he was
elected. Among other official positions, he held
that of city weighmaster. While not a member of
any church, he attends the services of the Methodist
denomination and has always been a very liberal
contributor to the various churches of Council
Bluffs. Mr. and Mrs. Shoemaker live in a beautiful
home at No. 232 Harrison street, which he erected
in 1906, and in addition he owns several other
properties in this city, from which he derives
a very desirable income. He is a man of broad
sympathies and the poor and needy have found in
him a. friend. The difficulties which he had to
encounter in his own business career have made
him ever ready to extend a helping hand to those
who try to aid themselves. In whatever relation
of life we find him--in political circles, in
business or in social relations--he is always
the same honorable and honored gentleman, whose
worth well merits the high regard which is uniformly
given him.
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