Burlington Iowa

Biography of W. S. Moore

A notably successful career is that of W. S. Moore, a prominent stockman of Dewey, who has devoted practically all of his life to the cattle business, in which he has become recognized as a leading operator, not only in Oklahoma but through the United States. He was born in Putnam county, Illinois, December 6, 1865, being a son of Mr. and, Mrs. J. B. Moore, who were natives of Pennsylvania and Ohio, respectively. He was reared in Burlington, Iowa, and in 1884, when a young man of nineteen years, he accompanied his parents on their removal to Oklahoma. His … Read more

Biography of Sherman Mertz

Sherman Mertz. A little more than a quarter of a century ago Sherman Mertz was working as a farm hand in Kansas. He had that quality in him which would not permit him to remain long dependent on an employer’s service, and with a very modest capital and perhaps on borrowed money he began farming for himself. Today Mr. Mertz is rated as one of the most successful and substantial citizens of Wabaunsee, where he is both a farmer and a large property owner. Mr. Mertz was born in Des Moines County, Iowa, near the City of Burlington, October 9, … Read more

Biography of Col. Homer F. Fellows

In these days of money-making, when life is a constant struggle between right and wrong, it is a pleasure to lay before an intelligent reader the unsullied record of an honorable man. To the youthful it will be a useful lesson, an incentive to honest industry. Col. Homer F. Fellows is acknowledged by all to be one of Springfield’s most public-spirited and honorable citizens. He has been largely identified with the public enterprises of that city, is a promoter of its improvements and the real founder of one of the largest mechanical industries in this part of the State. He … Read more

Peace Attempts with Western Prairie Indians, 1833

General Henry Leavenworth

What was known as the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek was entered into in Mississippi with the Choctaw Indians September 27, 1830; pursuant to the terms of the treaty, in 1832 the movement of the Choctaw to their new home between the Canadian and Red rivers was under way but they were in danger from incursions of the Comanche and Pani Picts or Wichita, and the Kiowa tribe, who came east as far as the Washita and Blue rivers; these Indians had also evinced a hostile attitude toward white citizens and had attacked and plundered Santa Fe traders, trappers, and … Read more

Biography of Van B. De Lashmutt

VAN B. DE LASHMUTT. – The present mayor of Portland exemplifies the versatility characteristic of the early pioneers. As journalist, merchant, real-estate dealer, capitalist, banker and miner, he has been able to bring to bear his large abilities with equal facility. He is a native of the Hawkeye state, having been born at Burlington in 1842, where he passed his early years on a farm, – the best of all places to develop muscle and nerve. He reached Oregon in 1852, and when a youth of fifteen entered the office of the Salem Statesman, having a latent ambition for journalism, … Read more

Biography of A. H. McCarty

A. H. McCarty. When the Valeda State Bank was organized at Valeda, June 1, 1915, under a state charter, the institution was given a good start not only by reason of its capital of $10,000, and by the subsequent accumulation of a surplus of $2,500, but also because of the excellent men who were its stockholders and original officers and directors. The president of the bank is A. E. Townsend, the vice president W. H. Bollman, and the cashier A. H. McCarty, all well known residents of Valeda and vicinity. The bank erected its home on Main Street in 1915. … Read more

Biography of Gen. James Clark Tolman

GEN. JAMES CLARK TOLMAN. – One of the leading citizens of Jackson county, and foremost among the representative men of Oregon, is General James Clark Tolman, ex-surveyor general of this state. A man of great decision of character and executive ability, he has always occupied the position of a leader, and, after fifty years of active participation in the affairs of his country, retains the confidence and respect of not only his political associates, but of adherents of the opposite party. From youth he was an enthusiastic Whig, during the lifetime of that party, and since has been a consistent … Read more

Biography of Hon. George W. Vinton

It is a pleasure for the writer to take up the career of men who, through long years of residence in Rock Island County, have by their upright lives and splendid deeds won for themselves the enduring respect and regard of their fellow citizens. In this class the Honorable George W. Vinton stands prominent. He was born at Middlebury, Vermont, December 5, 1834. His father was John A. Vinton, who served as a drummer boy during the War of 1812. After the close of that war the father received from the United States Government a tract of land for his … Read more

Biography of F. C. Amsbary

F. C. Amsbary, superintendent and manager of the Champaign Waterworks, has been superintending waterworks plants in different parts of the country for upwards of thirty years. It has in fact been his regular profession, though some of his younger years were devoted to railroading. Mr. Amsbary has numerous connections that identify him with the substantial interests of his home city. A native of Illinois, he was born at Pekin, January 24, 1863, a son of William Wallace and Harriet E. (Harlow) Amsbary, both of whom are natives of New York State. William W. Amsbary moved to Champaign in 1907, and … Read more

Loosely, Charles A. – Obituary

Death Claims Well Known Fraternalist Following days of critical Illness, Chas. A. Loosely passed away at his home Sunday. The funeral was held Wednesday afternoon at the I.O.O.F. Hall with Rev. Cullison in charge. The body will be taken later to Iowa for burial. Charles A. Loosely was born in Keithsburg, Mercer County, Illinois, November 2, 1877, and passed at his home in Enterprise, Oregon, at 3:30 Sunday afternoon, August 29th, 1920. His early life was spent in Illinois. He married to Miss Nina Baner in Burlington, Iowa, on September 28, 1898, and they made their home for several years … Read more

Biography of Henry J. Calnan

Henry J. Calnan, publisher and editor of the Weekly Kansas Chief at Troy, had had an unusually varied experience even for a newspaper man. Since acquiring the Kansas Chief he had improved its influence and strengthened its organization and equipment in keeping with the dignity of the paper as the oldest journal under one continuous name in the State of Kansas. The files of the Kansas Chief contain sixty complete volumes. The paper was founded in 1857 by Sol Miller at White Cloud, Kansas, and was first known as the White Cloud Chief. The paper was moved to Troy July … Read more

Biography of Gen. Morton Mathew McCarver

GEN. MORTON MATHEW McCARVER. THE FOUNDER OF BURLINGTON, IOWA, SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA AND TACOMA, WASHINGTON,- General McCarver was born near Lexington Kentucky, January 14, 1807. Of an independent, roving spirit, determination, courage and enterprise that knew no bounds, he quit his home at the age of eighteen years and went to Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas, and not finding anything congenial to his tastes returned and settled in 1830 at Galena, Illinois, where he was married to a Miss Mary Ann Jennings. He served in the Black Hawk war, and after the surrender of the great chief of the Sacs and Foxes, … Read more

Biography of William Hunter McKenzie

William Hunter McKenzie has found his work in the business administration of gas companies, and since 1905 had held the responsibilities of general manager of the Wyandotte County Company of Kansas City, Kansas. It was a boyhood experience while in a state institution in Ohio that gave him the permanent bent of a vocational experience. Mr. McKenzie was born in Harrisonville, Ohio, November 15, 1862, one of the four children of James T. and Mary C. (Hoover) McKenzie, both also natives of Ohio and of Scotch and Dutch extraction. James T. McKenzie was a cabinet maker by trade. At the … Read more

Levi Goodsil Todd of Union NE

Levi Goodsil Todd7, (Bela6, Caleb5, Gideon4, Gideon3, Michael2, Christopher1) born March 22, 1830, in Stockton, N. Y., died Feb. 24, 1906, in Union, Neb., married Feb. 22, 1855, in Burlington, Iowa, Lydia Jones, who died Aug. 17, 1908. Mr. Todd too, went to Nebraska at the same time that his brothers did. He lived the rest of his life on or near the place where he first settled. He was once a candidate for Governor of Nebraska on the Greenback ticket. Children: *1703. Albina Philinda, b. Feb. 27, 1856. 1704. Elizabeth Matilda, b. March 28, 1858, d. Feb. 21, 1886, … Read more