Michael Regan has been a
resident of Clayton county since he was about two
years of age, was reared under the conditions and
influences that marked the pioneer epoch of the
history of the county, and has gained prominence and
distinctive success as one of the representative
business men of Elkader, the county seat, where he is
engaged in the furniture and undertaking business, as
senior member of the well known firm of Regan &
Witte. He became one of the founders of this
enterprise nearly thirty years ago, and his careful
and progressive policies, marked at all times by fair
and honorable dealings, have been potent in the
development and upbuilding of one of the leading
business concerns of the capital city of the county,
in addition to which he has proved altogether worthy
of the unequivocal confidence reposed in him by the
community.
Mr. Regan takes a due
measure of pride in reverting to the old Buckeye
State as the place of his nativity, and is
appreciative of the genial paraphrase once made of a
popular quotation when Hon. Chauncey M. Depew stated
it this: "Some men are born great, some achieve
greatness, and some are born in the State of
Ohio." In Clermont county, that state, Mr. Regan
was born on the 14th of March, 1852, and in 1854 his
parents came to Clayton county, Iowa, which has since
represented his home. He is a son of John and
Margaret (McGrath) Regan, both of whom were born in
Ireland.
John Regan was reared to
manhood in his native land and came to the United
States in 1836. He maintained his home in Clermont
county, Ohio until 1854, when he came with his family
to Iowa and numbered himself among the pioneer
farmers of Clayton county. He obtained a tract of
government land in what is now Boardman township,
where he developed a good farm and became influential
as a broad-minded and progressive citizen. He aided
materially in furthering the development of the
county and was a man who commanded the respect of all
who knew him. While residing in Clermont county, Ohio
he served as postmaster of the village of Loveland,
and in Clayton county, Iowa, he filled township
offices with characteristic discrimination and
fidelity. He and his wife were honored pioneer
citizens of this county at the time of their death.
John Regan's first wife bore
the maiden name of Mary Dempsey and she died in
Clermont county, Ohio. They became the parents of
four children, James, Patrick, Mary and Jeremiah, all
of whom are deceased except the last mentioned. Of
the four children of the second marriage the subject
of this review was the third in order of birth;
William the eldest is now a resident of the city of
Seattle, Wash.; and John and Daniel are deceased, so
that Michael remains as the only representative of
the immediate family in Clayton county.
He whose name initiates this
article gained his early education in the pioneer
schools of Clayton county and here continued his
active association with agricultural pursuits until
1888, when he located at Elkader and engaged in the
furniture and undertaking business, as a member of
the firm of Kruse & Regan. Mr Kruse later sold
his interest in the business to William E. Witte, and
the enterprise has since been continued under the
firm title of Regan & Witte, the establishment
being large and well equipped, with the best of stock
and incidental facilities in all departments, the
while its high reputation constitutes its best
business asset. Mr. Regan has devoted himself closely
to his business affairs and though he has shown loyal
interest in all things touching the communal welfare
and is aligned as a staunch supporter of the cause of
the Democratic party, he has had no ambition for
political activity or for public office.
He and his wife are
communicants of the Catholic church, as were also his
parents, and he is affiliated with the Rights of
Columbus and the Catholic Order of Foresters. October
17, 1894 marked the solemnization of the marriage of
Mr Regan to Miss Katherine Uriell, who was born and
reared in this county, and of their five children the
second Mary Margaret, is deceased, the four surviving
children being Ruey Rosalia, Katherine, Elizabeth,
John, Joseph and Dorothy Dolores.
source: History of
Clayton County, Iowa; From The Earliest Historical
Times Down to the Present; by Realto E. Price,
Vol. II; pg. 339-341
-OCR scanned by S. Ferrall
