CARL RABE
Carl Rabe, who has lived
retired in Palo since the spring of 1909, won his success as a farmer
and stock-raiser and is still the owner of four hundred and sixty-nine
acres of valuable land in Fayette township. His birth occurred in
Mecklenburg, Germany, on the 27th of December, 1847, his parents being
Fritz and Reika (Sukuss) Rabe. They emigrated to the United States in
1867, locating in Watertown, Jefferson county, Wisconsin, where they
resided until October, 1869. The latter date witnessed their arrival in
Fayette township, Linn county, Iowa, and there the father made his home
until called to his final rest on the 19th of September, 1904. The
mother still survives at the advanced age of eighty-seven years and
makes her home with our subject.
Carl Rabe was reared under the parental roof and obtained his
education in the common schools of his native country. Accompanying his
parents on their emigration to the new world when a young man of
twenty, he became identified with railroad service in Wisconsin as an
employee on the wood train, for at that time engines were fired by
wood. On coming to Iowa he took up general agricultural pursuits and
for fourteen years was actively engaged in the cultivation of rented
land. He bought a farm of one hundred and ten acres in Fayette township
in 1881 but continued to reside on the rented place until 1887. In the
meantime he had purchased another tract of one hundred and sixty acres
in Fayette township and thereon he took up his abode in 1887. This is a
part of the present Rabe home farm, on which our subject resided until
the spring of 1909, when he put aside the active work of the fields and
removed to Palo, where he has since lived retired. His land holdings
now embrace four hundred and sixty-nine acres of rich and productive
land in Fayette township, constituting him one of the prosperous and
substantial citizens of the community. He attributes his success
largely to his operations as a stockman, having been extensively
engaged in the raising of Poland China hogs and shorthorn cattle. The
Palo Savings Bank numbers him among its stockholders.
On the 22d of February, 1876, Mr. Rabe was united in marriage
to Miss Sarah Drafahl, a native of Illinois. Unto them were born five
children, three of whom yet survive, namely: Fred J., a stockman of
Fayette township, Linn county; Dora, the wife of W. G. Cain, a merchant
of Cedar Rapids; and Minnie,
at home.
When national questions and issues are involved Mr. Rabe votes
the republican ticket but at local elections casts an independent
ballot, supporting the, candidate whom he believes best qualified for
the office in question. Fraternally he is identified with Benton City
Lodge, No. 81, A. F. & A. M. In religious faith he is a Lutheran,
while his wife is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. He is an
automobile enthusiast and has ever kept abreast with the progress of
the times. Though born across the water, he is thoroughly American in
thought and feeling, and is patriotic and sincere in his love for the
stars and stripes. His career is identified with the history of Linn
county, where he has acquired a competence and where he is an honored
and respected citizen.
Source: History of Linn County Iowa, From Its Earliest
Settlement to the Present Time, Vol. II, Chicago, The Pioneer
Publishing Company, 1911, p. 109-110.
Submitted by: Terry Carlson
FRED J. RABE
Fred
J. Rabe, one of the leading stock-raisers of Fayette township, was born
in that township on the 14th of August, 1878. His parents, Carl and
Sarah (Drafahl) Rabe, are mentioned at greater length on another page
of this volume. He was reared at home and began his education in the
common schools, while subsequently he attended Tilford Academy at
Vinton, Iowa. Under the direction of his father he early became
familiar with the best methods of breeding and raising stock and on
attaining his majority he became associated with his father in the
latter’s live-stock operations. In March, 1909, Carl Rabe retired from
active business and took up his abode in Palo, since which time our
subject has had charge of their live-stock interests. They make a
specialty of Poland China hogs, raising on an average of one hundred
and twenty head annually. They also feed cattle on an extensive scale
and have won a gratifying and well merited degree of prosperity in
their undertakings. Mr. Rabe, of this review, is a stockholder in the
Palo Savings Bank and is widely recognized as one of the enterprising
and progressive citizens of his native county.
On the 28th of September, 1904, Mr. Rabe was joined in wedlock
to Miss Mary A. Hepker, of Palo, Linn county. They now have one child,
Agnes Lucile. At the polls Mr. Babe casts an independent ballot,
considering the fitness of a candidate of more importance than his
party affiliation. His fraternal relations are with Benton City Lodge,
No. 81, A. F. & A. M., of Shellsburg; and the Modern Woodmen of
America. Both he and his wife belong to the Methodist Episcopal church
and take an active and helpful interest in its work. He has many
friends in the community where his entire life has been spent, and his
excellent traits of character have gained for him the respect and
regard of his fellowmen.
Source: History of Linn County Iowa, From Its Earliest
Settlement to the Present Time, Vol. II, Chicago, The Pioneer
Publishing Company, 1911, p. 185-186.
Submitted by: Terry Carlson
PITNEY F. RANDALL
Since November, 1856, this gentleman has been a
worthy citizen of Cedar Rapids, and is one of the best known civil
engineers in the west. He was born in Madison county, New York, on the
31st of August, 1832, and is a son of Asahel and Julia (Dykens)
Randall, the former a native of Keene, New Hampshire, the latter of
Elmira, New York. On the paternal side he is of Scotch ancestry, but
the Dykens family is of Holland origin. The parents of our subject
removed to Oneida, New York, and from a wild, unbroken tract of timber
land the father developed a good farm, devoting almost his entire life
to agricultural pursuits. He died there in 1880, at the age of
seventy-two years, and his wife departed this life in 1888, at about
the age of seventy years. In their family were five children, three
sons and two daughters, one of whom died in early childhood. The others
were Pitney F., our subject; Alonzo, who died in Oneida, New York in
1899; Andrew, a pioneer of Randalia, Iowa, which was named in his
honor; and Malissa, deceased wife of Allen R. Turner, of Oneida, New
York. The father was a well-educated man for his day; was a Whig in
politics, and a Presbyterian in religious belief, his wife being a
member of the same church.
Pitney F. Randall spent the first eighteen years of his life
on the home farm, and his early education, acquired in the public
schools of the neighborhood, was supplemented by a two-years’ course at
an academy in Elmira. He took a special course in mathematics while
attending the common schools, and at the age of eighteen joined an
engineering party engaged in the construction of the Syracuse &
Binghamton Railroad, now the D. L. & W. He remained with that
company for three years. and then in 1855 came to Iowa, his destination
being the present city of Lyons. He came to this state with his uncle,
Jefferson Randall, a railroad contractor, and going to Clinton they
became connected with the Chicago, Iowa & Nebraska Railroad, now a
part of the Chicago & Northwestern system, our subject having
charge of the construction of the first ten miles of the road out of
Clinton.
In November, 1856, he came to Cedar Rapids to take charge of
the construction of the road from this place to Mt. Vernon, and in 1862
when the road was extended to Belle Plaine, Iowa, he had charge of its
construction from Cedar Rapids to that place. While engaged in that
work he was injured in 1862, and was given a position in the railway
mail service until he was able to rejoin the engineering party. He had
a number of offers to join the pioneer engineering corps of the Civil
war. In 1866 Mr. Randall was given charge of the survey from Cedar
Rapids to St. Louis for what is now the Chicago, Milwaukee & St.
Paul Railroad, and two years later was made engineer in charge of
construction on the now Burlington, Cedar Rapids & Northern
Railroad which position he held until the completion of the road in
1875. Since then he has been in the employ of the Chicago, Burlington
& Quincy, the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul, and the Atchison,
Topeka & Santa Fe Railroads, having been connected with the last
named corporation for ten years. He has had charge as engineer of
location and construction of that road on many of its branches in the
west, and for the last three years his work has been in Arizona on the
Santa Fe & Grand Canyon Railroad, having just returned from there
in 1901. He has made railroad location and construction his life work,
and has been continuously connected with that business longer than most
any other man in the country. His practical knowledge of all the
details of the business, together with his reliability in all
transactions, makes him one of the most popular railroad engineers in
the west. From the fall of 1891 until the spring of 1893, he also had
charge of the grading of Jackson Park, Chicago, for the World’s
Columbian Exposition.
Mr. Randall was married, at Binghamton, New York, in 1857, to
Miss Josephine Smith, and brought his bride to the home he had prepared
for her in Cedar Rapids. Of the five children born to them two died
when quite young, the others being as follows: (I) Frank, a resident of
Kansas City, Missouri, was educated in railroad building with his
father, and is now employed on the extension of the Chicago, Rock
Island & Pacific Railroad. He is married and has two children,
William and Agnes. (2) Lulu is the wife of William Richardson, living
near Kenwood, and they have three children. (3) John makes his home
with his father and is connected with him in all his railroad work. He
came back from Mexico to join the army during the Spanish-American war,
and enlisted in Company C, Forty-ninth Iowa Volunteer Infantry, with
which he served one year in Cuba. The mother of these children died in
November, 1875, and in 1880 Mr. Randall was again married, his second
union being with Mary Beech, of Cedar Rapids. She is a native of
Mineral Point, Wisconsin.
In political sentiment Mr. Randall is a Republican, but his
business has ever been such as to allow him no opportunity to take an
active part in public affairs. He was a charter member of the first
lodge of the Legion of Honor in this state, and has always been an
earnest member of the Presbyterian church, serving as treasurer and
trustee when the church was being built at Cedar Rapids. He is to-day
the oldest railroad engineer in continuous service in the United States
with one exception, the other being a gentleman connected with the
Union Pacific Railroad. He is a man of exemplary habits, commendable
purpose and unbending integrity, and no citizen of Cedar Rapids is more
honored of highly esteemed.
Source: The Biographical Record of Linn County Iowa,
Illustrated, Chicago: The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, 1901, pages
81-3.
Submitted by: Carrie J. Robertson of Marion
ROBERT E. REASLAND
Among the reliable, substantial and prosperous
farmers of Franklin township none are more deserving of representation
in this volume than Robert E. Reasland, whose home in on section 29. He
was born near Easton, Pennsylvania, October 27, 1856, and is a son of
Ernest and Mary (Cobol) Reasland, both natives of Germany. She being of
a wealthy family and Mr. Reasland being por, her parents were opposed
to the marriage, and accordingly the young couple came to this country
in 1849 and were married in New York, knowing that in America all men
were equal according to their ability and energy. They first located in
Pennsylvania, where they made their home for some years, and where
Mr.[s] Reasland died in 1863. Two years later the father brought his
family to Lisbon, Iowa, and commenced work for Daniel Baker on the old
Trout farm, chopping wood. A year later he located on the bank of the
Cedar river, where he built a thatched shanty, which was his home for
two years. In 1866 he bought a place near the river on section 28,
Franklin township, southwest of Lisbon, and erected thereon a log
cabin, where he resided until 1877, when he removed to the eighty-acre
farm owned by Dr. Pease. Subsequently he lived one year on the Peter
Betzer farm of eighty arces, and then went to Nebraska, where he
remained until his death, which occurred October 15, 1898, his remains
being interred eight miles northeast of Ravenna, Nebraska. In 1873 he
married Mary Woods, who has resided in Lisbon, Iowa, since her
husband’s death. His children were all by the first marriage, namely:
Henry, who married Mary Bushausen and resides in Sherman county,
Nebraska; Robert E., our subject; August L., who married Addie McCuen
and lives in Fillmore county, Nebraska; and Charles, who died at the
age of thirty-four years.
Robert E. Reasland was only seven years of age when brought to
this county, and here he was reared. During his minority he gave every
cent which he earned to his father. He worked as a farm hand until
1869, and was then employed in a brick yard. The year following his
father’s removal to Nebraska he was in the employ of Samuel Horn on the
Trout farm, and then again worked in a brick yard for a year. He next
rented and operated the Carpenter farm of two hundred and twenty-six
acres in Franklin township for two years, and on the expiration of that
time went to Nebraska, but being unsuccessful there, he sold the farm
which he had purchased there, and returned to this county in the fall
of 1880.
At Lisbon, April 21, 1881, Mr. Reasland was united in marriage
with Miss Anna Heller, who was born in that place, November 27, 1860,
and is also of German descent, though her parents, Peter and Sarah
(Teel) Heller, were both natives of Pennsylvania, and were married in
Northampton county, that state. In 1845 they came west and located in
Lisbon, Iowa, where Mr. Heller engaged in the tinning business and also
served as justice of the peace for forty years. He died August 4, 1887,
at the age of sixty-two years, and was buried in Lisbon, but his wife
is still a resident of that place. They had eight children, namely:
Mary, wife of Thomas Wooderson, of Indiana; Ida, who died at the age of
nineteen years; Fred, who married Anna Hafelfinger and lives in
Fillmore county, Nebraska; William, who is engaged in the marble
business in Lisbon and lies with his mother; Anna, wife of our subject;
Lincoln, who died at the age of thirty-two years; Almira, widow of
Russell Mackey and a resident of Lisbon; and Kate, wife of Elmer Burge,
a farmer of Franklin township, this county. Mr. and Mrs. Reasland have
six children: Ernest, born January 14, 1882, assists his father in the
operation of the home farm; Peter, born March 29, 1883, is employed as
an assistant in the management of a large farm northwest of Mt. Vernon;
Ruth, born April 21, 1886, is attending school and resides with her
parents; Katie May, born March 6, 1889; Robert, born February 28, 1892;
and Gertrude, born October 28, 1895, are all at home.
After his marriage Mr. Reasland rented the Robinson farm for
one year, and for the same length of time rented a place across the
river. At the end of that time he bought the Ben Carpenter farm of one
hundred and thirty-three acres on section 29, Franklin township, and
has since purchased an adjoining tract of forty-eight acres, making a
good farm of one hundred and eighty-one acres. It is one of the best
improved places in the locality, having one of the largest modern barns
in the township, besides cattle sheds and other outbuildings, while the
residence is a modern Queen Anne structure, furnished in a most
tasteful manner, and everything about the farm indicated the thrift and
progressive spirit of the owner. As a stock raiser he has also met with
success and is accounted one of the most thorough and skillful
agriculturists of the community. Fraternally, Mr. Reasland is a member
of Mt. Vernon Lodge, M. B. A., and politically is a stanch Democrat. He
is now serving as district school treasurer.
Source: The Biographical Record of Linn County Iowa,
Illustrated, Chicago: The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, 1901, pages
207-8.
Submitted by: Carrie J. Robertson of Marion
WILLIAM W. REECE
A worthy representative of the agricultural
interests of Linn county is William W. Reece, owner of one hundred and
sixty-four acres of fine land in Spring Grove township. The place he
lives upon is the old Reece homestead where he was born and where he
has spent the greater portion of his life. He has had charge of the
farm since he was twenty-one years old and has improved it to such an
extent as to make it one of the most valuable pieces of property in the
district.
A son of Henry and Lucretia (Nash) Reece, William W. Reece was
born July 28, 1868, just a few years after his parents settled upon the
homestead in Linn county. Henry Reece was a native of Ohio, while his
wife was a Pennsylvanian by birth, though she had lived for some time
in Ohio. The father came to Iowa in his early manhood, being
twenty-five years old when he settled in Linn county. He purchased
eighty acres of land in Spring Grove township and here farmed for the
greater portion of his life, but turned over the farm to his son who
later secured the entire estate, when the latter became of age.
Sometime later in life Henry Reece purchased thirty acres of timber
land in Spring Grove township and his entire holdings then amounted to
one hundred and twenty acres. This farm was nicely improved by the
father, who continued to operate it for twenty-six years. Then William
W. Reece took charge of the place and has continued its cultivation.
The father died July 25, 1901, and the mother passed away September 13,
1908
Under the management and are of William W. Reece the farm has
been greatly improved. He has built a fine new barn, forty-four by
sixty-eight feet, erected a steel windmill and granary, and has brought
the entire place to a high point of perfection, it having greatly
increased in value as a result of his enterprise.
Mr. Reece was united in marriage to Miss Bessie E. Shaffer, a
daughter of Elias and Charlotte Shaffer, of Linn county, in July 1888.
Her parents were natives of Pennsylvania and came to Iowa in 1876,
locating in Linn county. There were born to Mr. and Mrs. Reece six
children, namely: Lottie, born in 1889, who is now married and living
in Linn county; Charles P., born in 1892, who is at home; Curtis H.,
who was born in 1894, and is living with his parents; Clyde E., who
died in 1898; Dale O., born in 1902, and Carl H., born in 1906, both at
home.
In his political beliefs Mr. Reece finds expression in
national affairs in the republican party, though he is an independent
voter when it comes to local matters. He has held the office of school
director for a number of years and at the present time is school
treasurer. Fraternally he is identified with Troy Lodge, No. 299,
I.O.O.F., of Troy Mills, Iowa; and of Mecca Lodge, No. 523, A.F.&
A.M., of Coggon, Iowa. His wife is a member of the Methodist Protestant
church. The success which Mr. Reece has attained is the result of
persistent effort and rigid honesty in all his affairs.
Source: History of Linn County Iowa, From Its Earliest
Settlement to the Present Time, Vol. II, Chicago, The Pioneer
Publishing Company, 1911, p. 185-186.
Submitted by: Terry Carlson
SAMUEL RESCH
 Samuel
Resch is a worthy representative of an old and honored pioneer family
of Linn county, his father having settled here during the early
development of this section of the state. He was born in Crawford
county, Ohio, July 13, 1855, a son of Fred W. and Nancy (Reed) Resch.
The father was born in Baden, Germany, November 9, 1830, and in 1846,
when a youth of sixteen years, accompanied his parents on their
emigration to the new world, the family home being established in
Crawford county, Ohio. There the son formed the acquaintance of Miss
Nancy Reed, who was born in that county, September 23, 1835, and is of
German lineage. The young couple were married on the 16th of March,
1854, and they began their domestic life in the Buckeye state, there
continuing until 1865, when the father came with his family to Linn
county, settling on a farm of eighty acres on section 15, College
township. He later purchased a tract of eighty acres and followed
farming throughout his remaining years. The mother makes her home with
her daughter Mary, now the wife of William Phillipson, in Wichita,
Kansas.
Samuel Resch began his education in the public schools, which
was supplemented by two terms’ study in Western College then at
Western, Iowa. After completing his studies he returned to the home
farm, assisting his father until he was twenty-eight years of age. He
then started out to make his own way in the world, choosing as his
occupation the work to which he had been reared. He has prospered as
the years have gone by and is now the owner of one hundred and sixty
acres of valuable and well improved land on section 15, College
township, which he now rents to a neighbor, while he is practically
living retired. His place is improved with substantial buildings and in
his work he always followed modern methods, keeping abreast with the
times as advancement is made in agricultural lines.
It was on the 8th of February, 1883, that Mr. Resch was united
in marriage to Miss Louise A. Phillipson, a daughter of Thomas and
Margaret Phillipson. The father was born at Lincolnshire, England,
September 19, 1820. In February, 1850, he set sail for America, taking
passage on the ship Olive Branch from Liverpool. He arrived in New York
in March, five weeks later, and made his way from the eastern
metropolis to Rochester, New York. It was in the latter place that he
formed the acquaintance of Miss Margaret Howe, whom he wedded in 1857.
Her parents, Jarvis and Julia Howe, were natives of County Tipperary,
Ireland, whence they emigrated to the new world at an early day,
establishing their home in Spencerport, Monroe county, New York. Their
daughter Margaret was born April 9, 1834, and as above stated, in 1857,
she gave her hand in marriage to Thomas Phillipson. On the day
following their marriage they started for the middle west, traveling by
rail from Rochester to Iowa City, Iowa. From the latter city they
journeyed by team to Cedar Rapids, where they made arrangements for the
purchase of a forty-acre tract of land, paying for the same eleven
dollars and a quarter per acre. On the place Mr. Phillipson erected a
log cabin, in which he and his bride took up their abode, making it
their home for many years. Eventually he sold his original farm and
purchased one hundred and twenty-five acres at thirty-seven dollars per
acre. Mr. and Mrs. Phillipson have traveled life’s journey together for
fifty-three years, sharing with each other the joys and sorrows, the
prosperity and adversity which come to each individual. They are still
making their home on the farm and although Mr. Phillipson has reached
the advanced age of ninety years, he is still active in the work and
management of his farm. He is now one of the oldest residents of Linn
county and during his long residence here he has witnessed many changes
as the work of development and improvement has been carried forward in
this section of the state.
Mr. and Mrs. Resch have five living children, four sons and
one daughter, namely: Grover C., who was born June 15, 1884, and is now
first sergeant in the United States Army, located at Fort Gibbon,
Alaska; Fred T., born February 21, 1887; Blanche J., whose birth
occurred on the 27th of May, 1888; Marion, born February 26, 1896; and
Pearl, who was born August 22, 1898. They also lost one child in
infancy.
In politics Mr. Resch is a democrat. Himself well educated he
ever takes a deep interest in the schools that his own children may
acquire a good education and has served as school director and as road
supervisor, while for three terms he has filled the office of justice
of the peace. The family attend the Evangelical church and Mrs. Resch
is an active worker in the Ladies Aid Society. Mr. Resch is a gentleman
of culture, a fine scholar and still a student from habit. His opinions
carry weight among his fellowmen, who recognize his superior ability
and worth of character and he is thus classed among the men of
affluence in Linn county and College township.
Source: History of Linn County Iowa, From Its Earliest
Settlement to the Present Time, Vol. II, Chicago, The Pioneer
Publishing Company, 1911, p. 188-191.
Submitted by: Terry Carlson
HENRY RISTINE, M.D.
Having spoken of some who pretended to be
physicians, and who were unworthy of the name, let it not be supposed
for a moment that they were all of that character. We had some
excellent physicians, in a very early day. Dr. Magnus Holmes came to
Marion, I believe, in 1841, and in 1842 he was joined by his
brother-in-law, Dr. Henry Ristine. Both of these men were well-read
physicians, and men of high moral character, and they enjoyed the
greatest respect and confidence of the people among whom they
practiced. Dr. Holmes died in a year or two after his arrival, which
caused a wide-spread sorrow and regret all over the country.
Dr. Ristine continued the practice of medicine in Marion for thirty-two
years. During the war he served about one year as the surgeon of the
20th Iowa volunteer infantry. He was a native of Indiana. In 1873 he
came to Cedar Rapids to reside, where he continued to practice his
profession with unabated zeal up to the time of his death.
He was one of those wide-awake, progressive men, that kept abreast of
the times in his profession. Several times he attended courses of
lectures in the best institutions of the land, keeping himself well
informed as to the newest and best remedies, and the most approved
methods of treating the various diseases prevalent in our country. At
the time of his decease he was by far the oldest medical practitioner
in the county, and none were more highly respected than he. His death
occurred April 25, 1893.
Mrs. Ristine, who was a noble-minded, Christian woman, a true helpmeet
to her husband, and a bright ornament to society, died January 23,
1893. She was a member of the Congregational church and an active
worker in every good cause.
There were four children born to these parents. John M. Ristine, M.D.,
one of the busiest and most successful of the physicians of our city;
Nellie M., the wife of Mr. Z. T. Mullen, of Minneapolis; Miss Mary C.,
and Belle M., the wife of Mr. O. C. Wyman, also of Minneapolis.
Source: Carroll, George R., Pioneer Life In and Around Cedar
Rapids, Iowa From 1839 to 1849. Cedar Rapids, Times Printing and
Binding House. 1895. Pages 128-129.
Submitted by: Terry Carlson
JOHN ROGERS
This well-known retired farmer and prosperous
citizen of Center Point was born in Guernsey county, Ohio, on the 19th
of April, 1840, and is a son of Samuel and Eliza (Cheedell) Rogers,
natives of Pennsylvania and Ohio, respectively. The father was reared
in the Buckeye state, and after reaching manhood he followed farming
there for some years. In 1851 he came to Iowa, and the following year
took up his residence on a farm in Linn county, where he died about
1853. His wife still survives him, and is now eighty-four years of age.
When a lad of eleven years John Rogers came with the family to
this state, and grew to manhood in Linn county, receiving but limited
educational advantages. He began life for himself by working as a farm
hand by the month and was thus employed for several years. His first
purchase of land consisted of a small tract of unbroken prairie, on
which he built a log house, where he lived while fencing and improving
his land. As time advanced and he prospered in his labors he added to
his landed possessions from time to time until he now owns four hundred
acres of rich and arable land, divided into two farms and supplied with
two sets of buildings. He continued the operation of his land until
1900, when he removed to Center Point, where he bought a lot and built
a neat residence. Here he is now living a retired life, enjoying a
well-earned rest.
Mr. Rogers was married, in this county, in February, 1862, the
lady of his choice being Mrs. Elizabeth Meanor, who was born and reared
in Ohio. They have one son, William A., a farmer of Washington
township, Linn county, who is married and has two children, Beth and
Leo.
In politics Mr. Rogers is a Jeffersonian Democrat, and has
never failed in his allegiance to that party since casting his first
presidential vote for Stephen A. Douglas in 1860. He is a stanch friend
of education and our public school system, and was an active and
capable member of the school board for some years. His estimable wife
is a member of the Christian church, and both are held in high regard
by all who have the pleasure of their acquaintance. For his success in
life he deserves great credit, as it is due entirely to his own
well-directed and energetic efforts.
Source: The Biographical Record of Linn County Iowa,
Illustrated, Chicago: The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, 1901, pages
367-8.
Submitted by: Terry Carlson
CHARLES A ROSS
Since the age of thirteen years this gentleman
has been dependent upon his own resources for a livelihood, and has
gradually worked his way upward until he now occupies the important
position of yardmaster for the Burlington, Cedar Rapids & Northern
Railroad at Cedar Rapids, in which city he has made his home since
1870. He was born in Logan, Hocking county, Ohio, on the 18th of April,
1860, and was a lad of ten years when brought to Cedar Rapids by his
parents, James and Jane (Sherlock) Ross, also natives of the Buckeye
state. While a resident of Ohio the father was engaged in the
manufacture and sale of tombstones, but after coming to Cedar Rapids
devoted his attention to the real estate business principally, owning
property in and around the city. He is now practically living a retired
lie, and on account of his health spends a part of his time in
California, though he still looks after his landed interests in the
northern part of Iowa. He is a self-educated and self-made man, whose
success in life is due entirely to his own unaided efforts. Politically
he has always been a supporter of the Republican party, and has taken
an active interest in public affairs. In their church relations both he
and his wife are Methodists, and they are highly respected and esteemed
by all who know them. Both are now sixty-nine years of age, Their
family numbered four children, but two died in early childhood. Those
living are Charles A., of this review; and Emma, wife of Dr. F. H.
Cutler, of Cedar Falls, Iowa.
Charles A. Ross attended the public schools of Cedar Rapids,
but his education was completed at the age of thirteen, when he began
his railroad career as news agent, holding that position for about four
years. He then learned the printer's trade and opened a job printing
office of his own in Cedar Rapids, which he conducted for a year. On
disposing of that he returned to railroading in the fall of 1881 as a
brakeman on a freight train on the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul
Railroad. In the spring of 1882 he left that road and found employment
on the Canadian Pacific Railroad in the capacity of conductor, being
one of the pioneer railroad men of that system. At the end of four
years he returned to Cedar Rapids and entered the train service of the
Burlington, Cedar Rapids & Northern Railroad, and was later
transferred to the yards as foreman of yard work. In 1895 he was
promoted to the position of yardmaster and given entire charge of the
yards of that road at this place, having supervision of forty men who
handle all the cars within the yard limits. He has a pleasant home at
1021 Fourteenth avenue west, and has also been interested in other real
estate in the city.
On the 6th of October, 1881, was celebrated the marriage of
Mr. Ross and Miss Matilda Schneider, who was born in Cedar Rapids in
1864. Her father, the late Joseph Schneider, was a brewer and one of
the pioneers of this city, having built and put in operation the first
brewery in the city, where her mother is still living. Our subject and
his wife have one son, James B., who was born in 1883, and is now in
his junior year in the high school of Cedar Rapids. Mr. Ross is a
supporter of the Methodist Episcopal church, of which his wife is an
earnest member. He belongs to Valley City Division, No. 58, O. R. C.,
of which he was formerly an officer, and is a charter member of Cedar
Rapids Lodge, No. 278, A. O. U. W., in which he also held office for
several years. His political support is given the men whom he believes
are best qualified to fill the offices regardless of party lines. He is
a straightforward and reliable business man, who commands the
confidence and respect of all with whom he is brought in contact either
in business or social life.
Source: The Biographical Record of Linn County Iowa,
Illustrated, Chicago: The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, 1901, pages
368-9.
Submitted by: Terry Carlson
James H Rothrock
Served
on the Iowa Supreme Court from February 24, 1876, when he was appointed
in compliance with a legislative act increasing the personnel from four
to five members, until December 31, 1896. For four years he was
Chief Justice.
Born
in New York in 1829, the family moved to Ohio in 1838. He was
graduated from Franklin University and admitted to the Ohio bar in
1854. In 1860 he came to Tipton in Cedar county, from which
county he was elected to membership in the House of Representatives of
the Ninth General Assembly. He was speaker pro tem of that
session. He was also a member of the Ninth Extra General Assembly.
Judge
Rothrock served as a lieutenant colonel in the Civil War and took part
in the siege of Vicksburg. In 1866 he was elected Judge of the
District Court, which position he continued to hold until coming on the
Supreme Bench.
Judge Rothrock died in Cedar Rapids in 1899.
Source of biographical sketch (verbatim transcription): “Annals of Iowa”, 3rd series, volume XXVI, issue 2, July, 1944, page 144
transcriber’s note: James Harvey Rothrock, Sr. is buried in Oak Hill Cemetery, Linn County, Iowa
Submitted by: Eric & Marcia Driggs
J. D. ROWE
For over thirty years this gentleman has been a resident of Marion,
where he is now successfully engaged in business as a carpenter and
contractor, and also owns and operates a planing mill as the senior
member of the firm of J. D. Rowe & Son, at No. 1408 North Tenth
street. Throughout his career of continued and far-reaching usefulness
his duties have been performed with the greatest of care, and his
business interests have been so managed as to gain for him a liberal
patronage, and the confidence of the public.
A native of New York, Mr. Rowe was born in Essex county
November 15, 1831, and is a son of Leland and Lucy (Durant) Rowe, who
also claimed the Empire state as the place of their birth. The father
owned a home in the east, where he spent his entire life. He worked for
others, and served as county superintendent of schools, being
prominently identified with the educational affairs of Essex county. He
was a musician in the war of 1812, and received a land warrant for
services rendered. In religious faith both he and his wife were
Baptists and were active in all church work. He died at the age of
seventy-two years, and she passed away several years later at the age
of seventy. Of their seven children our subject is fourth in order of
birth, while only three are now living, these being J. D., of this
review; and Eleanor, wife of G. J. Miller, and Barlow L., both
residents of Vermont.
J. D. Rowe was educated in the public schools of New York, and
after laying aside his text books learned the carpenter’s trade, which
he has followed since the age of eighteen years. In 1869 he came to
Marion and has since been one of the leading business men of that
place. He has built many of its houses, including some of its finest
residences, and also erected the Christian church, the county home and
other buildings. He not only has charge of the carpenter work, but as a
contractor does everything from excavating the cellar until the
building is ready for occupancy. He and his son also own a planing
mill, and engage in the manufacture of sash, doors, moldings, ledges,
etc., and have built up a good business in that line.
Mr. Rowe was married, December 27, 1854, to Miss Anna Storrs,
also a native of Essex county, New York, and a daughter of Samuel
Storrs, and to them have been born one daughter, Ida May, who died at
the age of fifteen years, and two sons, both residents of Marion. Fred
A. married Fannie Williams and has two children, Charles and Walter. He
is the junior member of the firm; and Frank E. married Edith Eggleston
and has one son, Harold J.
Fraternally Mr. Rowe is a member of the Masonic order and the
Iowa Workmen, and politically is identified with the Republican party,
in the success of which he takes a deep interest. His wife is a member
of the Christian church, and both are held in high esteem by a large
circle of friends and acquaintances.
Source: The Biographical Record of Linn County Iowa,
Illustrated, Chicago: The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, 1901, pages
195-196.
Submitted by: Carrie J. Robertson of Marion
J.RUDIS-JICINSKY, A.M., M.D., M.E.
Cedar Rapids has no more progressive or skillful
physician and surgeon now engaged in practice there than the gentleman
whose name introduces this sketch, and who is now serving as secretary
of the Roetgen Society of the United States. He was born in Bohemia on
the 16th of May, 1860, a son of Hynek and Agnes Rudis. The father was a
well-educated man and an artist by profession, decorating glass for
churches. He took a very active and prominent part in political affairs
in his native land, and being a leader of his party in the district
where he resided he was elected to the legislature of that country. In
1890 he came from Bohemia to the new world and located in Chicago,
where he made his home until his death, which occurred in January,
1901, when about sixty-eight years of age. Thus passed away a very good
and useful man. His widow is still a resident of that city. Unto them
were born ten children, of whom six daughters died in Bohemia. The
others are John Rudis, our subject; Hynek, who is a well-educated man
and is now editor of the Bohemian Daily of Cleveland, Ohio; Rosa, who
lives with her mother in Chicago; and Hattie, wife of A. Ruzicka.
Dr. Rudis-Jicinsky acquired his early education in the public
schools of Bohemia, and later attended a gymnasium and the Academy of
Prague, where he was graduated in 1879, having pursued a literary
course. Before completing his education, however, he went as a
newspaper correspondent to the scene of action of the Turkish and
Russian war, although a lad of only sixteen years, and remained there
two years. He then returned home and completed his collegiate course.
For some time he was identified with newspaper work in his country, and
in 1884 he came to America as correspondent for Russian, Polish,
Bohemian and German papers. In August of that year he accepted the
position of editor of the largest Bohemian daily in America, published
at Chicago, and remained there until 1891, when he went to Milwaukee
and started a Bohemian daily at that place, but the venture did not
prove a success.
On his return to Chicago Dr. Rudis-Jicinsky entered Rush
Medical College, where he was graduated in 1896, with the degrees of
A.M. and M.D., and while there took up the study of the X ray
diagnosis, to which he has since devoted considerable time and
attention. After leaving college he was engaged in the practice of
medicine at Crete, Nebraska, for two years, and while there was a
contributor to the New York Medical Journal, the St. Louis Medical
Mirror and the Journal of the American Medical Association. In 1899 he
came to Cedar Rapids, and has already built up quite a large and
lucrative practice here.
The Doctor was the first man in the west to demonstrate the X
ray in the different medical societies of which he is a member, and is
the inventor of a small portable apparatus to be used in cases of
emergency. He has made the X ray diagnosis his special study since it
first became known in 1895; has perfected many improvements on the
same, and introduced many things to advance the interests of the same.
He is considered one of the best representatives of this branch of the
profession in the west, and is now serving his second year as secretary
of the Roetgen Society of the United States, which position brings him
in contact with two hundred members of the society in this country and
Canada, all of whom have had over three years' experience in the line
before being admitted to membership.
Dr. Rudis-Jicinsky was married, in Chicago, in 1885, to Miss
Louisa Uher, also a native of Bohemia, and to them have been born three
children, namely: Irma, Sylvia and Georgia. In politics the Doctor is a
Republican, and has always adhered to its principles since coming to
this country, advocating its policy in his newspaper work, and
advancing its interests in every possible manner. In his religious
views he is a free thinker, and in his social relations is a member and
examining physician of all the Bohemian benevolent lodges in Cedar
Rapids, of the Modern Woodmen of America and the Woodmen of the World.
He is also a member of the International Congress for Medical
Electrology and Radiology of Paris, France, the American Medical
Association, the Western Surgical Gynecological Association, the
Tri-State Medical Association, and the Nebraska State Medical Society.
He still continues his contributions to leading medial journals in this
country, and is also a correspondent for French, German and Bohemian
medical journals. He takes great interest in Bohemian gymnasium work,
and is a liberal donator to charitable enterprises. He is a close and
thorough student, a man of deep research, and his investigations into
the science of medicine and surgery, and his skillful application of
the knowledge he has thereby obtained has won him a place in the
foremost ranks of the medical fraternity.
Source: The Biographical Record of Linn County Iowa,
Illustrated, Chicago: The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, 1901, pages
44-45.
Submitted by: Terry Carlson
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