ALLEN H. CHAFFEE

CHAFFEE

Posted By: Jake Tornholm (email)
Date: 4/20/2020 at 14:16:46

ALLEN H. CHAFFEE, contractor and builder of Corning, was born in Vermont, in 1834, a son of Harry and Annie (Allen) Chaffee, natives also of the Green Mountain State; the mother was a descendant of Ethan Allen, of Revolutionary fame. Harry Chaffee was a farmer, as well as contractor and builder, and died in 1888; but his wife preceded him to the spirit land a short time. Allen, the fourth of five children, finished his school days in Hinesburg Academy, and then learned the carpenter's trade, probably inheriting from his father his mechanical genius. In 1852 he settled in Henry county, Illinois, and in 1874 came to Adams county, Iowa. Among his works here are the First National Bank building, probably the finest in the county; the City Hall, the water works and the Edgewood, the beautiful suburban home of F. M. Widner, and the courthouse, the last of which is probably the grandest testimonial to his skill. It is on a commanding eminence, built of pressed brick, with granite columns and finished in hardwood; the walls are fire-proof; the offices and furnishings are in harmony with the beautiful exterior; while the vaults are fitted with the newest and best equipments. On the whole the courthouse seems to be perfect in construction, proportion and adaptation to the uses for which it is intended. Mr. Chaffee occupies a commodious residence of a farm just west of Corning, where the premises show that the proprietor is a man of culture. In his political principles he is a Republican, conservative and independent.

In 1857 he married Miss Isabel Duncan, and they are the parents of seven children.