Lamb, Artemus 1840-1901

LAMB, BEVIER, GARDINER, BYNG, SMITY, GATES, MCCOY

Posted By: Michael J. Kearney (email)
Date: 8/2/2002 at 11:42:46

Wolfe's 1911 History of Clinton Lamb, Artemus, p. 684 Environment is said to be the making of a man's character for good or evil. So is reflected upon a community, be it large or small, the life of an individual. If the man is broad-minded, progressive and ambitious, there must follow an upbuilding that will outlast the mortal career. Artemus Lamb who died April 23, 1901, left an ineffaceable record of good upon Clinton, Iowa, a city that owes much to the stalwart Lamb family. Artemus Lamb was the oldest son of Chancy and Jane (Bevier) Lamb and was born September 11, 1840, in Bradford, Steuben county, New York, where his father ran a sawmill. His eduaction was gained in the public schools, mostly at Big Flats, Chemung county, New York. When sixteen years old he went to Clinton with his father and ever after made that city his home. From boyhood he worked with his father and was his constant associate and helpmate. He had a mechanical bent, which he cultivated for many years, together with practical experience in sawmilling, and he assisted largely in bringing about the high efficiency of the mills controlled by the Lambs. Before he had reached manhood Mr. Lamb entered the service of his father, who conducted several manufacturing enterprises in Clinton. He was taken into partnership by the senior Mr. Lamb in 1864, when the firm of C. Lamb & Sons was formed. From that time on the operations of the concern were broadened rapidly. In 1868 the firm built a large mill structure of stone, and sawing was begun the same year. An interest in the Cobb mill at Riverside, near Clinton, was secured in 1868, and Mr. Lamb and his father organized, with S.B. Gardiner, S.W. Gardiner and John Byng, the firm of Lamb, Byng & Company. This concern in 1872 acquired the sawmill of Wheeler & Warner, which property was located near the Cobb mill.Two years later Artemus Lamb's brother, Lafayette Lamb, was admitted to partnership and the Lamb concern became known at C. Lamb & Sons. The firm, in the spring of 1877, obtained the shares of S.W. Gardiner, S.B. Gardiner and John Byng in Lamb, Byng & Company, and in January, 1878, the Lamb interests were incorporated under the title of C. Lamb & Sons. Chancy Lamb was president, Lafayette Lamb, vice-president, and Artemus Lamb, secretary and treasurer. It was in one of the four mills operated by the Lambs at Clinton that the use of the band saw for cutting white pine is supposed to have been first attempted. Many innovations in sawmilling were witnessed at the Lamb mill, including an edger of an entirely new type and a trimmer, besides a friction log turner that, now driven by steam, is today known as a "nigger." The last of the Lamb operations at Clinton ended with the shutting down of the remaining mill October 26, 1904. It is estimated that Mr. Lamb and his sons cut and marketed more than three billion feet of lumber. While having a practical knowledge of sawmilling, Artemus Lamb, later in life, paid more attention to the distribution of the lumber product and to the financial end of the various business interests of his father, brother and himself. There was much of the typical American citizen about Mr. Lamb, for he took an active interest in any and all of the enterprises of the city where he lived. He had charge of the volunteer fire fighting force until 1879, and it was his earnest efforts that brought about the splendid organization in which the city prides itself. He believed that it was his duty to enter politics and he served as councilman, the recordsof that body revealing the earnestness and fidelity which which he served his fellow men. One of Mr. Lamb's greatest achievements was the founding of the Peoples Trust & Savings Bank, of Clinton, in 1892, and it was to his influence that the institution in less than three years had deposits of more than three million dollars and took rank with the more important financial organizations in the middle west. He was the moving spirit in the organization of the Iowa Packing & Provision Company, of Clinton, and was heavily interested in other ventures that paid, and still are paying, ever-increasing dividends. Besides the People's Trust & Savings Bank, to which he gave much of his time, he was interested in the City National Bank, of Clinton; the Clinton National Bank, of Clinton; the Lumberman's Bank, of Shell Lake, Wisconsin; the Merchants National Bank, of Clinton, and the Clinton Savings Bank. He was president of the Clinton Gas Light & Coke Company, vice-president of the Mississippi River Logging Company and a director in the Shell Lake Lumber Company, of Shell Lake, Wisconsin. He was interested in sixteen lumber mills on the upper Mississippi river. He held the office of vice-president of the Mississippi River Lumber Company, the Chippewa Logging Company and the Crescent railroad, of Shell Lake, Wisconsin, and was a director in the Chippewa Lumber & Boom Company, of Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin; the White River Lumber Company, of Mason, Wisconsin, and the Barronett Lumber company, of Barronett, Wisconsin. In addition to these varied enterprises, Mr. Lamb had extended mining interests at Deadwood, natable in what are known as the Bonanza mine and the Buxton, which were great producers and divident payers. Masonry attracted much of the attention of Mr. Lamb, and he was given signal recognition in the order, to which he was admitted in 1870. He was a member of Keystone Chapter No. 32, Royal Arch, and of Holy Cross Commandery No. 10, Knights Templar, of Clinton, Iowa. He was made a Scottish-rite Mason and for six years was master of Kadosh and was prior for many years. he was a member of the Royal Order of Scotland (Scottish Rite) and was admitted to the El Kahir Shrine at Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He was a member of Clinton Council, in York-rite Masonry and also of the Knights of Pythias. He was an exhalted ruler of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, and for many years was president of the Wapsipinicon Club, of Clinton. Mr. Lamb married Henriette Sabina Smity, who was a native of Perry county, Ohio, at Clinton, Iowa, October 11, 1865. To the couple were born five children, three of whom are living: Emma Rena, widow of Marvin J. Gates; Garrett Eugene, and Clara Augusta, wife of Russell B. McCoy. Burt Lafayette died January 30, 1898, and James Dwight was drowned May 5, 1905. Feeling that his constitution was being undermined by business cares, Mr. Lamb started in January, 1901, for California to seek rest during the winter months. The train on which he was a passenger was wrecked near Rock Springs, Wyoming, January 16, and Mr. Lamb was so seriously injured that he never recovered, passing away at Coronado, California, April 23, 1901. The remains were brought to Clinton and buried in the family mausoleum at Springdale cemetery. Mr. Lamb's life was full of effort for others, and no mean proportion of the wealth he gathered was devoted to the poor of Clinton. His genial ways and careful observance of the rights of others made him beloved not only by those who immediately surrounded him, but by the thousands to whom he was less familiarly known. He attended the First Presbyterian church and was for many years one of its trustees, contributing liberally to all its causes.