Henyan, Warren B.

HENYAN, STYLES, JENNINGS, OTT, PETERSON

Posted By: Volunteer Transcribers
Date: 6/8/2003 at 20:49:05

Source: "The 1901 Biographical Record of Clinton Co., Iowa, Illustrated" published: Chicago : S. J. Clarke Pub. Co., 1901.

WARREN B. HENYAN.

Among the worthy citizens of Clinton who are in some way connected with the railroad interests of this state, is W. B. Henyan, who for twenty years has been a most faithful and capable employee of the Chicago & Northwestern Railway. He was born on the 1st of October, 1861, three miles east of Solon, Johnson county, Iowa, in an old log house, which was built by his grandfather, Bradford Henyan, who located there in 1842, being one of the first three settlers taking up his residence in that section of the state. At that time the nearest gristmills and trading boats were at Dubuque, Iowa, and Rock Island, Illinois, and the Indians were far more numerous than the white settlers. By occupation the grandfather was a farmer, and prior to coming to Iowa he followed that pursuit in Indiana. There he married his wife, who died in 1901, having long survived her husband, his death occurring in 1879.

The parents of our subject were O. C. and Clarissa (Styles) Henyan, both of whom were natives of Johnson county, the former being born in the same house where our subject’s birth occurred, while the latter was born three miles north of that place. She died in 1881, but the father is still living, and now makes his home in Clinton county. Their children were: W. B., of this review; G. W., who is now in the employ of the Southern Texas Railroad; Alice, wife of A. Jennings, Perry, Iowa; L. S., a brakeman on the Chicago & Northwestern Railway; Mary, wife of Charles Ott, Jr.; and C. O., a farmer of Rock Island county, Illinois.

W. B. Henyan passed the days of his boyhood and youth in Johnson and Iowa counties, and is indebted to their public schools for his educational privileges. His early life being spent upon a farm, he assisted in its operation, and later clerked in the Gillen House, at Anamosa, until 1881, when, on account of ill health, he was obliged to resign his position. He then entered the employ of the Chicago & Northwestern Railway Company as brakeman on the Midland division, running from Clinton to Belle Plaine, Iowa. At that time it was the rule of the road that no train should be run down hill faster than fifteen miles an hour. On the 15th of September, 1884, Mr. Henyan was promoted to conductor, and was on the run to Belle Plaine until the division was changed, and since then his run has been from Clinton to Boone, He has now had a regular freight run for thirteen years, with the exception of the time he was running a passenger train during the World’s Fair, in 1893. He was in one rear end collision but escaped uninjured, and has never been disabled for service during his entire railroad career, except two weeks.

September 14, 1887, Mr. Henyan was married to Miss Amanda Ott, a native of Clinton, and a daughter of Charles Ott, of that place. Mr. Ott was born in Switzerland, but came to the United States when but ten years of age, and to Clinton county in 1866. He married Emma Peterson, at Geneva, Illinois, who was born in Sweden, but who was brought to this country a child of nine years, the family locating in Geneva, Illinois. For many years he was in the employ of the Chicago & Northwestern Railway, but for the last twenty-five years he has been in the transfer business at Clinton, where he still resides.

Since 1884 Mr. Henyan has been a member of the Order of Railway Conductors and has been a member of the Masonic fraternity since 1894. He also belongs to the Modern Woodmen of America, and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He is a great lover of dogs and horses and athletic sports.

During his connection with the Chicago & Northwestern Railway, Mr. Henyan has made it his rule to care for the company’s property as though it were his own, and in doing this has won credit for himself and the gratitude of the corporation. He further holds that no man can be addicted to the use of intoxicants and give his employers the best benefits of his service, and a man who drinks does an injustice to his employers as well as to himself and family. Both Mr. and Mrs. Henyan are members of the Baptist church.