Lister, Arthur

LISTER, BROWN

Posted By: Volunteer Transcriber
Date: 9/14/2009 at 15:49:24

Lister, Arthur

Among the prominent business men of the younger generation in Jasper County who are deserving of the large success that attends their efforts and of the high esteem in which they are held is Arthur Lister, a man who is not only endowed with indomitable industry, but who maintains a high standard of business and social ethics in every relation of life, thereby winning and retaining the good will and confidence of all who come into contact with him.

Mr. Lister comes to us from our sister nation across the Atlantic, and while cherishing patriotic impulses from his native land; he has become thoroughly Americanized and is an ardent supporter of our institutions. He was born in Yorkshire, England, January 18, 1865, and he is the son of William and Hannah (Brown) Lister, both natives of England, where they were reared, educated and married. The family immigrated to America in March 1865, landing at New York. The father at once went to Philadelphia and engaged in the wool business, having worked as a wool sorter in his native country. After remaining in the Quaker city for five years they came to Iowa, locating at Newton in 1870, the elder Lister having purchased land south of the city before coming here and on this he located and there the son Arthur, of this review, lived until he was seventeen years old, when he engaged in the meat business for his father in Newton. After conducting this for about three years the son went to Rhode Island to learn the wool business with a brother, James. After remaining there three years, he returned to Newton, Iowa, and engaged in the grocery business with his father for three years, after which he went to Denver, Colorado, thence returned to Rhode Island, where he again took up the wool business. In a little more than two years he returned to Newton, and, the father having died the meanwhile, he engaged in the grocery business for himself for nearly five years. Closing out this business, he became the manager of the opera house in Newton and later at Grinnell. He leased the opera house at Grinnell and managed it for about two years, during which time he purchased the opera house at Kellogg, which he retained four years. Later he went to Des Moines and engaged in the real estate business, having disposed of his opera house at Kellogg. He is at present manager and part owner of Lister's Opera House at Newton, and owns and operates billposting plants in Colfax and Newton. In 1906 he went on the road at the head of the Chase-Lister Company, a theatrical organization, remaining out one year. While engaged in the grocery business in Newton and as manager of the local opera house, Mr. Lister was united in marriage with Louise Schwerin, of Burlington, from whom he was subsequently divorced. This union was without issue.

Mr. Lister has met with some success as a businessman, proving that he possesses fair business acumen, energy and foresight by his able management of whatever he has turned his attention to, having had experience covering a wide range. He has made a fair success of the local opera house and brought it up to standard, it now ranking with theaters in cities much larger than Newton, a good class of attraction being constantly booked. He keeps everything in fair order and his attractions draw large crowds, at times many from other towns.

Mr. Lister, at one time, made a trip to England, his early home, which he left when a babe. While on this visit he made most of the trip from London to Paris on a bicycle. At present he lives in Des Moines, but spends most of his time in Newton. Fraternally, he is a member of the Knights of Pythias of Newton. Personally, he is a genial, obliging, genteel gentleman whom it is a pleasure to meet. Past and Present of Jasper County Iowa B. F. Bowden & Company, Indianapolis, IN, 1912 Page 505