Park, William A.

PARK

Posted By: Karon Velau (email)
Date: 6/13/2021 at 17:12:57

WILLIAM A. PARK
born July 26, 1851, Iowa

History of Warren County, Iowa; Containing a History of the County, Its Cities, Towns & Etc., by Union Historical Company, 1879, p.602
PARK, WILLIAM M. Dr., Indianola, physician and surgeon; was born in Warren county in September, 1852; his youth was spent in attending school, and assisting his father on the farm; having a natural taste for the practice of medicine, he made choice of it for a profession, and entered the office of Dr. Davis as a student, and after a preparatory course of five years graduated at the Keokuk Medical College in 1876; he then entered into partnership with his preceptor, and has been practicing his profession successfully since that time; he married Miss M. Posegate in 1878; she was born in Warren county, Iowa

William A. Park - The representatives of the bar of Iowa equal in ability and eminence those of any other State, and to this class belongs the gentleman whose name begins this review. He is a lawyer of prominence, and is the senior member of the firm of Park & Odell, of Des Moines. He is a Western man by birth and training, and in instincts and interests. A native of Indiana, he was born in Alto, Howard county, on the 26th of July, 1851, and is a son of Andrew and Amanada ( Judkins) Park, the former a native of West Virginia, and the latter of Ohio. To the Emerald Isle he traces his ancestry, although for many generations the family has resided in the United States. His paternal grandfather, James Park, was a native of Virginia, and a farmer by occupation. He served as a soldier in the war of 1812, and also in the late Civil war. He was a man of great strength of character, of will power and endurance, physically strong and rugged, yet possessing a generous and happy disposition. He was three times married and had a family of nineteen children. He reached the advanced age of eighty-five years and departed this life in the Monongahela valley of West Virginia. The maternal grandfather, William P. Judkins, was a native of North Carolina, and a wood turner by trade. After a thirty-five years residence in Indianola, Iowa, he died at the age of eighty-one years. It was in 1851 that Andrew Park became a resident of this State, locating in Indianola where he engaged in farming for many years. Subsequently he laid aside all business cares and spent his last days in the enjoyment of a well earned rest. When the country was engaged in war with Mexico, he was in the regular army, participating in every battle under General Scott, and some in which General Taylor commanded the American forces. When the Civil war broke out he attempted to enlist, but was refused on account of disability. He helped to organize the first cavalry company that left this State, and was an ardent supporter of the Union cause. Frequently was he called for service in civil offices and was the oldest office-holder in Indianola. He died in that city in March, 1894, at the age of seventy-two, and his wife still survives him. Both were members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and for a number of years he served as one of the church officers. Three of their five children are now living: William A., Nancy, wife of E. G. Segner, of Des Moines; and Ella, wife of D. M. Johnson, of Des Moines. Upon his father's farm in the county of his nativity, William A. Park spent the days of his boyhood and youth, and his early education was acquired in the district schools of the neighborhood. He afterward attended Simpson College, and when he had determined to make the practice of law his life work he began studying in the office of Bryan & Seevers. Subsequently he entered the law department of the Michigan University at Ann Arbor, and was admitted to the bar in 1879, beginning practice in Des Moines in 1880. He was alone for two years, and then formed a partnership with F. W. Lehmann, which continued for ten years, when Mr Lehmann removed to St Louis. In 1892 W. E. Odell joined Mr. Park, under the present firm style, and the partnership has since continued with mutual pleasure and profit. They have a reputation second to no firm in the city, and very few important cases are here tried on which they are not retained as counsel. As a foundation for the law Mr. Park has a broad general knowledge. He is thoroughly informed along the line of his chosen profession, is careful and painstaking in the preparation of cases, is quick to note the strong points in an argument, and in his replies is forcible, earnest and logical. In connection with his extensive law practice he is a stockholder in the People's Savings Bank.
On the 6th of January, 1874, Mr. Park was united in marriage with Miss Sophia Goodman, a daughter of Israel and Elizabeth (Findley) Goodman. Seven children have been born to them, five sons and two daughters - Ernest S., Bessie M., Howard G., William E., Helen Mar, Andrew, and Philip. The last named died at the age of three years.
In his political views, Mr. Park is a Democrat, and socially is a thirty-second-degree Mason and Master of the Rose Croix degree. He is also a valued member of the Odd Fellows Society, and is Past Grand Chancellor of the Knights of Pythias, of Iowa. He and his wife hold membership with the Methodist Episcopal Church, and have a good home at No. 1125 Pleasant street. Source: A Memorial and Biographical Record of Iowa, Lewis Publishing Co., Chicago, Illinois, 1896, vol.1, p.277