Emmons, William Henry Dr. 1868 - 1933
EMMONS, MARTIN, CAST, SAYLES
Posted By: Bill Waters (email)
Date: 4/24/2014 at 21:47:21
WILLIAM HENRY EMMONS, M. D.
The name of Dr. William Henry Emmons has come to be regarded as synonymous with business development and progress in Winneshiek county, for he is not only a successful and able physician but he is also president of the Burr Oak Savings Bank, president of the Burr Oak Mercantile Company and manager of the Silver Creek Creamery Company of Burr Oak. He thus figures prominently in business circles and throughout his entire life has directed his efforts where mature judgment and sound discrimination have led the way.
Dr. Emmons was born in Oneonta, New York, December 26, 1868, and is a son of Theodore P. and Mary (Martin) Emmons, the former a native of New York, the latter of Bangor, Maine. Their marriage, however, occurred in Waverly, Iowa, and from there they removed to New York, where they resided for a number of years. Later they returned to Waverly and from there went to Sumner, Iowa, where the father's death occurred in July, 1909, when he was sixty-nine years of age. He and his wife became the parents of two children: Lillian, the wife of D. S. Cast, of Waterloo, Iowa; and Dr. William Henry, of this review.
Dr. William Henry Emmons was five years of age when his parents removed to Iowa, and he acquired his early education in the public schools of Waverly and Sumner. He afterward attended the Upper Iowa University at Fayette for three years and then studied medicine for one year at Waverly. Having determined upon the practice of this profession, he went to Chicago and entered Rush Medical College, spending his winters in that institution and his summers in the Northwestern freight depot, where he had obtained employment. He was graduated with the degree of M. D. March 29, 1892. In the same year he settled at Westgate, Iowa, and after eight months removed to Elma, where he took charge of the practice of another physician. Fie came to Burr Oak September 20, 1893, and here he has since remained in active practice. He did not regard his professional education completed' when he finished his course in medical college, but has always remained a student of the principles of medical science and has kept in close touch with the most advanced professional thought. He is very careful in the diagnosis of cases and his ability is demonstrated in a large and representative practice.
Aside from his professional interests Dr. Emmons has figured prominently in business circles of this vicinity and has now important connections along this line. Since 1911 he has been president of the Burr Oak Savings Bank, and in October of that year formed a partnership with P. H. Whitney in the organization of the Burr Oak Mercantile Company, in which he is still heavily interested. He is also manager of the Silver Creek Creamery Company of Burr Oak and has many other business identifications. To the conduct of his interests he brings keen insight and sound judgment and discrimination. He has therefore gained a success which places him among the men of marked ability and substantial worth in this community.
In 1894 Dr. Emmons was united in marriage to Miss Donna Sayles, a native of Fayette county, Iowa, and they have become the parents of three children: Lucile; Paul Starr, who passed away at the age of nine months; and Theodore Hartwell.
Dr. Emmons was for twelve years president of the board of pension examiners at Decorah, and after a period of earnest and conscientious work in that capacity resigned in 1913. He is a republican in his political beliefs and connected fraternally with the Masons, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Modern Woodmen of America, the Yeomen and the Rebekahs. Along professional lines he belongs to the Winneshiek County and the Iowa State Medical Societies and the American Medical Association, thus keeping in touch with the trend of modern medical thought. His unbending integrity of character, his fearlessness in the discharge of duty in every relation in which he has been found, and his appreciation of the responsibilities which rest upon him make him a citizen whose worth is widely acknowledged.
Source: History of Winneshiek County, Iowa Vol. II Chicago the S. J. Clark publishing Company 1913
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