NORTHWESTERN IOWA
ITS HISTORY
AND TRADITIONS
VOLUME II
1804-1926
S
R. V. SAGER
Possessing an analytical, well trained mind and the
capacity for hard work, Ray V. Sager has steadily progressed in a
most exacting profession and now occupies an enviable position at
the bar of Sioux City. He was born October 19, 1884, in Plymouth
county, Iowa, and comes of distinguished ancestry, being a direct
descendant of Presidents William H. and Benjamin Harrison and also
of Benjamin Harrison, of New York, who was one of the signers of the
Declaration of Independence. He is a son of Perry and Stella
(Parker) Sager the former a native of Michigan and the latter of
Virginia. The father came to Iowa when about eighteen years of age
and for many years engaged in farming in Plymouth county. Through
intelligently directed industry he accumulated a substantial
competence and since 1908 has lived retired in Sioux City.
Ray V. Sager was a pupil in rural schools of
Plymouth county and attended the public schools of Sioux City, Iowa,
where he afterward studied law. He completed a course in the law
department of the Stare University at Iowa City and since July 1,
1910, has practiced continuously in Sioux City. He has a thorough
understanding of the fundamental principles of jurisprudence and
correctly applies his knowledge to the points in litigation. He has
built up a remunerative clientele and in argument is logical and
convincing, winning a large percentage of his cases.
Mr. Sager is a bachelor and resides in the family
home at No. 1622 West Fifteenth street. In 1914 he was a stamp
deputy in the internal revenue department of the United States and
is now a member of the civil service commission of Sioux City.
During the World war he was one of the four minute speakers and
also served on the local registration board. He is a Mason,
belonging to Tyrain Lodge, No. 508, F. & A. M., and something of the
nature of his recreation is indicated by his connection with the
Riverside Boat Club. He is affiliated with the Unitarian church and
acts as chairman of its board of trustees. Mr. Sager maintains an
independent attitude in politics, placing the qualifications of a
candidate above the narrow bounds of partisanship, and he is
broadminded and liberal in his ideas on all subjects. He is a
member of the Sioux City Bar Association and a worthy exponent of
his profession.
A. G. SAM
Among the men who are conserving the commercial and
financial welfare of Sioux City, and who are contributing in a very
definite measure to the community's prosperity and advancement,
stands Adolph Godfred Sam, president of the Live Stock Bank and
treasurer of the Sioux City Stock Yards Company. A native of
Norway, he was born on the 14th of October, 1882, and is a son of
Andrew and Ann Gertrude Sam. The family came to the United States
in 1883, first locating in La Crosse, Wisconsin, where the father
engaged in the building and contracting business, in which he
continued actively until 1916, when he moved to Minneapolis,
Minnesota, where he passed away February 1, 1926, at the age of
eighty-nine years.
Adolph G. Sam received his educational training in
the public schools of La Crosse, Wisconsin, and at the age of
seventeen years he went to Chicago and soon thereafter began his
identification with the banking business, his first position being
with John R. Walsh, of the Chicago National Bank, with which
institution he remained until December, 1906. He then went to
Minneapolis and entered the First National Bank, where he remained
five years, when he was appointed a clearing house bank examiner, in
which capacity he served five years. He then accepted the position
of cashier of the Stock Yards National Bank of South St. Paul, of
which he later became vice-president. In 1919 he came to Sioux City
to take charge of the Live Stock Bank, of which he is still serving
as president and which has made an enviable record under his
management, being one of the strong and influential financial
institutions of this city.
On August 24, 1910, Mr. Sam was united in marriage
to Miss Ada Salveson, of Minneapolis, Minnesota. His is a member of
Braden Lodge, No. 168, A. F. and A. M., of St. Paul, Minnesota;
Minnesota Consistory, No. 1, A. A. S. R.; Abu-Bekr Temple, A. A. O.
N. M. S., at Sioux City, and Sioux City Lodge, N. 112, B. P. O. E.
He also belongs to the Sioux City County Club and his religious
connection is with the First Congregational church. A man of high
moral character, unimpeachable integrity and sound business
judgment, he has long held an enviable position in business circles
and is recognized as one of the strong, virile, and progressive men
of this community.
J. W. SCHUNCK
One of the most important concerns in Sioux City is
the Hanford Produce Company, which from a small beginning, less than
forty years ago, has grown to be the largest single manufacturing
plant of creamery butter in the world, its output for 1925 having
been over nineteen million pounds. It has a large and steadily
increasing ice cream department, covering a broad surrounding
territory. The company buys eggs, poultry and cream, through six
hundred stations scattered over four states, and buys direct, paying
millions of dollars annually to the farmers for their products.
They also have one of the most modern poultry feeding and dressing
departments in the west, with a daily feeding capacity of thirty
thousand chickens, and also maintain their own ice-making plant and
their own power and retinning plants, while the purest of water
flows from their own wells. Over four hundred persons are employed
in this great plant, which is one of the showplaces of Sioux City.
To a very great measure the splendid growth and prosperity which
the Hanford Company is enjoying is due to the sound judgment and
careful direction of its manager, John W. Schunck, to a brief review
of whose life the following lines are devoted.
Mr. Schunck was born in Sioux City, June 18, 1882,
and is a son of John H. and Louise (Forstner) Schunck, natives of
Germany, who came to the United States in 1880 in their youth. The
father located in New York city, where for a number of years he was
traveling salesman for a butcher supply house. Later he worked out
of Sandusky, Ohio, and eventually out of Dubuque, Iowa, where his
marriage occurred. In 1880 he came to Sioux City, entering the
employ of the Booge Packing Company, the pioneer packing house of
Sioux City, in which he had charge of the sausage department. In
later years he engaged in the retail meat business here, in
association with Charles Ibs, John Tucker and John Geiser. He died
in 1903 and his widow survived him a number of years, passing away
in 1917.
John W. Schunck was educated was educated in the
German Lutheran parochial school and the Webster public school of
Sioux City. On April 1, 1895, in his thirteenth year, he entered
the employ of the Hanford Produce Company as office boy and has
remained with that company continuously since, rising step by step
through the various positions, serving in practically every capacity
in the plant until about fourteen years ago, when his efficiency and
faithfulness were recognized in his election to the position of
general manager of the business. He has devoted himself
indefatigably to his duties and has eminently proven the right man
in the right place.
In October, 1903, Mr. Schunck was united in marriage
to Miss Lena C. Holdenried, of Sioux City, a daughter of John
Holdenried, one of Sioux City's early pioneers. To Mr. and Mrs.
Schunck has been born a son, Arthur H., who is a senior in Culver
Military Academy, Indiana. Mr. Schunck is a member of Landmark
Lodge, No. 103, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons; Sioux City
Consistory, No. 5, Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite; Abu-Bekr Temple,
Ancient Arabic Order of Nobles of the Mystic Shrine; Sioux City
Lodge, No. 112, Benevolent Protective Order of Elks; and Columbian
Lodge, No. 13, Knights of Pythias. He also belongs to the Chamber
of Commerce, the Sioux City County Club and to Trinity Lutheran
church and is a member of its board of trustees. Mr. Schunck has
just reason to be proud of the splendid record he has made since
entering the hanford Produce Company, for he has been a potent force
in its growth and success, a fact which is generally recognized by
all who are familiar with the splendid history of this great
establishment. Because of his ability, his sterling character and
his fine personality, Mr. Schunck enjoys the confidence and esteem
of all who know him.
F. E. SCOTT
In following the career of one who, beginning life
humbly, has eventually gained distinctive success by his own unaided
efforts, there comes into view the intrinsic individuality which has
made such accomplishment possible. Frank E. Scott, president of the
Frank E. Scott Live Stock Commission Company, of Sioux City, has
exemplified in his career the essential qualities that contribute to
real success - a definite objective, sound business judgment and a
persistent energy that will not admit the possibility of defeat.
Abundant success has crowned his efforts, a success that has been
honestly won and which has carried with it the admiration and
respect of all who know him.
Frank E. Scott, was born at Murray, Clarke county,
Iowa, on the 10th day of May, 1872, and is a son of Tazewell B. and
Emma A. (Royce) Scott. The father was a native of Indiana and the
mother of Pennsylvania, from which states their respective families
went to Iowa when the subject's parents were children, the Scott
family in 1854 and the Royce family soon afterwards. Both families
first settled in Monroe county but later moved to Clarke county,
where the father followed his trade of blacksmith, running a shop in
the town of Murray for many years. Frank E. Scott secured his
education in the public schools of Murray and Osceola, and at the
age of eleven years he became a wage earner, being employed as a
general utility boy in a book store in Osceola. In 1887 the family
removed to Omaha, Nebraska, where he became a "cub" market reporter
on the Drovers' Journal. In the spring of 1891 he became one of the
proprietors of the South Omaha Daily Tribune, a connection which,
however, continued only until the close of the year. In January,
1892, Mr. Scott came to Sioux City, taking the position of market
editor of the Sioux City Tribune. In the position he gained a
valuable insight into live stock market conditions and methods, and
in April, 1898, he was offered and accepted the position of hog
salesman for the commission firm of Simon & Pierce, which was later
succeeded by Pierce & Babcock. He remained with that firm until
1903, when he became associated with the firm of Clay Robinson &
Company as hog salesman, continuing with that house until 1912. At
the beginning of 1909 he was made head of the hog department of that
firm, with headquarters in Chicago, while, in June, 1910, he was
made manager of this company's Omaha office. At the close of 1912
Mr. Scott severed his connection with that firm and, returning to
Sioux City, established the business of the Frank E. Scott Live
Stock Commission Company, of which he has has been the managing head
continuously since. He has become one of the best known livestock
men in the northwest and his firm is recognized as one of the
strongest and most active concerns in the business.
Mr. Scott served as secretary-treasurer of the Sioux
City Live Stock Exchange from September, 1903, until 1908, when he
went to Chicago, and during 1918-19 he served as vice-president and
a director of this body. He has also been very active in the
affairs of the National Live Stock Exchange, which he served as
treasurer for three years and was still further honored when, in
1925, he was elected president, being reelected in 1926. He is a
director of the Morningside Savings Bank.
In 1890 Mr. Scott was united in marriage to Miss
Agnes M. Downs, of Glenwood, Iowa, and they are the parents of four
living children, namely: Olive, who is the wife of L. R. Piper, of
Sioux City; Howard P., of Sioux City; Dr. George A., who is a
surgical graduate of Kirksville, Missouri; and Donald D., who is in
the grade schools. Mr. Scott has taken a keen interest in the
general welfare of his city and served as a member of the board of
education in 1906-08. He is a member of the Sioux City Chamber of
Commerce and the Morningside Country Club. Fraternally, he is a
member of Morningside Lodge, No. 615, Ancient Free and Accepted
Masons; Sunrise Chapter, No. 141, Royal Arch Masons; Columbian
Commandery, No. 18, Knights Templar; T. S. Parvin Consistory, No. 5,
Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite; Abu-Bekr Temple, Ancient Arabic
Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, and the Modern Woodmen of
America. He served for ten years as a member of the mileage and per
diem committee of the head camp of the last named order. He and his
family are members of the Morningside Presbyterian church. He has
long been active and prominent in church and civic affairs of this
city, enjoys an enviable reputation as a public speaker, and
throughout the community is regarded as a man of more than ordinary
effectiveness in affairs relating to the public good. He possesses
a pleasing personality and a charm of manner that easily wins
friends, and enjoys wide popularity among a wide circle of
acquaintances.
H. C. SHULL
Henry Carlton Shull, a successful young attorney of
Sioux City, practicing as a member of the well known law firm of
Shull, Stilwill, Shull & Wadden, was appointed a member of the Iowa
state board of education by Governor Hammill on the 31st of March,
1925. His birth occurred in Sioux City, Woodbury county, Iowa, on
the 16th of January, 1892, his parents being Deloss C. and Frances
Edith (Mitzell) Shull. A biography of the father may be found on
another page of this work.
Henry C. Shull obtained his early education in the
public schools of his native city and subsequently entered the
University of Chicago, from which he was graduated with the degree
of Bachelor of Philosophy in 1914, while two years later the same
institution conferred upon him the degree of Doctor of
Jurisprudence. He had studied law in Harvard University during the
years 1914 and 1915 but completed his preparation for the bar in
Chicago and there received his degree. Immediately following his
graduation he entered his father's law office in Sioux City, where
he has remained continuously to the present time and where he was
made a member of the firm of Shull, Stilwill, Shull & Wadden on the
1st of January, 1921. He is also secretary, treasurer and director
of the Edgewater Realty Company and has already become widely known
as one of the representative business men as well as able lawyers of
Sioux City.
On the 15th of August, 1921, Mr. Shull was united in
marriage to Miss Alice Lincoln of Alton, Iowa, who was graduated
from the University of Iowa with the degree of Bachelor of Arts in
1920.
Mr. Shull is well known in Masonic circles,
belonging to the following bodies of the order: Tyrian Lodge No.
508, A. F. & A. M., of which he is worshipful master; Sioux Chapter
No. 26, R. A. M.; Columbian Commandery No. 5, K. T.; Sioux City
Consistory No. 5, A. A. S. R.; and Abu-Bekr Temple, A. A. O. N. M.
S. He is junior warden of Rose Croix Chapter and is active in the
fifteenth and eighteenth degrees of Rose Croix. The following
paragraph is copied from a Masonic publication: "Brother Henry C.
Shull, worshipful master of Tyrian Lodge No. 508, A. F. & A. M., was
nominated by Governor Hammill to be a member of the Iowa state board
of education on March 25, and the nomination was promptly confirmed
by the senate. The honor conferred is high and the responsibility
of the office is great. The state board of education administers
the affairs of the state educational institutions, including the
University of Iowa, the Iowa State College of Agriculture, the Iowa
State Teachers' College, the State School for the Blind and the
State School for the Deaf. The board consists of nine members.
Brother Shull succeeds the late Charles R. Brenton. He is equipped
both by training and by an active interest in educational matters
for effective service on this board. An alumnus of the University
of Chicago, he is keenly interested in the furtherance of education,
and by reason of that interest will bring to his service on the
board an informed mind and ripened judgment. Brother Shull's
appointment is gratifying to his friends in Sioux City and
northwestern Iowa, and they are certain that Governor Hammill made a
wise choice." Henry C. Shull is also identified with the Benevolent
and Protective Order of Elks, being past exalted ruler of Sioux City
Lodge, No. 112. His name is likewise on the membership rolls of the
Sioux City Boat Club, the Sioux City Country Club, the Kiwanis Club,
the Harvard Club of New York city, Alpha Delta Phi, a college
fraternity of the University of Chicago, the University Club of
Chicago and phi Delta Phi, a legal fraternity. Mr. Shull is also a
consistent member of the First Baptist church and a member of its
board of trustees. High ideals and worthy motives have actuated
him in every relation of life, and the circle of his friends is
almost coextensive with the circle of his acquaintances.
F. J. E. SMITH
As one of those who have lent dignity and honor to
the medical profession and who brought to his chosen vocation all
the strength and devotion of his nature, it is most consonant that
specific mention be made in this work of the life of Dr. Ferdinand
J. Endres Smith, who, after a long and active career as a
practitioner, is now practically retired and is living at Lake
Okoboji. Born in Chicago, Illinois, on the 27th of February, 1862,
he is a son of Ferdinand and Olga (Fedorow) Smith, the former born
in Wiesbaden, province of Nassau, Germany, while the latter was a
native of St. Petersburg, Russia. The paternal grandfather, Jacob
Schmidt, took an active part in the German rebellion of 1848, on the
side of the revolutionists, and after the collapse of the rebellion,
realizing that it might be decidedly unpleasant for him to remain at
home, came to the United States with his family, arriving here in
that same year. He first went to St. Louis, Missouri, but later
located in Chicago, Illinois. He had his name changed from Schmidt
to Smith by special act of the legislature. Ferdinand Smith was
reared in Chicago and during the Civil war he and his brother owned
and operated a grain elevator there on the Chicago river. However,
during the financial panic which followed the close of the war they
failed in business and for several years Mr. Smith was employed as a
traveling salesman for a Chicago house. He located in Davenport in
1869 or 1870 and lived there until about twenty-five years ago, when
he retired and moved to Omaha, Nebraska, where he is now living.
Ferdinand J. E. Smith attended the public schools
and then entered the Iowa State Agricultural College, at Ames, where
he was graduated in 1883. For several years following he served as
instructor in chemistry in the Institute of Technology, at Boston,
where he remained three years, and then entered the office of Dr. W.
F. Peck, dean of the medical faculty of the Iowa State University
and chief surgeon of the Rock Island railroad. After the regular
course of study, he was graduated, with the degree of Doctor of
Medicine, with the class of 1887. That same year he located in
Sioux City and engaged in the practice of his profession in
partnership with Dr. William Jepson. Three months later they
dissolved partnership and, borrowing eighty-five dollars, Doctor
Smith located in Alton, Iowa, where he really entered upon an active
practice. There he met with splendid success, his skill and ability
soon gaining for him an enviable reputation throughout the
surrounding country. He remained in Alton until 1903, in which year
he went to Germany, spending eight months in Heidelburg University.
While there he worked with Dr. Dakin, who with Carrol won such wide
fame through his extraordinarily successful treatment of war wounds.
On his return to this country, he was made dean of the medical
department of Drake University, in which capacity he served ten
years. He then located in Little Rock, Lyon county, Iowa, where he
remained through the period of the World war. During the influenza
epidemic of that period he worked indefatigably until his physical
condition demanded rest and from that time he has been living at
West Okoboji.
In July, 1889, Doctor Smith was married to Miss Anna
M. Hodgetts, a native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and they became
the parents of six children, five of whom survive, namely: Dr.
Millard F. J., of Raton, New Mexico; Dr. Arthur Francis Smith, of
Milford, Iowa; Olga E., at home; Anna May, who is Sister Mary
Marguerite, of St. Joseph's Convent, at St. Paul and Minneapolis;
Alice Gustava, who is Sister Maris Stella, of St. Joseph's, of
Carondalet. Dr. F. J. E. Smith is a member of the Lyon County
Medical Society, the Northwestern Iowa Medical Society, the Iowa
State Medical Society and the American Medical Association. He also
belongs to the Roman Catholic church and the International
Conciliation organization. Not only has Doctor Smith few peers in
his profession but he is also recognized as a man of broad culture.
To the practice of medicine he brought rare skill and he has always
been well-nigh infallible in diagnosis. He is a man of gracious
personality and is greatly respected by all who know him.
W. L. STEELE
The field of architecture, which formerly was
practically monopolized by the old world, is now conceded to have
its ablest and most progressive exponents in the United States,
where the spirit of open competition has always been an incentive
for originality in conception and design. Among the more
progressive architects of this country stands William La Barthe
Steele, of Sioux City, whose work has attracted nationwide attention
and who had designed and built many of the most important structures
of the middle west, a number of these being outstanding examples of
the development of the beautiful from the utilitarian.
Mr. Steele was born in Springfield, Illinois, on the
2d of May, 1875, and is a son of Robert C. and Mary E. (La Barthe)
Steele. His father was born in Chester county, Pennsylvania, a son
of Robert Steele, also a native of the Keystone state and a farmer
by occupation. Robert C. Steele came west in young manhood,
locating at Springfield, Illinois, where he was married and where he
engaged in the grocery business. He was successful in his business
affairs and became prominent and influential in his community,
serving for a number of years on the city council. His death
occurred there in 1909, at the age of seventy-three years. His
wife, who was born and reared in Springfield, Illinois, is a
daughter of Jules A. La Barthe, who was born in Bordeaux, France,
and came to the United States sometime in the '40s. She is still
living and makes her home with her children.
William L. Steele received his elementary education
in the Springfield public schools, graduating from high school in
1892, and then entered the school of architecture of the University
of Illinois, where he was graduated in 1896, with the degree of
Bachelor of Science. He next entered the office of Louis Sullivan,
of Chicago, who had gained considerable note as the architect for
the Chicago Auditorium, the Chicago Stock Exchange building, the old
Schiller (now the Garrick) theatre and other important buildings.
Mr. Steele served three years as draftsman in that office, and then
went to the office of S. S. Beman, of Chicago, the architect who
designed the Pullman building and laid out the town of Pullman.
Later Mr. Steele went to Pittsburgh and spent two years in the
office of Thomas Rodd, who was the architect for the Westinghouse
people. While there the Westinghouse buildings for Manchester,
England, were designed, and Mr. Steele was one of the factors in
drafting the plans. Subsequently he went with Alden & Harlow, of
Pittsburgh, who were drafting plans for the Carnegie Institute, in
which work he took an active part. Mr. Alden, of this firm, had
been a pupil of Henry H. Richardson, the first American architect to
gain a national reputation. From there Mr. Steele went into the
office of Sidney F. Heckert, also of Pittsburgh, who specialized in
church architecture, and here Mr. Steele was made head draftsman.
In 1904, feeling that he had made sufficient preparation, Mr.
Steele came to Sioux City and for a time was associated with Wilfred
W. Beach, under the firm name of Beach & Steele. Afterward he was
alone until January 1, 1926, at which date he associated with
himself George B. Hilgers, of Sioux City, whose faithful and able
assistance had extended over a period of about fifteen years. In
1914 Mr. Steele was awarded the contract for drawing the plans and
superintending the building of the Woodbury county courthouse. He
associated with him in this work George G. Elmslie, of Chicago, who
had served with him in Sullivan's office in that city a number of
years before. The completion of this building brought him national
prominence as an architect, it being a radical departure in design
from the long accepted ideas of courthouse architecture. However,
it is a real work of art and attracted attention from all the
leading architectural publications, "The Western Architect," of
Chicago, a leading monthly architectural magazine, sending out a
special photographer from that city and issuing a special
illustrated edition devoted to this building. Among other
noteworthy structures designed and built by Mr. Steele are the First
Congregational church of Sioux City, the Danish Lutheran church of
Sioux City, the Scared Heart church, of Fort Dodge, Iowa, and many
smaller churches throughout this section of the country. He was the
architect for the high school building at Sergeant's Bluff, the
Parker (S. D.) high school, the three new parochial schools in
Sioux City, the Immaculate Conception school in Morningside, the
Blessed Sacrament school in Sioux City, as well as the St. Boniface
school of this city, the St. Agnes Academy at Alliance, Nebraska,
the buildings for Trinity College, Sioux City, St. Anthony's Home
for Orphan Children, St. Monica's Babies' Home at Sioux City, St.
Vincent's Hospital at Sioux City, Sacred Heart Hospital at LeMars,
Iowa, St. Joseph's Hospital at Fort Dodge, Iowa, the Crane warehouse
in Sioux City, Sacred Heart Hospital at LeMars, Iowa, St. Joseph's
Hospital at Fort Dodge, Iowa, the crane warehouse in Sioux City, the
O. J. Moore Grocery Company building, Sioux City, the H. H. Everest
home in the Heights addition, the John McHugh residence, now the
Catholic bishop's house, the homes of O. J. Moore and Hftor Sve, as
well as many other structures of various classifications, in all of
which his work has been high class and entirely satisfactory to
those who have engaged his services.
In 1901 Mr. Steele was united in marriage to Miss
Mariana Green, of Champaign, Illinois, and to them have been born
the following children: Mariana, who is a graduate of Rosary
College, at River Forest, Illinois; Melissa, who is attending Rosary
College; William L., Jr., who is a graduate of Trinity College,
Sioux City; Jane Raymond, who is a student in the Cathedral high
school, Sioux City; Sally Green and Philip Joseph, who are in the
grade schools, and Harriet Gertrude, deceased. mr. Steele is a
member of the Blessed Sacrament church, of Sioux City, and belongs
to the Knights of Columbus. He served three years as a director of
the American Institute of Architecture, and in 1925 was elected
vice-president of that body; is a past president of the Iowa chapter
of the American Institute of Architecture; is a past president of
the Iowa Society of Architects and a "Fellow" of the American
Institute of Architects. He has delivered a number of lectures and
written essays on architecture and other subjects. He was twice
appointed a member of the board of trustees of the Sioux City public
library. He was appointed associate architect for the "Temple of
Justice," the proposed building for the state supreme court at Des
Moines, and was appointed a member of the city planning commission
of Sioux City. He is a member of Sioux City Lodge, No. 112,
Benevolent Protective Order of Elks; the Rotary Club, of which he is
a past president; the Sigma Chi college fraternity; Architects Club,
University of Illinois; a member of technograph board, University of
Illinois; and was a member of the band and glee club of that
university; also of the Architectural Club, Pittsburgh, 1903-4;
formerly a member of the New York Society of Architects and the
Woodlawn Tennis Club of Chicago; member of the University of
Illinois Alumni Association, the Sioux City Country Club, the Shore
Acre Club, of Sioux City, of which he is a past president; the
Academy of Science and Letters, Sioux City; the Engineers' Club,
Sioux City, and a director of the Sioux City Chamber of Commerce.
Personally, Mr. Steele is a man of forceful individuality, makes a
pleasing impression on all with whom he comes in contact, and his
life and achievements have honored the city of which he is a
resident. Though his professional duties make a heavy demand on his
time, he maintains a deep interest in the general welfare and
prosperity of his community, cooperating in every possible way in
all local movements for the upbuilding of the city and the
advancement of public interests.
D. W. STEWART
No member of the Sioux City bar holds a higher
position in public esteem than the Hon. David Wallace Stewart, a
member of the well known law firm of Kindig, Stewart & Hatfield and
Iowa's youngest United States senator. Only those who have come
into professional or business relations with him can understand how
thoroughly nature and training, habits of thought and action have
enabled him to gain his present enviable place in the field of
public affairs as well as in his chosen vocation, and today he
stands in the front rank of those who are conserving the interests
of the people and promoting national progress.
Mr. Stewart was born January 22, 1887, in New
Concord, Ohio, and his parents were Wilson and Mary Ann (Wallace)
Stewart, the latter also a native of that town, in which their
marriage occurred. Wilson Stewart was born in Washington county,
Pennsylvania, and during his boyhood his parents migrated to Ohio.
His father was a prosperous merchant and for many years engaged in
business in New Concord. Wilson Stewart spent his earlier years as
a clerk in his father's store and on the outbreak of the Civil war
he enlisted in the Union army, in which he served until the close of
the conflict. He then returned home and was engaged in
merchandising until his death, which occurred at New Concord in
1901, while his wife passed away in 1898.
David W. Stewart attended the public schools of New
Concord and was also a student in an academy. He next matriculated
in Geneva College, at Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, from which he
received the degree of A. B. in 1911. In the same year he came to
Iowa as a member of the faculty and athletic director of the
Cherokee high school and at the close of the term of 1911-12 became
associated with the Sioux City high school, which he served for
three years in the came capacities. He trained several star
football teams, one of which defeated the East high school of Des
Moines for the state championship. On serving his connection with
the Central high school at Sioux City he entered the law school of
the University of Chicago and was graduated with the class of 1917,
winning the degree of Doctor of Jurisprudence. While a student at
that institution of learning Mr. Stewart was an instructor and the
athletic coach at the Morgan Park Military Academy. He has always
been an indefatigable worker and his education is self-acquired.
After his admission to the bar he began the practice of his
profession in Sioux City, in association with Arthur C. McGill &
Stewart until January, 1918, when they were joined by J. W. Kindig,
McGill, R. H. Hatfield. The firm was known as Kindig, McGill,
Stewart & Hatfield until July, 1925, when Mr. McGill withdrew to
become Iowa attorney for the Chicago Joint Stock Land Bank at Des
Moines. The firm enjoys an extensive practice, specializing in
corporation and probate law.
Mr. Stewart is a veteran of the World war. On July
11, 1918, he enlisted in the United States Marines and on September
1 was sent overseas as a member of Company K, of the Thirteenth
Regiment, which was attached to the Fifth Brigade. He served under
General Smedley D. Butler and about November 1, 1918, was made top
sergeant of his company. He was stationed in France until August 1,
1919, when he returned to the United States, and was honorably
discharged at Hampton Roads, Virginia, on the 15th of August.
On September 15, 1920, Mr. Stewart was united in
marriage to Miss Helen Struble, a daughter of James and Elizabeth
Struble, of LeMars, Iowa. Mr. Stewart is an earnest member of the
McClintock Community Presbyterian church and one of its trustees.
In 1922 he was commander of Monahan Post of the American Legion,
serving for one term, and is now a member of the board of directors.
He is also a director of the Sioux City Chamber of Commerce, of
which he was president in 1925; a director of the local organization
of Boy Scouts; and vice president and a director of the Young Men's
Christian Association of Sioux City. He is a member of the Lions
and Country Clubs of Sioux City and also of Delta Chi, a college
fraternity. He is affiliated with the local lodge of Elks and is
also a Mason, belonging to Morningside Lodge, No. 615, F. & A. M.,
and Sioux City Consistory, No. 5, A. & A. S. R., and to the Knights
of Pythias.
Mr. Stewart is district chairman of the Republican
Service League of Iowa and a recognized leader in state politics.
He has exerted a strong influence in municipal campaigns in Sioux
City and aligned himself with the faction that obtained control of
the Woodbury county central committee in 1922. He was an active
worker in the Cummins campaign and an ardent supporter of the
Coolidge administration. On August 6, 1926, at the state republican
convention in Des Moines he was his party's nominee for the United
States senate to fill out the unexpired term of the late Senator
Albert Baird Cummins and his appointment by Governor Hammill quickly
followed. The appointment was unsolicited and in a short speech
following the announcement of his nomination, he expressed
gratification for the honor and told the delegates he felt a humble
successor to Senator Cummins, "the greatest statesman Iowa has ever
produced." He said he believed the republican party was the best
instrument for the promotion of American ideals and through it he
predicted success would crown a united effort for farm relief. In
November, 1926, Senator Stewart was the choice of the people for the
office he was then so ably filling. Possessing a magnetic
personality and a frank, genial nature, "Dave" Stewart has won the
strong and enduring regard of a host of friends and exemplifies the
finest type of American manhood and citizenship.