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.