For
Muscatine County Iowa
1911
| Biographies For Muscatine County Iowa 1911 | |
Source: History of Muscatine County Iowa, Volume II, Biographical, 1911, page 142
CHARLES B. VAIL. Charles B. Vail, president of the Vail Produce Commission Company, is which connection he is conducting a growing and prosperous business and at the same time is largely engaged in farming has an office at No. 205 West Point street and makes his home in Muscatine island. He was born in Orange county, New York, March 17, 1849, a son of Jonathan and Louisa (Chapman) Vail, who were also natives of the same county. In the Empire state the grandfather, Abram Vail, was born and reared. He came of English ancestry and made farming his life work. He married Miss Harriet Coleman and they spent their entire lives in New York, passing away there when more than sixty years of age. Their children were: Jonathan M., Margaret, Martha, Harriet, James, Nathan, Augusta, Cynthia and Abram. The maternal grandfather of Charles B. Vail was Dr. Hiram H. Chapman, who for many years was a practicing physician of Orange county, New York. He married a Miss Brush and their daughter, Louisa Chapman, was the only child of that marriage who lived to maturity. After losing his first wife Dr. Chapman married a Miss Simington, and their children were: Lydia, Julia, Augusta and William.Jonathan Vail, the father of Charles B. Vail, made farming his life work and was a resident of New York until 1854, after which he spent a year in Indiana. In 1855 he came to Muscatine and purchased a farm of two hundred and sixty acres in Bloomington township near Fruitland. His time and energies were thereafter given to the development and cultivation of that farm until 1887, when he passed away at the age of sixty-eight years. His wife survived him for about three years and died in 1890, at the age of seventy-three. They were earnest Christian people, loyal to the teachings of the Presbyterian church, in which they held membership. At one time Mr. Vail was a member of the State Militia of New York. Both he and his wife were held in high regard because their lives were ever honorable and upright. In their family were the following children: William C., who laid down his life on the altar of his country while serving as a soldier of the Civil war; Edna, now deceased; Charles B., of this review; James A., who is living in Fullerton, California; and J. Henry, of Muscatine.
Charles B. Vail was a little lad of six years when his parents removed with the family to Iowa and he was reared on the home farm on Muscatine island. His education was acquired in the public schools and he afterward engaged in teaching for two terms but decided to make his life work the occupation to which he had been reared. He has since continued to engage in farming although he has since extended his efforts into other fields of labor. He owns in Muscatine county about twelve hundred acres, so that he is one of the extensive land-holders in this part of the state. He also has lands in Canada, Kansas and elsewhere. For the past few years he has handled considerable stock and has also engaged in truck farming on an extensive scale. For a quarter of a century he has been a representative of the produce commission business and these various lines are all capably managed by him and are profitable sources of income. He is a man of keen discernment, systematic and methodical in all that he does and his close application to his business has made him one of the prosperous residents of the county. He has taken a very prominent part in demonstrating what can be done in raising produce and vegetables on the island, encouraging its development, and his labors have been substantially rewarded.
On the 14th of September, 1880, Mr. Vail was united in marriage to Miss Ella A. Garnes, a daughter of John W. and Sarah (Shammo) Garnes. The only child of that marriage died in infancy and Mrs. Vail passed away August 16, 1908, at the age of fifty-nine years. Her death was deeply regretted by all who knew her and especially in the Methodist Episcopal church, of which she was a faithful and devoted member. Her parents were early settlers of Muscatine county.
Mr. Vail is a member of the Presbyterian church. Politically he gives his support to the democratic party but he is not active in politics, preferring to concentrate his energies upon his business affairs. He is a man of resolute purpose, carrying forward to successful completion whatever he undertakes and his industry is evenly balanced by his commercial integrity. He had done much for the county in proving its productiveness, especially on the island. His success should serve to inspire and encourage others, for he started out comparatively empty-handed. He has lived in Muscatine county for more than a half century and is numbered among its best known and most highly esteemed early settlers.
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