Dr. Charles W. Sanders Dr. Charles Willard Sanders, actively engaged in the practice of medicine and surgery in Northwood, his skill and efficiency winning for him an extensive and well deserved patronage, is numbered among lowa's native sons, his birth having occurred at Vinton, March 28, 1860.
His father, John Sanders, was born at Natural Bridge, Virginia, and there spent the first thirteen years of his life, after which he left the Old Dominion and accompanied his father to Indianapolis, Indiana, where he continued his education that had been begun in the schools of his native state. In 1858 he went with his parents to Vinton, Iowa, where the family purchased a farm of four hundred and eighty acres. John Sanders then assisted his father in the development and cultivation of the fields until 1867. It was in Vinton, Iowa, that he married Sarah J. Kearns, and after carrying on agricultural pursuits for some time he sold his land and took up his abode in the city of Vinton, where he engaged in clerking in a general store for four years. He afterward established a restaurant and candy kitchen, and engaged in that business until his health failed, his death occurring in Vinton, Iowa, in 1915, when he had reached the advanced age of seventy-eight years. He had long survived his wife, who passed away in 1895. They were both consistent members of the Baptist church and Mr. Sanders also held membership in the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.
Dr. Sanders spent his youthful days in the family home at Vinton, and acquired his early education in the public schools there, while later he studied in Tilford Academyand in the State University at Iowa City. Having determined upon the practice of medicine as a life work, he pursued a partial course in the medical department of the State University, and afterward matriculated in Rush Medical College at Chicago, now the medical department of the Chicago University, from which he was graduated as a member of the class of I884. Having thus thoroughly qualified for onerous and responsible professional duties, he located for practice in Manly, Worth county, Iowa, where he followed his profession for twenty-six years. Seeking a still broader field, he then came to Northwood, where he has since been located, and throughout the intervening period he has enjoyed an excellent practice.In 1886 Dr. Sanders was united in marriage to Miss Hattie Brown, a daughter of William and Vesta (Whitcomb) Brown. She was a native of the state of New York, and died in 1892 at the age of thirty-two years. She had two children, Jennie, who was born in 1888, and Charles Clifford, who died in 1890. Dr. Sanders was again married, his second union being with Miss Bertha Blackmore, a daughter of A. C. and Augusta Blackmore, who were natives of New York state, born in Cattaraugus county. The birth of Mrs. Sanders occurred near Fertile, Worth county, October 20, 1867, and by her marriage she became the mother of two children: Leslie, born October 15, 1900; and Florence, whose birth occurred on March 30, 1905.
Dr. and Mrs. Sanders occupy an enviable position in social circles and the hospitality of their home is greatly enjoyed by their many friends. They are consistent members of the Baptist church and Dr. Sanders belongs also to various fraternal organizations. He has attained the thirty-second degree of the Scottish Rite in Masonry and is also a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Modern Woodmen of America. His political allegiance is given to the republican party, but he has never been an aspirant for office. Along strictly professional lines he is connected with the Iowa State and the American Medical Association, and thus keeps in touch with the trend of modern professional thought, and embodies the latest scientific principles in his practice.
Source: HISTORY OF MITCHELL AND WORTH COUNTIES, IOWA, VOL. II, 1918, page 308.
Transcribed by Gordon Felland - October, 2005 (picture added 11/21/06)