HALLECK J. MANTZ.
The record of the gentleman whose name introduces this article is replete with well-defined purposes which, carried to successful issue, in connection with the development of inherited talents, have won for him an influential place in the ranks of his profession and high personal standing among his fellow citizens. His life work has been one of unceasing industry and perseverance, and the systematic and honorable methods which he has ever followed have resulted, not only in gaining the confidence of those with whom he has had dealings, but also in the building up of a remunerative legal practice. Well grounded in the principles of jurisprudence, and, by instinct and habit, a constant reader and student, Mr. Mantz commands the respect of his professional colleagues, while his career as an attorney and public official has reflected honor upon himself and dignity upon the vocation to which he has devoted his efforts.
Halleck J. Mantz, attorney and mayor of Audubon, this county, was born on September 23, 1877, in Iowa county, Iowa, the son of Samuel L. and Harriett (Eddy) Mantz, natives of Pennsylvania and Ohio, respectively. Samuel L. Mantz was born in Pennsylvania in 1848, the son of Jonas Mantz, who is still living at the great age of ninety-four years, he having been born in 1821. The Mantz family is of colonial descent, a very old American family, the grandfather of Jonas Mantz having fought in the American War of Independence, a soldier under General Washington. His great-grandfather was a soldier in the French and Indian War.
Jonas Mantz and family migrated from the ancestral home in Pennsylvania to Iowa in the early fifties of the last century. Jonas and a partner tramped afoot across the state, from Rock Island to Kanesville, or Council Bluffs. After viewing the country around about he decided to settle in Keokuk county and removed his family to Iowa in 1859. For a great many years Jonas Mantz has been engaged in the live-stock business and his activities have ranged over the entire country. He specializes in fine-bred stallions and has been thus engaged since the late fifties.
Samuel Mantz made his home in Iowa county until 1881, in which year he came to Audubon county and bought a farm in Leroy township, on which he lived until 1902. He was the owner of a half section of land, which he sold upon his retirement in 1902 and moved to Audubon. To Samuel Mantz and wife were born eight children, namely: Everett, a farmer of Hobart, Oklahoma; Frank, a publisher at Manning, Iowa; Halleck J.; William a farmer of Belle Plaine, Canada; Clara, who married Frank Taylor, a farmer located near Guthrie Center; Theodore, a practicing attorney, located at Des Moines, Iowa; Mrs. Sadie Schmidt, of Leroy township, this county, and Albert, a railroad telegraph operator at Kimballton, Iowa. Halleck J. Mantz was reared on a farm and received his primary education in the district school, following which he completed the course in the Audubon high school. He then taught school for three years and in 1901 entered the law school of Drake University, graduating from this excellent institution in the spring of 1904, receiving the degree of Bachelor of Laws. After his admission to the bar, Mr. Mantz began the practice of law in Audubon and has achieved a gratifying success.
In August, 1910, Halleck J. Mantz was married to Dorothy Sandberg, which union has been without issue. Mr. Mantz is a Republican in politics and is prominent in the councils of his party. He was elected to the office of county attorney in 1907, and after serving for a term of two years he was re-elected in 1909, serving from January, 1908 to January, 1912, inclusive. His faithful discharge of the duties involved in this official position was such as to commend him favorably to the people of the county. He was appointed mayor of Audubon in July, 1913, and was elected to the office in the spring of 1914. Mayor Mantz is an aggressive and energetic public official, who is strongly in favor of municipal improvements, and is a constant and consistent "booster" and advocate for a greater and better Audubon. He is a member of the Presbyterian church and is fraternally connected with the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, having attained to the chapter in that order, and is a member of the Eastern Star lodge. He is also a member of the Modern Woodmen and the Ancient Order of United Workmen.
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Transcribed from History of Audubon County, Iowa Its People, Industries and Institutions With Biographical Sketches of Representative Citizens and Genealogical Records of Many of the Old Families, by H. F. Andrews, editor, Indianapolis: B. F. Bowen & Company, 1915, pp. 308-310.
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