C. W. Cowles,
chief bookkeeper for the firm of W. & J. Flemming,
manufacturers of all kinds of lumber, was born in the
city of Milwaukee, Wis., Feb. 14, 1844. His parents were
S. D. and Sarah (Ostrander) Cowles. The former was a
native of Connecticut, and died at Lansing, Ia., in
February, 1856. He was formerly a merchant of Milwaukee.
She was a native of New York, and died in September,
1862. They had a family of three children, two sons and
one daughter, viz.: James W., who enlisted in Company K,
Fifth Iowa Infantry Volunteers, was taken prisoner at
Iuka, and died in the Andersonville prison; Charles W.
and Sarah D., wife of John Flemming. Charles W. attended
the schools of Milwaukee, Wis., and Lansing, Ia., and
graduated from Sloan's Commercial College, of Chicago, in
March 1862. He went to Lansing, Ia., where he was chief
bookkeeper for a lumber firm one year, and was clerk on
the steamers "Milwaukee" and "Diamond
Joe," running between St. Paul, Minn., and Dubuque,
Ia., one year. He then began to work for W. & J.
Flemming, keeping a stock of lumber at Postville, Ossian,
Conover, Cresco and Le Roy, until 1868, when he was
appointed chief bookkeeper for the firm in their office
at North McGregor. Mr. Cowles was elected Mayor of South
McGregor in 1879, and re-elected in 1881. In politics he
is a Republican. He relates the following incident of Joe
Reynolds, better known as "Diamond Joe." While
Mr. Cowles was clerk on the "Diamond Joe"
steamer, an old gentleman from the East was traveling on
the river, looking at the country and interrogating
everyone. Diamond Joe was on the boat, but a stranger
would never guess he was the owner of the boat, as he
dressed very plainly, and was always working at
something. In this instance he was putting a hinge over a
state-room door; he had his box of tools beside him and
was hard at work when the old gentlman from the East came
along; he and Diamond Joe had a long talk about the
country, Mr. Reynolds giving the old gentlman all the
information he could of the country. The old fellow
remarked to others on the boat that the old lame
carpenter (meaning Diamond Joe, who was lame), gave him
more information than any of them, which caused
considerable merriment. source: History of Clayton
County, Iowa, 1882, p. 973 |