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Matthew A. Conant, D.D.S.
No
other profession makes quite the demands upon the practitioner that
dentistry does. A successful follower of this calling must possess not
only broad technical skill, but also considerable mechanical ingenuity
and ability and if he would win prosperity he must also have power to
finance his business interests, so that he will gather the merited
reward of his labor. Well qualified in all of these particulars Dr.
Conant is doing a successful business as a member of the dental
fraternity in Greene county, maintaining an office in Churdan. He is
one of the native sons of the county, his birth having occurred in
Bristol township on the 30th of August, 1875. His father, David Conant,
was born in Vermont, on the 6th of April, 1839, and was a
representative of an old New England family, his parents being James A.
and Louisa (Carter) Conant. In 1869 he came to Greene county, Iowa,
from Dane county, Wisconsin, and purchased one hundred and sixty acres
of land on section 16, Bristol township. Although it was then wild and
undeveloped he resolutely set to work to improve it and soon converted
it into a good farm, his labors being given to the cultivation of the
fields until fifteen years before his death, when he retired and lived
in Farlin, this county. It was prior to his removal to Iowa that he
offered his services to the government in defense of the Union,
enlisting as a member of Company G, First Wisconsin Cavalry under
Colonel Daniels, in September, 1861. He went to the front, saw active
service upon the battle-fields of the south and was honorably
discharged at Calhoun, Georgia, after which he returned to Dane county,
Wisconsin. There he resided until 1869, when he sought a home in Iowa,
his remaining days being passed as above stated. He wedded Miss Alice
M. Wilson, a daughter of William and Almira Wilson, residents of
Jefferson and now deceased. They became the parents of seven children,
three sons and four daugl1ters, namely: Charles A.; Almira L.; Samuel
E.; Matthew A.; Sarah May; Olive Myrtle, who died April 23, 1901; and
Kate B., who died September 3, 1904. The father passed away about five
years ago, his death occurring July 6, 1902.
It was upon the home farm in Bristol township that Dr. Conant was born
and reared. At the usual age he entered the public schools and therein
mastered the elementary branches of learning. During the period of
vacations he worked in the fields and rendered able assistance to his
father in this way. Later he became a student in the Capital City
Commercial College, and then, determining upon a professional career,
he made choice of the practice of dentistry as a life work. To this end
he entered the dental department of Drake University and was graduated
in the class of 1903. Opening an oflice in Churdan, he has since
remained in active practice here. He now has a well appointed office,
supplied with the latest improved instruments and appliances for the
successful practice of dentistry and he keeps in touch with the
advancement that is continually being made by the profession in the
care of the teeth. While he was in college he devoted all his spare
time to actual work in the office of his preceptor, the dean of the
college, and gained a practical knowledge far in excess of that of many
college bred men. His ability has been his best advertisement and has
gained for him a constantly increasing patronage.
On the 17th of June, 1903, in Jefferson. Dr. Conant was united in
marriage to Miss Inez Daisy Wright, a daughter of J. H. and Margaret
(McClurg) Wright, who came from Indiana to Iowa at an early day in the
development of Greene county and settled in Jackson township. Dr. and
Mrs. Conant now have one son, Harold Maxwell, born January 23, 1906.
The young couple are highly esteemed in the community and the
hospitality of the best homes is freely accorded them, their position
in social circles being a most enviable one. They are members of the
Church of Christ and Dr. Conant is a member of the Independent Order of
Odd Fellows. His political views accord with the principles of the
republican party and he is never neglectful of the duties of
citizenship or unmindful of co-operation which he owes in community
affairs, while at the same time he faithfully attends to the work of
his office.
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