LYON COUNTY GENEALOGY: The Compendium
"C" Biographies
CARROLL, WILLIAM M.
William M. Carroll, who has long been identified with the police system of Rock Rapids and Lyon county, as constable and marshal of the city, was born in Miami county, Ohio, in 1844. He was reared in his native community, where he remained until August 13, 1861, when he enlisted in the Thirty-fourth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, which was sent to Charleston, West Virginia, after a brief detention at Camp Dennison, where it was engaged in guarding railroad supplies under General Cox. On one occasion, Mr. Carroll with about one hundred and fifty men of his regiment were engaged in guard duty in an exposed position, and he was sent for reinforcements, but on the way fell into the hands of the rebels and was sent to Jeffersonville. From there he was ordered to Lynchburg, thence to Belle Isle. He spent five weeks on this march. The number of prisoners increased on the way until 3,000 arrived in that infamous prison house. Five weeks later when they were paroled only 900 were all that could be exhibited, 2,100 having perished from disease and starvation. Three acres of sandy land was the prison of 6,000 Union soldiers, and there exposed to the hot sun and storms, with no place to lie down or rest but on the sand, "hot enough to cook an egg," and for a ration three ounces of meat, and a quarter-loaf of bread. These provisions were issued only three times a week. The ground was infested with vermin, and the prisoners were all but devoured with body lice. The only thing they could do for any possible peace and comfort was to turn their clothing inside out in the morning, and pick off the lice, and then the next morning reverse the garments, and do the same thing. The men were so famished that even at the risk of a bayonet thrust, they would get behind the cook shanty, and dip their hat into the swill barrel, and then skip away and eat it. The extremes to which they were driven by hunger are almost impossible to narrate in print, yet they should be told that future generations may not only know at what cost the Union was preserved, but understand what a brutalizing thing was war in the Nineteenth century, when conducted for the perpetuity of human slavery and the dissolution of the greatest achievement ever made in the science of self government. The peas that were used in the making of soup would often pass whole. They would be carefully picked out, thoroughly washed, and again used for cooking.
Mr. Carroll stood these horrors very well until a couple of weeks before he was paroled, when he was taken with chronic diarrhoea and his weight ran down from one hundred and sixty-five pounds to less than a hundred. Here perished an unknown number of men. No account of their names or number was kept, and the rebel commander said he was killing more men for the Confederacy than an army in the field. There is little doubt that he spoke the truth. Every morning the wagons came, and the night's dead were huddled into rude ditches without ceremony or note of any kind. Mr. Carroll has always felt that taking the parole was the only thing that saved his life under these horrible conditions.
When the released prisoners were received by the Union forces the utmost care was used in feeding them, at first very little being given them, but often repeated. They were taken to Annapolis, where oysters could be given them, which seemed to greatly agree with all. Later they were sent to Columbus, Ohio, where they remained until exchanged.
Mr. Carroll here reenlisted in the Seventeenth Kentucky Cavalry, and veteranized in February, 1863. Much of his work was scout duty in Kentucky. He was at the battle of Chickamauga, where he was detailed to carry dispatches from one of our generals to another, his way being swept by shot and shell. He did his duty, and was mustered out September 20, 1865, having been in service since August, 1861. Returning from the war, Mr. Carroll went back to Ohio, and resumed the occupations of peaceful life.
In 1867 occurred the marriage of Mr. Carroll to Miss Maggie Lock. To this union was born one child, a girl, who lived to reach young womanhood, and then passed away. Her mother lived only eleven months after her marriage, and Mr. Carroll was again married. By this union he had four children: Charles H., who is at home; Susie, who married and has four children, Alice, Zelia, Carl and the baby; the other two children both died young.
Mr. Carroll is a strong Republican, and for twelve years was constable. He served as city marshal three terms, and once came near losing his life while quelling a riot among the tramps. He is a devoted member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and was a charter member of the local lodge. He is also a member of Palladium Lodge, No. 91, Knights of Pythias, where he has filled all the chairs and is entitled to a seat in the grand lodge. In the Modern Woodmen of America he is a conspicuous figure as he is in the Grand Army of the Republic, and the Order of the Daughters of Rebekah.
CARTER, JOHN W.
John W. Carter, who until very recently was the popular proprietor of the Carter Hotel, in George, without question the leading hostelry of the place, purchased it in 1888. The steady growth of its patronage under his capable handling, compelled him to build an addition, so that he had a twenty-five room hotel. His record as a hotel man was very creditable. He continued the management of the hotel until December, 1903, when he rented it and now lives retired.
Mr. Carter was born in the city of New York in 1850, and there remained until he was twenty-seven years old, working at the carpenter's trade.
Mr. Carter came to Iowa in 1876, and worked at his trade in Osceola for a time, and was then employed by Jesse Monk, Lyon county, for about a year. At the end of this time he bought eighty acres of land and went into the herding business to which he devoted the next five years. At the expiration of this period he sold his land, and coming to George, entered upon the carpenter trade, being the first regular carpenter to set up a business at that point. Many of the business houses and residences of the town were built by him, but when he bought the hotel he went out of building and contracting, and then gave his entire attention to the Hotel Carter. When he came to Lyon county there were only two other men in this section, and it was his close care and personal attention that gave his hotel the high reputation it maintained all through the years.
John W. Carter and Ella C. Kempt were united in marriage July 4, 1880. She was a daughter of William and Margaret (Thomas) Kempt. Her father was born in Ohio, and was a successful farmer. He came to Lyon county as one of the very early pioneers. His father, William Kempt, was a carpenter, and came of a German ancestry. The family has always been numbered among the pioneers in the settlement of every new state. The Thomas family is of English origin, though it has long been identified with the history of Ohio, and other eastern states. Mrs. Carter was ever the popular landlady until her death April 28, 1903. She is remembered for her many graces, virtues, and sweet womanly character. She was the mother of three children: Alva, who has very largely educated himself and holds a fine position in the telephone business; Winnie Estella; and Robert G., who is still in school. Mr. Carter belongs to the blue lodge, in the Masonic fraternity, being affiliated at Whitehall, New York. He is a Democrat, and has been school director and justice of the peace. Warren and Winnie Carter, the parents of John W., were both born in Ireland. They were successful farmer people, and the father lived to be over eighty-four years of age.
CHURCH, R.M.
R.M. Church, whose home is in Rock Rapids, Lyon County, is a veteran of the Civil War, and has many a moving tale of dangers and narrow escapes by field and flood, in that awful struggle. He was born in Michigan, September 11, 1846, and when about a year old his parents removed to McHenry County, Illinois, where his childhood and early youth were passed on a farm.
Mr. Church enlisted August 12, 1861, and was assigned to Mulligan's Battery. This command was ordered to Virginia, where it was almost constantly engaged in shelling the rebels, and participating in many heavy fights along the Potomac River and in the Shenandoah Valley, such as Winchester, Gettysburg, and many other more or less noted engagements. And in all these battles Mr. Church bore a full part. On one occasion only was he excused from duty, and that was caused by sickness. After the fall of Colonel Mulligan, the rebels at New Creek Virginia captured the battery. Mr. Church was the last man to leave the guns and run for a horse to escape, but the horse was already in rebel hands. Mr. Church turned to run across a flat piece of ground with the hope of getting into the Allegheny Mountains, and so escape. But he was surrounded and captured, his clothing taken from him, even to his boots, and he was obliged to assume the rebel rags in order to cover his nakedness. Boots he could not find, and for two days had to march in bare feet across that rough and frozen ground. His spirit did not break, and the third night his guard falling to sleep, he made his escape, and getting into the mountains followed the range until he found a horse all saddled and bridled. He secured the animal, and made his way into the Union lines. Almost immediately he was given an important dispatch for General Kelly, with instructions to push to the top of his speed, and if the horse gave out, take another at all hazards. His horse did give out, and taking his saddle and bridle he walked along until he secured another in a pasture. He was quickly on his way. However, he met some men, and one of them demanded the horse as his, and threatened to kill him if he did not at once give it up. This was just what Mr. Church did not intend to do, and jabbing both his heels into the side of his horse gave him his head. The lunge of the horse broke the hold of the man, and Mr. Church was soon out of the range of their bullets. He reached General Kelly without farther mishaps, and when the General had learned the occasion of his ragged appearance, he gave an order for a new outfit throughout, and sent him to a hotel where he had the feast of his life, everything being so delightful after months of camp rations, and several days without a mouthful of food. After some days at the hotel Mr. Church reported to Lieutenant Brown at Harper's Ferry, where he did provost duty until his discharge from the service April 10, 1865. For three years to a day he was in actual service.
Mr. Church came home and secured a position as bridge repairer on the Detroit and Milwaukee Railroad, and later became a conductor on the C. & W. M. Railroad, where he had a train for many years. When he left the C. & W.M. Railroad he went to South Dakota, where he became county judge, a position he held for four terms. The division of the state into north and south threw him out of office. At this he came to Rock Rapids, and has devoted much attention to land deals and speculation. This was in 1891, and since coming here he has conducted in turn the Rock Rapids House and the Lyon House.
Mr. Church was married January 31, 1870 to Julia A. Roberts. He is a Mason, and belongs to the Blue Lodge and the Chapter. He is also a member of the order of Knights of Pythias, and Grand Army of the Republic. With his wife he belongs to the Eastern Star, and in politics is a strong Republican.
CLINE, J.B.
J. B. Cline, an enterprising and industrious farmer and resident of Lyon county, whose post office address is Rock Rapids, has had a varied and eventful history. He was born at Machias, Cattaraugus county, New York, January 19, 1862, and remained there until 1867, when he was brought by his parents into Iowa, a home being sought in the west on account of his health. They pitched their tent at Strawberry Point, Clayton county, where they remained until 1870. There young J.B. started to school, and when his parents removed to a farm six miles east of the village he attended district school until 1874. That year his parents removed to Edgewood, Iowa, where he learned the shoemaking and harness trades, under the supervision of his step-father, who had the postoffice and these two trades established under one roof. In 1881 that gentleman sold out his business and located anew in Oelwein, Iowa. J.B. Cline remained with him some four months after this change of residence, and then went to Ida county, Iowa where he spent a year in farming. In March 1883, he went to Sac county, Iowa, where he spent the ensuing year in the same occupation.
His next enterprise was to drive through to Lyon county, where he continued his agricultural life until 1886, mostly being employed by other farmers. That year he began farming on his own account, renting for this purpose what was known as the D.R. Tucker farm in Midland township. There he remained a year. From 1887 until 1894 he was a renter, though in July, 1893, he had bought the northwest quarter of section 5, Liberal township, but having received a good offer for it he sold it the same year. The year following this he bought the southwest quarter of section 17, Riverside township, where he engaged in the cultivation of the soil, and remained until March 17, 1897. Then he leased his place, and forming a partnership with C.H. Puckett, went to South Dakota, where the two engaged in raising cattle. In 1900 he sold out to Mr. Puckett, but managed the ranch for a year following his sale. His next step was to come back to Lyon county to resume the operation of his own, and here he is found at the present writing.
Mr. Cline was married at Cherokee, Iowa, to Miss Jennie Combs, a daughter of Newel E. and Elizabeth (Hampshire) Combs. The father of Mrs. Cline was born near Cleveland, Ohio, and served with distinction in the Union army, being a member of a Wisconsin regiment. He enlisted at the age of twenty-five years, was wounded and taken prisoner, being kept in Libby prison. He was in mature life a carpenter, and is still living in Friendville, Kansas. Elizabeth Hampshire, noted above as the mother of Mrs. Cline, was born near Warsaw, Illinois. The family is of English blood. Mrs. Cline's grandmother, on the side of her mother, was born in England, and died near Monroe, Wisconsin. Her husband was a teacher and a native-born American. He passed away near Monroe, Wisconsin. Mrs. Cline was a capable teacher before her marriage, and was a teacher in Clay county and also in Cherokee county, where she taught a year in each county. She taught a number of years in Lyon county.
George W. Cline, the father of J.B., was born in Washington county, New York, May 5, 1828. He died at Strawberry Point, Iowa, September 18, 1866. His wife, the mother of J.B. Cline, was Nancy E. Boyce. She was born in 1832 in Cattaraugus county, New York. She married Mr. Cline January 1, 1855, and Nelson Fenner, June 16, 1867. John A. Cline, the grandfather of J.B., was born February 3, 1793, in Washington county, New York, where he died July 29, 1861. His wife, Catherine Wyant, was born in Essex county, New York, and died in her native state. The maternal grandfather of J.B. Cline was James T. Boyce, who was born in 1795 in Worcester, Massachusetts, was a lifelong farmer, and died in Franklinville, New York,January 12, 1864. The maternal grandmother of Mr. Cline was Elizabeth Bloodgood, who was born in New Jersey, November 3, 1798. The following year her parents took her to Herkimer county, New York, where she died in Ellicottville, in 1887. She was a daughter of Gage and Nancy Bloodgood, and her father was a veteran in the Revolutionary war.
Mr. Cline is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, No. 480, of Rock Rapids, and with his family is associated with the Methodist church.
COLLENBAUGH, JOHN
John Collenbaugh, who enjoys distinction as the proprietor of the only livery barn in Doon, has an establishment thoroughly well equipped and ready to meet the demands of trade. One hundred horses may be cared for at one time in his barn, and for the purposes of his own trade he requires from fifteen to twenty horses constantly in service with an adequate supply of buggies, wagons and other goods. He runs the 'bus for the Bonnie Doon Hotel, and has been in the livery business in this country since 180. For a time he was located in Rock Rapids, where he was deputy sheriff for two terms.
Mr. Collenbaugh was born in Green County, Indiana, January 30, 1861, where the first sixteen years of his life were spent on a farm. During the winter season he attended district school as he could. This was all the education he received except what he has since acquired in the school of the world. When he was sixteen he went to Clinton County, Iowa, where he spent a year, thence to Sac County. He was an adept at horse trading, and his interest in horse flesh led him into the livery business, an occupation to which he has steadily adhered, and in which he has been very successful.
The parents of Mr. Collenbaugh were C.C. and Rossanna (Maxwell) Collenbaugh. The father was born in Germany, and came to America when he was only eight years old. He was a farmer. Rossanna Maxwell was born in Ohio, and came of Scotch antecedents.
John Collenbaugh was married in 1887 to Miss Eliza, daughter of Walter and Virginia (Wilson) Spurrel. The father was of English descent, and the mother of Scotch parentage. To this union were born five children; Mabel, Ethel, Fred, Paul and Charles, who died at the age of nine months. The family belong to the Methodist Episcopal Church, and he is a member of the Yeoman lodge of Rock Rapids.
COLLMANN, O.C.
O.C. Collmann, the popular and capable cashier of the Farmers' Savings Bank, is one of the men of whom the people of George are justifiably proud. He has done much to help business in this section of Lyon county, and while he is keen-eyed for investment, he is kindly-hearted, and always glad to help any worthy person or cause to a better footing.
The Farmers' Savings Bank is the oldest bank in George, and was established in May, 1889. It is incorporated under the state law as a savings bank, and has a capital and surplus amounting to over $18,000. The bank building is a fine structure, two stories in height and is located on one of the best corners in the town. It has a fire-proof vault, and one of the best time locks made. That the bank is on a safe basis is shown by its last report of $100,000 deposits, and $100,000 loans. Its president, C.O. Collmann, is at the head of the German Insurance Company, at Freeport, Illinois, where he is also president of a bank, and where he has large property interests. William M. Smith is vice-president, but the active management of the bank falls on Cashier Collmann, a promising young financier, and a young man of unusual ability, who has made a splendid record in the commercial world. This bank was first organized in 1889, though it had been running as a private bank since 1887.
O.C. Collmann was born in Freeport, Illinois, in 1868, and received his education in the high school of that city. After graduating from the city schools he took a course in a local commercial college, and in 1889
entered upon the banking career as a bookkeeper in a bank in Sheldon, Iowa. He was called to George, to take the position of cashier of the
Farmers' Savings Bank, February 2, 1901, and as already noted has had charge of the affairs of the institution since that time.
Mr. Collmann was married in February, 1894, to Miss Phoebe J., daughter of Simon Randall, a successful farmer. To this union have come three children: Edith R., Claus O., and Bernice I., all of whom are at home. He is a charter member of the local lodge of the Knights of Pythias, of which lodge he has been elected to fill the various official chairs. He is a charter member also of the local camp of the Modern Woodmen of America, where he has also filled all the chairs. Our subject is also a member of the I.O.O.F., of George, and Modern Brotherhood, No. 217, of George.
COOK, HARMON
Harmon Cook was born near Plainfield, Indiana, in 1841. His parents were Robert and Dianah. She was a Cox and her father was from North Carolina, and when a young man went to Richmond, Indiana, and entered the land for a farm where the city now stands. The Coxes trace their family history back to Pennsylvania in 1745. Robert Cook was born in 1818 and died in 1852. Robert was a son of John, born in 1796. John was a son of Joseph, born in 1762. Joseph was a son of Isaac, born in 1743. Isaac, son of John, born in 1721. John, son of John, born in 1696. John, son of Peter, born in 1674, at Tarvin, Cheshire, England.
The Cooks were mostly farmers and Robert Cook lost his life feeding cattle in the winter season, taking a severe cold which quickly became consumption. Harmon, being the oldest child, after his father's death was early thrown out in life to help make a living for his mother and three brothers. Some years later his mother married Joshua Newlin, and they became the first settlers of Dale township, Lyon county. She is still living with John R., his next brother, and they are near Lake Charles, Louisiana. When a young man Harmon moved from Indiana with his mother and family to Dallas county, Iowa. This was in 1857, and this was then a new country. Here on a farm he made his start in life. He went to school in winter three months, then worked nine months at hard labor. He was a great reader of papers and books. In 1859 he helped organize a literary society at the meetings of which (held monthly) were held debates with other exercises. He was the secretary of this for years.
As a boy in Indiana he wanted to be a printer, but poverty kept him from learning the trade. Finally he went to Indianapolis to see about becoming a printer, and met Petroleum V. Nasby, who afterwards came into fame. Before he was nineteen years old he had sent to Boston and secured a printing press and outfit and so learned the art of typesetting. At the breaking out of the war there was a little paper published at Adel, Iowa, and the editor, typos and all enlisted and went to the front and Harmon went there and became editor and publisher. In later years he was connected with many other papers in Iowa, among them the Review of Rock Rapids.
He was married in 1861, to Lucinda Mills, of Dallas county, Iowa. She was a daughter of Cyrus Mills, who was one of the pioneers of Dallas county. Their children were: Rosa Ellen, Levi Robert, Dora Ann, Minnie S., Viola D., Cyrus, Earnest and Ida Louisa. Dora Ann married and died in Lyon county, and with her babe and sister, Ida, is sleeping in the cemetery at Dale, on Harmon's old homestead.
Mrs. Cook died in Leesburg, Florida, in 1882. In 1882 Mr. Cook was married to Anna Hale and in a few years they were divorced for scriptural reasons. In 1895 he was married at Liscombe, Iowa, to Abbie H. Elmore. They were old sweethearts of the days of "Ault Lang Syne" in 1860, but were separated, both married and reared families. They lost sight of each other, and met by accident, both alone, and reunited old vows. Harmon enlisted as a private in Company C, Forty-sixth Iowa Infantry, and was in Tennessee and along the Mississippi river, doing guard duty during the Civil war.
His ancestors have been for many generations members of Friends church and this has been his choice of all the denominations. At the close of the war he became a member of the Independent Order of Good Templars and has always been a member. He served one year as grand chaplain of Iowa Grand Lodge. Since living in California he has been a faithful attendant and served three years on the auditing committee of California Grand Lodge.
In his boyhood days he was introduced into the mysteries of the "underground railroad" and helped many a colored man and woman on their way from slavery to freedom. Many a dark night has he helped carry loads of colored people over the prairies of Iowa. His father was an agent for the road and one of the earliest memories the boy had was of feeding the hidden refugees out in the thick woods in Indiana. Before Harmon was old enough to vote he was a Republican and was out making speeches for his favorites. After the war he became quite a politician and was always a delegate to congressional and state conventions. On more than one occasion has he been secretary of Iowa state conventions. When Geo. C. Haddock was killed, his eyes were opened as never before to the wickedness of the drink habit, and so he became a Prohibitionist and has been ever since.
In Iowa he was placed on the state central committee and began planning to get votes. The next year he was state secretary and then state chairman of the party. After serving two terms he was made state organizer and traveled all over the state speaking and working in every county of the state. Afterward he spent two years in the work in South Dakota. Soon after coming to California he was made secretary of Los Angeles county Prohibition committee, then county chairman for four years, and he has seen his county become one of the banner counties of the United States for the Prohibition vote.
He now resides in Pasadena, California, and is connected with the street department of that city.
In 1884, at Oscaloosa, Iowa, he, as a traveling man, was getting on a freight train in motion, and was thrown under the wheels and lost a leg. For an active, busy life, this was a sad blow. He was taken up for dead and the coroner summoned to hold an inquest. After being left covered up for four hours, when the came to examine him, signs of life were discovered and he was finally restored to consciousness. He used crutches a year, then secured a wooden leg, and now carries a cane and gets around as well as can be expected. Having been a soldier, he gets a $12 a month pension.
Being crippled, he has been debarred from much labor he could have done if he had two feet, as other men.
He has always been quite a scrap-book fiend, and has some very valuable books for future reference.
He has his credentials as clerk of the court of Lyon county, signed in red wafer and stamped with the seal of Lyon court, with Thomas Thorson as auditor. He has a scrap-book history of the Anniversary day of 1875, when Rock Rapids celebrated the 100 years of history. Many who took part that day are dead and gone. He has an old faded parchment signed by Abraham Lincoln as thanks for services as a soldier. He has many an old newspaper that is yellow with age and very valuable. After he was crippled he took up stamp collecting and has a fine collection, running into thousands.
Today, in this sun-kissed land, in view of the lofty mountains, where the orange and lemon grow and flowers bloom every day of the year, he is passing his days very happy and contented. All these years he has been a member of the Grand Army of the Republic and has filled all places of honor. Many of the friends of other days seek him out when on this coast and all are given a cordial welcome.
COX, MATTHEW A.
Matthew A. Cox, the present able and trustworthy cashier of the Lyon County National Bank, the oldest financial institution of Lyon county, and one of the soundest and most reliable banking establishments of the northwest, was born in Clayton county, Iowa, March 19, 1862. He received a common school education. His parents Charles and Elizabeth Cox, were English born and bred, and came to this country in 1855, where the husband and father followed the trade of a shoemaker. He enlisted in 1863, being a member of an Iowa regiment. He was killed at the battle of Little Rock, where both legs were shot off.
Matthew A. Cox came to Lyon county when he was about twenty years of age, and was employed in the bank until 1887, when he became cashier, and from the start he has held the entire confidence of the community as well as the bank officials.
In 1901, in company with three of his associates he made an extended visit to the old world, in the course of which he was in his father's old home. They spent some two weeks in Ireland and went from there to Scotland and thence to London, where they saw the celebrated Tower and St. Paul's Cathedral, and thence on to Paris, and other points in France, which were of historic interest.
Mr. Cox was united in marriage in 1891 to Miss Catherine, a daughter of the Rev. G.R. Manning, a clergyman of the Methodist Episcopal church. On account of failing health Mr. Manning is not now in the active work of the ministry, having been retired some four years. To this union have come two children, Frances and Katherine.
Mr. Cox is a Mason of high degree, and belongs to the blue lodge, the chapter, commandery and the Mystic Shrine. He is much interested in the fraternity, and is an active worker in its behalf. He is also a member of the order of the Knights of Pythias. Politically he is a Republican and has been an alderman of Rock Rapids. At one time he was run by his party for the mayor's office, but as he would not work for the position, he lost the election by eighteen votes. For eight years he has been on the board of education, and is still serving the city in that capacity.
CREGLOW, CHARLES
Charles Creglow is a citizen of the village of Doon, Lyon county, and a member of the noted firm of Kennedy & Creglow, dealers in agricultural implements.
Mr. Creglow was born in Clayton county, Iowa, in 1861, and while still a small child, only two years old, his parents removed to Buchanan county, thence to Fayette county, and in 1875 made their first settlement in Lyon county, locating at Rock Rapids, where young Charles finished his schooling in 1880. That year he entered the office of the Rock Rapids Review, and learned the art of the typesetter. in 1883, in company with A.H. Davison he bought the paper, changed its politics to the side of Democracy, and helped organize the party in the county, which as yet had not been fairly done. The paper has since been maintained as a Democratic publication, and has done much for the success of the principles it has championed in Lyon county. In 1884 Mr. Creglow bought out Mr. Davison and edited the paper for a year by himself, when he sold it to accept the position of deputy county treasurer. He served the people of the county four years in this capacity.
Mr. Creglow came to the rising village of Doon in 1889 in company with Miller & Thompson, and organized the Doon Savings Bank, with a cash capital of $10,000, he himself being the cashier, and practically in entire charge of the enterprise, as the gentlemen associated with him had other business elsewhere and could give but little time to the enterprise at Doon.
In the year 1902 Mr. Creglow retired from the bank, which had greatly prospered under his management, to devote himself to the care of a stock farm of four hundred and seven acres, which he had bought and put in shape for large operations. He is now turning off about $5,000 worth of cattle a year, besides large numbers of hogs. In real estate and insurance he has a fine and increasing patronage. In political matters he is a Democrat, though he takes a strongly independent position and insists on the right of doing his own thinking. Religiously he is a member of the Congregational church, and in 1880 was a charter member of Palladium Lodge, No. 91, K.P., in which he has held all the official chairs, and was a representative in the grand lodge at Cedar Rapids in 1887. His name also appears on the charter of the Doon Lodge of the Independent Order of Odd Fellow. No. 517, in which he has also passed all the chairs, and is entitled to attend grand lodge as representative of the local order. For one term he was district deputy of Lyon county.
Mr. Creglow was married December 29, 1892, to Miss Minnie, daughter of the Rev. M. M. Bechtell, who was of pioneer stock, and came of an ancestry that ran back to Holland and Germany. He was educated for the Lutheran ministry, and ably met the requirements of that sacred office. Elizabeth Kneff, his wife and the mother of Mrs. Creglow, was a descendant of an English ancestry. Mr. and Mrs. Creglow have one child, Ruth, a bright and winsome little maiden of some seven years of age.
Andrew Creglow, the father of Charles, was a successful farmer, and has devoted all his active years to the cultivation of the soil. He is still living, and has attained the venerable age of eighty-five years. His wife, Catherine (Stealy) the mother of Charles Creglow, was a daughter of Taylor Stealy, and was born near Gettysburg. Her people were of the old Holland blood and breeding.
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