1915 Index

Iowa: Its History and Its Foremost Citizens
Original Edition.  3 Vols.  Des Moines, IA: The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, 1915-1916.

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Unless otherwise noted, biographies submitted by Dick Barton.

ANTHONY MILROY McCOLL

Iowa has been signally favored in the class of men who have occupied her public positions, for on the whole they have been guided by high principles which have their root in patriotic devotion to the welfare of the commonwealth. Among those now occupying public office in Iowa is Anthony Milroy McColl, member of the board of control. He was born in Caledonia , New York , in 1858, a son of Hugh D. and Jean ( Wooster ) McColl, both of whom were natives of New York . In 1877 they removed westward to Iowa , settling in Dallas county, where the father followed the occupation of farming. Both he and his wife were of Scotch descent and have now passed away, the former dying in 1887, while the latter survived for twenty years, departing this life in 1907.

Anthony M. McColl acquired his education in the schools of his native town and was a young man of about nineteen years when he accompanied his parents to Iowa . He had been reared to the occupation of farming and followed that pursuit until about 1897, when he was elected clerk of the district court of Dallas county. He made so excellent a record during his first term that he was re-elected and at the close of his second term retired from office as he had entered it - with the confidence and goodwill of all concerned. He then turned his attention to the lumber and grain business at Woodward , Iowa . Mr. McColl has always been active in politics since age conferred upon him the right of franchise and he became an advocate of republican principles. He was elected to represent the seventeenth district in the senate of the general assembly, serving through the thirty-fourth session as the successor of George Cosson, who resigned to become attorney general. At the close of that term he was reelected senator to the thirty-fifth general assembly and on the 1st of July, 1913 , he was appointed a member of the board of control by Governor Clarke.

On the 27th of October, 1905 , Mr. McColl was united in marriage to Miss Bess C. Craft, by whom he has one child, Jean Milroy. The family attend the Presbyterian church and Mr. McColl holds membership with the Knights of Pythias and with the Masons, having attained the Knights Templar degree in the commandery. There have been no spectacular phases in his life, which has been devoted with persistency to his business affairs and to the faithful discharge of his official duties. He has a wide acquaintance and the sterling traits of his character are best indicated in the fact that his warmest friends are those who have known him longest.

W. D. McEWEN, who was for many years in public office in Pocahontas county and whose record was highly creditable to his ability and his integrity, was born in Chateauguay county, Quebec , Canada , on the 9th of July, 1838, a son of William and Margaret McEwen, natives of Scotland , who in 1820 emigrated to the province of Quebec , Canada . He attended the public schools until he was fourteen years of age and then for three years spent his time in learning the carpenter's trade. He specialized in bridge building and in 1857, when nineteen years of age, came to the States and made his way to Fort Dodge , where he was employed in building bridges until the spring of 1858, when he walked from that place to the home of Robert Struthers, his brother-in-law, in Des Moines township, Pocahontas county. He intended to enter there, but, finding that another had taken up the claim which he had in mind, he returned to Fort Dodge , where he remained until 1859. In that year he returned to Canada and entered Huntingdon Academy in the province of Quebec , where he completed his education, remaining in that institution until the demise of his father, who appointed him executor of the estate.

As soon as he had settled up the affairs of the estate W. D. McEwen returned to the United States with the five thousand dollars which he had inherited and in the spring of 1865 he located permanently in Old Rolfe, then the county seat of Pocahontas county. His brother-in-law, Robert Struthers, was county recorder but, as his time was needed to look after his farm, he appointed Mr. McEwen deputy and turned the work of the office over to him. Since the county was still but sparsely settled, there was not much to be done in the recorder's office and the salary was correspondingly small. Mr. McEwen worked at his trade during the day and in the evenings entered the records, frequently doing the work of a whole week in the recorder's office on Saturday night. He was very industrious and energetic and often walked eight miles, carrying his tools on his shoulder, in order to secure work at his trade. In 1866 he was appointed superintendent of the public schools of Pocahontas county and held that office for two years, after which he was for six years clerk of the district court, and in 1869 he also held the office of county judge, being the last incumbent thereof. For three years he was clerk of the board of supervisors and from 1870 to 1873 was county auditor, being the first man to fill that office, which was created when the office of county judge was abolished. From 1874 to 1884 and from 1884 to 1887 he was county treasurer and during the many years that he was in public office he discharged his duties efficiently and conscientiously. When he became auditor he found that the county was twenty thousand dollars in debt and, as he had always believed in the principle of "pay as you go," he at once began to take measures to diminish the indebtedness, to protect the credit of the county and to maintain its warrants at par value. Before the close of his public career he had the satisfaction of seeing the county free from debt and had the pleasure of knowing that such a state of affairs was largely due to his work. On the 12th of January, 1884 , when his final accounts covering ten years' service as county treasurer were audited and approved by the board of supervisors, that body passed a resolution expressing their sincere thanks to him for the efficient manner in which he had discharged his duties and presented him with the gold pen which he had used, as a memento.

Mr. McEwen published a pamphlet describing conditions in Pocahontas county and giving an account of its history, and in 1869 he published the first newspaper in the county, which was known as the Pocahontas Journal. In 1875 he published a map of the county. During his later years he was a prominent banker and a leader in local financial circles. He was one of the representative men of his county and in 1876 represented Pocahontas county at the Centennial Exposition at Philadelphia .

On the 18th of November, 1885 , Mr. McEwen married Miss Jennie Matson, a resident of Des Moines township, Pocahontas county, and a daughter of William and Mary (Baxter) Matson, who in 1867 located at Old Rolfe. While teaching in Old Rolfe his future wife was one of Mr. McEwen's pupils. To their union was born a son, W. D., Jr., whose death occurred July 6, 1913 .

Mr. McEwen was very prominent in Masonic circle and was a member of the lodge, chapter, commandery, consistory and mystic Shrine. He was also identified with the Odd Fellows and the Knights of Pythias. He gave his political allegiance to the republican party and his advice was often sought in local party councils. Not many men are in office as long as he and fewer still make a record so highly creditable in every respect, as there was never any question either as to his ability or his honesty. He was one of the most widely known men in Pocahontas county and was esteemed as a pioneer settler and as a man of sterling worth. His demise occurred December 24, 1908 .

W. S. McEWEN, who is president of the State Savings Bank of Rolfe and who is also a member of the firm of McEwen Brothers, dealers in real estate, was born at Chateauguay county, Quebec , Canada , on the 4th of March, 1864, a son of Archibald and Sarah ( Cairns ) McEwen, the former of whom passed away in Canada , while the latter survives.

W. S. McEwen was educated in the public schools of his native land and after putting aside his textbooks assisted his father in the work of the home farm. In early manhood he made several trips to the western part of the United States and in 1888 located in Rolfe, Pocahontas county, Iowa , becoming connected with the State Savings Bank, of which his uncle, W. D. McEwen, Sr., was president. Following his demise W. D. McEwen, Jr., became the executive head of the institution and so continued until July 6, 1913 , when he, too, was called to his reward. Since that time our subject has been president of the bank and under his management it has retained its prestige and its business has enjoyed a steady growth. In 1891, in association with his uncle, W. D. McEwen, Sr., and A. O. Garlock, Mr. McEwen of this review organized the Bank of Plover and in 1899, together with his uncle, he acquired an interest in the Pocahontas Savings Bank, and May 27, 1902 , organized the First National Bank of Pocahontas, which absorbed the Pocahontas Savings Bank. Mr. McEwen has disposed of most of his other interests and gives practically his entire attention to his work as president of the State Savings Bank, which is one of the leading financial institutions of Pocahontas county. He has that sound judgment and discrimination which are so essential to a successful banker and is also characterized by initiative and progresssiveness, qualities which are of the greatest value in the business world. He is also a member of the real-estate firm of McEwen Brothers, which does a large business along that line.

Mr. McEwen is a democrat and is at present serving on the city council. His religious faith is indicated by his attendance at the Presbyterian church, to the support of which he contributes generously. He has taken high rank in the Masonic order, belonging to the commandery, consistory and Shrine, and he also holds membership in the Odd Fellows and in the Knights of Pythias and the Elks. He has held many of the chairs in the Masonic bodies to which he belongs and in the Odd Fellows and Knights of Pythias lodges, and is very popular in those organizations. He is one of the leading citizens of Pocahontas county and his ability and admirable qualities of character have gained him the respect and confidence of all who know him.

William Martin McKercher is a well known figure in insurance circles in Sioux City and northwestern Iowa, being general agent for the Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company of Milwaukee over a territory covering twenty counties. He first took up his abode in Sioux City in February, 1873, when a youth of eighteen years. His birth occurred in Flint, Michigan, January 7, 1855, his parents being Daniel and Margaret (McBean) McKercher, the former a native of New York and the latter of Scotland. The father passed away in 1890, and the mother died in 1858.

The youthful days of William M. McKercher were spent in New York and in Michigan and in both states he attended the public schools. Arriving in Sioux City in February, 1873, he secured a clerkship in a grocery store and drove a delivery wagon, working from five o'clock in the morning until eleven o'clock at night. HE was thus engaged for three and a half years, at the end of which time he became a clerk in a hardware store in Sioux City. A year later he went upon the road for the firm, which he represented as a traveling salesman for two and a half years. He was afterward upon the road for Brintnall, Lamb & Company, wholesale hardware dealers of Chicago, with whom he was connected for a year and a half, returning then to Sioux City, where he again engaged in clerking in a hardware establishment for a year. The succeeding six and a half years were spent as a traveling salesman in the employ of a wholesale house of Philadelphia and in 1888 he entered the insurance field as representative of the Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company of Milwaukee, acting as special agent for two years. He was then promoted to district agent and after thirteen years spent in that position he was advanced to general agent on the 1st of September, 1903, his territory embracing twenty counties in northwestern Iowa. He is today one of the well known insurance men of his section of the state, evidence of his ability being found in his promotions, which have brought to him added responsibilities as well as increased income.

On the 9th of November, 1876, in Sioux City, was celebrated the marriage of Mr. McKercher and Miss Mary Eva Wilson, a daughter of Thomas Stewart Wilson. Their children are Charles Hoskins, Donald E. and Frances Margaret. The parents hold membership in the Baptist church and take a most active and helpful part in its work. Mr. McKercher is serving as a trustee of the church and is vice president of the Young Men's Christian Association of Sioux City. Military experience came to him in five years' service in Company H of the Third Regiment, Iowa National Guard, and five years as regimental quartermaster for the old Fourth Regiment, I. N. G., now known as the Fifty-sixth Regiment. His political allegiance is given the republican party, his fraternal relations are with the Masons as a representative of both the York and Scottish Rites and the Mystic Shrine and along more strictly social lines he is connected with the Country Club. He is likewise identified with the Commercial Club. He is active along various lines which touch the general interests of society, cooperating in various movements that tend to promote the material, political, social and moral progress of the community.

Hon. Alfred Henry McVey

The life record of Alfred Henry McVey of Des Moines is one which adds luster to the judicial history of Iowa.  He has inscribed his name, high on the keystone of the legal arch and has long been distinguished as one of the eminent representatives of the legal profession in this state.  He was born in Fayette county, Ohio, and is a representative of one of the families first established on American soil.  All of the McVeys in the United States are descended from a common Scotch ancestry, the name being spelled by different families in several ways, McVey, McVay, McVeigh, MacVey, MacVeigh, the original spelling being MacVeagh.  The American branch originally emigrated from Scotland to the north of Ireland and thence to America.  The ancestors of Judge McVey are among the first representatives of the great Scotch-Irish emigration to the new world, which later furnished so many distinguished statesmen, jurists, clergymen and warriors to the public service.  The McVey family was first represented in America in 1656.  In later generations branches of the family became established in Virginia and Pennsylvania, and leaving Washington county of the latter state, James McVey, grandfather of Judge McVey, removed to southern Ohio in the year 1809, accompanied by his son, who became the father of the Judge.  In the maternal line the latter is descended from an old English family established in new Jersey about the middle of the seventeenth century.  His grandfather, Marmaduke Eastlack, removed from New Jersey more than a century ago to southern Ohio and had passed the age of ninety years ere death called him.  Representatives of both the McVey and Eastlack families were property holders of Ohio and people of prominence in the communities in which they lived.

Judge McVey attended the common schools of his native state and pursued a preparatory course in the Southwestern Normal School at Lebanon, Ohio, but before completing his studies in the latter institution responded to the call to arms, although but a boy in years.  Donning the blue uniform, he joined the Seventy-ninth Ohio Volunteer Infantry and did active duty at the front.  When the war was over he became a student in the Ohio Wesleyan University at Delaware and was there graduated with high honors.  Such was his standing that he was immediately selected to become a teacher in that institution, but after a brief period he resigned the position to take up the study of law in Cincinnati College, the oldest law school west of the Alleghenies and numbering among its alumni some of the most distinguished lawyers and jurists of the country, including William Howard Taft.  Following his graduation from Cincinnati College Judge McVey located for practice in Wilmington, Ohio, and almost immediately was accorded a liberal clientage.  He afterward sought a broader field in the city of Toledo and there, in addition to local practice, devoted much attention to business in the United states courts and for several years was general counsel for the Toledo, Cincinnati & St. Louis Railroad Company, now the Clover Leaf Route.

However, he heard and heeded the call of the west and in 1882 arrived in Des Moines, where he has since remained.  there is something in the spirit of the middle west which found a complement in his ambition and his desire for growing opportunities.  He began practice and the court records bear testimony to the fact that he has been connected with many of the most important cases tried in the courts of the capital.  His practice has also frequently called him to adjoining states, and few lawyers have tried more cases in the supreme court of Iowa, many of these involving serious questions of law as well as large pecuniary interests.  His ability led to his selection for judicial honors and he was called to the bench of the ninth judicial district, on which he served for five years.  He is widely recognized as a man of high legal attainments, of broad scholarship and of uniform courtesy, and the profession as well as the general public accords him high honor as a representative of the bar.  Following his retirement from the bench he resumed the practice of law, in which he still continues.

In January, 1869, judge McVey was united in marriage to Miss Anna Holmes, a lady of education, rare force of character and lovable disposition.  The branch of the Holmes family from which she is descended is among the very oldest families in America.  She is the daughter of Rev. William Holmes and a direct descendant of Rev. Obadiah Holmes, who came from England in 1639 and settled at Salem, Massachusetts.  He was, with Roger Williams, the founder of the Baptist church in America and one of the original proprietors of colonial New jersey, where with others he secured very extensive land grants and patents from the English crown.  These estates embraced one-third of what is now the state of New Jersey.  He located his sons on these extensive estates and a large number of their descendants still reside thereon, being among the wealthy and influential citizens of the state.  In 1835 the father of Mrs. McVey removed to the state of Ohio, where he died at an advanced age and was sincerely mourned as a highly respected, useful and honored citizen. Both the McVey and Holmes families are among the very oldest in America. The first members of these families located in what is now the United States long before the colonial governments were organized. They have been efficient forces for about three hundred years, during which time they have borne their full share of the hardships, responsibilities and successes attending the first settlements in America and on down through the colonial, revolutionary and national epochs.

Mr. and Mrs. McVey have five children.  Frank L. was graduated from the Ohio Wesleyan University in 1893 and from Yale University in 1896, with the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, and was for some time a professor of political economy in the university of Minnesota.  He is now president of the University of North Dakota, which is rapidly developing into one of the great state universities.  Edmund is also a graduate of Yale, where he gained high honors and was presented with a gold medal by the alumni of the university on the occasion of winning the great debate between Yale and Princeton Universities, in which he represented Yale.  He is now a successful attorney of Kansas City.  William P. is a graduate of Des Moines College and of Drew Theological Seminary at Madison, New Jersey, where he took first honors and a fellowship, and subsequently he was a student at the University of Leipsic, Germany.  He was formerly president of Hedding College of Abingdon, Illinois, and is now pastor of the First Methodist church at Streator, Illinois.  Kate, the only daughter, is a graduate of Woman's College of Baltimore, Maryland, and pursued a post-graduate course in the University of Minnesota.  She is now the wife of Judge John G. Park and resides in Kansas City, Missouri.  Charles H., the youngest son, a former student of the University of Minnesota and a world-wide traveler, is now a clergyman, being the pastor of the Second Congregational church at Kennebunk, Maine.

Lindenwood, the beautiful country place of Judge McVey, adjoins Des Moines on the west.  The residence is commodious and attractive, supplied with all modern conveniences, and stands in the midst of an extensive and well kept lawn adorned with fine maple, linden, elm and trees of other varieties.  The place altogether comprises one hundred and twenty acres of rich and arable land, consisting of groves, blue grass pastures and well tilled fields.  The home of Judge McVey contains one of the most select and valuable private libraries to be found in the west and he is never happier than when in the companionship of the men of master minds represented on his shelves.  His acquaintance with the best literature is comprehensive and his scholarly attainments are such as to make association with him a factor of mental expansion and elevation to all with whom he comes in contact.  his views of life, its opportunities and its duties, have never been superficial.  he has studied every question with the thoroughness which has characterized his law practice and this has given his valuations of life both accuracy and breadth. 

John P. Mullen pursued his education in the national schools of Ireland and afterward attended Buena Vista College for three years and ten months, being graduated therefrom in 1895.  He taught in the public schools for many years, and later entered the employ of the American School Book Company, for which he traveled in western Iowa for two and one-half years.  On the expiration of that period he embarked in business on his own account, forming a partnership with his brother for the sale of agricultural implements at Fonda, with branch houses at Pocahontas, Varina, and Jolley.  This, however, is but one phase of his activity, for in connection with his brother he is engaged extensively and successfully in livestock dealing and is the owner of about thirteen hundred acres of valuable Iowa farm land.  The brothers also manage the opera house at Fonda and the extent and importance of their connections place them among the most valued and representative business men of Pocahontas county.

On the 25th of April, 1899, Mr. Mullen was united in marriage to Miss Rose Brady, of Storm Lake, Iowa, a daughter of Nicholas Brady.  Their children are Marguerite, Marie, Edward, Evangeline, Agnes, Frances, Terrence, Eugene and Eileen.

Mr. Mullen belongs to Fort Dodge Council No. 613, Knights of Columbus, and he and his family are devoted communicants of the Catholic church.  His political allegiance is given to the republican party and he has long been an active, earnest and valued worker in its ranks.  He served as chairman of the tenth congressional committee for four years and on several occasions has represented Calhoun and Pocahontas counties in state conventions.  In 1912 he was sent as a delegate to the republican national convention at Chicago.  He stands at all times for progress and improvement in relation to the community in which he lives and has done much to stimulate ambition and advance activity by his cooperation in the fair associations.  For sixteen years he was a director of the Big Four Fair, was secretary for six years and president for two years.  He acted as secretary of the Northwestern Iowa Fair Circuit for eight years and has been a member of the State Fair Board since 1909, serving in that capacity at the present time.  He realizes fully how valuable a force are the fair associations in developing the interests of the community and stimulating pride in all industrial achievement and his work in this connection has been of far-reaching benefit.