The Gilbert Family of Des Moines County, Iowa

JOHN WEBSTER GILBERT.

For many years the late John Webster Gilbert was prominent in the lumber industry in the state of Iowa as the senior member of the firm of Gilbert, Hedge & Company. In his early youth he began his career as a lumberman and by his energy and ability rose to a position which made him one of the most influential men in that line of business. Moreover, Mr. Gilbert was connected with other important industrial and financial concerns of Burlington, to the building of which he contributed in yet another way by the erection of the Gilbert block. He was always a force for development and advancement and while attaining individual success did much for the public welfare.

Mr. Gilbert was born near Louisville, Kentucky, December lo, 1824, and died in Burlington, Iowa, January 16, 1897, his death bringing sorrow to many homes, for he had many friends in this section of the state. He was a son of Samuel and Philotheta (Parker) Gilbert, who in 1825 removed to Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, where the father operated a sawmill in the pine woods at Menomonie.

John W. Gilbert acquired his education in the public schools of Prairie du Chien and when yet a boy spent much of his time in the mills which were operated by his father. After completing his school course he became his father's active assistant and so continued! until he reached his majority, gaining a wide and valuable knowledge of the manufacture of timber. About that time he became a pilot on the river, taking rafts down the Mississippi to Burlington, St. Louis and other points. This was in the days before steam navigation and rating played a most important part in the lumber business.

The year 1851 marked Mr. Gilbert's arrival in Burlington, where in partnership with his brother, W. D. Gilbert, he established one of the most important lumber enterprises of the city, operating under the name of J. W. & W. D. Gilbert. Their yard was located at

Eighth and Jefiferson streets and this company and its successors have continued its principal offices and yard at that location to this date. The lumberyard was laid out by Mr. Gilbert according to his own plans and the site was selected by him as the most advantageous position in regard to river and rail connections. Thus early he gave evidence of his rare business acumen and the enterprise was a success from the beginning and grew to proportions which had not been foreseen by its founder. Some time after the formation of the new firm a third brother, James Isham Gilbert, joined the firm and later Thomas Hedge also became a partner, the style then being changed to that of Gilbert, Hedge & Company. They branches out into various lines of the lumber industry, from owning valuable timber lands in the north woods to managing branch retail yards in various cities and towns of the Mississippi valley. The firm became a power in the industrial world of the state and in the history of Burlington played a most important role. Their connections extended all over the state and their operations grew so constantly that the partners soon were accounted among the wealthy men of Burlington. John W. Gilbert was actively connected with the business until his death. Since then his place has been taken by his son, Samuel P. Gilbert, while Mr. Hedge has been succeeded by his son, the Hon. Thomas Hedge. Mr. Gilbert, Jr., now holds the position of secretary and treasurer of the company.

John W. Gilbert had many other business and financial associations. He was a director and vice president of the German-American Bank and was also interested in the Glazeby Carriage Works. In the earlier days of the history of the city he was intimately connected with its government and those men who worked in its development. He ardently supported the plans for various railroad lines which have been built into and through the city. In fact, there was nothing of public interest which did not receive his sympathetic support.

On March 22, 1853, Mr. Gilbert married Miss Harriet Holbrook, who was born in Columbia, near Hartford, Connecticut, a daughter of Silas and Mina (Little) Holbrook. The Holbrooks are of early colonial stock, the original American ancestor having come from England in 1635, settling at Weymouth, Massachusetts. The Littles were also an early New England family. Mr. and Mrs. Gilbert were the parents of four children, of whom two reached maturity: ames, who died in 1895; and Samuel P., who is today prominent in the commercial life of Burlington and the state as secretary and treasurer of Gilbert, Hedge & Company.

HISTORY or DES MOINES COUN'IV 149

Mr. Gilbert was not only interested in material growth and development but was concerned about the intellectual progress and moral upbuilding of the race. His church affiliations were with the Congregational denomination, of which organization he was a member and trustee. His political allegiance was given to the republican part and in the early days he served as alderman of the city of Burlington and also as street commissioner. However, as the years passed his business interests grew so rapidly and demanded so much of his time that he found it impossible to actively participate in governmental affairs although his interest in the city of Burlington never wanted. Mr. Gilbert was one of those American citizens who may be classed with the empire builders of the middle w'est. He readily recognized that opportunities were but waiting for those who would venture to take hold, and he made his way to prosperity by utilizing conditions as they presented themselves. Such success as attended his labors was well merited and entirely the product of his brain and his perseverance. As a citizen his life record may serve as a model to any young man who begins his career empty-handed and who wants to win not only wealth but the esteem of his fellow citizens.

As printed in the source¹. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.

WASHINGTON DALLAM GILBERT.

Washington Dallam Gilbert was numbered among those enterprising and progressive men who made Burlington one of the centers of the lumber trade of the middle west. He also contributed to the upbuilding and development of the city through the building and sale ni homes. His well-defined plans were always carried forward to successful completion and his efforts were of a character that contributed to public progress, as well as to individual success.

He was a representative of an old southern family, being a grandson of Samuel Gilbert, who removed from Virginia to Kentucky, where he owned a large tobacco plantation, which he cultivated with the aid of slaves, who were also a part of his possessions. However, he became convinced that the system of holding human being in bondage was wrong, and therefore free all of his slaves, but old Mammy Ailsie, who refused her freedom and remained to nurse her master through his last sickness. His son, Samuel Gilbert, Jr., was born in Kentucky and in early manhood wedded Philotheta Parker, whose birth occurred in New York, in 1798. She was a representative of an old American family, and in still earlier generations, of English ancestry, being a lineal descendant of the Parker early, of Macclesfield. The first to leave England to become the American progenitor of the family settled in Massachusetts about 1645, with his family, and when an Indian massacre occurred, to which the parents were victims, the children escaped by hiding in the grass. The youngest son, Samuel Parker, after reaching adult age, removed to Coventry, Connecticut, and there lived to the remarkable age of one hundred and six years. He built the first house and barn in Coventry and was the first deacon in the first Congregational church there. One of his descendants, Samuel Parker, the father of Mrs., Philotheta Gilbert, was a soldier in the War of 18 12 and a pioneer citizen of Louisville, Kentucky, having left New York in a covered wagon and driving across the country to Louisville. At that time his daughter was a girl of thirteen summers. They remained in Kentucky until after her marriage. After reaching womanhood she became the wife of Samuel Gilbert, Jr., and in 1827 they became residents of Galena, Illinois. Afterward they lived for two years in Cassville, Wisconsin, and subsequently started for Prairie du Chien, then one of the outposts on the western frontier and the site of Fort Crawford. The pioneers of that district mingled freely with the Indians of the Sac, Fox, Winnebago and Menominee tribes. Mr. Gilbert was one of the pioneer lumbermen in the upper country and his operations along that line constituted an element in the development and prosperity of the state. About 1845 he left Prairie du Chien and established the family home at Albany, Illinois.

W. Dallam Gilbert was born at Cassville, Crawford county, Wisconsin, in February, 1829, while his parents were en route to Prairie du Chien. In the latter place he spent sixteen years and during that period pursued his education under private instruction. In 1845 he went with the family to Albany, Illinois, and about that time made his initial step in the business world by taking a raft of logs down the river to Fort Madison, where he sold the logs for his father. His early connection with mercantile life was as a clerk in the employ of the Nelson & Gilbert Company at Wilson's Landing, Wisconsin. He was nineteen years of age when he embarked in business on his own account, joining his brother in the purchase of a lumber mill at Eau Claire, Wisconsin. From that period he was closely connected with the lumber trade, operating in his native state until 1851, when he removed to Burlington and entered into partnership with John W. Gilbert. They established a lumberyard and as the years passed found it necessary to increase their facilities from time to time. Not only did they sell the manufactured product, but also became owners of timber lands and engaged in the manufacture of lumber, building up a business of extensive and gratifying proportions. Mr. Gilbert became an extensive dealer in pine lands and operated mills in both Minnesota and Wisconsin, and a boom company in the state of Washington, where he also owned extensive pineries. As he prospered in his undertakings he utilized his opportunities for judicious investment in real estate and became the owner of much valuable property in Burlington. He laid out two additions to the city, which bear his name. A contemporary biographer says: "Mr. Gilbert and his business associates probably did more toward the upbuilding and development of Burlington than any other individual or corporation. He erected many houses which he sold on easy terms, thus adding to the material improvement of the city and making possible the ownership of homes to many men in moderate financial circumstances."

Aside from his lumber and real-estate interests, Mr. Gilbert extended his efforts to banking and became one of the officials of the German-American Savings Bank, and one of the directors of the Merchants National Bank of Burlington. It seemed that his judgment in business matters was never at fault. His opinions were never hastily formed or ill-advised, but were the result of careful consideration of each phase of a business situation. When once his plans were formulated, however, they were promptly executed and carried forward to successful completion. To build up rather than to destroy was ever his broad policy, and his path was never strewn with the wreck of other men's fortunes.

In 1859 Mr. Gilbert was united in marriage to Miss Hetta Wells Merrill, who was born in Plymouth, New Hampshire, in 1835 and was descended from a long line of Puritan ancestors. The records indicate that the line can be traced back to the Du Merles, a Huguenot family of the nobility of France. The Du Merle family and the Merrill family sprang from the same source, the former having lived in France and the latter in Salisbury, England. Their relationship is undisputed from the fact that they have the same crest. The only change was when, on the eve of the massacre of St. Bartholomew, representatives of the family went to England, the flour-de-lis of France was erased from the shield and the peacock head substituted, but the crest remained the same, as did the motto, "He conquers who endures." The Merrill family in time became connected with the faith of the Society of Friends, or Quakers, and Nathaniel Merrill, emigrating from England, settled in Ipswich, Massachusetts, in 1633, and two years later became one of the founders and pioneer residents of old Newbury. Stevens Merrill, the father of Mrs. Hetta (Merrill) Gilbert, was a merchant of Boston, and in 1829 went to Mobile, Alabama, to market lumber and to manage a sawmill. He lived at Boston, and at Plymouth, New Hampshire. He was among those who went to the gold mines of California in 1849. He came from Boston to Burlington and here purchased the home now owned by his granddaughter, Mrs. Cate Gilbert Wells. The house is known as Hickory Hill and a part of it was built sixty-five years ago. Stevens Merrill was united in marriage to Mehetabel Worthley Wells and it was their daughter, Hetta Wells Merrill, who became the wife of Washington Dallam Gilbert. She was born in Plymouth, New Hampshire, and at seven years of age accompanied her parents to Boston, to make her home. Mrs. Gilbert was educated at Bradford and other New England schools and seminaries, and at one time lived in the old Merrill homestead, just opposite the Longfellow house in Cambridge. She was a lady of broad culture and marked literary taste.

Washington Dallam Gilbert died April 16, 1894, leaving to his widow and daughter a large estate. He was a devoted member of the Congregational church and was most generous in his support thereof. He was also an exemplary representative of the Masonic fraternity. His political allegiance was given to the republican party and at one time he served as a member of the city council of Burlington. He was defeated for mayor by the democrats. He stood for all that is progressive in community affairs and gave his support to those interests which are a matter of civic virtue and civic pride. His life was indeed a valuable factor in the upbuilding of Burlington along material, social, political and moral lines. He had the active cooperation of Mrs. Gilbert in all that he did for the benefit of his city and church, and, like him, she was a leader in the community. She was president of the Norman Circle of King's Daughters for many years. Thus it is that the history of Mr. and Mrs. Washington Dallam Gilbert has become an inseparable part of the annals of Burlington, where, locating at an early day, they took a most active, helpful and beneficial interest in the work of progress and improvement.

As printed in the source¹. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.

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In 1847 'i* married a New England woman, Susan Augusta Sampson, and with her established a hdnic at the foot of Lake Pipin, opposite the town of Ruds Landing, Bufifalo county. Wis., at which point he had a trading post. Sept. 17, 1849, a son, John Webster, was born to them, who still survives. In the spring of 1 85 1, I sham Gilbert and family removed to Allamakee comity, Iowa, where he laid out the town of Lansing, Iowa. He took up his above in Lansing, and here, Aug. 7, 1851. a daughter, Ella, was born. She did not live to maturity, but died at the age of twelve, and is buried in Burlington, Iowa, where she died. At Lansing, Isham (lilluTl built np an extensive mercantile business, and was associated with Joseph Reynolds, better known as "Diamond Joe Reynolds," in numerous and extensive transactions and speculations.

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Little Rock, September 10. 1863.

I'ort De Russey..March 14. 1864.

Pleasant Hill. )ril 9, 1864.

Chow Anville. April 23, 1864.

.Marksville Plains,.May 16. i8f)4.

Lake Chicat, July 6, 1864.

Tupelo, Miss,, July 14, 1864.

Oldtown Creek. July 15, 1864.

Nashville. December 15 and 16, 1864.

Fort i'.likely, Ala., April ( 1865.

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in the gilbert lot in Aspen Grove cemetery, he lies amidst his parents, child, brothers, and others of his kin.

The Iowa papers commented freely upon his life and death and the nobility of his character. I quote as follows: "General gilbert was lor many years a citizen of Burlington, and his death will cause widespread regret among the many who admired this high-principles, dignified, genial gentleman..As a citizen he was progressive, liberal, and representative, and in business affairs and private life, was the seid of honor and of excellence."

The following is a tribute from a fellow-soldier: "The soldiers who were in the Twenty-seventh Iowa Infantry, as well as those who were in other regiments, and who may have been from time to time brigade with the Twenty-seventh, are saddened at the death of General James I. Gilbert, who was the gallant colonel of the twenty-seventh. Of the many soldiers of Iowa and the Northwest who knew Colonel Gilbert, none knew him but to love and admire him. He was of most commanding physique, and always commanded with bravery and dignity. It is entirely safe to say that no man ever commanded a regiment of men whose confidence and love for their commander were more complete than was that of his regiment for him. In the many battles through which he ])passed during the war, he showed the most consummate bravery and daring: but after the battle was over, was the time when his great, many heart was exercised for the suffering ones around him; and how (nick he was to aid and assist them in distress! This same great nature was always his.

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From the Burlington Hazvk-Eye: " General James I. (Albert, than whom no more genial gentleman or brave soldier ever lived in Iowa, a former resident of Piurlington for many years, died at Topeka, Kans., Saturday evening, of paralysis of the heart, the unexpected and sad intelligence of his dissolution being conveyed to his aged mother and brothers residing in this city, yesterday morning. The news was generally circulated upon the streets, general regret being expressed at the taking away of a man who was the embodiment of honor, integrity, and bravery. He was one of the public-spirited, leading, and representative men of I'.burlington, being connected with the lumber firm of Gilbert, Hedge & Co. At the outbreak of the rebellion, he organized the Twenty-seventh Iowa Infantry, which was mustered in at r)ulni(ue in 1862. and of which Mr. Gdbert was made colonel. His regiment participated in the expedition to the Red River, under the command of General Hanks, and was engaged in the military operations in Tennessee. At the battle of Nashville he served with distinction, and for the bravery he displayed was promoted to the rank of brigadier-general. He commanded four regiments and a battery of light artillery. Three brigades of the army had been repulsed in their efforts to silence a battery, the capture of which was essential to the success of the Union forces. ' Can you take that battery?' asked General Thomas. I can, and I will," was General Gilbert's prompt and firm reply. He effectually silenced the battery; and later in the day General Thomas addressed him, ' I hope your future will be as bright as the star that will soon adorn your shoulder.' He was made a brigadier-general. At Mobile, General Gilbert, by his bravery, won the praise of (general Canby. He captured Fort De Russey, and at the close of the war was sent to Texas to take charge of military affairs, and a short time after was mustered out of the service, at his urgent solicitation."

From a Des Moines paper: "In the heat of debate, the senators paused long enough to hear read and pass a joint resolution, paying the tribute of the great State of Iowa to the memory of her great soldier and citizen, who has lately passed away. General James Isham Gilbert, of the Twenty-seventh Iowa. Several of his old soldiers are in the Legislature, and in the light of fading day the senators sat with bowed heads and busy brains as the joint resolution was read, and back rolled the Wears of time, and once more the roar of the cannon and the whistle of the minnie was heard, and the old flag seen advancing, carried by the Twenty-seventh Iowa, on the blood field of Pleasant Hill.

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As printed in the source². Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.

SAMUEL P. GILBERT.

Samuel P. Gilbert, as secretary and treasurer of the Gilbert- Hedge Lumber Company, figures prominently in the conduct of a business which has contributed to the reputation of Burlington as one of the centers of the lumber trade of the Mississippi valley. He was born November 25, 1863, in the city which is still his home, a son of John Webster Gilbert, who for many years was a most forceful factor in Burlington's development, ever regarded as one of its leading citizens and a man whom to know was to respect and honor. As his father advanced in years Samuel P. Gilbert relieved him more and more of the care and responsibility of his business affairs and is now the representative of the Gilbert interests in the lumber company organized by the father almost two-thirds of a century ago. The business was incorporated in 1900 and since that time Samuel P. Gilbert has been secretary and treasurer. He likewise became his father's successor in the German-American Bank and is still one of its officers.

On the 30th of October, 1891, occurred the marriage of Mr. Gilbert and Miss Winifred Lewis, of Iowa City, and they are the parents of two daughters and one son, Ruth P., Harriet H. and James I. Mr. and Mrs. Gilbert are members of the Congregational church and they have a wide and favorable acquaintance in Burlington, where the former has spent his entire life and where he has so directed his energies as to gain a place among the representative business men.

As printed in the source¹. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.

SAMUEL GILBERT.

Samuel Gilbert, of the firm of Gilbert, Hedge- & Company, lumber dealers of Burlington, was born in this city, Nov. 25, 1863, a son of John Webster Gilbert, who is represented on another page of this work. Having mastered the common branches of learning in the city schools, he entered the State Lniversity at Iowa City. Iowa, from which he was graduated with the class of 1884, the degree of Bachelor of Arts being conferred upon him. Subsequently he pursued a business course, and then entered the employ of the Gilbert-Hedge Lumber Company. As his father advanced in years he more and more largely relieved him of the active care and many;cinciit of his extensive business interests, and for some years prior to his death represented him entirely in the business. The Gilbert-Hedge Lumber Company, which entered upon existence over a half century ape. was incorporated in 1900, at which time "Samuel Gilbert was elected secretary and treasurer — his ])present connection with the coqwration. He is also a director and a second vice-president of the German American Bank, thus succeedinjj his father in the latter institution as well.

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As printed in the source². Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected.

Mrs. Cate Gilbert Wells is one of Iowa's well known women whose interests and activities are of great breadth as indicated in the number and variety of organizations with which she is connected, organizations which stand for culture along art and literary lines. for patriotic achievement and for civic betterment. She is one of Burlington's native daughters and acquired her primary education in the Gordon school and the Chapman-Benedict School for young woniL-n in New York city. She afterward spent nearly two years abroad, gaining that wide knowledge, experience and culture which only travel can bring. She visited various points on the European continent and in the Orient, and while traveling on the Nile she met in the temple of Karnak, Charles W. Wells, to whom she was married on the jth of June, 1892. Both she and her husband could trace their lineage back to the same source. Her maternal grandmother, Mrs. Stevens Merrill, was in her maidenhood Mehetabel Worthley Wells, through whom the ancestral line of Mrs. Cate Gilbert Wells connects with that of her husband in the father of Thomas Wells, of England, who came to America in 1635, a deacon and doctor and member of The Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Boston. Samuel Wells, of Plymouth, New Hampshire, served in the Revolutionarv war, participating in the battle of White Plains and other engagements. The Wells family has a prominent ecclesiastical branch including various bishops and archbishops, among them being Bishop Hugo de Wells, who draughted the Magna Charta. It was members of this branch of the family who founded the Lincoln and the Wells cathedrals and took a prominent part in the War of the Crusades. William the Conqueror granted the mayor of Wells to Baron Ricardus de Welles in 1068.

Charles W. Wells died May 21, 1897, " Phoenix, Arizona, and was survived by his wife and two children, but the daughter, Catherine, passed away June 11, 1897, jet a few weeks after her father's demise. The son, Gilbert, was born in 1893 ' educated at St. John's Military Academy of Wisconsin and Pomfret School, Pomfret, Connecticut.

Mrs. Wells is serving on the music committee of the National Federation of Women's Clubs and is on three state committees. She is one of the best known club women and social leaders in the middle west. Her home life was such as stimulated her interest in literature and all elevating influences. She is now serving as regent of the Burlington Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, a position she formerly occupied during several terms. She is, and has been for eighteen years, the president of the Burlington Musical Club, which has grown from a very small organization to one with nearly six hundred members and in the course of its existence has had most of the musical celebrities of the world on its programs. Mrs. Wells was appointed by the mayor of Burlington to represent the city at the National Peace Conference, held in St. Louis, and was appointed by the federation of the state to act as a state delegate to the convention of the General Federation of Women's Clubs, held in

Chicago from June 9-19, 1914- She was also a delegate to the congress of the Daughters of the American Revolution, held in Washington in April, 1914, as in many previous years. Her home, Hickory Hill, is one of the most picturesque and attractive in Burlington and has been the home of four generations of the family. It reflects the brilliant mind and cultured taste of Mrs. Wells, whose talents and ability have led her to the position of leadership which she occupies. The circle of her friends includes many of the most prominent women in club and social life and literary circles throughout the country.

As printed in the source¹. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.