Albert Lee Connable

As printed in 1914

ALBERT LEE CONNABLE.

Albert Lee Connable was a man whose career was closely interwoven with the early history of Keokuk and its present-day prosperity. His birth occurred at Bernardstown, Massachusetts, on the loth of August, 1811. He was of New England parentage, being a son of Ezra and Abigail (Stevens) Connable, and he traced his ancestry in a direct line to John Cunnabell, who came from London, England, and settled in Boston, Massachusetts, about the year 1674. Ensign John Cunnabell served the colonies in their struggle for independence from Great Britain. In several walks of life various members of the family achieved prominence and renown and while the name has been spelled in numerous ways the present generation has generally adopted the spelling Connable.

When twenty-one years of age Albert Lee Connable left his father's home and went west to Eaton, Ohio, where he remained until 1843, when he came to Iowa, settling in Jefferson county. He was a man of more than average intelligence and of superior education and was therefore one of the leaders in that county during its formative period. He was elected a member of the board of county supervisors and his advice was listened to with the greatest respect and as a rule followed. In 1848 Keokuk, which was then attracting considerable attention because of its favorable geographical position, drew his attention and he moved to this city. He was awarded the contract for the construction of the Des Moines and Keokuk slack water navigation canal, the division of the canal which he constructed being a three hundred and fifty thousand dollar proposition. He was also engaged in the wholesale grocery business for a time as well as in pork and beef packing. He was prominently connected with other business enterprises of the city, being an organizer of the Iowa State Insurance Company in 1856 and of the Keokuk Savings Bank in 1868, serving as a director and vice president of the latter. He was likewise one of the founders and a director of the Keokuk Canning Company. His many important business and financial connections proved him to have been a man with the true business instinct, farsighted in recognizing business opportunities and prompt in taking advantage of them.

[This passage is too damaged in the scanned book to reproduce. See the original book.]

Both Mr. and Mrs. Connable were members of the Unitarian church and scrupulously confirmed their lives to its high standard of ethics. Mr. Connable was a republican in politics but was never desirous of holding office. It was only as a matter of public duty that he consented to serve for three years as a member of the board of Lee county supervisors and as a director of the Waterworks Company. His sound business judgment enabled him to accumulate a considerable amount of property and he was always liberal in his support of laudable public enterprises. He passed away April 15, 1894, having survived his wife for a number of years, her death occurring on the 21st of January, 1885. They were among that band of pioneers who laid so firmly the foundation of the city's present prosperity and few left to their descendants a better record or a more honored name.

As printed in Story of Lee County, Iowa; (1914). See the original pages. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.