Progressive Men of Iowa
1899

CARDELL, Walter W., was born in Poweshiek county, Iowa, December 16, 1860. His father was the Hon. Wilbur F. Cardell, member of the general assembly in 1873-74 from Guthrie county.  His mother's maiden name was Jennie E.  Baily. The Baily family were among the first settlers of Poweshiek county, locating there in 1855.

Mr. Cardell laid the foundation for his literary education while a student at Iowa college, located at Grinnell, and in the class of '82 was graduated from the Iowa university law department. Shortly there after he located in Perry, where he has practiced continually since, and hence has an extended business acquaintance over the central portion of the state. He is a successful lawyer, and has the business confidence of a large clientage. He practices in both the state and federal courts.  Like many another brilliant lawyer Mr.  Cardell's first money was made by teaching school. He has been throughout his life an uncompromising republican, and at the Dallas county republican primaries in June, 1896, he was nominated without opposition for the office of county attorney.  He has never aspired to public office, being content in his devotion to his professional interests and a firm believer in the cardinal principles that the office should seek the man, and it was without solicitation, and in truth without consultation, that he was named as worthy of political preference by his party. Socially Mr. Cardell is very popular. His genial disposition and hospitality are known far outside the little city in which he lives. December 10, 1890, he was married to Miss Lola Manatt, of Brooklyn. As a result of that union they have one child-a boy.

The ancestors of Mr. Cardell can be traced back many centuries, and comprise not a few of the most brilliant and interesting characters of early times. Leaving England at a time when the colonies were yet young, the Cardells and the Bailys linked their fortunes with those struggling patriots, and throughout the final conflict, in which independence was won, played a conspicuous and daring part.  He is prominent in lodge circles, being especially active in the Knights of Pythias.

NICHOLS, Edmund Elon, is a prominent attorney and politician of Perry. He is of English and Welsh descent and his great-grandfather, John Nichols, was a soldier in the revolutionary war and was wounded in the battle of Concord. His grandfather, Hiram Nichols is yet living at Gouverneur, N. Y., at the age of over 90 years. His father, Orson K. Nichols, within three years after his marriage, enlisted as a volunteer in Company A, Fourteenth New York heavy artillery. He was in the seven battles of Wilderness, Spotsylvania, North Ann Talopatomy, Bethseda Church, Cold Harbor and siege of Petersburg. He was taken prisoner by the confederates at the time of the mine explosion at the siege of Petersburg, and died in Danville prison some time afterwards.  Mr. Nichols' mother was Amanda L.  Jones Nichols, a native of Vermont. Her parents moved from Vermont across Lake Champlain and were among the earliest settlers of St. Lawrence county, N. Y.  Her father and mother lived to the age of nearly 90 years. Mrs. Nichols remained a widow for a number of years after her husband's death, and then married Cyrus G.  Dake, who is a professor in Epworth seminary, Epworth Iowa.

Edmund E. Nichols was born June 4, 1860, at Gouverneur, St. Lawrence county, N. Y. His earliest education was at private schools and at the Gouverneur Wesleyan seminary. At the age of 14 he removed with his mother to Potsdam, N. Y., where he attended the Potsdam State Normal school for four years, taking the classical course. When 19 years of age they removed to Delaware county, Iowa, where he taught school for one year and then tried farming for two years. At the end of that time he entered the law department of the State university at Iowa City, and graduated therefrom in the class of 1883.  After graduating he went to Chicago and pursued his studies in the office of Josiah H. Bissell and W. S. Forrest, the eminent criminal lawyer. In 1884 he left the office of Forrest in Chicago and returned to Iowa, where he formed a partnership in the practice of law with T. H. North, of Adel. In Adel he remained until 1888, when he removed to Perry and formed a partnership with Walter W. Cardell, which continued until the spring of 1894. For ten years he has been the attorney for the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul railway for that portion of the state, and was for four years county attorney. His business has consisted almost entirely of the trial of cases and in that department he has been very successful.

Mr. Nichols has always been a republican and there has not been a democrat in his family on either side for two generations. He has been active in local and state campaigns for ten years, and had the unanimous support of his county as a candidate for congress in 1896. As a political orator he has made considerable reputation for a young man. The Perry Chief of August 6, 1896, in regard to his speech at the congressional convention, says: "When Mr. Nichols took the platform he was warmly received and from the time the first words were spoken, he had the audience with him, and at times they broke loose with such enthusiasm that it was difficult for him to proceed. His speech was a great effort and completely captivated the convention and its several hundred visitors. At the finish he was given a perfect ovation, and delegates and republicans who had never met him climbed over the seats to congratulate him." Mr.  Nichols is a member of the Knights of Pythias, Odd Fellows, Sons of Veterans, Shriners, and other orders.In 1885 he was married to Dorothy I.  Stevens, of Newell, Iowa. They have three children: Lillian, born in 1888; Dorothy, born in 1892, and Josephine, born in 1895.

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