Progressive Men of Iowa
1899

SAYLES, Edward Ridell, of Guthrie Center, a lawyer, was born in Meadville, Pa., August 17, 1852, and is a son of Albert P. Sayles, a native of Ohio, and a dentist, who died at Lyons, Iowa, in 1871, and Susan J. Sayles, a native of Vermont. In 1857 the family moved to Lyons, Iowa, where Edward spent his boyhood attending the public schools. He entered the preparatory course of Iowa college at Grinnell in 1867, receiving the Sargent medal in 1868, and was a member of the Chrestomathian society. His studies were interrupted by the sickness of his father in 1869.  In 1873 he resumed his work at Iowa college. He was one of the editors of the College News Letter in 1874, first president of the State Oratorical association, organized in 1874, and was a delegate to the Interstate Oratorical association at In-dianapolis in 1875.

In the fall of 1874 he entered the junior class at the State university, and became a member of Irving institute, but on account of illness in 1875, went to Lyons, where he began reading law with Hon. A. R. Cotton, now of San Francisco. He was admitted to the bar in the district court of Iowa at Clinton, May 22, 1876, and practiced at Lyons, in partnership with Judge Cotton until 1881, when he removed to Guthrie Center and engaged in law and banking. He was for five years cashier of the Citizens bank, and in 1886 resumed the active practice of the law, at which he has continued ever since. 

A special feature of his business is a system of abstracts of titles in Guthrie county. He has given much time and study to this kind of work, having been for a long time in charge of a system of abstracts in Clinton county, before he was admitted to the bar, and he is now counsel and president of the Guthrie County Law and Abstract company. His law practice has for ten years past been largely trial work in the district court, and his clientage has included a large proportion of the wholesale merchants doing business in Guthrie county. He is local counsel for R. G.  Dun & Company, Wilber Mercantile agency, the Snow-Church company, the Bartlett agency, and other agencies. His name also appears in most of the leading directories of lawyers, and he is a member of the Commercial Law League of America.  In 1890 and 1891 he was associated in partnership with Hon. F. O. Hinkson, of Stuart, under the firm name of Sayles & Hinkson, and the firm was employed in important litigation in Adair and Guthrie counties. They appeared for the town of Guthrie Center in litigation growing out of its contract for the construction of a water works system, and the case resulted in favor of the town in the supreme court in 1896.

In politics Mr. Sayles has always been an active republican, and was chairman of the county central committee of Guthrie county in 1888. He has been mayor of the cities of Lyons and of Guthrie Center, these being the only offices which he has held, for he has no political ambitions, preferring to devote all of his energies to the practice of his profession. He is a member of Bower Camp of the Modern Woodmen of America.  He was married on April 14,1881, to Miss Mary L. Armstrong, of Chicago. They have two children - a daughter, Helen, born August 20, 1882, and a son, Albert, born March 13, 1885.

WEEKS, Elbert Wright, a lawyer and successful republican politician, of Guthrie Center, is a familiar figure in republican conventions, state and national, and has been an important factor in the politics of his state. Possibly this may be accounted for in part by the fact that he was born in Ohio. That event, which gave to the world a man of worth and to many, a royal, true friend, occurred in Lake county, Ohio, October 7, 1850.

His parents were Henry Weeks, a farmer, born on Long Island, and Sarah A. Wright, his wife, a native of Canada. In 1856 the family removed to Green township, Iowa county, Iowa, and settled on a farm. The son, Elbert, had about the same experiences as other farmers' boys, doing his share of the farm work during the busy seasons and going to school when he could be spared.  He was an industrious boy, picking up a dollar whenever he could by extra work for neighbors, making rails or doing whatever offered. Largely by his own efforts he attended the State university and graduated from the law department in June, 1873, locating for the practice of his profession in Guthrie Center, May, 1876. Mr.  Weeks has always been active in politics.  He is naturally adapted to it, for he knows how to make friends and to hold them. Always ready to help others, it is to be expected that he would be selected for political honors as he has been several times. He was a delegate to the republican national convention in 1884 and an alternate in 1888. He was one of the organizers honors, as he has been several of the republican state and national leagues and has been a delegate from Iowa to nearly all the national conventions of the league for ten years. He was assistant secretary of the convention in Milwaukee in 1896. He was elected state secretary of the republican league in 1895 and held the office several years. He has been regarded as a congressional probability in the Ninth district for several years. Mr. Weeks belongs to the Odd Fellows' Encampment, is a Knight Templar in Masonry, and was grand chancellor of the Knights of Pythias of Iowa for 1891 and 1892.

He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. He was married June 2, 1878, to Miss Lorena Bower. Two children were born to them: Lena, born January 3, 1880, and Henry, born March 2, 1884. Mrs. Weeks died March 13, 1884, and Mr. Weeks was again married March 17, 1887, to Miss Jennie Biggs. They have two children: Seth, born December 15, 1887, and Wright, Jr., born January 27, 1890. Successful in his profession, with a happy home and a multitude of friends, Mr. Weeks is what people call "comfortably fixed in life.

The information on Trails to the Past © Copyright  may be used in personal family history research, with source citation. The pages in entirety may not be duplicated for publication in any fashion without the permission of the owner. Commercial use of any material on this site is not permitted.  Please respect the wishes of those who have contributed their time and efforts to make this free site possible.~Thank you!