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Progressive Men of
Iowa
1899
 FREELOVE, Arthur Loyd, is
the son of Madison B. and Mary Gounclery Freelove.
The father was a native of Rutland, Vt. He was of
Scotch-Irish descent, and his early life was spent
in Troy, Pa. For several years he lived at Great
Lakes. The greater part of his life was spent in
farming and dealing in real estate, at which he
accumulated a comfortable property, but misfortune
swept it away in later years. He died in
1897. His wife, Mary Gounclery, was a native of
New York. Her father was of English and her mother
of German descent. They settled in Iowa in 1858.
Arthur was born at Arcadia, in Carroll
county, November 24, 1873. He attended the common
schools in boyhood, and graduated from the high
school at Manning in 1891. The principal, Sarah L.
Garrett, was an excellent instructor, and directed
the aims of her students towards right living, the
acquisition of knowledge, and the desire to lead
useful lives. After leaving the high school Arthur
L. taught in the public schools for three years,
and served as a clerk in Manning for one
year.
When a boy he was industrious, working at
anything that would help to get the means to pay
his way in acquiring a good education. He finally
determined to make law his occupation, and in
order to become well equipped for the profession
he entered the Northern Indiana Law School at
Valparaiso, from which he graduated in June, 1897,
and soon afterwards was admitted to practice in
the supreme and federal courts of the state of
Indiana. Early in 1898 he entered into partnership
with a former classmate, John A. Senneff, and the
young lawyers located in Britt, Hancock county, to
begin their professional work, succeeding to the
practice of L. D. Womeldorf.
In politics Mr. Freelove is a republican, and is a
member of the Christian church. He belongs to the
order of Modern Woodmen of America and to the
alumni of N. I. L. S. Mr. Freelove was married
January 11, 1899, to Miss Alma Franke, of Manning,
Iowa.
 SENNEFF, John Albert, of
Manilla, is the son of Joel F. Senneff, a farmer
of Carroll county, 111. His father was from
Pennsylvania, and was one of the early settlers of
Illinois, and acquired a comfortable property.
John's mother was Ellen Boyts before her marriage,
and her parents came from Pennsylvania also, and
were among the early settlers in Carroll county,
111.
John was born April 1, 1876, and his
boyhood days were spent on his father's farm,
where he acquired habits of industry and economy.
His early education was begun in the public
schools of that period, and continued at Morrison
during the winters of 1893-4. When the time came
to choose an occupation he decided to fit himself
for the legal profession, and in 1895 entered the
law department of the college at Valparaiso,
Ind.
Here he pursued his studies industriously
for two years, graduating in June, 1897, with the
degree of LL. B.
He was a member of the Crescent Literary
society, and recognized as one of its most able
orators. He taught school for some time before
entering the law school, earning money to pay his
expenses. In January, 1898, he came to Iowa to
enter upon the Practice of his profession in
company with is former classmate, A. L.
Freelove.
They located in Britt, Hancock county, and
began to build up a good practice. In Politics he
is a republican, and in college debates supported
his belief with reasons and arguments for his
faith. He is a member of the Christian church and
of the order of Modern Woodmen of America and of
the law alumni of N. I. L.
S.
 STILSON, O. H. A character
who has been associated with the growth and
progress of the beautiful little city of Corwith
ever since that place was founded, is O. H.
Stilson, banker and real estate dealer. His
father, James M. Stilson, traveled across Iowa in
1851, in company with an old hunter named Rufus
Clark, the trapping of beaver and otter and
hunting elk being the object of the trip. In the
fall of 1852 he returned to Illinois and engaged
in farming. In 1855 he was married to Miss
Dorlisca R. Stone, of McHenry county, 111., and in
1856 they removed to Chippewa county, Wis., and
entered land from the United States government. In
1888 they removed to Corwith, Iowa, where they now
reside. The father entered the union army in 1864,
and was honorably discharged at the close of the
war.
O. H. Stilson was born
on the old homestead near Chippewa Falls, Wis., on
February 9, 1857, where he remained until 21 years
of age. In the fall of 1878 he came to Iowa, and
located in Cerro Gordo county, where he engaged in
teaching district school. Shortly thereafter he
engaged with E. L. Stilson in the hardware
business at Forest City, at the same time
attempting the management of a farm which he had
rented. In order to give proper attention to the
store he was obliged to hire all the farm work
done, and, the season proving a wet one, the crop
was drowned out, and the young man found himself
wholly in debt It was about this time that he
heard of the new town of Corwith in Hancock
county, on the then new line of the Minneapolis
& St. Louis railway, and, after settling up
his affairs as best he could, he removed to
Corwith, and on September 1, 1880, on $500
borrowed from his father, started a general store
there, in partnership with E. L. Stilson, under
the firm name of O. H. Stilson & Co. The
subject of this sketch was given entire charge of
the business, and it prospered from the start.
Within one year the firm was obliged to erect a
new store building, and at the end of the
following year had more than $5,000 in stock on
their shelves. In 1885
they were doing a business which amounted to
$40,000 per year. About this time the firm started
a private bank, with a capital stock of $10,000,
and shortly thereafter sold out the store and
confined their business to banking and real
estate.
In 1895 the bank was reorganized as the
First State bank of Corwith, with a capital stock
of $60,000, and a new bank building was erected at
a cost of $17,000. Thirty thousand dollars of the
stock of the institution was retained by Stilson
& Co., and the remainder sold mostly to
farmers and merchants. E. L. Stilson was made pres
ident and 0. H. Stilson, vice-president of the new
organization. The real estate business is still
continued under the firm name of E. L. Stilson
& Co., who now own 6,000 acres of northern
Iowa land which, ten years ago, was worth $6 to $8
per acre, but is now selling at from $30 to $40
per acre. He was elected president of the First
State bank of Corwith in 1897, and still holds the
position. He was post-master at Corwith during
President Arthur's
administration.
Mr. Stilson belongs to
the Masons and Knights of Pythias. In politics he
is a republican. He is a member of the Methodist
church of Corwith, and is a steward and trustee of
the organization of that faith there. He was
married to Miss Lydia Olmsted, a Delaware county
girl, on October 2, 1881, and they have four
children, Lyell, Mabel, Ethel and
Hazel.
 WICHMAN, John E., of Garner,
is one of the most prominent lawyers and
politicians of Hancock county, and has a wide
acquaintance in northern Iowa. His ancestors were
Germans, both his parents, Frederick and Eliza
(Kemler) Wichman, having been born in the town of
Bremer-haven, in the province of Hanover, Germany.
They emigrated to this country in 1843 and settled
at Galena, 111., in 1844. The father
was a miner and always lived in the humblest
circumstances. J. E.
Wichman was born April 16, 1859, at Galena, ILL.,
where he grew to manhood, obtaining his early
education in the public schools of that city.
After finishing the public schools he entered the
Northwestern German-English college, an
institution owned by the German Methodist church,
which was then situated at Galena, but has since
been removed to Charles City, Iowa. He
graduated from the normal department of this
school in 1876. While in college he was a member
of the Washington Literary society, and of the
Teutonic, a German literary society. After
graduation he taught school, and in 1881 came to
Iowa, settling near Garner, in Hancock county,
where he worked on a farm during the summer and
taught school during the rest of the year. He
commenced the study of law at Garner in the spring
of 1882, in the office of A. C. Ripley, remaining
with him a year and then pursuing his studies in
the office of H. H. Bush, of the same town. He was
admitted to the bar in July, 1884, at Charles
City, Judge Granger, now of the supreme court,
presiding. While studying in law Mr. Wichman was
obliged to continue working on the farm during the
summer in order to provide himself with the means
for carrying out his plans. After his admission to
the bar he formed a partnership with Henry H.
Bush, of Garner, which was continued nearly six
years, being dissolved January 1, 1890, since
which time Mr. Wichman has been practicing alone.
In addition to his law business he has loaned
money extensively, and has taken a prominent part
in other financial interests of the county. He
assisted in the organization of the First National
bank of Garner in 1892, when he was elected as a
member of its board of directors, in which
capacity he still serves. He was also one of the
organizers of the State Savings bank at Klemme the
same year, and was its first
president.
Mr. Wichman has always been a republican in
politics, casting his first vote for Garfield. He
has taken an active part in local and state
politics, serving as chairman and secretary of the
county central committee and frequently
representing Hancock county in the district and
state conventions. He has served two terms as
mayor of Garner, two terms as councilman and four
terms as recorder. In 1886 he was elected county
attorney, being the first to fill that office in
Hancock county under the new law changing from
district to county attorneys. He was re-elected in
1888, and during his four years in office was
especially active in working for the enforcement
of the prohibitory liquor law. In 1895 he
was selected by the republicans of his county as
their candidate for the office of senator from his
district. Mr. Wichman is a member of the Knights
of Pythias lodge. He has been chancellor commander
of the local organization and has represented them
in the grand lodge, both at Sioux City and at
Muscatine. He belongs to no church, but is a
regular attendant of the Methodist Episcopal. Mr.
Wichman was married November 15, 1888, at Garner,
to Miss Mary L. Prescott. They have
one child, Lois Della, who was born August 17,
1895.
 WOOD, Charles Roland, of
Corwith, is county attorney of Hancock county, and
one of the well-known lawyers of north-western
Iowa. He is the son of Charles Roland Wood, a
farmer and a native of New York, who was born in
1818 and died in 1883. His mother was formerly
Mary A. Gilbert. She was born in Connecticut in
1821. His parents were residents of Kendall
county, 111., from 1855 until the death of the
father. His mother now resides in Iroquois county,
111., at Onarga, with her youngest daughter, Mrs.
Dr. I. F.
Palmer.
C. R. Wood was born
February 15,1851, at Governeur, St. Lawrence
county, N. Y. He was
brought up on a farm, and obtained his earliest
schooling in the district school. At the age
of 18 he secured a position in a drug store, where
he learned pharmacy, and continued in this
employment until 1876, when he began the study of
law in the office of L. D. Holmes, at Aledo,
111.
After two years thus spent, he passed the
examination before the appellate court at Ottawa,
111., and was admitted to the bar in June, 1878.
He soon opened an office at Aledo, remaining there
one and one-half years and enjoying a good
practice. January 1, 1879, he removed to Rock
Island, 111., and formed a partnership with A.
W.
Atwood; but the firm was dissolved in
March, 1880, and Mr. Wood then located at
Williamsburg, Kan., where he practiced his
profession about three years; moved to Tebo,
Coffey county, Kan., remaining three years, then
moved to Hutchinson, Kan., and from there to
Corwith, Iowa. He came to
Iowa January 2, 1891, settling at Corwith, his
present home. Here he again established himself in
the law busi-ness, and also purchased a half
interest in the Corwith Crescent, the only
newspaper published in the town, with A. A.
Johnson as a partner. They continued to manage the
paper together until April 1, 1892, when Mr. Wood
became sole owner and editor. His law practice
increased so rap-idly, however, that he was
obliged to dis-pose of the paper after a short
time, and accordingly sold out February 3, 1893,
in order to devote himself entirely to his
profession as a lawyer. He has been appointed, and
now holds the position of local attorney for the
Iowa Central Railroad
company.
Mr. Wood has always
been a republican in politics. In 1894 he was
elected county attorney of Hancock county, and is
still holding the office with much credit to
himself and his party, having been re-elected in
1896. He belongs to the Masonic order and to the
A. O. U. W. In religion Mr. Wood is a
Baptist
Mr. Wood was married July 9, 1879, to Miss
Linnie R. Houk, of Aledo, 111. Three children have
been born to them: Charles R., Jr., in 1880; Edgar
H., in 1882, and Blanche, in 1884, who died in
infancy.
Daring all of the time he has been engaged
in other business, he has never entirely
relinquished his law practice, but continued it in
connection with his other
business.
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