IowaJones/Biographies/A. M. Loomis

A. M. Loomis–S. M. Lorenzen

Capt. Aaron M. Loomis
Born April 30, 1831

CAPT. AARON M. LOOMIS, merchant, of Wyoming, Jones Co, Iowa; was born in Rodman, Jefferson Co., N.Y., on the 30th of April, 1831; his father, Milo Loomis, was born in the same county, so also was his mother, Lucy A. Greenley, who was the daughter of Esquire Greenley, a prominent land-owner in the same county. The subject of this sketch has three brothers and sisters now living—T. G. Loomis is a successful merchant and farmer in Ohio; M. B. Loomis is County Judge in Chicago; F. R. Loomis is editor of the Medina Gazette, in Ohio; has been a member of the State Legislature, and is now President of the Ohio State Sunday School Association; Sarah J. Loomis is the wife of S. L. Dyer, a County Auditor in Ohio; Ruth A. Loomis married S. J. Tourtellot, who is in business in Iowa. The father, Milo L., was for many years a Congregationalist Deacon, and was quite popular in his locality; he was a mechanic, also a music teacher; at time of his death, he was executor of eighteen estates, and the guardian of thirty-six minor children; he was devoted to his family and to the Church; he made his home attractive: entering heartily into childhood's experiences, and he was a self-sacrificing burden-bearer for the Church of his choice; he was the counselor and helper of all in need-was a Christian man. His life-companion was in full sympathy with his life-work, and, after nearly thirty years of joint pilgrimage, he preceded her but a month in his entrance into the promised land. The subject of this sketch, then 2 years of age, came, with his parents, to Medina Co., Ohio, where he remained until 1856. In March, 1852, he married Miss Jane Briggs, of the same county. They removed to Wyoming, Iowa, in 1856, with one daughter, Josephine, who died at the age of 12; they had two children after coming West—Jesse Fremont and Finney. Mrs. Jane Loomis died in 1867. Mr. Loomis refrained from entering the United States Service until 1862, on account of pecuniary circumstances. He enlisted August 9, 1862, as a private, but at the company election, held on the 20th of August, he was elected Second Lieutenant, and his commission bears that date; he, with his comrades, was mustered into the service September 18, 1862, as Co. K, of the 24th I.V.I.; he served under Grant in the siege and capture of Vicksburg, and, on the 11th of June, 1863, was promoted to the First Lieutenancy; he was in the Red River expedition, under Banks, and with Sheridan in the Shenandoah Valley; on the 31st of July, 1864, he was promoted to the Captaincy of his original company, and continued in command until the close of the war, and his mustering-out, August, 1865. In autumn of 1866, as a member of the firm of Fordham & Co., he began the mercantile business, and the management of a large stock farm; this partnership continued until 1869, when he became proprietor of the mercantile interests, with A. E. Spitzer as partner; they were successful, and the enlarged business was afterward divided, and Mr. Loomis is now sole manager and proprietor of the dry goods and grocery departments. He was married, on the 9th of August, 1868, to Miss Alice Spitzer; they have three children—Mabel Iris, Milo Mason and Arthur, all of whom are now living, except Arthur. Ever since the formation of the Republican party, Mr. Loomis has been a reliable Republican; he is an active worker in the Presbyterian Church, and is a friend of all moral and social reforms. He is a leading merchant of Wyoming, and enjoys the respect and confidence of his fellow-citizens.

From History of Jones County, Iowa, Western Historical Company, Chicago, 1879, page 603.

Captain A. M. Loomis, a prominent, influential and respected citizen of Wyoming, has continuously served as postmaster of the city since 1904. His birth occurred in Jefferson county, New York, on the 30th of April, 1831, his parents being Milo and Lucy A. (Greenly) Loomis, likewise natives of that county. The paternal grandfather, Aaron Loomis, was a soldier in the war of 1812. Milo Loomis, who was born in 1802, removed to Medina, Ohio, in 1833 and there followed the shoemaker's trade until the time of his demise in 1852, his death being occasioned by typhoid fever. His wife also fell a victim to that disease and died six weeks later. They left a family of six children, four sons and two daughters. of whom A. M. was the second in order of birth and the eldest son, so that the care of the other children largely devolved upon him. All became prosperous and worthy members of their respective communities. M. B. Loomis, a brother of our subject, studied law, became a successful practitioner of Chicago and likewise served on the bench. T. G. Loomis remained in the state of Ohio, where he became a very prosperous merchant and farmer and was elected a member of the state legislature and senate. F. R., the publisher of the Norwalk Chronicle for many years, was well known in journalistic circles.

In early manhood A. M. Loomis learned the shoemaker's trade under the direction of his father and in the year 1856 came west to Wyoming, Jones county, Iowa, where he followed his trade until the outbreak of the Civil war. In 1862 he enlisted as a member of a newly organized company-Company K of the Twenty-fourth Iowa Volunteer Infantry, of which he was elected second lieutenant, James D. Williams being made captain and Thomas Green first lieutenant. His regiment was assigned to the Department of the Gulf and he loyally fought for the Union until its supremacy had been established. He participated in many important engagements with his command, was with Sheridan in the Shenandoah Valley and took part in the Red River campaign with General Banks. In June, 1865, he was mustered out as captain, having served with that rank for eighteen months, and he returned to Wyoming with a most creditable military record.

Once more taking up the pursuits of civil life, Captain Loomis was engaged in general farming for two years, at the end of which time he became a member of the mercantile firm of Fordham & Norton. Mr. Norton passed away in 1869 and the name of the concern was changed to Fordham & Company, thus conducting business until its dissolution a few years later. The company had been engaged in the mercantile business and also in the buying and shipping of stock, and when it was dissolved Mr. Loomis took over the mercantile department and, in association with his brother-in-law, A. E. Spitzer, established the firm of Loomis & Spitzer. Subsequently, however, the enterprise was conducted under the name of A. M. Loomis until it was sold out in 1899. Thus for almost a third of a century he was a prominent factor in the business life of Wyoming and the success which attended his efforts in this direction came as the direct result of his close application, unfaltering energy and capable management. Captain Loomis has been married twice. In 1851 he wedded Miss Jane Briggs, who passed away in 1866, leaving two children. In 1868 Mr. Loomis was again married, his second union being with Miss Alice Spitzer, a native of Ohio, by whom he had four children, two of whom still survive. The record of the children is as follows: Josephine, who died at the age of twelve years; Jessie Fremont, who is now the wife of Dr. C. S. Shepard; Finney, a resident of Akron, Ohio; Mabel, the widow of Dr. J. W. Kirkpatrick, who was a popular physician and highly respected citizen of Wyoming and whose sudden death came as a severe blow to the community; and Milo, a medical practitioner of Omaha.

Politically Captain Loomis is a stalwart republican, casting his first vote for John C. Fremont in 1856, and is an active and prominent factor in the local ranks of the party. He has capably served his fellow townsmen in the office of mayor, also as justice of the peace, as a member of the school board and in various minor capacities. Honored by election to the state legislature, he served as a member of that body in 1896, 1897 and 1898. In 1904 he was appointed postmaster at Wyoming and has since acted in that capacity, having been reappointed in 1908. He is a Presbyterian in religious faith and has been the president of the Jones County Sunday-School Association, while for a half century he has served as chorister and Sunday-school superintendent in one church. In citizenship he has been as faithful to his country as when he followed the old flag on southern battlefields, and public opinion, which seldom errs, places him in the front rank among those who are deserving of the admiration and respect of their fellowman. He has justly earned the proud American title of a self-made man and is now enabled to spend his remaining days in a beautiful home in Wyoming, surrounded by many of the comforts and luxuries which go to make life worth living. The period of his residence in this county covers more than a half century and he has therefore witnessed a wonderful transformation as pioneer conditions have been replaced by all the evidences of an advanced civilization.

From History of Jones County, Iowa, Past and Present, R. M. Corbitt, S. J. Clarke Publishing Co., Chicago, 1910, p. 38.

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Daniel Lopes
Born 1825

DANIEL LOPES, farmer, Wayne Twp., Sec. 29; P.O. Anamosa; born in Pennsylvania in 1825; came to Jones Co. in 1848 with his parents, who went to Des Moines Go. in 1840; they are both dead. His wife's maiden name was Mary Hickson, a native of Ohio; they were married in September, 1850; have had thirteen children, ten of whom are living—Austin P., Osborn, Leroy, Eliza, Sylvester, Ida, Daniel Webster, Lena, Elbert and Mary Ann. Those who died were Ellie Ann, Manford and Willie. Mr. and Mrs. Loper are members of the M.E. Church. Mr. L. is a Democrat. He was a soldier in the Mexican war; volunteered while living in Iowa, and was a member of the 1st I.V.I.; was sent to Fort Atkinson, and to Minnesota and Wisconsin; was in the service about two years and four months; enlisted in 1846; was discharged in 1848, and, in the fall of the same year, settled in Jones Co., where he has since resided. Owns 250 acres, about two hundred under cultivation.

From History of Jones County, Iowa, Western Historical Company, Chicago, 1879, page 631.

John Lorentzen
Born 1837

JOHN LORENTZEN, dealer in groceries, butter and cheese, Monticello; is a native of Germany and was born in Bredstedt Schleswig, in 1837; he emigrated to America in 1850; he came to Iowa and located in Monticello, and engaged in the crockery business; he afterward engaged in the grocery trade, and buying produce; he has been extensively engaged in buying and shipping butter and cheese, and, by fair dealing, has built up a good trade. He married Miss Tillie Paulsen, a native of Meldorf Holstein, Germany, June 28, 1868; they have four children—Victor, Charlie, George and Marie.

From History of Jones County, Iowa, Western Historical Company, Chicago, 1879, page 673.

S. M. Lorenzen
Born MAy 15, 1843

S. M. Lorenzen, an enterprising and progressive farmer of Jones county, belongs to that class of representative American citizens who claim Germany as the land of their nativity and who in the new world have found opportunity for advancement and progress. He was born in Schleswig-Holstein on the 15th of May, 1843, his parents being Barney and Helen Lorenzen, who spent their entire lives in the fatherland, where the father was a laborer. The subject of this review was next to the youngest in a family of three sons and two daughters. One brother N. B., came to the United States and passed away in Ohio.

In the common schools of his native country S. M. Lorenzen acquired his education and he remained under the parental roof until the year 1865 when, having previously heard rumors concerning the good opportunities offered in the new world, and thinking to find better business advantages in this country, he crossed the Atlantic and upon his arrival in. America came direct to Iowa, locating in Clinton county. He was employed by the month as a farm hand, continuing in that capacity until 1881, when he came to Jones county, locating in Oxford township, where for fifteen years he carried on agricultural pursuits as a renter. That he was industrious, persevering and thrifty is indicated by the fact that at the expiration of that period he had accumulated sufficient means wherewith to purchase a farm of his own, and he now owns a fine farming property of two hundred and forty acres on sections 31 and 32, Hale township, and ten acres of timber land located three miles north of the farm. The unceasing effort and intelligently directed diligence of Mr. Lorenzen have made of his place a highly cultivated farm, the appearance of which indicates a spirit of progress and thrift upon the part of the owner. In its midst stand good buildings and it is equipped with all of the modern accessories of a model farm, most of the improvements having been placed thereupon by our subject. >P>It was in the year 1878 that Mr. Lorenzen was united in marriage to B. Johanna Christophersen, who was born in 1859 in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany; and came alone to the United States about 1871. Unto this union have been born six children, namely: Helena, the wife of Rudolph C. Dethman, of Hale township; Julius B., at home; Anna, the wife of Jacob Levesen, also residing in this township; Amanda, Bernhart and Louis, all at home.

Since becoming a naturalized American citizen Mr. Lorenzen has given stalwart allegiance to the democracy, and is serving as a school director, the cause of education finding in him a warm champion. He has never found occasion to regret his determination to seek his fortune in this country, for here where individual effort is unhampered by caste or class he has attained a most creditable degree of success so that he is numbered among the substantial and representative farmers of his section of the county.

From History of Jones County, Iowa, Past and Present, R. M. Corbitt, S. J. Clarke Publishing Co., Chicago, 1910, p. 525.