Charles D. Fulton (1831-1906)

FULTON

Posted By: Karon Velau (email)
Date: 9/4/2023 at 00:15:17

Charles D. Fulton
(July 13, 1831 – July 29, 1906)

C. D. Fulton has been numbered among the citizens of Manson, Calhoun County, since 1885. He is a self-made man who, without any extraordinary family or pecuniary advantages at the commencement of life, has battled earnestly and energetically, and by indomitable courage and integrity has achieved both character and fortune. By sheer force of will and untiring effort be has worked his way upward and is numbered among the lending business men of Calhoun County. Mr. Fulton is a native of the Empire state, his birth having occurred in St. Lawrence County on the 13th of July, 1831, his parents being A. and Irene (Robinson) Fulton, who were natives of New York. In that state they were married and continued to reside throughout their remaining days, the father devoting his attention to agricultural pursuits. He was a Republican in his political affiliations and was a member of the Wesleyan Methodist church. Unto him and his wife were born eleven children, of whom eight are yet living, namely: Daniel, a resident of Morley, New York; C. D., of this review; A., who married Loretta Wallace, and resides in Peterson, Clay County, Iowa: Oscar, a resident of Welsh, Louisiana; Rufus, who is living at Morley, New York; Renia, the wife of James A. Day, and resides in Welsh, Louisiana; James, who married Libbie Wallace, and makes his home in Lisbon Center, New York: and Jennie, who became the wife of N. B. Flack, of Boone, Iowa. The educational privileges which C. D. Fulton received were somewhat limited. For a short time he was a student in the district school near his home, but he and his elder brother had to aid in the operation of the home farm in order to help support the fanuly, for the father was in limited financial circumstances and could not afford to employ farm hands. Therefore our subject remained under the parental roof until he had attained his majority, after which he worked as a farm hand for others and was also employed in a sawmill, remaining in New York until twenty-three years of age. Believing that he might have better business opportunities in the west where competition was not so great, he decided to remove to the Mississippi Valley, and took up his abode in Manitowoc, Wisconsin. In that state he was employed in the lumber regions, securing a position in a sawmill where he remained for a year. On the expiration of that period he obtained a responsible position, being made foreman of the lumber mills owned by B. Jones & Co. For nine years he served in that capacity, enjoying to the fullest measure the confidence, respect and good will of his employers, whose interests he fully served. In the year 1863 he arrived in Iowa, locating first at Vinton, where he began business on his own account as proprietor of a hardware store in connection with C. E. Porter, under the firm name of Porter & Fulton. That connection was
maintained for sixteen years and a constantly increasing business brought to him a very desirable income. At length, however, Mr.
Fulton sold out and removed to Peterson, Iowa, where, as a member of the firm of Fulton & Wells, he continued his connection with the hardware trade for five years. It was in 1885 that he arrived in Manson, having completed business arrangements whereby he took charge of the business of the Wisconsin Lumber Company, one of the most extensive enterprises of the kind in this part of the state. His previous long experience with the lumber trade well fitted him for the task, and he has since capably managed its business affairs so that his work results with profit to himself and the firm which he represents. The company is divided into branches, known as the Wisconsin Lumber Company and the Green Bay Lumber Company. Most of the stock is owned by the members of the Finkbine family of Des Moines, Iowa. They have more than seventy-five different lumber yards, including the one at Manson. During the administration of the company's affairs by Mr. Fulton at this place, the patronage of the yard has largely increased, a fact which speaks in high terms of his business ability and executive force. He is a man of unquestioned reliability, cordial in manner, and liberal in the conduct of his interests, and has won a host of friends throughout the northeastern part of Calhoun County. While residing in Wisconsin, Mr. Fulton was united in marriage to Miss Ellen Goodenow, who was born in Oswego, New York, and was a daughter of Washington Goodenow. She died in Vinton, Iowa, leaving two daughters. The elider, Carrie L., is now the wife of Andrew J. Allen, a hardware merchant of Independence, Iowa; and Florence is the wife of D. I. Nethrow, who is assistant superintendent of the asylum in Independence, Iowa. While in Peterson, this state, Mr. Fulton was again married, his second union being with Sarah Pavey. Both Mr. and Mrs. Fulton are connected with the Masonic fraternity. He belongs to Morning Light Lodge, No. 384. F. & A. M., and they are both members of Evening Light Lodge, No. 36, O. E. S. For more than forty-seven years Mr. Fulton has been identified with the craft and is one of its most exemplary members, who in his life shows forth the beneficent spirit of Masonry, which is based upon the brother-hood of mankind. He takes a very active interest in all that pertains to the advancement of the county in which he lives and cooperates heartily in every measure which he believes is for the general good. Capable of controlling extensive and important business interests, he today occupies a leading position in connection with industrial and commercial affairs in this portion of Iowa.
[Source – Biographical Record of Calhoun County, Iowa, by S.J. Clarke, 1902, p.584]