Poweshiek County IA Genealogy

Biography of T. W. Johnson

T. W. JOHNSON. There is no country in the world in which the march of civilization is more noticeable than America, where home life is at the highest ebb of refinement and moral excellence. In every branch of life is this noticeable, the homes in particular showing the delicate touch of the housewife whose keen sense of refinement leads her to command the best and most artistic class of furniture. All classes of furniture may be found at the emporium of T. W. Johnson, who is the largest and only exclusive dealer in furniture and sash and doors in this … Read more

Drake, Charles A. – Obituary

Charles A., native of Ohio, b. Wood Co. 1842, son of Isaac and Nancy (Swaney) Drake. His parents were born in Ohio, the father in Fairfield Co. 1816 and the mother in Richland Co. 1818 and married in Hancock Co., Ia., 1854. Charles Drake married Eliza H. Cunning who was born in Ohio 1846 and came with her parents, Richard and Nancy (Swagler) Cunning to Iowa. [Died January 2, 1914; interment IOOF Brooklyn Cemetery] Contributed by: Shelli Steedman

Gwin, Mary Breneman Fry – Obituary

Mrs. Mary Gwin, 90, former Poweshiek County resident, died June 2 [1963] at Waterloo where she had made her home with a daughter for the past 23 years. Funeral services were held June 5 from the McAninch Funeral Home in Victor with the Rev. James Robinson of the Malcom Methodist Church officiating. Vocal music was by Hollis Fish, accompanied by Mrs. Bette Rieke at the organ. Pallbearers were Vern Ocheltree, Vic VanHamme, Horace Wahl, Richard Hull, Roy LeBeau, and Forest Farnum. Burial was in IOOF Cemetery at Victor. The daughter of Peter and Barbara Niswander Breneman, she was born March … Read more

Biography of Reverday J. Pierson

Reverday J. Pierson, junior member and business manager of the well-known firm of Holmes & Pierson, the editors and proprietors of the Riverside Daily Press and Weekly Horticulturist, of Riverside, is a native of Licking County, Ohio, and was born in 1848. When a child his parents moved to Springfield, Illinois, and thence in 1857 to Poweshiek County, Iowa. He was engaged in his attendance in the public schools until fifteen years of age, and then apprenticed to the printers trade at Montezuma, Iowa. After serving his apprenticeship, he commenced his travels as a journeyman, and was engaged on the … Read more

Biography of Orion Littell Rider

Orion Littell Rider, a leading attorney of Vinita whose professional ability is indicated by the large and distinctively representative clientage accorded hire, has served his fellow citizens in various capacities and has always done able and conscientious work. His birth occurred in Mason county, Illinois, on the 7th of January, 1874, and his parents were Dr. Robert G. and Harriet M. (Littell) Rider, the former born near Cleveland, Ohio, and the latter in the state of New Jersey. The father was a physician, acquiring his professional training in Pennsylvania, and he first opened an office at Mobile, Alabama, whence he … Read more

Biography of James Oscar Sayers

James Oscar Sayers of Fisher, one of the advisory board of editors of the Champaign County History, has had an active experience in this section of the county covering a period of forty-two years. He came here as a young man possessed of no financial resources, and by hard work and constant attention to his duties has built up a mercantile business whose volume is second to none in the village. Mr. Sayers is wide awake to all things that concern this locality and is generally recognized as one of the most capable men of Champaign County. He was born … Read more

Biographical Sketch of Oliver Farrar Emerson

Emerson, Oliver Farrar; university professor; born, Traer, Ia., May 24, 1860; son of Oliver and Maria Farrar Emerson; A. B., Iowa College, 1882, A. M., 1885; Ph. D., Cornell University, 1891; married, Annie L. Logan, of St. Louis, Sept. 24, 1891; supt. schools, Grinnell, Ia., 1882-1884, Muscatine, Ia., 1884-1885; prin. Academy of Iowa College, 1885-1888; Goldwin Smith fellow in English, 1888-1889, instru. in English, 1889-1891; asst. prof. rhetoric and English philology, 1892-1896, Cornell University; prof. English, Western Reserve University, since 1896; member Modern Language Ass’n America, American Dialect Society (pres., 1905). Author: History of the English Language, 1894; A Brief … Read more

Tish, Jennie Belle Alderman – Obituary

Funeral services for Mrs. W. P. [William Preston] Tish were held at 2 o’clock Thursday afternoon from the Church of Christ. The Rev. N. W. Underwood, pastor of the church, conducted the services. Burial was made in West Liberty Cemetery west of town. Pallbearers were Ben Powell, George F. Johnston, R. F. Gregson, Sam E. Smith, George Pratt and Charles Zorn. Mrs. J. L. Ravitts and Mrs. George Morgan sang “We Are Going Down the Valley” and “There Will Be No Night There,” accompanied at the piano by Mrs. Forest Jenkins. Mrs. Tish died late Tuesday evening at her home. … Read more

Tibbals, LeRoy H. – Obituary

Leroy H. Tibbals Dies at Huntington Leroy Havens Tibbals, teacher of music in Baker County for many years, died suddenly the night of October 25 at Huntington, where he has had a music studio for the last two years or more. Mr. Tibbals, who formerly managed the Tibbals Piano store at Baker, was born October 20, 1871 at Deep River, Iowa. He was a member of the I.O.O.F. Lodge. His wife, Winifred, survives him. Funeral service will be held Saturday at 2 p.m. in the chapel of West and Company at Baker with Rev. Frank Zook officiating. Burial will be … Read more

Tish, William Preston – Obituary

Funeral services for W. P. Tish, 75, were held at 2:30 Tuesday afternoon from the West Liberty Church, conducted by Earl Warren of Ivy. Burial was made in the West Liberty Cemetery. Mrs. Harland Johnson and Pauline, Mrs. Glenn Swangel and Earl Warren sang “Abide With Me,” “Good Night Here and Good Morning There,” “The City Four Square,” and “God’s Tomorrow.” Pallbearers were B. L. Powell, Chas. Zorn, Levi Martin, Jesse Martin, Guy Hildebrand and Tom Allen. The following obituary was read at the service: William Preston Tish, son of Samuel R. and Alice C. Tish, was born near Searsboro, … Read more

Biography of John Kimberland Scott

The subject of this sketch the present States Attorney of Rock Island County, was born in Muscatine, Iowa, on November 26, 1870. His parents were William W. Scott, now deceased, and Margaret (Hickey) Scott, the former of sturdy Scotch, and the later of keen, energetic Irish ancestry. Mr. Scott’s father served three years during the Civil War as a member of Company M, Eighth Iowa Volunteer Cavalry, and was for almost forty years a locomotive engineer on the Rock Island Railway, and for one term an alderman from the Seventh Ward of Rock Island. John K. Scott came to Rock … Read more

Fry, Ellen Bimson – Obituary

Died at her home in Guernsey, Iowa Jan 29 1899 of tumorous cancer, Mrs. Ellen Fry, aged 60 years, 9 months and 20 days. Funeral services were held in the M. E. Church at Guernsey conducted by her former pastor, J. F. Kalser, assisted by J. W. Wilson, pastor of the M. E. Church at Guernsey, after which the remains were laid to rest in the Moravian Cemetery at Harmony, Iowa. Ellen Bimson was born in England, April 9, 1838. At the age of four years she came with her parents to America, locating in Adams County Ill., where she … Read more

Biography of Clarence S. Crary

Mr. Clarence S. Crary is not only a banker, but has in the comparatively few years of his business career, earned the title of “Builder of Banks.” Mr. Crary is the Cashier of the Bank of Burlingame, and resides in Burlingame, where he is prominently identified with the business and social life of that city, being the Treasurer of the Burlingame Commercial Club and the Treasurer of the Merchants’ Association of San Mateo and Burlingame. He is also a member of the San Mateo lodge of Elks, and a member of the Delta Tau Delta Fraternity at Stanford University, where … Read more

Pease, Ellen Wheeler – Obituary

Ellen Wheeler Pease was born in Baltimore County, Maryland, March 1, 1824, and died at the home of her son in Chelsea, Dec. 9, 1899 aged 74 years, 9 months and eight days. She was married in 1847 to Louis Pease who died two years ago. The deceased leaves to mourn the loss of a kind and loving mother, six children, Richard Pease and Mrs. John Manatt, both of Chelsea; Mrs. Jennie Garnett of Victor; Mrs. Lizzie Fry of Carnforth; Mrs. Kate Miller of Kansas, and J. K. Pease of South Dakota. They were all present at the funeral but … Read more

Biographical Sketch of Dan Freeman Bradley

Bradley, Dan Freeman; clergyman; born, Bangkok, Siam, March 17, 1857; son of Dan Beach and Sarah (Blachly) Bradley; educated, Oberlin College, 1882, Oberlin Theological Seminary, 1885, Oberlin Honorary Degree Doctor of Divinity, 1909; same degree, Cornell College, 1904; married, Oberlin, O., July 9, 1883, Lillian Jaques; three sons, Dwight J., Robert G., and Theodore Bradley; pastor Steubenville Ohio, Congregational Church, 1885-1887; Yankton, S. D., 1887-1892; Grand Rapids, Mich., 1892-1902; pres. Iowa College, Grinnel, Ia., 1902-1905; pastor Pilgrim Church, Cleveland, 1905 to date; has gymnasium, branch of public library cooking school and mothers club; has been instrumental in the organization of … Read more

Biography of Sumner W. Dee

Mr. Dee is the only clothing merchant who deals exclusively in everything that pertains to men’s and boys’ wearing apparel in the city of Caldwell. He was born in Holton, Jackson County, Kansas, November 26, 1862, and is a son of Chester Dee, of Burlington, Vermont whose ancestors settled in Virginia in 1620. He is a direct descendant of the first colonial governor of Vermont, and members of the family were prominent in the early history of the colonies and in the Revolutionary war. His grandfather, when a boy, saw the battle at Ticonderoga. Mr. Dee married Miss Elizabeth Blake, … Read more

Iowa Death Records by County

Many experts recommend starting your research with the death records first. The death record is the most recent record, so it will more likely be available to you. Death records are kept in the state where your ancestor died, not where they were buried. However these records can provide a burial location. Death records are especially helpful because they may provide important information on a person’s birth, spouse, and parents. Some researchers look first for death records because there are often death records for persons who have no birth or marriage records. Early death records, like cemetery records, generally give … Read more

Iowa Atlases, Farm Directories, and Plat Books

This collection contains digital atlases, farm directories, and plat books for all 99 Iowa counties. We have collated these from a variety of online sources, and provide them here as a single source for all online Iowa County Atlases, Farm Directories, and Plat Books.

WPA Iowa Graves Registration Survey

WPA – Work Projects Administration – 1930’s Iowa Graves Registration Survey Adair County Iowa – WPA Grave Registration Adams County Iowa – WPA Grave Registration Allamakee County Iowa – WPA Grave Registration Audubon County Iowa – WPA Grave Registration Black Hawk County Iowa – WPA Grave Registration Boone County Iowa – WPA Grave Registration Bremer County Iowa – WPA Grave Registration Buchanan County Iowa – WPA Grave Registration Buena Vista County Iowa – WPA Grave Registration Butler County Iowa – WPA Grave Registration Calhoun County Iowa – WPA Grave Registration Carroll County Iowa – WPA Grave Registration Cass County Iowa … Read more

Drake, Eliza Hester Cunning – Obituary

Eliza Hester Cunning, daughter of Richard and Julian (Swagler) Cunning was born in Ragersville, Tuscarawas Co., Ohio, on March 21, 1846. She passed away at her home on Des Moines Street, Brooklyn, Iowa on January 27, 1929. Mrs. Drake came to Brooklyn from her childhood home in Ohio when a girl of sixteen. Since then she has lived continuously in or near Brooklyn. She experienced all the privations and hardships to which the pioneers of this community fell heir. Like a true pioneer, she has always displayed a courageous spirit, and a wonderful fortitude in time of stress or trouble. … Read more