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George H. George
Born April 6, 1856 |
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| George H. George, whose success as a farmer is representative of the agricultural prosperity of Lovell township, while as a stockman he is also prominent in his locality, was born on the farm which is now his home, April 6, 1856, and is a son of George and Anna (Faragher) George. The father was a native of England, while the mother was born on the Isle of Man, but in 1842. they came to the United States, locating in Jo Daviess county, Illinois, where Mr. George bought forty acres of land. He had been there but a few years, however, when in 1850 the rumor of the discovery of gold in California reached him and he was inspired with the desire to go to the Pacific coast. He started overland with an ox-team and remained away three years. In the meantime, in 1850, his wife sold their Illinois farm and in company with a brother came to Jones county. Iowa. purchasing part of the place now occupied by her son G. H. At that time there were but two log cabins in the village of Monticello, while conditions of living were in keeping with that primitive kind of architecture. In 1853, when Mr. George returned from his western trip, he began the improvements on the farm his wife had purchased and devoted himself to agricultural pursuits. It was with success, too, for as the years passed he was able to add to the original tract until at the time of his death, in 1883, he owned over seven hundred acres. In the meantime the conditions of the outdoor worker had been greatly ameliorated; the harsh conditions of the early years were but memories, the few loghouses had been replaced by numerous well built homes, barns and outhouses, while cultivated fields filled the stretches which were at that time covered with unturned sod and primitive forests. Mrs. George lived until 1896, so that she enjoyed the additional pleasure of seeing the prosperity of her son. Four children were born to the couple: William, deceased; Sarah, who is the wife of Frank Oltmann, of Richland township; James, deceased; and G. H., the subject of this sketch.
G. H. George was reared at home and in the county schools received a fair English education. When he reached his maturity he was put in charge of the parental farm, on which he had grown up, operating it even during the lifetime of his father. In addition to the cultivation of the soil he has engaged largely in the stock business, making a specialty of breeding shorthorn cattle. He is also raising Clydesdale draft horses and standard breed road horses, having in his stables today some noted stallions of this last class. The reputation he has made for himself as a skillful and careful man in his line extends beyond the confines of the township, although the success he has attained may perhaps be indicated more adequately by a citation of his land holdings. In Jones county he owns four hundred acres, while in Plymouth county, this state, he has six hundred and forty acres, besides having property in Marion county. He holds considerable stock in the State Bank of Monticello, one of the leading financial institutions of Iowa, and is one of the directors upon whom the stability of the concern rests. Surely his is a record of a life well spent in honest labor, of industry assisted by a careful husbanding of one's resources.
In 1877 Mr. George was united in marriage to Miss Anna Belle Wilson. She is a native of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and a daughter of Robert and Catherine Wilson, who came to Jones county in the early years of its development. Six children have been born of this marriage: George, deceased; Robert Wilson, residing in Canada; Catherine Ethel, who is at home; and Raymond Henry, Thomas Irving and Iola Frances who are at home. The last is a graduate of the Monticello high school, while Miss Catherine finished the four years' course at the University of Wisconsin and is now engaged in teaching.
Source: History of Jones County, Iowa, Past and Present, R. M. Corbitt, S. J. Clarke Publishing Co., Chicago, 1910, p. 191. |
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© Copyright 1997-2013, The Art Department, © Copyright 2014-2020, Richard Harrison.
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