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John B. Moses
Born November 6, 1854 |
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One of Jones county's native sons, John B. Moses has through hard work become one of her most prosperous farmers and largest stockmen. He was born in Scotch Grove township, November 6, 1854, and is a son of Charles B. and Catherine (Sutherland) Moses. The father was a native of Ohio and came to Iowa in 1851 as a young man. The mother, on the other hand, was born in Manitoba, but was only five years of age, when in 1837, her parents came to Iowa, locating in Scotch Grove township, Jones county. There the young people became acquainted and were married. After their union Charles B. Moses bought a farm in that township, to which he added from time to time until at his death he owned about four hundred and eighty acres. He followed agriculture as his life work and also engaged extensively in the breeding of fine horses and his success contributed largely to the prosperity of Jones county. He was in the vanguard of progress, was one of the first men to buy a thresher, and was very active both in his own work and in public matters, being one of the dominant spirits in the organization of the first Jones county fair and a member of its board for years. In politics he was a Whig, but when the republican party was organized he joined its ranks and added his voice and influence to the antislavery agitation. He did not live, however, to see his ideas and the justness of the cause he espoused come out victorious from the death struggle, but passed away in 1860. His wife still survives at the advanced age of seventy-five and makes her home in Center Junction.
John B. Moses was but five years of age when his father died and as he was the eldest of the three children the cares and responsibilities of the farm early fell upon his shoulders. He was permitted to obtain a good education, nevertheless, for after he completed the required work of the district schools he went to Lenox College at Hopkinton, Iowa, remaining there three years. He then returned to the home farm, which he assisted his mother in conducting until he was twenty-four years of age, when he started in life for himself. He acquired first a small tract of land in Scotch Grove township. On this he lived and worked for about ten years and then removed to another farm in that township, which remained his home until the spring of 1907, when he removed to his present farm in Madison township, lying just on the outskirts of Center Junction. He still retains possession of his two other tracts, those in Scotch Grove township, and owns besides extensive tracts in different parts of the county. In addition to his farming interests he has engaged in the breeding and feeding of cattle, and each year sends from five to eight carloads of stock to the large markets. As he gives his whole attention to his work and has never spared an effort toward making his farm and stock the best in the section he has been rewarded with the substantial income and has a reputation that is in itself a large financial asset.
In 1887 Moses wedded Miss Clara S. Hughes, of Scotch Grove township, this county, to them three children have been born: Charles B., John M. and Ethel A., all of whom are at home. Mr. and Mrs. Moses are members of the Presbyterian church and the young people are being reared in that faith. Politically Mr. Moses gives his support to the republican party, and while not a politician in the sense of being a seeker for public recognition, in the years he was a resident of Scotch Grove township he served in the various local offices. The Center junction lodge of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows numbers him among its members, and he wears the badge of the Iowa Legion of Honor. A good citizen, a loyal friend and a man who know how to attain that for which he seeks, Mr. Moses enjoys the esteem of all who have come into relation with him.
Source: History of Jones County, Iowa, Past and Present, R. M. Corbitt, S. J. Clarke Publishing Co., Chicago, 1910, p. 446. |
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