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John Wesley Rundall
Born January 5, 1840 |
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| John Wesley Rundall, a farmer of Greenfield township, is one of the men who can remember when this part of the state presented an appearance far different from the order and prosperity it now displays. He was but two years old when in 1842 his father brought him from his Ohio home and settled upon a farm in Viola, Linn county, Iowa. At that time, and all through his boyhood, the land was wild, covered with forests, inhabited by all kinds of wild game and still the hunting ground of the red man.
He was born in Delaware county, Ohio, January 5, 1840, and was the son of John and Elizabeth (Hall) Rundall. On the farm his father cleared he grew to manhood, assisting the older man in the hard work as soon as he was able, and can well remember the difficulties that attended agriculture in those early days as contrasted with the means employed at present. In 1871 he removed to Greenfield township, Jones county, purchasing the homestead on which he now lives. It consists of one hundred and twenty acres, is situated on section 8, and is well improved and cultivated by up-to-date and progressive methods. On it Mr. Rundall follows general farming and finds his labors well repaid.
On the 31st Of January, 1865, Mr. Rundall was united in marriage to Miss Martha Foos, a daughter of Benjamin and Julia (Thompson) Foos, who were the parents of eleven other children, ten boys and one girl: Cephus, deceased; Henry, who lives in Oregon; George, deceased; Shadrach, who was killed in the battle of Shiloh; John W., of Greenfield; James, who lives in Oregon; Oscar, deceased; Robert, living in Nebraska; Amy, living in Linn county, Iowa; Washington, who resides in Nebraska, and Zilla, who lives in California. To Mr. and Mrs. Rundall have been born two children: Benjamin and Docia R., now the wife of C. C. Miller. Mrs. Rundall died July 29, 1903, and since that date Mr.
Rundall has made his home with his son Benjamin on the homestead which
he still owns. The son was married May 22, 1902, to Miss Mertie Garrettson, and is now the father of three young children: Jennie Elizabeth, born March 7, 1905; John R., born December 6, 1906; and Robert Benjamin, born April 27, 1909.
Mr. Rundall has always been a firm democrat and has believed in the platform of that party. He has not been a politician, however, although he has rendered efficient service as a member of the board of education of Greenfield township. His son is a member of White Rose Lodge, NO. 279, K.P., of Martelle, where he has a number of good friends. To hear Mr. Rundall tell of the lays of the pioneers one realizes how far we have progressed beyond those early days, and yet is reminded that without their sacrifices and heroism the development that surrounds us would not have been possible.
Source: History of Jones County, Iowa, Past and Present, R. M. Corbitt, S. J. Clarke Publishing Co., Chicago, 1910, p. 537. |
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