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W(ilbur) E. Tallman
Born April 20, 1863 |
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One of the native farmers of Rome township, who has advanced steadily with the progress of the times, is W. E. Tallman. He was born April 20, 1863, and is the son of John and Lucinda (Low) Tallman, the former a native of Ohio, the latter of Maryland. In 1845, shortly after their marriage the parents came to Iowa, locating in Rome township, Jones county, where they had entered government land. It was in the early days of the state's existence and the majority of houses were rudely built of logs. Mr. Tallmans differed but slightly from the other cabins about him, save that he with great labor put a roof of clapboards above the logs and the flooring was of boards. After the addition of a door, only too uncommon, the building that was to shelter his family from the inclemency of the weather, was complete, and it remained their home for ten or twelve years. When, on the 30th of July, 1893, the father was called away, these old conditions were but memories, of which he told and retold as if they were fairy tales to the grandchildren who gathered about him. His widow died September 6, 1909, in her eighty-eighth year. To John Tallman and wife were born ten children: James H., deceased; Nathaniel C., of Greene county, Iowa; Reuben S., also of Greene county, Iowa; Elizabeth, who makes her home in Chicago, Illinois; Winfield H., also of Greene county, Iowa; Mary J., deceased; Rose A., the wife of Arthur G. Neff, of Mount Vernon, Iowa; Samantha E., the wife of Peter Kane, of Vinton, Iowa; Angeline, who married R. T. Boots, of Rome township; and W. E. the subject of this sketch.
W. E. Tallman had all the advantages of education that those who followed the pioneers were able to enjoy. He attended the district schools and Cornell College, at Mount Vernon, in which he completed his formal training for life. Until he became of age he remained at home, assisting in the work of the farm, but with the advent of manhood he started out to make his own way in the world. For two years he worked as a renter and then bought a farm of one hundred and twenty acres on section 7, Rome township, which is his home today. With the lapse of years he has been able to add forty acres to this farm and to buy other land which has brought his holdings to three hundred and ninety-five acres, all situated in Jones county. In addition to his agricultural pursuits Mr. Tallman has engaged in the stock business, breeding and raising black polled cattle. He has been successful in his operations and has won the confidence of the people in whose midst he lives.
Mr. Tallman was married April 20, 1886, to Miss Delilah Merritt, who was born in Rome township in 1863 and is a daughter of John and Caroline (Dunlap) Merritt. The former was born in New York state, February 23, 1806, while the latter was born in Cumberland county, Pennsylvania, October 20, 1827. In 1836 John Merritt came to Iowa and entered land in Jones county. The next year, after he had satisfied himself as to the advisability of moving to this new country, he sent for his family to join him. Here the parents made their home until their deaths, which occurred, in the case of the father, December 1, 1886, and the mother February 16, 1909. To Mr. and Mrs. Merritt were born seven children, six of whom are still living. Of Mr. and Mrs. Tallman's union there have been eight children: W. E., Jr., Laura J., Marion, Lucinda F., Odessa C., Mary Bell, John and Lily J. W. E., Jr., is a farmer of Rome township, but the other children are all at home. Mr. Tallman is a republican in his political beliefs and has filled the offices of trustee and assessor at the behest of the voters of his township. His success has given the people confidence in his ability, and they have found they made no mistake in bestowing upon him those marks of their esteem.
Source: History of Jones County, Iowa, Past and Present, R. M. Corbitt, S. J. Clarke Publishing Co., Chicago, 1910, p. 564. |
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© Copyright 1997-2013, The Art Department, © Copyright 2014-2020, Richard Harrison.
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