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Jasper County, Iowa
Historical and Genealogical Data Exchange
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James
Hickey So
many things must be considered in the development of a County, state or nation,
that neither the biographer nor historian can place a finger upon some one
certain element or quality and say: Here we have the very essence of this land's
development and the keynote of its future. But one thing there is that we may be
certain and that thing is sturdy manhood wherever we find it and no matter under
what conditions. The history
of the great County of Jasper, part and parcel as it is of the splendid
commonwealth of Iowa, would indeed be incomplete without the biography of James
Hickey, and in this statement there is no mawkish sentiment, no fulsome
flattery. Well may any division of
people take pride in the good citizenship, in the culture and refinement of one
of their native born, for Mr. Hickey was born in Newton, the County seat of the
County, August 13, 1859, and has resided in the County ever since.
He has watched it grow from a wilderness of raw prairie, peopled by
howling wolves, and the haunt of wild deer into its present splendid fulfillment
of well repaid husbandry. When he
came to his present residence, he was but ten years old and the great rolling
land about him presented no such aspect of well-kept field and winding roadway
as now. His father,
James Hickey, was a native of Ireland, immigrating to Ohio and coming to Jasper
County from Carrollton, in that state, in company with old Dr. Hunter in 1842.
His mother, Hannah (Tewey) Hickey, was also a native of Ireland.
In 1860 Mr. Hickey's father purchased the eighty acres of land now
occupied by the subject of this sketch as a residence, purchasing the same from
Abraham Carrier for twenty-four dollars per acre. It was upon this land he was making his home when death
claimed him thirty-five years prior to this writing.
His mother departed this life in March 1905, while making her home with
her daughter, Nora, in Newton. Mr. Hickey, the subject of this sketch, is
one of a family of six children, two boys and four girls.
Those living are: Mrs. Nora
Murphy, wife of Patrick Murphy, resides in Newton; Lida Harboldt, wife of
Christopher Harboldt, residing near Goddard, Iowa; Mary Wilkinson, wife of
Joseph Wilkinson, resides in Pomona, California. On May 13, l885, Mr. Hickey was united in
marriage to Hannah O'Rourke, daughter of Daniel and Mary (Corkery) O'Rourke,
both of whom were natives of Ireland. Both
of Mrs. Hickey's parents are dead. Mrs.
Hickey was born in Monroe, Green County, Wisconsin, in 1860, and is one of eight
children, seven of whom survive, namely: William
and John, who reside in South Dakota; Charles and Patrick reside in Monroe,
Wisconsin; Lawrence, a traveling salesman for an electrical company, resides in
California; James, residing in Asher, Iowa, one sister is dead. Mr. and Mrs.
Hickey have four children: William J., born September 14, 1886, is in Des
Moines, Iowa; Margaret Allen, wife of Frank Allen, born November 26, 1887,
resides upon a farm in Jasper County; Mamie Robinson, wife of William J.
Robinson, a traveling salesman, resides in Brenton, Canada, and was born April
19, 1889; James Francis, born June 6, 1895, makes his home with his parents. Both Mr. and Mrs. Hickey are people of culture and refinement, Mr. Hickey being an inveterate and consistent reader and possessed of an excellent library. Both he and his wife are members of the Roman Catholic Church, and are beloved by their wide circle of friends and acquaintances. Both have striven to give to their children the best that can be had by way of training and education. To pass an hour in conversation with James Hickey is a keen pleasure, for he has a mind rich in knowledge acquired from broad experience as well as from the reading of good books. Then above all he has the quick sympathy and kindliness which dwells in the hearts of all true Irishmen. The Past and Present
of Jasper County, Iowa, Gen. James B. Weaver, Editor-in-Chief, 1912, B. F.
Bowden & Co., Indianapolis, IN, p. |
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