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Jasper County, Iowa
Historical and Genealogical Data Exchange
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Wilson M. Robb The
success achieved by Wilson M. Robb, a worthy citizen of Newton, Jasper County,
proves the force of his nature and illustrates the persistency of an honest
purpose, and he is eminently entitled to the high esteem in which he is held as
a citizen of one of the foremost communities of a great commonwealth, which he
has ever sought to promote in whatever manner possible. Mr.
Robb was born in Muscatine County, Iowa, June 23, 1854, and he is the son of
James E. and Elmira (Freeman) Robb, natives of Indiana, who were the parents of
four children, of whom Wilson M. was the third in order of birth.
James E. Robb was a self-made man and one of the best citizens Jasper
County ever had. He was born and
reared in Indiana and received a good academic education in the Rush County
schools of his native state. He taught subscription schools and also taught
singing in the old-time singing schools, which were numerous in his day.
He came to Iowa in 1850 and entered land in Muscatine County which he
improved and later sold, and he lived in that County until 1883, when he moved
to Jasper County and settled in Buena Vista Township in the locality known as
Adamson Grove, purchasing one hundred and ninety-seven acres.
Here the family home was maintained until 1892, when they moved to
Newton, in which city the death of James E. Robb occurred on October 27, 1900. He had many friends wherever he was known, possessing the
faculty in a marked degree of making and retaining warm personal friendships.
He was a fearless, straightforward character who was always interested in
the community's good. While a citizen of Muscatine County he was for thirteen years
County supervisor. He served a
short time in the Civil war, refusing the offer of a substitute tendered him on
account of a large and dependent family. He
was a religious man, though not identified with any Church. His exemplary and
useful life remains a precious heirloom not only to those immediately left to
mourn him, but to the community in which he lived and labored. Dr.
E. H. Robb, of Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, and Mary E. Robb, of Sturgeon Bay,
Wisconsin, besides Wilson M. of this review, are the remaining children of James
E. and Elmira Robb, one being deceased. Mrs.
Robb was Elmira Freeman and was born in Indiana. Wilson
M. Robb came to Jasper County, Iowa, with his parents in 1883. He received a
public school education, and was engaged in the management of the parental farm,
bearing the brunt of the labor in the fields, and, with his father, shared in
the success attained. After the
father's death he became possessor of the home farm, but subsequently disposed
of it, and now lives on his farm four miles north of Newton. Mr.
Robb was married on February 20, 1879, to Elmira J. Moss, daughter of William
and Mary E. (Humphrey) Moss, a well-known and highly respected family.
Of the four children born-to Mr. and Mrs. Robb, two are living, namely: Lynn M., born December 2, 1879, and Clarence W., born March
13, 1883. This family belongs to the Methodist Episcopal Church. Mr.
Robb is a man of distinctive moral courage, and he takes a special interest in
the cause of temperance, being fearless in his advocacy of prohibition and
giving freely of his time and means to aid the success of temperance work.
On all moral issues or community interests, Mr. Robb will not hesitate should
occasion demand, to advocate his principles in the face of any opposition.
He is not a man to sacrifice principle for favor, but will do what he
thinks is right, hewing to the line always and letting the chips fall where they
will, regardless of consequences. Such
unselfish devotion to principle does not always command its just reward, but Mr.
Robb, unmindful of provoked censure, has not wavered in defending the moral
principles he advocates. A man
of more than ordinary ability and unquestioned integrity, his place in the
community is one of honor and respect. The Past and Present of Jasper County, Gen. James B. Weaver, Editor-In-Chief, 1912 B.F. Bowen Co., Indianapolis, IN, p. 985. |
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