Welcome to
Jasper County, Iowa
Historical and Genealogical Data Exchange
|
|
|
|
John R. Woodrow Among the substantial and enterprising business men of Jasper County who have won success by untiring effort and rightly directed talents is John R. Woodrow, who is deserving of conspicuous mention in this work, along with other public-spirited local citizens, because they have shown themselves to be the possessors of Superior qualities, the qualities that win, and are not discouraged at obstacles. Mr.
Woodrow was born May 27, 1852, in Lee County, Iowa, and he is the son of
Benjamin and Lorina (Jackson) Woodrow, the father born at Norwich, Norfolk
County, England, in 1807, and there he grew to maturity and was educated, coming
to America in 1828. He was a tailor by trade and upon arriving in this country
he located in New York City, where he worked at his trade for a few years, after
which he moved near Rochester. About
1850 he came west and located in Lee County, Iowa, where he bought a farm of one
hundred and sixty acres, and there he remained ten years, when his wife died,
after which event Mr. Woodrow returned to England.
His son, John R., of this review, was then seven years of age, and he is
the only surviving child of his mother. Upon
returning from England he located in Mount Pleasant, Henry County, Iowa, and
there engaged in the boot and shoe business with J. W. Woodrow, a son by a
former marriage, and half brother of the subject. Benjamin Woodrow's first
marriage was with Frances Sprague, which union resulted in the birth of two
children. After continuing in the
boot and shoe business for a year or two, the father moved to Baltimore,
Maryland, and there married Mary Rodgers, who died in 1878, without issue.
After an absence of twelve years, Mr. Woodrow came to Jasper County,
locating at Newton, purchasing an interest in the Jasper County Bank, with which
he was still connected when he died in 1896. He was a man of excellent business ability and high
integrity and was influential in whatever community he lived in. Upon
the death of his mother, John R. Woodrow, of this review, went to live with his
aunt, Laura J. Ives. He attended
school two years, and when thirteen years of age he came to Newton, where he
worked in the summer and attended school during the winter, obtaining a public
school education, and prepared himself for a teacher, which vocation he followed
four terms, all taught in Jasper County, south of Newton, and he was very
successful as an instructor. In
February 1879, Mr. Woodrow married Phoebe Hanson, who was born in England in
1857, the daughter of Thomas and Jane (Brothers) Hanson, who came to
America and located at Newton, Iowa, in 1869, and here the father's death
occurred in 1879. He was
sixty-three years old. He was a
brick maker. His wife lived to be
eighty-three years of age, dying about five years ago, in Newton. After
his marriage, John R. Woodrow purchased forty acres where his present home is
now located and which is just outside the city limits of Newton.
To this he has subsequently added forty acres adjoining where his home is
now situated. He has also
added twenty acres in Palo Alto Township, one-half mile south of his residence.
His dwelling, which was built in 1878, has been remodeled and made an
attractive, commodious and cozy modern home in fact, as it now stands it is
easily one of the most beautiful residences in the County, and here the many
friends of the family frequently gather, always finding a genuine hospitality
prevailing. Besides general
farming, Mr. Woodrow is extensively engaged in fruit growing, being regarded as
an authority on horticultural topics in this locality. Six
children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Woodrow, namely:
Albert Edward, born January 27, 1880, died at the age of three years;
George Meritt, born September 8, 1882, is at home; Ella V. is the wife of
Charles E. Hotchkiss and resides in Newton; she was born November 16, 1887; she
is a musician of some ability and has been given an excellent musical education;
Morris was born January 6, 1886, and he is connected with the Jasper County
Savings Bank; Mabel L., born August 11, 1894, is in school; Robert Ransom, born
September 17, 1896. Mr.
Woodrow is a stockholder in the Jasper County Savings Bank, also a director in
the same. Both he and his wife are
members of the Congregational Church. In
politics he is a Republican. The Past and Present of Jasper County, Gen. James B. Weaver, Editor-In-Chief, 1912 B.F. Bowen Co., Indianapolis, IN, p. 984. |
|
|
