| THOMAS MARSHALL, furniture dealer, is one of the prominent business men of Brighton. He was born Oct. 6, 1847, in Carroll County, Ohio, and is the son of John and Miriam Marshall, who were also natives of Ohio. They were the parents of three children, two of whom died in infancy. In 1866 the family came to Washington County, Iowa, landing in Brighton on the 20th of September. John Marshall immediately purchased forty acres of a man in Jefferson County, near the village, where he lived until his death, which occurred in 1874. He was a plain and unassuming man, one devoted to his family and to his Church, and in all things endeavored to conform his life to the teachings of the Scriptures. He was for many years a member of the Christian Church, and was well posted in the Bible.
The early life of Thomas Marshall, the subject of this sketch, was spent upon his father's farm in Ohio. In the summer months he did his share of the work upon the farm, and in the winter usually attended the public schools. He was nineteen years of age when the family came to Washington County. In this new western home he continued to labor on the farm, and was engaged in that occupation until the fall of 1881, when he moved with his aged mother to the village of Brighton, where they have since continued to live. In the spring of 1882 the old homestead was sold, and Mr. Marshall engaged in various occupations until April 5, 1886, when he purchased the stock of furniture of Uriah Smith, and has since engaged in that trade. He is carrying a full and complete stock, consisting of bureaus, dressing-cases, bookcases, and a fine line of upholstered goods, parlor and kitchen furniture, and in fact everything usually kept in a first-class furniture house. With light expenses, he is enabled to meet all competition in his line. Although engaged in business a comparatively short time, he has gained an excellent reputation for square dealing.
Mr. Marshall yet remains unmarried, and is making his home with his mother. He is a member of the Christian Church, and is well respected by all. His mother is also a member of the Christian Church, with which she has been connected for many years. She is a well-preserved woman, and is now seventy-four years of age, but is able to attend to all her household duties.
REV. JAMES H. ELLIOTT, Crawfordsville, Iowa, was born near Fair Haven, Preble Co., Ohio, Aug. 29, 1836. He is a son of James and Sarah (Boyd) Elliott, the former born in Abbeville District, South Carolina, the latter in Kentucky. Ebenezer, the paternal grandsire of our subject, was a noted Abolitionist, and his house was known as an "underground railroad station" in anti-slavery times, when it required men to uphold such sentiments in that State. The father of Ebenezer strongly espoused the cause of liberty, and three of his sons were soldiers in the War of the Revolution; the Tories, thinking them concealed in the house and not finding them, determined to confiscate his horses. The aged father remonstrated, saying that with his horses went all hopes of his crop. The enraged Tories, finding some resistance against their act, deliberately shot and killed the aged man in his own dooryard. The paternal grandmother had five uncles who were Revolutionary soldiers, the shortest of whom was six feet four inches tall. The family was
page 203
composed of seven sons, and the name of Gaston is often mentioned in the history of that war.
In 1806 James Elliott came with his father, Ebenezer, to Preble County, Ohio, being at that time nine years of age. He grew to manhood on the farm, and after his marriage engaged for many years in that occupation. Three sons and three daughters comprised the family: John B., Narcissa, Sarah J., E. Bower, James H. and Martha A. John, the eldest, is a civil engineer and expert witness; the eldest daughter, Narcissa, is the widow of Hon. W. H. Bonner, of Decatur County, Ind.; Sarah J. and E. Bower are deceased; the latter was a soldier during the late war, and received a wound at the battle of Vicksburg, from which he never recovered. Martha A. is the wife of Rev. J. H. Cooper, of Marysville, Blount Co., Tenn.
Our subject began his academic education in Richland Academy, Indiana, in 1857, and in 1861 entered the Miami University, graduating from that noted school in the spring of 1863. In the autumn of that year he matriculated at the Theological Seminary at Xenia, Ohio, taking there two terms, then one course at Allegheny, and the fourth and last a Monmouth, graduating in theology from the latter college in 1867. In June, 1866, he was licensed to preach by the first Presbytery of Ohio, and preached as a supply until the close of 1867. August 7 of that year, his marriage with Miss M. Lovisa McKee, of Rushville, Ind., was celebrated, and the next summer he was stationed for one year at Pawnee City, Neb. In September, 1868, Rev. Elliott was ordained by the Nebraska Presbytery, and settled eighteen miles north of Cincinnati, Ohio, in January, 1870, remaing until 1880, in charge of one congregation. In October, 1881, he received a call from the United Presbyterian Church of Crawfordsville, and has since resided in the village, where he enjoys the highest degree of confidence and occupies a most enviable position as a minister. During his pastorate in this village there have been 129 accessions to the church, and there are in good standing at this time 209 active members. The United Presbyterian congregation numbers among its members a large number of the wealthier farmers of the township, and the health and prosperity of the society are largely due to the talent and labor of Rev. Elliott, who is justly accorded praise as a clear and logical speaker. The church building has been repaired and seats comfortably 500 persons.
Two children have graced the union of Rev. and Mrs. Elliott: Annie M., deceased, and Bower M., born July 9, 1875. Rev. Elliott was a volunteer during the late war, and a member of Co. I, 156th Ohio Vol. Inf. He comes from patriotic stock, and from Revolutionary times to this date the name has been found on the muster rolls, when the rights of the American people were being tested.
GEORGE ROYCE, farmer and stock-raiser, on section 16, Oregon Township, is the owner of 121 acres of well-improved land. He is a native of Livingston County, N.Y., born in 1821, and is a son of Samuel and Betsy (Reed) Royce, natives of Connecticut, but who moved to New York at a very early day, and there died many years ago. The early life of George was spent on a farm, his time being divided between the school-room and working upon a farm, attending school during the winter months, and laboring during the spring, summer and fall months. When twenty-two years of age, he commenced working in a foundry at Tylerville, N.Y., and continued in that employment for two years, then commenced working in a carriage-shop, and continued in that business for two years. He than came west and settled in St. Clair County, Ill., where he remained three years, engaged in the manufacture of plows. In 1854, he came to Iowa and settled in Muscatine County, where he remained two years, and where he also engaged in plow manufacturing. In 1856 he came to Washington County, Iowa, and for several years engaged in various lines of mechanical labor, and then removed to a farm, since which time he has been engaged in farming.
Mr. Royce was married in 1850, in Muscatine, Iowa, to Adalaide Brumage, a daughter of Jacob and Mary Brumage, both of whom were natives of Virginia, the former of German and the latter of English descent. She was born in Liberty, Ind., in 1833. Her parents moved to Muscatine, Iowa in
page 204
1847, and there died some years ago. Mr. and Mrs. Royce have had five children, only one of whom is now living—John T. The deceased are Annie, Ida, Alice and Rose. Mr. and Mrs. Royce are members of the United Brethren Church. Politically, he is a Republican.
It is a proverb that we brought nothing into the world and can take nothing out. Be this as it may, while in this world one can add greatly to his possessions, if to industry is combined rigid economy, with a determination to do. This has been the case with Mr. Royce and his good wife. they have toiled long and hard, early and late, and are now the possessors of a neat and comfortable home, surrounded by plenty, for all of which they feel truly grateful.
|
Visit our family of homepages and join us.