Nicholas Brazell
No farmer in Allamakee county has attained greater success in
agricultural pursuits than Nicholas Brazell, whose holdings
aggregate five hundred and three acres and comprises one of the
valuable and productive farms of Taylor township. He was born in
Canada, May 7, 1853, and is a son of John and Ellen (McManus)
Brazell, natives of Ireland. The father was brought to Canada by
his parents when he was still a child and was reared in the
Dominion, coming to the United States in 1854. After spending one
winter in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, he came to Allamakee county and
was one of the pioneers in this part of Iowa and for some time
thereafter a force in agricultural development. In the spring of
1855 he purchased one hundred and sixty acres
of partly improved land and upon this carried forward the work of
cultivation for ten years, erecting substantial outbuildings and
beginning the construction of a modern home. This, however, was
not yet completed when
in 1865 he passed away at the age of sixty-one years. He had
survived his wife some time, her death having occurred when she
was forty-two years of age. They were devout members of the Roman
Catholic church and well known in Taylor township, where they had
resided since pioneer times. In their family were eight children,
one of whom died in infancy; Anne, also deceased; Honora, the
wife of William Fulcakdy, of Waukon; Bridget, who married J.M.
Collins, of the same city; Nicholas, of this review; Mary, who
married James Brophy, of Duluth, Minnesota; Helen, who died in
childhood; and Lizzie, also deceased. The parents passed away
when most of these children were still very young and when the
subject of this review was a small child. The family remained
upon the homestead for a number of years, all of the sons
assisting in the work of its cultivation. Eventually the land
came into possession of Nicholas Brazell, and he has from time to
time added to it until he owns today five hundred and three acres
on section 8, Taylor township. In the course of years he has made
substantial improvements upon this property, erecting a modern
barn, and the necessary outbuildings, and success has steadily
rewarded his practical, progressive methods. He is president of
the Farmers Cooperative Creamery at Harper's Ferry and is
recognized in business circles as a man of force, sagacity and
energy. In Allamakee county Mr. Brazell was united in marriage to
Miss Ellen Hennessey, a daughter of John and Mary (O'Hara)
Hennessey, natives of Ireland and early settlers in Taylor
township. Mr and Mrs Brazell became the parents of seven
children: John, who has passed away; William J., who is connected
with the Bell Telephone Company of Minneapolis; Dominic, who
lives at home; Leo C., and Clement P., also with their parents;
Mary R., who is attending St. Mary's School at Prairie du Chien,
Wisconsin; and Nicholas Raymond, who lives at home. The family
are devout members of the Roman Catholic Church. Mr. Brazell
gives his political allegiance to the democratic party and has
been honored by his fellow citizens by election to various
positions of public trust and responsibility, serving for six
years as township clerk, for eight years as trustee, and for a
long period as a member of the school board. He is interested in
anything that pertains to the welfare and development of the
section in which he has so long resided, and along business and
political lines has been a force in progress, being recognized
today as a substantial farmer and a public-spirited, useful
citizen.
-source: Past
& Present of Allamakee County; by Ellery M. Hancock; S.
J. Clarke Pub. Co.; 1913
-tarnscribed by Cathy Joynt-Labath
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