Edward Tisdale
The pioneer history of Allamakee county contains the record of
no more honorable, upright and capable man the Edward Tisdale,
who died upon his farm in Lafayette township in 1906, after
fifty-four years of continuous and active identification with
agricultural interests of this locality. He was numbered among
the real builders and promoters of the county, a man who faced
the hardships and trials of pioneer existence and who developed
out of a wild tract a productive and profitable farm. His death,
therefore, deprived his township of one of its most valued and
representative citizens.
Mr. Tisdale was born in Canada, October 8, 1827, and was a son of
James and Sophronia (Brown) Tisdale, the former born in England
March 8, 1795, and the latter in Seneca county, New York, January
10, 1797. They married on the 21st of April, 1824, and settled in
Canada, where they resided for a member of years.
Edward Tisdale was reared at home and acquired his education in
public schools in Canada. At the age of twenty-six he left the
Dominion and came to the United States, settling in Allamakee
county in 1852. At the time pioneer conditions prevailed
everywhere, much of the land being still in possession of the
government and almost all uncultivated and unimproved. Mr.
Tisdale purchased two hundred and forty acres of wild land on
section 31, Lafayette township, and he continued to reside upon
this property for a number of years, becoming a prosperous and
successful agriculturist. Later he disposed of forty acres of his
homestead, retaining two hundred, upon which he carried on
general farming and stock-raising until his death, which occurred
February 24, 1906. The years brought him success, prominence, and
substantial fortune and his prosperity was well earned, coming as
the result of far-sighted, able and well directed labor.
In Allamakee county, in 1857, Mr. Tisdale was united in marriage
to Miss Harriet Ann Phipps, a native of Canada and a daughter of
Thomas and Mary (Francis) Phipps, of whom more extended mention
is made elsewhere in this work. Mr. And Mrs. Tisdale became the
parents of eleven children; Rhoda M., the wife of Max Tiden, of
Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin; Warren I, and Ella Louisa, who have
passed away; Ida E, the wife of Ed Valentine, Canada; Louisa C.,
who married W. F. Barber of Canada ; John E., also a resident of
the Dominion; Nellie May, who has passed away; William, who lives
at home; Alvah and Norman James, also deceased; and Nellie, who
lives at home.
Mr. Tisdale gave his political allegiance to the democratic party
and was widely and prominently known in public affairs, giving
his aid and active cooperation to anything which he deemed
essential to the development and growth of the county. In matters
of citizenship he was at all times progressive and public
spirited, and during the course of a residence in Lafayette
township, covering over half a century, made many substantial and
tangible contributions of its growth and advancement. His widow
and two of his children, William and Nellie, occupy the old
homestead and his son carries on the work of its development.
They are well known and favorably regarded in Lafayette township,
where their name has been known and honored since pioneer times.
-source: Past & Present of Allamakee County; by
Ellery M. Hancock; S. J. Clarke Pub. Co.; 1913
-transcribed by Diana Diedrich
Return to 1913 biographies index