Comins, J.L.

LOVELAND, SHAFFER, MICKLEY, FRANTZ

Posted By: BCGS
Date: 11/24/2009 at 10:23:41

J.L.Comins, an extensive landholder and one of the valued and representative residents of Janesville, was born in St. Lawrence county, New York, in 1852. He is a son of Steven D. and Jane (Loveland) Comins, natives of New York, who emigrated to Iowa in 1856, making the journey to Chicago, Illinois, by boat and then overland to Janesville, this county. Here the father purchased land and continued to operate his farm until his death, which occurred in January, 1885. During the later years of his life he bought and sold a great deal of property and was at one time a large landowner in Bremer and adjoining counties. His wife survived him a number of years, dying in December, 1901, at the age of eighty. To their union were born three children: Martha, the widow of G.W.Shaffer, of Decatur, Nebraska; J.L., of this review; and Ida, who died in infancy.

J.L. Comins acquired his education in the public schools of Bremer county and at Osage Seminary. When he was twenty-seven years of age he began farming on his father's homestead and one year later purchased his first tract of land, buying forty acres in Blackhawk county. Since that time he has purchased a number of other tracts and now owns fifteen hundred acres, eighty of which lie in Bremer county, forty acres in Blackhawk county, three hundred and twenty in Alberta, Canada, one hundred and sixty in Minnesota and the remainder in Colorado. All of his Iowa land is in a high state of cultivation and yields him a comfortable income. He makes his home in Janesville, where he owns a fine modern residence.

On the 19th of March, 1879, Mr. Comins married Miss Emma Mickley, a native of New York and a daughter of Steven B. and Sara (Frantz) Mickley, the former a native of Pennsylvania and the latter of New York. They came west in 1866 and settled in the vicinity of Janesville, where the father operated a farm for a few years. He afterward moved to Le Mars and there operated a hotel for twenty years, finally retiring from active life and making his home in that city until his death in 1902. His wife survived him only ten days. To their union were born four children: Henry, of Janesville; Hudson, who resides in Virginia; Emma, the wife of the subject of this review; and Cora of Janesville. Mrs. Comins acquired her education in the public schools of New York state and in the academy at Waterloo, New York. She is a member of the Eastern Star, and her religious views are in accord with the doctrines of the Presbyterian church.

Mr. Comins is a member of the Masonic lodge. He is a democrat in his political beliefs and a member of the city council of Janesville, his influence being always on the side of public progress and reform. He is a representative and valued citizen and holds the confidence and high regard of an extensive circle of friends.

History of Bremer County, Iowa Vol II 1914