MARSH, W. C. - 1914

MARSH, COMSTOCK, LANG, LA CLAIRE, CHYNOWETH, HUBBARD, WILSON

Posted By: Colette Miles (email)
Date: 6/30/2009 at 09:27:26

HISTORY OF
Cherokee County
IOWA
VOLUME II
ILLUSTRATED
CHICAGO
THE S. J. CLARKE PUBLISHING COMPANY
1914
By Thomas McCulla

W. C. MARSH

W. C. Marsh was one of the early business men of Aurelia, having opened the first hotel in the city in 1876 and since that time his work has been a force in advancement, extending to many fields of commercial and industrial activity. With the exception of four years, he has held the office of postmaster since 1889, and he discharges the duties of this responsible position in a systematic, prompt and capable manner. He was born in Clinton county New York, in 1841, and is a son of Lyman and Polly (Comstock) Marsh, natives of Massachusetts, the father of Welsh extraction. They moved from New York in 1849 and came west to Wisconsin, where the father purchased land, afterward following farming and carpentering for some years. He eventually abandoned work at the carpenter's trade, concentrating his attention upon agricultural pursuits in Wisconsin until 1880, when he moved to South Dakota, dying at Armour, that state, when he was seventy-six years of age. His wife survived him some years, dying at the advanced age of ninety-three. They became the parents of five children besides the subject of this review: Julia, the widow of William Lang, of South Dakota; Emily, the widow of Benjamin La Claire, of Armour, South Dakota; Nancy A., the wife of Henry Chynoweth, of Mitchell, South Dakota; Susie, a resident of Armour, South Dakota; and Madison, who died at the age of eighteen years.

W. C. Marsh acquired his education in the public schools of Wisconsin and in Lawrence University at Appleton, Wisconsin, and also attended the Bryant & Stratton Commercial College in Chicago. He afterward returned to Wisconsin, where he taught school through the winter months and farmed during the summers until the outbreak of the Civil war, when he enlisted in Company B, Thirty-second Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry, for three year's service. At the end of six months and a half he was discharged on account of disability and returned home, but when he recovered his health he rejoined the army, serving as clerk in the quartermaster's department until the close of the war. When he was mustered out he returned to Wisconsin, where he followed farming until 1875, when he moved to Cherokee county, this state, and built the first hotel in Aurelia. After conducting this for two years he traded it for a farm, and he has since that time been interested in agricultural property, having bought and sold a number of excellent tracts of land. In partnership with his son he owns sixty-four acres adjoining the city and he operates this property along progressive and practical lines. During the long period of his residence in Aurelia, Mr. Marsh's interests have extended to many fields and have carried him forward into important relations with many phases of the business life of the town. In addition to this he was one of the organizers of the Bank of Holstein in Holstein and conducted a large mercantile establishment in Meriden,
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Iowa. On the 29th of May, 1889, he was appointed postmaster of Aurelia, and with the exception of four years has served continuously since that time, proving unusually systematic, prompt and reliable in the discharge of his duties.

In March, 1870, Mr. Marsh was united in marriage to Miss Frances Hubbard, a native of New York, and they became the parents of eight children, three of whom died in infancy. the others are: Edith L., assistant postmaster of Aurelia; Winnifred, the wife of B. R. Wilson, of Aruelia; Ethel, a telephone operator; William C., Jr., at home,a nd Lulu, a graduate of the Aurelia high school and now engaged in teaching. The family are members of the Methodist Episcopal church.

Mr. Marsh is a member of the Masonic lodge of Cherokee and he gives his political allegiance to the republican party. During the long period of his residence in Aurelia he has taken a prominent part in public affairs, having served as the first mayor of the city and having since held that office for several terms. He has been justice of the peace, township clerk and county supervisor, and his public record has been varied in service and faultless in honor. Living in Aurelia for the past thirty-eight years, he has gained the high esteem and confidence of his fellow citizens by reason of a life which has been upright, straightforward and honorable in all of its relations.