RILEY, John

RILEY, BURNET, SLOCUM, POWERS

Posted By: Annette Lucas (email)
Date: 5/23/2021 at 08:52:26

SOURCE: Biographical History of Shelby and Audubon Counties, Iowa; W. S. Dunbar & Co., Publishers, 1889

JOHN RILEY, physician and surgeon, Exira, Iowa, is a native of the State of Illinois. He was born in Bureau County, near the spot where Neponset now stands, August 18, 1850, and is the second in a family of seven sons, all of whom lived to maturity. John and Abigail (Burnet) Riley were his parents, and they were both natives of New York. Mrs. Riley's mother and General Slocum were first cousins, and they trace their ancestry back for five generations. John Riley, Sr., is also a doctor, and he and his wife are both living at Spring Hill, Illinois. He was one of the pioneer physicians in Illinois. He was educated in New York, and came to Chicago by way of the lakes, and thence across the prairies by wagons. In his younger days he conducted a large and profitable practice, and gained some distinction in that section of country. John Riley, Jr., passed his boyhood in Whiteside County, Illinois, whither his father had removed when he was an infant. His primary education was received in the district school, and later he attended the Academy of Prophetstown, and finished his literary education at Fulton, Illinois. He then began teaching school in Clinton, Iowa, and continued in this profession for six years. While engaged in teaching he took up the study of medicine, and afterward entered the office of Doctors McCormick & Smith, the leading physicians of the place. After reading under their direction for some time he entered the medical department of the Iowa State University, and was graduated from that institution in 1880. He then came to Exira, and began the practice of his profession, to which he has devoted the whole of his time and energies with gratifying results. Dr. Riley was married August 20, 1880, to Miss Mary J. Powers, a native of Ohio. She was a graduate of the Wesleyan University at Delaware, Ohio, and for some time was engaged in teaching at Cedar Rapids, Iowa. They have two children — Ethel M. and John. The Doctor is Master of Exodus Lodge, No. 342, A. F. & A. M., and M. W. of the A. O. U. W. He is a member of the town council, and is now president of the school board; he is also a member of the Iowa State Medical Society, and president of the Botna Valley Medical Association. Of the seven sons in this family three are physicians, three are lawyers, and one is a farmer. One of the attorneys died in March, 1888; he had studied law with Mrs. Foster. Their names are — Charles, attorney; John, physician; William, attorney (deceased); George W., attorney; Bruce, physician; Lincoln, physician; and Henry Clay, at home on the farm in Illinois. All are married, except Bruce.