HORACE PARKER FLANAGAN

FLANAGAN, SIMMONS

Posted By: Nancee(McMurtrey)Seifert (email)
Date: 7/9/2002 at 15:19:20

Leon Reporter, Leon, Iowa
Thursday, September 28, l922

HORACE PARKER FLANAGAN was born in Vergennes, Vermont, December 6th, l824, and departed this life at his home in Garden Grove, Iowa, Sept. l7th, l922, at the advanced age of 97 years, 9 months and ll days.

In the spring of l857, he moved to Garden Grove, Iowa, where he worked at carpentry. In l86l he was married to EMILY B. SIMMONS, who died at Garden Grove several years ago. Three children were born to them, all of whom are living: HENRY H., WILLIAM S., and LOUISE FLANAGAN.

HORACE FLANAGAN, or as he was commonly known, "Uncle HORACE", has spent most of his life in and near the vicinity of Garden Grove. He was a very kindly disposed man, a first class and very efficient mechanic, and retained his strength, and was able to follow his trade until within the last few years when his extreme age compelled him to retire from all work. A man who always kept in touch with the times, a great reader of the daily papers and current news, and well informed almost to his last days in the issues of the day. He has indeed been a most useful and helpful member of the community in which he lived, and bears the highest regard and friendship of all who knew him. He passed quietly and peacefully into the great beyond as the last rays of the setting sun appeared in the west on Sept. l7th, l922.

Some years ago, at the request of his son, WILLIAM, he compiled a brief sketch of his life and his work, and as the same deals with the earlier history of our middle west, extracts from that memorandum are here given:

"In l824 his father died when he was but four years of age, and he thereafter lived with his aunt (his mother's sister) where he grew to manhood on a Vermont farm. When 2l years old, he worked by the month on different farms at $8.00 and $l0 per month, good wages in that time, working l5 and l6 hours a day. At one place he was called at 3 a.m. and was not in bed at 4 a.m. for fully four months. In l847, he went to Massachusetts and worked on a milk farm in summer and in a chair factory in winter. In l848, he went to Milwaukee via the Great Lakes, and from there a foot to Madison and finally to Janesville and still later to Chicago, Ill. Finally he returned to Massachusetts where he commenced to work at the carpenter trade. At that time all lumber was "in the rough" as it came from the saw. His first experience with dressed lumber was a cargo coming from the State of Maine in l85l. About this time, he was hired with two others, to go to Chicago and work for one of the first factories, making sash, doors and blinds, about the very first work done of this character by machinery.

He was in Chicago several months before that city had any connection by railroad with the East and when it was only about 35,000 inhabitants. From there he went to St. Paul -- this was six years before Minnesota was admitted as a State. At St. Anthony Falls were two saw mills and probably half a dozen houses -- this is now the city of Minneapolis, Minn. From there he went up the river some 90 miles to where the government made a (*can't read) payment to 6,000 Chipewa Indians, and finally returned to Chicago where he worked for some time.

In l854, his mother returned to Chicago, where he worked for a time. In l854, his mother died and he returned to Vermont for a brief period, and returning from there to Illinois, built a house at Cherry Valley, some 80 miles west of Chicago. After completing this work, he returned to Wisconsin, where he and his brother-in-law took charge of the "Douseman Ranche", some 30 miles west of Milwaukee, remaining at this place for 2 years and in the spring of l857, he came to Garden Grove where he worked at the carpenter trade and in l86l was married as stated in the foregoing. He has spent practically all his life since that time in Garden Grove, excepting from l862 to l864 when he was in Wisconsin and Hamilton County, Iowa. In l864, he returned to Garden Grove and commenced working for D. & A.B. Stearns, remaining in their employment for seven years, then for three years as a firm, Flanagan & Morrison and following thereafter as a firm, Flanagan & Perrin at Leroy, Iowa.

He was raised a Mason in the year l863 in Sun Prairie Lodge, l43, Wisconsin, and has been for many years a member of Temple Lodge No. l70, Garden Grove, Iowa, of which Lodge he was Master at one time. He was a member of the Presbyterian Church at Garden Grove, in which faith he followed and departed this life.

The foregoing sketch, from his own hand, shows a very unusual and useful life and much of it within the pioneer days of our Middle West, the growth and development of which he had the opportunity to observe and participate in personally.

The following was found with some papers of the deceased and was written by him to a friend of the family, and is indicative of the inner life, thoughts and character of MR. FLANAGAN:

To thy sunshine be there no eclipse,

nor clouds whose shadows fall.

Let the kindly words, from friendly lips

bring good cheer enough for all

And when your sunset time does come,

may your evening star be bright,

that no darkness obscure they pathway home.

The home that has no night."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Copied by Nancee(McMurtrey)Seifert
List Administrator; Decatur County, Iowa GenWeb
"With permission from the Leon Journal Reporter"
July 9, 2002