James McGee 1808-1893 and Martha Ann Anderson

MCGEE, ANDERSON, DUBUQUE

Posted By: Cheryl Locher Moonen (email)
Date: 2/14/2019 at 09:06:02

James McGee 1808-1893
and Martha Ann Anderson

James McGee was born in County Armagh, Ireland in 1808. He came to America in 1831. He migrated to Iowa in 1832. When he came to Dubuque there was a mining camp and one house. It was said that Julien Dubuque had built it.

Eventually, Mr. McGee came to the area known as North Farley on land entered from the government. (Settled North of Farley in Section 15 in 1839, later buying a farm in Section 31.) He married Martha Anderson who was born near Mammoth Cave in Kentucky. The area where she lived was where many of the facts of Uncle Tom’s Cabin were obtained. The story was written by Harriet Beecher Stowe.

Martha Anderson was an educated person. She came to Sherrill with her family. She was married to James McGee on August 7, 1844. To this union nine children were born. The oldest died infancy.

George Henry remained home until he was 21 attending common school and then went to Cornell College in Mt. Vernon, and became a civil engineer. He lived in Clearwater, Nebraska and died September 29, 1914. He served in the Nebraska Legislature. He was born September 30, 1848.

Perhaps the most famous of the McGee family was David. He was an expert in physics. David, along with his brother W. J., invented and patented an improved corn cultivator (patent, June 9, 1874). They were manufactured for a time, but the enterprise was not financially successful. David remained a bachelor and lived in Lake Charles, Louisiana and had a rice plantation and orange grove.

Isaac, the third son, lived on the farm for a time and eventually moved to Farley to educate his two youngest children, Isaac William and Mary Jo.

Milo, one of the older children, was a teacher. George, one of the older children, lost an eye early in life.

Emma was the only girl and never married. she lived at the old home farm. She was the author of several books, among them, The Life of W. J. McGee from which this information was obtained. John McGee was a cousin and helped invent the corn cultivator. He was the father of Jessie McGee, and great grandfather of Steven and John Georgen, of Farley.

Emma revealed a very interesting bit of history about her father in her book. He lived through the Black Hawk War and told many stories about it. He was present at the capture and death of the famous chief of the Sac and Fox Indians and he saw the sword that had been presented to Black Hawk by Andrew Johnson.

He lived in the old home in North Farley until his death on November 13, 1893. He was 85 years old.

"The History of Farley". David Gibson. Welu Printing, Dubuque, IA.,1996