Sowers, Linsey

SOWERS, PICKETT, NEWNUM, WARD, BURNER, FOSTER, SCOTT, TEMPLER, HUGHES, HENDERSON, EGEMO, BRACKEN, STALEY

Posted By: Pat J. (email)
Date: 3/23/2011 at 15:51:42

"A Biographical Record of Hamilton County, Iowa"
New York and Chicago: The S. J. Clarke Publishing Co., 1902 - pages 254-256

Starting out in life without capital but realizing that success depends upon earnest effort, close application and unfaltering diligence Linsey Sowers has steadily advanced on the road to prosperity and today is the owner of six hundred acres of valuable land in Iowa. He makes his home on section 35, Ellsworth township, and is one of the honored and respected citizens of his community. He was born in Fountain county, Indiana, on Christmas Day of 1833. His father was Solomon Sowers, a native of North Carolina, who became a pioneer farmer of Fountain county, Indiana. He wedded Rachel Pickett, also a native of North Carolina. Her death occurred in 1856, and the father in the same year removed from Indiana to Story county, Iowa, leaving the former state on the 1st of September. It required fifteen days to make the trip in a covered wagon. In the fall of 1857 he came to Hamilton county, Iowa, and here entered land in the year in which the Spirit Lake massacre occurred. The county was wild and unimproved, and progress was largely the work of the future. The nearest house to his home on the northwest was twelve miles away. His trading posts were Marshall and Nevada and to the latter place he hauled his grain. In the family were six children. Sylvina became the wife of John Newnum, the marriage taking place in Indiana, but her death occurred at the home of her brother, Linsey, in Hamilton county. George W. is living a retired life in Ames, Iowa. Henry resides on section 34, Ellsworth township. Linsey is the fourth in order of birth. Charles died at the home of our subject in 1861 and Alfred died at the home of his brother Linsey in 1866, leaving a wife and one daughter.

Linsey Sowers spent the days of his boyhood and youth at his parents' home and was twenty-three years of age at the time of the emigration to Iowa. When he took up his abode upon the prairie in Hamilton county, the only house near by was the little cabin of the Staley brothers, Henry and George. He first built a house out of native timber and later erected his present place, which has now stood for about a quarter of a century. Upon the place he has cottonwood trees which he planted in an early day. One tree which he set out in 1862 has a diameter of five feet, while others planted earlier measure from two and one-half to three feet across. One tree in front of the house measures eighty feet across the branches and furnishes excellent shade. In the work of development and improvement Mr. Sowers has taken a very active and helpful part and as the years have passed he has prospered in his business undertakings until to-day he is one of the extensive land owners of this portion of the state. Great changes have occurred since his arrival here. He made an overland trip from Indiana by way of Bloomington and Galesburg, Illinois, and Muscatine, Iowa City and Marshalltown, visiting these places when they were little more than villages. He has seen Story, Ellsworth, Jewell and Randall spring up, while Marshalltown and other places have been founded and developed during his remembrance.

He worked at home until he was of age and then started out in life for himself, being employed by the month as a farm hand. The first year he earned a hundred dollars, which he sent to his brother George W. in order that the latter might enter for him a claim. Thus he became the owner of eighty acres, consisting of the west half of the southeast quarter of section 35. Since then he has added to his property until he is to-day the owner of six hundred acres of very valuable land. His home farm comprises two hundred and thirty-seven acres of the best improved land of Ellsworth township. His sons are now managing the farm, while he is taking life easy, enjoying a well earned rest from his labors. For a number of years after his arrival, he engaged in trapping and hunting, shipping game east in connection with Perry Bracken. In this way he has made on an average of eight and one-half dollars per day. They caught minks and muskrats, and at times prairie wolves were killed upon his farm.

On the 20th of March, 1861, Mr. Sowers was united in marriage to Miss Rebecca Elizabeth Ward, a daughter of Josiah and Mary (Burner) Ward, who were natives of Licking county, Ohio. Mrs. Sowers was born in that county December 12, 1836, and died February 12, 1888, on the old home in Ellsworth township when fifty-six years of age. She came to Iowa in 1859 with her parents, who located in Story county. In their family were the following children, of whom Mrs. Sowers was the eldest. The others are Elias, of Kansas; Mrs. Sarah Foster, who was the first school teacher in Ellsworth township; Henry, Isaac, Roland, and Orville, all living in Kansas. In the year 1868 the father of this family removed to Madison county and in 1879 went to Kansas, where he died at the age of seventy-four years. His widow still survives him and is now about eighty-three years of age. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Sowers were born six children: Albert married Maria Scott and resides on section 30, Ellsworth township. Perley married Annie Templer and also lives on section 34. Mary is the wife of Arthur Hughes of Lincoln, Nebraska. Guy wedded Margaret Henderson, a daughter of Lars Henderson, a deceased pioneer of Hamilton county, and they also reside on the old homestead. Plenny married Martha Eckimo (Egemo) who died six months later. He is living upon the old homestead. Charlie, who completes the family, is with his father. There are now eleven grandchildren. At the last reunion of the family, which has held on the old home farm in Ellsworth township in 1886, there were present sixty relatives.

Mr. Sowers cast his first presidential vote for Abraham Lincoln, but later changed his political views and now votes the Democratic ticket. He has served as road supervisor and was trustee of Ellsworth township for several years, discharging his duties with promptness and fidelity. He has served as school director, was one of the organizers of his district and has done much to advance the cause of education. In 1900 Mr. Sowers made a trip to his old home in Indiana but could scarcely recognize the homestead farm in Fountain county so greatly had it been changed. He is one of the honored and valued pioneers of Hamilton county and all the experiences and hardships of frontier life are familiar to him from the time he used the shovel-plow in breaking the prairie to the present era of advanced civilization. Mr. Sowers has ever been a public-spirited and progressive man, contributing his share to the work of development and as a man and citizen he is widely and favorably known by reason of his genuine worth.

The attached photo:
THE LINDSEY SOWERS FAMILY.
Standing in back, left to right: Guy, Mary, Pearly and Pliny.
Seated: Rebecca E. Ward Sowers, Linsey Sowers, mother and father,
Albert and Charley. Mrs. Sowers made all of the clothing worn
in this picture. She carded the wool, spun the yarn and wove
the materials. She also knit the stockings from home spun yarn.

Hamilton Biographies maintained by Lynn McCleary.
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