TENNEY, Sampson M.

TENNEY

Posted By: Karon Velau (email)
Date: 5/30/2021 at 16:09:17

Sampson M. Tenney
S. M. Tenney, a farmer and stock-raiser of section 32, Grant Township, Ida County, was born in Mercer County, Illinois, in 1841, a son of Joseph P. and Almira R. (Merryman) Tenney, the former a native of New Hampshire, and the latter of Maine. In 1837 the father removed to Mercer County, Illinois; was there married, and engaged in farm pursuits. He was previously engaged in freighting from Boston to surrounding towns and return. He made Mercer County his home until going to Cambridge, Illinois, in 1876, and next to California, where his death occurred in 1886. The mother died in Mercer county in 1863. They were the parents of ten children, five now living: S. M., our subject; Sarah L., widow of Jacob Krause, and resides in Grant township; Maria J., of California; Lyman L., of this township; and Jenny L., wife of Horace Briggs, of California.
S. M. Tenney, the subject of this sketch, was reared and educated in his native county. In 1862 he enlisted in Company C, One Hundred and Second Illinois Infantry, for three years, or during the war; was mustered into service at Knoxville, Illinois, and assigned to the Army of the Cumberland, afterward in Twentieth corps, under General Hooker. He took part in the battles of Atlanta, Champaign; from Chattanooga, on through the siege of Atlanta, among which were the battles of Ressca and Peachtree Creek; was with Sherman on the march to the sea, in the North and South Carolina campaign, and took part in the grand review in Washington, District of Columbia. At the siege of Atlanta Mr. Tenney’s corps was the first to enter the city. He was honorably discharged at Chicago, June 6, 1865, and resumed farming in Mercer county. After following the mercantile business in Oxford, Illinois, and teaching school for a time, Mr. Tenney was employed as traveling salesman for Field & Bro., of Rock Island, Illinois, seven years, in selling notions. He next handled gloves and mittens for C. A. Whiting, of Monticello, in Iowa, and Nebraska, crossing Iowa on the Rock Island and Northwestern railroads, and making one trip in Minnesota, continuing with that firm two years. In 1882 he removed to Davenport, Iowa, and the same year purchased 320 acres of raw land in Grant township, Ida county, which is under a fine state of cultivation. Mr. Tenney has taken an active interest in politics, voting with the Republican party, ever since his first vote, cast during the war for Lincoln, and has served as Secretary and Director of the School Board since 1883. Socially, he is a member of Matthew Gray Post, No. 93, G. A. R., at Ida Grove.
In 1875 in Mercer County, Illinois, our subject was united in marriage with Miss Anna Baker, a native of Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, and a daughter of William Baker, a native of the same State. In 1852 he removed to Mercer County, Illinois, where he still resides. The mother died in that county in 1876. Mr. and Mrs. Tenney have four children: Louie May, Edgar L., Charles P. and Florence B. Our subject and wife are members of the Presbyterian Church at Battle Creek. Mr. Tenney has witnessed a great change in Grant township since coming to this county, and has always taken an active part in everything for its good.
Source: Biographical History of Crawford, Ida, and Sac Counties, Iowa, p.498