John Waddle, b. 1836

FINLEY, CAMPBELL, REYNOLDS ADOPTION, BARKLY

Posted By: Donna Moldt Walker (email)
Date: 2/20/2004 at 23:03:08

John Waddle, an ex-soldier of the Union Army, and a resident of this county since the fall of 1865, is pleasantly located on a fine farm of 200 acres in Farmers' Creek Township, and is favorably known to a large portion of its people. He is one of the most thorough and skillful agriculturists of this region, while as a man and a citizen, he is amply entitled to representation in a work of this kind.

In glancing at the early life of our subject, we find that he is a native of the Dominion of Canada, born in 1836. His parents were Robert and Lydia (Finley) Waddle, natives of Ireland, where they were reared and married. Soon after uniting their hearts and fortunes, they crossed the Atlantac, and thereafter until 1847, resided in Canada. That year they came over into the States, settling in Mercer County, Pa., where they sojourned several years, and then took up their abode in Pittsburgh. There the father engaged in farming, and spent the remainder of his life; the mother is still living in the Smoky City. Both identified themselves with the Presbyterian Church early in life. Their family consisted of seven children, viz.: John, our subject; Alexander, who died when twenty-two years old; Robert, James, Sarah, Sophia, and Belle.

The subject of this sketch was reared to man's estate in Mercer County, Pa., and after leaving the common school, was occupied mostly at farming. His life passed in a comparatively uneventful manner until his marriage, which occurred in Mercer County; the bride being Miss Eliza, daughter of Robert and Matilda Campbell. The parents of Mrs. Waddle were natives of Pennsylvania, where they spent their entire lives. After their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Waddle continued residents of the Keystone State until after the outbreak of the Civil War. Our subject watched the conflict until Sept. 24, 1861, then decided to proffer his services to aid in the preservation of the Union. He enlisted in Company B, 76th Pennsylvania Infantry as a private; was promoted to Corporal, and servied until July 18, 1865, when he received his honorable discharge.

Mr. Waddle, during his army life, experienced all the hardships and privations inseparable from such a conflict, and participated in many of the important battles of the war. He was present at Ft. Sumter, and afterward met the enemy in various minor engagements, and in the battles of Petersburg, Cold Harbor, Strawberry Point, and others. At the battle of Ft. Sumter he received a flesh-wound, which disabled him for a few days. He went into the army strong and robust, but came out a physical wreck. During his sojourn in the South, he learned much of life in that region, and although the experience in some respects was severe, still it proved to be one, taken altogether, with which he would not willingly part.

Not long after his honorable discharge from the army, Mr. Waddle set his face toward the Great West. He made the journey from Pennsylvania to Iowa overland with a team, and upon his arrival in Farmers' Creek Township, this county, settled upon eighty acres of land, which he had previously purchased. He was by no means wealthy, and the first few years of his experience in the Hawkeye State were similar to those of many of the men around him, during which he was obliged to practice the most rigid economy, and enjoyed very few holidays. Industry and perseverance, however, in due time brought their reward, and Mr. Waddle has now one of the finest farms in this part of the county; the whole under a good state of cultivation, enclosed with substantial fencing, and devoted mostly to grain and pasturage. He erected a good residence, has a convenient barn with stables, corn-cribs, and the other necessary outbuildings. He lives quietly and unostentatiously, and enjoys a large proportion of the good things of this life.

Mr. and Mrs. Waddle have no children of their own, but adopted one, Thomas Reynolds, at the age of eighteen months, and he remained with them until reaching man's estate. He married Miss Anna Barkly, and they live not far from the Waddle homestead on Mr. Waddle's place. Mr. Waddle, politically, affiliates with the Republican party. Neither he nor his excellent wife are identified with any religious organization, but they endeavor to make it the rule of their lives to do unto their neighbors as they would be done by, and the reports which those neighbors give of them would indicate that they have been enabled to approach very nearly the moral standard which they have set up for themselves. They have a remarkably pleasant home, which is the frequent resort of their many friends.

("Portrait and Biographical Album of Jackson County, Iowa", originally published in 1889, by the Chapman Brothers, of Chicago, Illinois)