Amasa Nims, b. 31 Jul 1810

WINTER, GOODENOW, WHITE

Posted By: Donna Moldt Walker (email)
Date: 2/21/2004 at 12:10:09

Amasa Nims is a venerable and venerated pioneer of Iowa, coming here in territorial days, before the advent of railways and other civilizing influences; while the Indian still lingered around his old haunts, and when deer, wolves, and other wild animals were plentiful. In his day he has been an important factor in the development of the marvelous agricultural resources of this great commonwealth, and it is his pleasure that he has witnessed the gradual transformation of this country from a wilderness to a land of plenty and prosperity, occupying an honorable position among its sister States in this great Republic. He is now quietly passing the evening of a well-spent life in his cheerful, comfortable home in Maquoketa.

Mr. Nims was born in Bolton, Warren Co., N.Y., July 31, 1810. His father, Daniel Nims, was a native of the town of Shelburne, Franklin Co., Mass. Godfrey Nims, the great-grandfather of our subject, was a native of England, but emigrating to America in Colonial times, he settled in the old Bay State, and there spent the remainder of his life. The father of our subject was reared in his native State, and served in the Revolutionary War. He removed from Massachusetts to New York, and was a pioneer in the town of Bolton. He bought a tract of timbered land, and in the primeval forests of New York, built up a comfortable home, and there, after a life of labor and well-doing, he closed his eyes to the scenes of earth. The maiden name of his wife was Lydia Winter. She was a native of Connecticut, and died in the home of her son Zedick, in Washington County.

The subject of this sketch was reared in his native town, and at the age of thirteen years commenced to work in a woolen mill, where he learned to card wool and dress cloth. He worked in that mill the greater part of the time until 1839, when he resolved to lead a more independent life in the West, purposing to buy Government land in the Territory of Iowa, and turn his attention to farming. In the month of February, that year, he started on the long journey to this part of the country, coming the entire distance with horses, a wagon and sleigh, using either vehicle according to the condition of the roads, crossing the Mississippi River on the ice. The land in Jackson County was then in the hands of the Government, the first settlements in this State having been made but a few years before, and on the wild prairies, deer, wolves, prairie chickens, wild turkeys, and other game were abundant. Mr. Nims bought a claim to some land on section 19, Maquoketa Township, of which five acres were broken, but there were no buildings, and his first work was to erect a small frame house on the place. After making various other improvements he traded it three years later for a claim in Bloomfield Township, Clinton County. When he removed to that place there was no house on it, and he built a log one, and when the land came into market entered it at the Land-Office at Dubuque. There were no railways here in those days, and the river towns, Dubuque, Bellevue, and Davenport, were the markets. He improved forty acres of the land, resided on it ten years, then disposed of it, and, moving to a place eight miles below Waterloo, in Blackhawk County, he bought a tract of prairie and timber land there, and also entered 240 acres of rich farming land from the Government. One year later he sold his property in Central Iowa, and returning to Jackson County, bought a tract of land on sections 16 and 21, Maquoketa Township. In 1859 the excitement of the discovery of gold near Pike's Peak drew him in that direction. He had a never-to-be-forgotten experience in crossing the wild, desolate plains, where he saw deer, antelope, and buffaloes in large herds, and he saw Denver in its embryo state, when it consisted of the tents and dug-outs of its few first settlers, on the banks of Cherry Creek. He spent a year in the search of gold, and then retraced his steps across the plains to his home in Maquoketa Township. He has accumulated a fine property, and for the last few years has lived in retirement.

March 23, 1839, Mr. Nims and Miss Adeline Goodenow were united in the holy bonds of matrimony, and for fifty years they have shared life's joys and sorrows together, mutually aiding each other in all its duties, and sustaining each other in all its trials. Mrs. Nims was born in Windsor, Vt., and is a daughter of Timothy and Betsey (White) Goodenow. Of this marriage seven children have been born, namely: Wesley, Weed, Crein L., Natt, Adelaide, Luella, and May, the latter daying at the age of two years.

Our subject can look back over a long life that has been wisely spent, and as a man and a citizen his record is without blot. He and his wife are the only two remaining of the original five members of the Methodist Episcopal Church at the time of its organization, and they have always been zealous workers in the cause of religion.

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