Thomas C. Dowling, b. 23 Dec 1830

DILLON, CARR, SEYMOUR, HART

Posted By: Donna Moldt Walker (email)
Date: 3/4/2004 at 08:04:21

Thirty-four years ago, in the fall of 1855, the subject of this notice came to this county, and entered 120 acres of land on section 11, in Brandon Township. It was covered with timber, and Mr. Dowling made it his first business to put up a log cabin for the shelter of his family. He then began felling the trees, and preparing the soil for cultivation. He battled with the various elements of pioneer life for a series of years, and in due time met with the usual reward of industry and perseverance. He later added nine and one-half acres, on section 2; whereon is his residence and the farm buildings, which are very neat and substantial structures. The dwelling, erected in 1885, is accounted one of the best in the township. In the building up of the homestead there has been exercised good taste and judgment, Mr. Dowling having planted shade and ornamental trees around his dwelling, together with an apple-orchard and the smaller fruit trees. For the last few years he has given considerable attention to stock-raising, and is in the enjoyment of a comfortable income.

Our subject was born on the other side of the Atlantic, in County Meath, Ireland, seven miles from the city of Dublin, Dec. 23, 1830, and is the son of John and Elizabeth (Dillon) Dowling. The father of our subject followed hotel-keeping and farming combined, in this native county of Meath, until 1853. He then emigrated to the United States, settling in Galena, Ill.; but being homesick for his native land, and preferring it to America, he returned in 1854, and there spent the remainder of his life, dying in 1866. He had one brother, Thomas, who came to the United States, and died (unmarried) in Illinois.

The mother of our subject accompanied her husband to the United States, and remained here, making her home with her children. Her decease took place at the home of her son Anthony, in Butler Township, this county, in 1872. The parental family consisted of the following children: Mary died after her marriage; Thomas C., our subject, was the second child; Margaret is the widow of John Carr, resides in Dubuque, and is the owner of a fine property; John, a bachelor, is a resident of Dubuque, and is also well-to-do; James is an extensive farmer, of Webster County, this State; Patrick resides in this county; Michael is Superintendent of a Western railroad, and makes his headquarters in Salt Lake City; Anthony is farming in Webster County.

Our subject received a liberal education in his native land, and emigrated to America in 1848. He lived one year in New York City, and spent a year in a brick-yard on the Hudson River. Thence he emigrated to the pineries of Michigan, and sojourned not far from the city of Green Bay. In 1851 he reached Galena, Ill., walking most of the way to that point from Chicago. Later we find him in St. Paul, Minn.; and then in Chippewa Falls, Wis., where he remained one year. In 1852 he visited the South, and was a witness of the workings of slavery, to which he has always been bitterly opposed. In 1855 he came to this county, of which he has since been a resident.

The marriage of our subject with Miss Mary V. Seymour, took place in Galena, April 11, 1854. This lady was born in August, 1829, in France, and is the daughter of Joseph and Emma Seymour, who were natives of France, and came to the United States about 1830, settling in St. Charles County, Mo. The parenly only lived a short time afterward, both dying in 1832. They left four children; little Mary being then but three years old. She was taken into the home of a family, with whom she remained until thirteen years old, and was then placed with the Catholic Sisters of Charity in St. Louis. From there, in 1849, she went to Galena, Ill., and resided with the family of Mr. Bradley, now Judge Bradley, of Chicago, until 1852. Afterward she lived for a time in Davenport, this State, then returned to Galena, where she met and married our subject.

Mr. and Mrs. Dowling became the parents of three children, only two of whom are living - Mary and Emily. The latter is the wife of E.J. Hart, and lives in Jones County, Iowa; she has seven children, viz.: Joseph E., James T., Isadore M., Mary A., Emma J., John F., and Clement B. Mr. Dowling was one of the first Irish-born citizens to vote the Republican ticket in this county. In his journeyings through the South, whether he went in the interests of the underground railroad, he saw enough of the "peculiar institution" - slavery - to set his face resolutely against it and its workings, and he has the satisfaction of feeling that he assisted many a poor fugitive to freedom. He was reared in the doctrines of the Catholic Church, to which he still loyally adheres. In 1865 he visited the Pacific Coast, traveling through California and Oregon, and up the Rocky Mountains as far as British Columbia. He returned to Iowa satisfied that there was no more desirable section of country for a permanent residence than the Hawkeye State. He has one of the most attractive homes in the township, and is numbered among its most highly esteemed citizens.

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