Albert Gee, b. 29 Jul 1829

POMEROY, WATROUS, EDWARDS, STREETS, BOWEN, MONT

Posted By: Donna Moldt Walker (email)
Date: 3/31/2004 at 08:20:01

The traveler passing through South Fork Township on the Iron Hill Road, a much frequented highway, is attracted by the fine farm and very pleasant home of the subject, which, with its well-tilled, smiling fields, neat and substantial buildings, and evidences of order on every hand, forms one of the most pleasing features of this beautiful landscape, showing, as it does, the presence of a skilled and practical hand and a master mind. Mr. Gee can claim the distinction of being a pioneer of two States, Iowa and Minnesota, and a like distinction belongs to his father, William Gee, who was one of the very first settlers of Geauga County, Ohio, and subsequently became a pioneer of Jackson County, Iowa.

The father of our subject is supposed to have been a native of Massachusetts, as he was reared in a New England home to a stalwart, independent manhood. There he and Polly Pomeroy, a native of that section of the county, united their lives for better or worse, and they subsequently resolved to try life in the wilds of Ohio, whether they made their way slowly with teams, and settled in the forests primeval of Geauga, to whose depths but a few hardy, venturous spirits had penetrated before their arrival. Mr. Gee bought a tract of timbered land, cleared 111 acres, and developed it into a productive farm, on which he erected a good set of frame buildings. He resided thereon until 1845, when the same ambitious spirit that had driven him forth from his quiet New England home urged him to try a pioneer life again, this time on the wild prairies of Iowa, just prior to its admission into the Union. His removal to this part of the country with his family was made with ox-teams, and took forty-one days to accomplish it.

Mr. Gee, immediately after his arrival, entered a tract of land, part timber and part prairie, four miles north of Cascade, and once more began the pioneer's task of reclaiming a farm from the hand of nature. He resided on it eight or ten years, then sold it, and coming to South Fork Township, bought a tract of timber land, which he improved into a good farm. He resided on his homestead in this township until after the war, when he retired from active life and went to live with his eldest son in Indiana. In 1872, he went to Wisconsin to visit another son in Grant County, was taken sick, and died shortly after his arrival. In his lifetime he had the reputation of being a sober-minded, just, honest-hearted, industrious man, and he was regarded as a desirable citizen, who ever strove to promote the best interests of his community. His worthy wife survived him only a few years, dying in the home of their son Gilbert, in Warwick County, Ind., Dec. 3, 1877. They were the parents of nine children - Gilbert, Ebenezer, Olive, Mary, Clarinda, William, Lucinda, Philander, and Albert.

The latter, of whom we write, was born in Thompson Township, Geauga Co., Ohio, July 29, 1829. He was sixteen years old when he came to Iowa, and here his education, which has been begun in the district schools of his early home, was completed in the pioneer schools of this county. He remained with his parents until he was twenty-one, when he began life for himself, finding employment in the coal mines of Peoria, Ill., where he worked some years. After a residence in that State of nine years, he returned to Iowa, and in 1857 he visited Minnesota, going there with teams, and in Mower County pre-empted a tract of Government land, three miles east of Austin. He built a log house for the shelter of his family, and resided there about a year; but on account of Indian troubles he sold his property and came back to Iowa. He spent the winter in Fayette, and then came to Jackson County, and has resided here since. He now owns his father's old homestead and some other land; and has a good sized farm, that, in point of improvement and cultivation, compares favorably with the best in the township. He has erected a good set of frame buildings, and has otherwise greatly increased the value of the place since it came into his possession, he having been greatly prospered in his agricultural pursuits.

August 24, 1855, Mr. Gee took one of the most important steps in his life by his marriage, on that date, to Miss Eliza J. Watrous, whereby he secured a good wife. Of their happy union four children have been born, of whom the following is the record: Ida E. married Eli Edwards, of South Fork Township; Flora married Albert Streets, of Monmouth Township; Anna D. married Scott Bowen, of South Fork Township; Belle married Eli Edwards, of Monmouth Township, cousin of her sister Ida's husband. Mr. and Mrs. Gee also have an adopted son, Freddie Gee, whom they took when twenty months old, and he is now eleven years of age.

Mrs. Gee was born in Geneva, Ashtabula Co., Ohio, Feb. 4, 1832. Her father, Walter Watrous, was born in the State of New York, and was there reared and married, Eunice Mont, a native of that State, becoming his wife. They became pioneers of Ashtabula County, Ohio, Mr. Watrous buying timbered land and clearing a farm. In 1840 he again started westward, and removed with his family to Indiana by way of the Ohio River. He was an early settler of Warwick County, where he bought wild, wooded land, and reclaimed another farm from the wilderness. In 1852, he made still another move in a westerly direction, and coming to Iowa, he settled in Jackson County, where he bought a tract of prairie land on section 9, South Fork Township. Building a log house, he entered upon the work of improving a farm, and resided here some years. He then sold, and, returning to Indiana, resided there two years, when he removed to this State again, and, buying a farm near his former home, was a resident here until his death in February, 1881. His wife preceded him in death, dying in February, 1870.

As a pioneer Mr. Gee has done his share in developing the great agricultural resources of Jackson County, and he is numbered among its substantial citizens. He is a man of good capacity, honorable and straightforward in all his dealings, and wherever known his blameless life has secured him esteem and regard.

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