JOHN G SUGG, b. 14 Dec 1809

SUGG, CLERKE, REID, ADAMS, ROSS, WILSON

Posted By: Donna Moldt Walker (email)
Date: 1/8/2005 at 09:24:18

This gentleman bears the reputation throughout this county of being most thoroughly posted upon all subjects - it being impossible to introduce any with which he has not made himself more or less acquainted. He has been a close student and an extensive reader, and is the acknowledged historian of the southeastern part of this county, keeping a record of its principal events, both in social and business circles, the march of progress, morally and financially, and all other matters of interest to the intelligent citizen. His has been a career of more than ordinary activity, during which he has accumulated a competence, and made for himself a name and standing among his fellow men. During the years of his more active life he practiced successfully as a physician, and later turned his attention to agricultural pursuits. He owns and occupies a fine farm on section 13 in Union Township, where he is surrounded by all of the comforts and many of the luxuries of life.

Born near the city of London, England, Dec. 14, 1809, our subject is the son of Thomas and Sarah (Clerke) Sugg, natives of Somersetshire, England, where his father lived and died. The paternal grandfather of our subject was John Sugg, the son of William Sugg, who was born at Merritt, Somersetshire, Nov. 20, 1690, and who married a lady whose first name was Elizabeth. These sturdy old representatives of the best English blood, were mostly agriculturists by occupation and men of acknowledged worth and force of character.

To the parents of our subject there were born ten children. The subject of this notice received careful home training, and pursued his early studies in a private school. He commenced the reading of medicine when quite young, but his surroundings in his native land did not promise that which his ambition craved, so in the summer of 1833, when a young man of twenty-three years, he set out for America, and arrived in New York City on the 14th of June following, the day upon which President Jackson and the famous Indian chief Black Hawk reached the metropolis on their noted tour of the United States. Our traveler sojourned there one week, and afterward was in Philadelphia the same length of time. He spent nine days in Baltimore, and was at Pittsburg when only sixteen miles of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad had been laid. The cars were drawn by a horse, and Mr. Sugg in this way compassed the entire length of the road.

There was then but one locomotive in the United States, and it ran between Philadelphia and Baltimore. Mr. Sugg was drawn by this locomotive, which traveled at the rate of ten miles an hour. From Pittsburg after a year's sojourn he went down the Ohio River in the fall of 1834 to Louisville, thence by stage to Vincennes, Ind., from there to Terre Haute by the same means, and from this point to Eugene, Ind., where he located and remained until August, 1835, occupied in the practice of medicine. We next find him in Danville, Ill., where he followed his profession until the fall of 1837. He then removed six miles West, near what is now Oakwood.

While a resident of Danville, Dr. Sugg was married Sept. 13, 1836, to Miss Jane Wilson. In June, 1843, our subject came to this county intending to abandon his profession and engage in farming. He located in Sabula, and as soon as it was known that he was a physician, was called to treat a few difficult cases which he managed with such success that he reconsidered his decision of leaving the profession and soon gave to it his exclusive attention. It was not long until he was in the enjoyment of a large and lucrative practice which he followed for many years. By degrees he accumulated a fine library, and availed himself of every opportunity to obtain useful knowledge whether in connection with his profession or other matters. He has taken a remarkable interest in historical events, and the statistics which he has fathered are as valuable as they are complete. His record of events shows that the earliest snow storm of 1843 occurred on the 14th of October, when the ground was covered with five inches of snow which soon melted, and after that Dr. Sugg gathered hay.

The first rainy season of note in this region was in 1844, when rain fell every week and nearly every day during the summer months. The next wet season was in 1851, when all crops were destroyed and many of the farmers were unable to put in any crops. This was followed by the excessive moisture of 1858, when on account of incessant and furious rains the land was washed into furrows through which the water flowed in all directions. Fences were carried away and general havoc succeeded.

The first dry season experienced in this county after the arrival of Dr. Sugg was in 1845, when the Mississippi River did not overflow its banks, but the crops were good. The next noticable drought was in 1886, when crops failed entirely, and this was followed by the same in 1887. The coldest day known to this region for a period of thirty years and more, was Feb. 18, 1887, when the thermometer registered thirty-four degrees below zero. The warmest day was in August, 1845, when the mercury registered 103 degrees in the shade. The latter he has recorded and does not know the exact day.

To the Doctor and his estimable wife there was born a family of nine children, only two of whom are living - John Fitzherbert Sugg and William Henry Clay, the latter living on the home place. The first mentioned married Miss Sarah A., daughter of William H. Reid, and they have four children: Jennie M., Herbert R., Florence and Rush. Clay married Miss Emma Adams, daughter of James H. Adams, deceased, and formerly of Brooklyn, N.Y. They have six children: John H., Minnie, Jennie, Fanny L., Roy C. and Ralph L. Two daughters of our subject - Sarah F. and Mary E. died after reaching womanhood. Sarah was married to Theodore Ross and left three children, two of whom are living - Albert E. and Herbert C. Mary Ellen, a bright and interesting young lady died in the twenty-first yar of her age, unmarried. The mother of these, Mrs. Jane (Wilson) Sugg, departed this life at the family resience in Sabula, Union Township, June 16, 1879, after a married life of nearly forty-three years, in the sixty-third year of her age.

The Doctor, politically, is inclined to support the principles of the Republican party, but is too independent to be bound by party lines, and thus voting for principles instead of men, aims to support those whom he considers best qualified to serve the interests of the people. Professionally, he was for quite a long period the Examining Surgeon of pension applicants, and since 1868, has officiated as a Notary Public. He served as Road Supervisor at an early day when it was not the easy position it is at the present time. He held the office of Justice of the Peace twenty years, was Mayor of Sabula three years and a member of the Town Council. He also officiated as Township Trustee and occupied the various school offices. As an administrator he adjusted the affairs of many and important estates, and uniformly distinguished himself by his clear head and cool brain.

Socially Dr. Sugg is a warm admirer of the principles of Masonry. He was the first Master of the present lodge at Sabula, and occupied this honored position for a period of twenty years. He has attained to the thirty-second degree including the Scottish Rite. Although not a member of any Church, he always contributes to the erection of church edifices and believes in the establishment and maintenance of religious institutions. The Sabula Pioneer Society was established Nov. 22, 1875; Dr. Sugg was appointed its Secretary, and has held the office continuously. The society included in its membership all who settled within eight miles of Sabula prior to and including 1846, provided they signed the Constitution and By-laws, and paid the membership and annual fee. It thus naturally falls to the lot of the Doctor to make up the annual reports, a task to which he is specially adapted, and which when accomplished can be relied upon for accuracy and the collection of all interesting facts in connection therewith. It will thus be seen that he has been able to spend but few idle days during his long and useful life, and his name will be held in remembrance in this county long after he has departed hence.

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