Norris, J. D.

NORRIS, LAMB, COTTRELL, WINNEGER, FLEMMING, BROWN, LYCE, HAYES, DEAKIN, REA, PRUNTY

Posted By: Volunteer Transcriber
Date: 11/23/2008 at 17:17:42

NORRIS, J. D.; Farmer and stock raiser; Sec. 22; P. O. Prairie City; born in Brown Co., Ohio, Nov. 14, 1814; came to this county in 1847; has 729 acres of land, valued at $25,000. Married for his first wife, Mary LAMB; was born in Mason Co., Ky., Nov. 4, 185; died Feb. 4, 1866; they had eight children, three living-Julia (now Mrs. Dr. J. Pence), Sarah (now Mrs. J. W. Cotterell) and C. M.; for his second wife, he married Susie L. WINNEGER; she was born in Highland CO., Ohio, Dec. 28, 1845; mother of one child - Bessie H. Emigrated from Brown Co. to Morgan Co., Ohio, in 1840; lived there seven years; thence to Jasper Co, Iowa; came through with wagon and team and located on Sec. 36; moved into a shanty 12 x 14; lived there until the next Spring, with twelve in the family; some of them slept in a wagon bed all winter; got his milling done in Oskaloosa, forty miles away; in 1848, started for mill and it took him eight days to make the trip on account of deep snow; has been forty miles after shorts, and paid $5 per cwt., in the Summer of 1851, the time of the wet season; had to boil corn and grate it to live on; also was paid $10 per barrel for flour; was at the first election held in this township at John FLEMMING's; there were only ten voters - William COTTRELL, N. BROWN, W. P. NORRIS, P. LYCE, John FLEMMING, William HAYES, J. Q. DEAKIN, Abner REA, E. PRUNTY, J. D. NORRIS; the Judges were J. D. NORRIS, J. Q. DEAKIN and J. FLEMMING. When Mr. N. came here, he borrowed the first $100 to enter his land; came here poor, amongst the earliest settlers; byhard work has made himself a wealthy man; has struck a vein of coal 4 1/2 feet, and the prospects are very flattering. C. M. Norris is dealing in grain in Prairie City. Married Sarah M. Prunty, by whom he has two children - B. F.; lost one child in infancy. Enlisted in 4th Iowa V. I., Co. B., July 15, 1861; was in the battles of New Madrid, Mo., siege of Corinth, Iuka, Jackson, Miss., siege of Vicksburg and Mission Ridge; wounded at Iuka and siege of Vicksburg. Ships 200,000 bushels of grain and 150 car loads of stock yearly. ~ "The History of Jasper County" (Chicago: Western Historical Company, 1878), 643-644