Burroughs, William H.

BURROUGHS, WEST, LIPPERD, WRIGHT, ADAIR, GOTCHELL

Posted By: Volunteer Transcriber
Date: 8/27/2009 at 12:16:35

Burroughs, William H.

That the plenitude of satiety is seldom obtained in the affairs of life is to be considered a most beneficial deprivation, for when ambition is satisfied and every ultimate aim is realized, if such be possible, individual apathy must follow. Effort would cease, accomplishment be prostrate, and creative talent waste its energies in inactivity. The men who have pushed forward the wheels of progress have been those to whom satisfaction lies ever in the future, who have labored continuously, always finding in each transition stage an incentive to further effort. William H. Burroughs, a well-known agriculturist of Rock Creek Township, Jasper County, is one whose well directed efforts have gained for him a position of desirable prominence in the locality honored by his residence and it is with a feeling of satisfaction that the biographer essays the task of touching briefly upon the salient points in his career, which has been such as to be well worth considering by the youth standing at the parting of the ways, for it shows that success may be achieved by perseverance, fidelity to duty and loyalty to proper ideals.

Mr. William H. Burroughs is a Hoosier by birth, having first seen the light of day in Ripley County, Indiana, on February 14, 1846. He is the son of James C. and Mary (West) Burroughs, the father born in Kentucky in 1801 and the mother in Ohio. The parents of the subject's father took him from the dark and bloody ground country to Indiana when he was five years of age and there he grew to manhood, attended the early schools, grew up amid pioneer conditions, and, in fact, spent practically all his life there, dying in that state in 1878. When a small boy the family moved to Ohio, but remained there only a short time; while living there the war of 1812 came on and James C. Burroughs, father of the subject, joined the army as fifer, serving as such during that conflict, and he was subsequently given a certificate by President Buchanan in acknowledgment of his service; this the son, William H., is now in possession of. He devoted his life to agricultural pursuits, was a hard worker and his farm in Indiana, consisting of about one hundred and twenty acres, was always well tilled and well improved. He was four times married, William H., of this review, being the only child of the third marriage. The only other child living is a daughter, born of the second union.

William H. Burroughs enjoyed the advantages of a liberal education, having attended the common schools of Ripley County, Indiana, later took a, course at Moore's Hill College in Dearborn County, that state, one of the best schools of that day and generation. He was in the graduating class when the Civil war was in progress. He wanted to enlist, but his father objected, so he left college and later began teaching school, which he followed successfully in Indiana for eight years. In the fall of 1871 he came to Jasper County, Iowa, and located in Rock Creek Township, buying one hundred and seventy acres. He continued teaching the first two winters he was here. He found a rich, new country here and with characteristic foresight saw its great possibilities; consequently he went to work with a will and developed a fine farm to which he added until he now owns one hundred and ninety-nine acres on which he has carried on general farming and stock raising. In 1910 he built a modern, commodious and attractive residence, equipped with every convenience. He also built a new barn of large dimensions and excellent arrangement. His is one of the most valuable and desirable farms in the eastern part of Jasper County.

Politically, Mr. Burroughs is a Republican of the old school, loyal to the basic principles of the party. He keeps well posted on current topics and has an excellent library of choice volumes, having always been a student, and it would indeed be difficult to find a better-informed man in this locality. Fraternally, he belongs to the Masonic blue lodge.

The domestic life of Mr. Burroughs began on April 19, 1869, when he was united in marriage with Phoebe Jane Lipperd, a lady of many estimable attributes, a native of Ripley County, Indiana, and the daughter of John W. and Nancy J. (Wright) Lipperd. Five children have blessed the home of the subject and wife: Edith, who married Dr. W. S. Adair; James W. Mrs. Adabelle Gotchell; Eleanor, and Ellsworth E., a twin of Eleanor, who met death in Dakota by being burned in a barn fire. Past and Present of Jasper County Iowa B. F. Bowden & Company, Indianapolis, IN, 1912 Page 1047.