Smith, Alexander

SMITH, LYSLE, VOSS, SHERMAN, FRANCISCO, NICHOLSON, VAUGHN, BROWN

Posted By: Volunteer Transcriber
Date: 10/21/2009 at 13:29:37

Smith, Alexander

From the far-away land of Bruce and Burns, the bonny heaths of blue bell and thistle, the rugged north "countree" that has for centuries sent its hardy, honest, liberty-loving sons to help build the great republic of the west, -- has come to us one of our most highly esteemed and useful citizens, Alexander Smith, one of Jasper County's most extensive land owners, a man whom to know is to admire and respect, for, without other aid than a strong heart and willing hands, guided and controlled by right principles and a sound brain, he has fought his way from an obscure environment to the top of the material ladder and has long been one of the influential men of this locality.

Mr. Smith was born in the village of Forres, Scotland, on September 26, 1830, and he is the son of Robert and Jeannette (Lysle) Smith, both born in Scotland. The paternal grandfather was Alexander Smith, a farmer, and the maternal grandmother was of noble blood, being a sister of the Duke of Southerland in England.

Robert Smith came to America with his family in 1834 and located in Delaware County, New York, and there established a good home, and in that vicinity the son, Alexander Smith of this review, grew to manhood and he received his education at Roxbury, New York, having the honor of being a schoolmate of the famous financier, Jay Gould, and the scarcely less noted author and naturalist, John Burroughs, the former having sat on the left of the subject for a year and the latter just in front of him for three years. After leaving school at the age of eighteen years, Mr. Smith engaged in teaching for eight or ten years, during which time he met with great success and his services were in demand wherever he was known. He also clerked for some time in a general merchandise store. In 1865 he moved to Pella, Iowa, and rented a farm that fall in Jasper County. The country was wild and improvements had been made here and there, but he had the foresight to see a great future for so rich a region and in due course of time he had become of the leading farmers here. Not long after his arrival he bought two hundred and forty acres, partly in Lynn Grove Township and partly in Elk Creek Township. Prospering through close application and good management, he added to his original holdings until he now owns eight hundred acres of as choice land as the county affords. He also owns four hundred acres in Lake County, Iowa, and two sections of land in North Dakota, all valuable and well-located land. While general farming has been Mr. Smith's principal life work, no small part of his large competency has been derived from the livestock business; he has fed cattle annually for forty years, and he has met with a larger degree of success in this line than the average person. He has kept his land under excellent improvements and has a modern, convenient and well furnished home, in the midst of pleasant surroundings.

Politically, Mr. Smith is a Republican and while he has never sought leadership he has always stood ready to serve the public when necessary. He was treasurer of the school board of his district for a period of fifteen years.

Mr. Smith was married on June 12, 1864, to Sarah Voss, who was born in New Jersey, the daughter of John Voss and wife, and to this union seven children have been born, of whom three are deceased, the living being named as follows: Mrs. Amy Jeanette Sherman, who lives in Pasadena, California; Mrs. Emily Francisco, who is living in Des Moines, Iowa; Mrs. Mamie Nicholson, who lives in New Sharon, Iowa; Alexander Lyle.

The last named son was born on the farm he now operates in Lynn Grove Township, Jasper County, on October 6, 1876. There he grew to maturity and assisted with the general work on the place during the crop seasons, attending the public schools during the winter months near his home, later the high school at Lynnville, and the Iowa State College at Ames, spending two years in the agricultural course there; he also attended the Gem City Business College at Quincy, Illinois. Thus well equipped for his life work from a standpoint of text-book training, he returned home to assist his father man age some of his farms and he has met with a large degree of success; being regarded as one of the most modern and scientific farmers in the county. He took charge of about six hundred acres two miles south of the town of Sully where he has carried on general farming and cattle raising on an extensive scale, preparing for market and shipping from two to four car loads of cattle and two hundred hogs annually. Although he rents some of the land, he has general supervision over it all. Politically, he is a Republican and he and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church at Sully.

Alexander L. Smith was united in marriage with Elizabeth Jean Vaughn on May 27, 1903. She was born in Pennsylvania, but was living at Burlingame, Kansas, at the time of her marriage. She is the daughter of W. J. and Emily K. (Brown) Vaughn, who moved with their daughter to Kansas when she was two years old, and the parents still reside in the Sunflower State.

Three children have graced the union of Mr. and Mrs. Alexander L. Smith: Donald Lyle, born December 29, 1907; Vernon Eugene, born July 27, 1909; Robert Vaughn, born November 4, 1911. No family in the county is better or more favorably known. Past and Present of Jasper County Iowa B. F. Bowden & Company, Indianapolis, IN, 1912 Page 732.