Woodrow, John R.

WOODROW, JACKSON, IVES, HANSON, BROTHERS, HOTCHKISS

Posted By: Volunteer Transcriber
Date: 10/24/2009 at 11:15:22

Woodrow, John R.

Among the substantial and enterprising business men of Jasper County who have won success by untiring effort and rightly directed talents is John R. Woodrow, who is deserving of conspicuous mention in this work, along with other public-spirited local citizens, because they have shown themselves to be the possessors of Superior qualities, the qualities that win, and are not discouraged at obstacles.

Mr. Woodrow was born May 27, 1852, in Lee County, Iowa, and he is the son of Benjamin and Lorina (Jackson) Woodrow, the father born at Norwich, Norfolk County, England, in 1807, and there he grew to maturity and was educated, coming to America in 1828. He was a tailor by trade and upon arriving in this country he located in New York City, where he worked at his trade for a few years, after which he moved near Rochester. About 1850 he came west and located in Lee County, Iowa, where he bought a farm of one hundred and sixty acres, and there he remained ten years, when his wife died, after which event Mr. Woodrow returned to England. His son, John R., of this review, was then seven years of age, and he is the only surviving child of his mother. Upon returning from England he located in Mount Pleasant, Henry County, Iowa, and there engaged in the boot and shoe business with J. W. Woodrow, a son by a former marriage, and half brother of the subject. Benjamin Woodrow's first marriage was with Frances Sprague, which union resulted in the birth of two children. After continuing in the boot and shoe business for a year or two, the father moved to Baltimore, Maryland, and there married Mary Rodgers, who died in 1878, without issue. After an absence of twelve years, Mr. Woodrow came to Jasper County, locating at Newton, purchasing an interest in the Jasper County Bank, with which he was still connected when he died in 1896. He was a man of excellent business ability and high integrity and was influential in whatever community he lived in.

Upon the death of his mother, John R. Woodrow, of this review, went to live with his aunt, Laura J. Ives. He attended school two years, and when thirteen years of age he came to Newton, where he worked in the summer and attended school during the winter, obtaining a public school education, and prepared himself for a teacher, which vocation he followed four terms, all taught in Jasper County, south of Newton, and he was very successful as an instructor.

In February 1879, Mr. Woodrow married Phoebe Hanson, who was born in England in 1857, the daughter of Thomas and Jane (Brothers) Hanson, who came to America and located at Newton, Iowa, in 1869, and here the father's death occurred in 1879. He was sixty-three years old. He was a brick maker. His wife lived to be eighty-three years of age, dying about five years ago, in Newton.

After his marriage, John R. Woodrow purchased forty acres where his present home is now located and which is just outside the city limits of Newton. To this he has subsequently added forty acres adjoining where his home is now situated. He has also added twenty acres in Palo Alto Township, one-half mile south of his residence. His dwelling, which was built in 1878, has been remodeled and made an attractive, commodious and cozy modern home in fact, as it now stands it is easily one of the most beautiful residences in the county, and here the many friends of the family frequently gather, always finding a genuine hospitality prevailing. Besides general farming, Mr. Woodrow is extensively engaged in fruit growing, being regarded as an authority on horticultural topics in this locality.

Six children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Woodrow, namely: Albert Edward, born January 27, 1880, died at the age of three years; George Meritt, born September 8, 1882, is at home; Ella V. is the wife of Charles E. Hotchkiss and resides in Newton; she was born November 16, 1887; she is a musician of some ability and has been given an excellent musical education; Morris was born January 6, 1886, and he is connected with the Jasper County Savings Bank; Mabel L., born August 11, 1894, is in school; Robert Ransom, born September 17, 1896.

Mr. Woodrow is a stockholder in the Jasper County Savings Bank, also a director in the same. Both he and his wife are members of the Congregational Church. In politics he is a Republican. Past and Present of Jasper County Iowa B. F. Bowden & Company, Indianapolis, IN, 1912 Page 984.