FRAME, William Bruce - 1912 Bio (1836-1925)

FRAME, COBOURN, TILFORD, WORKMAN

Posted By: Joey Stark
Date: 9/12/2007 at 20:52:57

History of Jefferson County, Iowa -- A Record of Settlement, Organization, Progress and Achievement, Vol II, Published 1912, S. J. Clarke Publishing Co., Chicago
Pages 359-361

William Bruce FRAME.

A resident of Jefferson county, Iowa, for fifty-two years, William Bruce FRAME has been a witness of the countless changes which time has wrought in the country round about him. He came to this section of the country when Iowa was a part of that great wild prairie almost untouched by civilization, which was only beginning to push its way over the hitherto formidable barrier, the Mississippi river, and has lived to see the land plotted out in rich farms yielding abundant crops and affording wealth to thousands of families who unlocked the gates of fortune by tilling the soil. He was born in Wayne county, Indiana, June 16, 1836, and was a son of Joseph M. and Susan (COBOURN) FRAME, the former a native of Maryland and the latter of Delaware. On September 25, in the year 1841, Joseph M. FRAME brought his family from Indiana to Iowa, establishing his new home near Salem, Henry county, where he opened a blacksmith shop, which he operated for five years. He then purchased eighty acres of land in Henry county and set about to clear and improve this farm, cultivating it until 1883, when he sold and removed to Nebraska. Stil active and in good health, he continued his agricultural pursuits and bought a farm which he operated until his death, February 18, 1888. His wife survived him thirteen years, departing this life in March, 1901.

W. B. FRAME pursued his education in the schools of Salem, in Henry county, Iowa, and was reared to the duties of farming, mastering the many phases of this occupation thoroughly before reaching maturity. At the age of twenty-three years he left the parental roof in order to engage in farming for himself and after his marriage came to Jefferson county to work in the fields for two years, when the results of his industry enabled him to buy a farm, choosing for this purpose a site of one hundred and one acres in Round Prairie township. With characteristic energy and application he devoted his efforts to clearing the land and has improved this farm ever since that time, having occupied it now for fifty years. Scarcely a farmer in Jefferson county is better known than Mr. FRAME for his long connection with agricultural interests and his intimate acquaintance with every chapter in the history of this county.

On November 3, 1859, Mr. FRAME was united in marriage to Miss Harriet N. TILFORD, a daughter of James and Mary (WORKMAN) TILFORD, natives of Virginia. Mrs. FRAME's parents were reared in Kentucky, whence they removed to Illinois, and in 1835 to Jefferson county, Iowa, being interested in the agricultural development of the newly opened country. They entered from the government six hundred and forty acres of land in Round Prairie township and this they cleared and improved, dividing it into three farms. Mr. TILFORD cultivated the land on this place until his death, December 28, 1860, his wife having passed away the previous spring, on April 28th. Mr. and Mrs. FRAME were the parents of five children: Mary and Susan, who are living at home; Joseph C., who is married and assumes the chief responsibility in operating his father's farm; John T., who died in 1877; and Julia A., who died in 1872. A heavy shadow was cast over the FRAME home by the long continued ill health of Mrs. FRAME, her death occurring in November, 1905, after having been an invalid for forty years.

In his political affiliations Mr. FRAME is in sympathy with the republican party and in his religious faith he subscribes to the tenets of the Baptist church. He is a member of the Masonic order, belonging to Fairfield lodge. In connection with his agricultural interests Mr. FRAME has acted as secretary of the Farmers' Mutual Insurance Company for twenty-three years, having just recently resigned from this position. He is a man of strong personality and much stability of character, and possesses many friends who regard him with high esteem.

*Transcribed for genealogy purposes; I have no relation to the person(s) mentioned.