FULTON, Joseph Warren Jr. - 1912 Bio (1873-1961)

FULTON, MINEAR, MORRISSEY, DONAHAY

Posted By: Joey Stark
Date: 9/13/2007 at 17:41:35

History of Jefferson County, Iowa -- A Record of Settlement, Organization, Progress and Achievement, Vol II, Published 1912, S. J. Clarke Publishing Co., Chicago
Pages 455-457

Joseph W. FULTON, Jr., belonging to a family of progressive farmers for many years closely connected with the agricultural development of Jefferson county, Iowa, is one of the successful young farmers in this vicinity and is doing his share towards perpetuating the reputation established by his father and grandfather before him. He was born on the farm where he now resides, on section 15, Des Moines township, on January 7, 1873. He was the son of Joseph W. and Sarah E. (MINEAR) FULTON. His father, descended from Scotch-Irish (sic) ancestry, was a native of Delaware county, Ohio; his mother was of German origin and was born near Chillicothe, Ohio. Joseph W. FULTON, Sr., came to Jefferson county, Iowa, in 1843, accompanying his parents who settled one mile west of Fairfield. In 1858, after his marriage, he removed to Des Moines township, where he operated a farm until 1888 then returning to the farm one mile west of Fairfield. There he spent the remaining years of his life, living in comfort and traveling whenever he felt so inclined. He was a man of energy and initiative and had had many interesting experiences in his lifetime. From 1850 to 1866 he carried the mail on horseback between Fairfield and Bloomfield, during which time he had a number of hairbreadth escapes especially at the time of the high water in 1851. In 1853 and 1854 he had charge of a party of government officials who were making a tour of Kansas and Nebraska for the purpose of ascertaining detailed and accurate information regarding the Indian situation. He also had the distinction of being one of the original promoters of the Iowa State Fair at Fairfield. At the first state fair he exhibited a collection of Iowa and Jefferson county agricultural products which he personally owned, composed chiefly of grains and grasses. In 1875 he sold this exhibit to the state of Iowa for two hundred dollars and received a commission from the state to show this collection at the exposition of 1876 at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

The grandfather of Joseph W. FULTON, Jr., was also very progressive in advancing the agricultural interests of Iowa. His name, Alexander FULTON, was well known throughout the state to which he had come with the early pioneers. He had a celebrated truck garden and exhibited specimens of his fine vegetables at the Iowa State Fair in the years when that institution, which he helped to found, was still in its infancy. At one of the early fairs, held at Keokuk, he won a prize for milch cows the interesting fact being that he drove the herd himself from Fairfield to the exhibit.

Joseph W. FULTON had a common-school education at the district schools near his home and later had the advantage of part of a year at Parsons College at Fairfield, Iowa. After his marriage he lived on the home farm and rented land from his father. In the fall of 1899 he went to Fairfield and for three and a half years was in the employ of the Louden Manufacturing Company. He then entered the hardware business in Fairfield but in 1907 returned to farming. Several years previously, in 1904, he had purchased the old home place of one hundred and sixty acres and in 1907 removed to this farm where has been living since that time. He is engaged in general farming and in raising and selling stock, and has been very prosperous during the past four years in this work.

In the FULTON family there were seven brothers and sisters. The oldest child died in infancy. The others are: Charles J. of Fairfield, the editor of this history; Will A., living on section 15, Des Moines township, Jefferson county, whose sketch appears on another page of this volume; T. L., of Fairfield; Albert M., a physician of Thomas City, Oklahoma; Joseph W., Jr.; and Lila, the wife of J. J. MORRISSEY of Ottumwa, Iowa.

Joseph W. FULTON was united in the bonds of matrimony to Miss Mary DONAHAY, on September 27, 1893. Her parents are George W. and Sarah DONAHAY. The former is now deceased, while the latter is a resident of Kansas. To Mr. and Mrs. FULTON were born four children as follows: Ruth, Joseph Warren, Albert M., and Helen Cecelia, all of whom are living at home.

In politics Mr. FULTON is a progressive republican, voting according to his convictions rather for the man than the party. He is a member of the school board of district No. 8, of Des Moines township. He worships in the Mt. Zion Methodist Episcopal church, of Des Moines township, in which his wife and two oldest children are also members. Fraternally he is connected with the Knights of Pythias of Libertyville, Iowa. In all his varied relations in his business affairs and his social life Mr. FULTON has maintained strict adherence to moral and ethical principles which he has made the guiding rule of his life and thereby has won the respect and warm regard of all who know him.

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