MEALEY, David H. - 1912 Bio (1851-1920)

MEALEY, BLAINE, FUQUA, KLINGEMAN, SHANNON

Posted By: Joey Stark
Date: 9/23/2007 at 15:49:11

History of Jefferson County, Iowa -- A Record of Settlement, Organization, Progress and Achievement, Vol II, Published 1912, S. J. Clarke Publishing Co., Chicago
Pages 405-406

David H. MEALEY, the present efficient mayor of Pleasant Plain, has for the past thirty-five years been continuously and successfully engaged in business as the proprietor of a well equipped drug establishment in that town. His birth occurred in Keokuk county, Iowa, on the 6th of February, 1851, but he lost his parents when still but a baby and consequently has no recollection of them. He was reared by his grandparents, Dr. Samuel and Margaret (BLAINE) MEALEY, who were natives of Virginia and Pennsylvania, respectively. The former, a physician and surgeon by profession, practiced medicine in the Keystone state for forty years and then came to Iowa in 1844, locating in Keokuk county, where he entered a tract of land and undertook the task of clearing and improving the property. Abandoning his profession, he gave his entire attention to general agricultural pursuits and operated that farm until 1853, when he disposed of the place and took up his abode in Brighton, Iowa. There he lived in honorable retirement until called to his final rest in 1871. His wife had passed away in 1869.

David H. MEALEY was reared and educated at Brighton, Iowa, attending the high school of that place. When sixteen years of age he left the home of his grandparents and afterward worked at different occupations, including farming and railroading. Subsequently he began reading medicine under the direction of his uncle, Dr. T. S. MEALEY of Pleasant Plain, whom he also assisted in the conduct of a drug store at that place. In 1876 he purchased the establishment from his uncle and has conducted the same to the present time with constantly growing success. The law requiring registration was not passed until 1880, since which time Mr. MEALEY's registration number has been 1050. He carries a comprehensive line of drugs and druggist's sundries and enjoys an extensive and lucrative patronage. In addition to his place of business he owns an attractive and modern residence at Pleasant Plain. He is a stockholder and director of the East Pleasant Plain Savings Bank and a stockholder in the East Pleasant Plain Telephone Company.

On the 16th of October, 1872, Mr. MEALEY was joined in wedlock to Miss Margaret M. FUQUA, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. FUQUA, both of whom were natives of Tennessee. The father, a shoemaker by trade, worked at that occupation in Missouri until he passed away in 1860. His widow, who still survives at the age of ninety-five years, makes her home in Walla Walla, Washington. To Mr. and Mrs. MEALEY were born seven children, as follows: Murrel B., an electrician residing at Portland, Oregon; Lulu, the wife of O. V. KLINGEMAN, a farmer of Black Hawk township; Lilly E., whose demise occurred in June, 1909; Alfred H., a jeweler of Walla Walla, Washington; Bessie, who gave her hand in marriage to H. A. SHANNON, an agriculturist of Texas; Samuel L., who also follows farming in Texas; and one who died in infancy.

In politics Mr. MEALEY is a stanch republican and his services have been in demand in various positions of public trust and responsibility. He has held the office of township clerk of Penn township for fifteen years, has served as secretary of the school board for a similar period and acted as councilman during six consecutive years. He is the present mayor of Pleasant Plain and his administration has been characterized by many measures of reform and improvement. Fraternally he is identified with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, becoming one of the first members of the lodge here at the time of its organization in 1880. He enjoys the pleasures of an ideal home and is a man in whom public as well as private enterprise and the true civic spirit are highly developed.

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