THOMAS, John - 1912 Bio (1852-1920)

THOMAS, TIMONDS, GROBES

Posted By: Joey Stark
Date: 10/3/2007 at 17:47:24

History of Jefferson County, Iowa -- A Record of Settlement, Organization, Progress and Achievement, Vol II, Published 1912, S. J. Clarke Publishing Co., Chicago
Pages 399-400

John THOMAS, who for more than a third of a century has been continuously identified with general agricultural pursuits in Black Hawk township, is the owner of a valuable farm of two hundred and fifty acres. His birth occurred in Stark county, Ohio, on the 29th of June, 1852, his parents being Nathaniel and Christina THOMAS. The father removed from Pennsylvania to Ohio at a period when the latter state was still largely wild and unimproved, settling on a tract of land which the grandfather had entered from the government some years before. He undertook the task of clearing the property and gradually developed it into a productive farm. His demise occured in 1864, while his wife passed away four years later.

Being thus left homeless at the age of sixteen, John THOMAS secured employment as a farm hand, early becoming familiar with the best methods of tilling the soil and caring for the crops. In the spring of 1874 he left his native state and made a trip to California but, being not altogether pleased with the west, he soon returned to this part of the country, stopping in Des Moines, Iowa, about the middle of July, 1874. Obtaining work in the harvest field, he remained in this state until November and then returned to Ohio, where he spent two years in the service of his previous employer. In the spring of 1877 he again made his way to Iowa and has here remained continuously since, following the pursuits of farming and stock-raising with excellent success. He now owns two hundred and fifty acres of land, all of which is tiled (sic) and under a high state of cultivation and improvement, the fields annually yielding golden harvests in return for the care and labor which is bestowed upon them.

On the 23d of March, 1890, at Agency, Wapello county, Iowa, Mr. THOMAS was united in marriage to Miss Laura B. TIMONDS, a daughter of James and Eliza J. (GROBES) TIMONDS. The father was a harness maker by trade, but as his health would not permit of indoor work, he took up farming in Wapello county where he now owns a farm of three hundred and twenty acres and he and his wife are counted among the highly respected residents of that county. There were seven children in the family of Mr. and Mrs. TIMONDS of whom one died when but two years of age, while all the rest are settled in Wapello county. Mr. and Mrs. THOMAS have no children. His religious faith is that of the Methodist Episcopal church. He enjoys an enviable reputation as a prominent citizen and substantial agriculturist of Black Hawk township and has ever manifested a deep and public-spirited interest in the welfare of his county, state and nation.

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