TAYLOR, NYRAM C.
TAYLOR, MINKLER, MADDEN
Posted By: Jean Kramer (email)
Date: 7/15/2003 at 20:07:20
Biography reproduced from page 325 of Volume II of the History of Kossuth County written by Benjamin F. Reed and published in 1913:
When Nyram C. Taylor died in Algona, that city lost an upright and honorable citizen and the farming interests of Kossuth county a conspicuously successful representative. He was born January 21, 1844, in Vermont at the foot of the Green mountains and received his early education in the public schools of that district. He went to Illinois at an early date and enlisted for service in the Civil war as member of the One Hundred and Forty-second Volunteer Infantry, from that state. At the close of the war he came to Iowa, settled on a homestead in Lotts Creek township, Kossuth county, and engaged in the cultivation of the soil until his death. The land which he owned was in an entirely unimproved condition at the time he settled thereon. Mr. Taylor made all the improvements upon his farm, erected the buildings necessary and cultivated the soil along scientific and modern lines. He was interested in each new development in the agricultural world and purchased improved and labor-saving machinery to assist him in his work. He remained upon the farm on which he located in Kossuth county until 1900, when he gave up the active management of his holdings and moved to Algona, Iowa. He became prominent in this community and was well liked and respected by his many friends. He was loyal to his adopted state and always took a keen interest in Algona where his public spirit, industry and intelligence made him influential in municipal affairs. He died in that city on May 15, 1911.
In 1867 Mr. Taylor was united in marriage to Miss Josephine J. Minkler, a daughter of Orange Minkler. Mrs. Taylor’s birth occurred in Ohio, April 17, 1847. She was reared at home and educated in the public schools of Algona. She held a teacher’s certificate issued by the Rev. Mr. Taylor, the first Congregational minister in Algona, and she taught school for one term in Algona. She and her husband were the parents of ten children. Edwin L. died at the age of twenty-one. Leonard Arthur, whose birth occurred November 29, 1870, is now living in Montana. Ernest E., born December 21, 1877, lives in Algona, Iowa. Elsie E., who was born October 7, 1882, is the wife of Edwin Madden of Amarillo, Minnesota. Elmer Carl is a prominent ranchman at Havre, Montana. The others died in childhood.
Mrs. Taylor is living in Algona, where she has many friends and is well known in social circles. She is owner of two residences and one hundred and sixty acres of land in Minnesota and is active in the management of the comfortable fortune left her by her husband. She is a member of the Congregational church in which faith she was reared. During his life Mr. Taylor was one of the prominent factors in the affairs of Kossuth county. He was a republican in politics, and held several township offices. He was a member of the Brotherhood of American Yeoman and belonged to the local post of the Grand Army of the Republic. He never shirked his duty in any respect. He served his country with the utmost courage when his services were needed; when he cultivated the soil he made his farm one of the most modern and productive properties in the county, and his death deprived Kossuth county and the state of Iowa of an upright, honorable and worthy man.
Kossuth Biographies maintained by Linda Ziemann.
WebBBS 4.33 Genealogy Modification Package by WebJourneymen