James Breakenridge

BREAKENRIDGE, MERRILL, PERKINSSCANNEL

Posted By: Judy Wight Branson (email)
Date: 10/12/2005 at 19:05:46

James Breakenridge is well known in agricultural circles of this county and all who have been brought into contact with him hold him in sincere respect. He owns the Maple Grove stock farm, which comprises a quarter section of splendid land on section 35, Jackson township, and is successfully engaged in raising shorthorn cattle.

The birth of Mr. Breakenridge occurred in Linn county, this state, on the 5th of December, 1860, and his parents were James and Clarinda (Scannel) Breakenridge. The father was bom on the 14th of May, 1820, in Bennington, Vermont, and the mother was a native of Trumbull county, Ohio, born on the 5th of March, 1830. The paternal grandfather was Colonel Francis Breakenridge, who was born in Bennington, Vermont, on the 12th of January, 1792, and who gained considerable fame in the War of 1812. He passed away on the 19th of January, 1869. His wife, who was before her marriage Miss Emily Babbitt, was born on the 13th of November, 1797, and died at Bennington, Vermont, on the 25th of February, 1836. The great-grandfather of our subject in the paternal line was James Breakenridge, who served as a lieutenant in a Vermont regiment in the Revolutionary war. He was one of the first colonists to oppose the autocratic rule of George III, who determined to make him an example to others who might prove recalcitrant. However, Lieutenant Breakenridge and fifty friends barricaded themselves in a house and withstood the bullets of those representing the king's government. The Vermont Gazetteer gives the details of the occurrence.
James Breakenridge, the father of our subject, learned the trade of spinner and worked in cotton mills in Vermont for some time and likewise followed the tanner's trade to some extent. He was also a brick and stone mason and worked on the Erie canal. In 1856 he made the overland journey to Linn county, Iowa, in a linchpin wagon. Conditions were then largely those of a pioneer region but he felt that the opportunities offered there more than compensated for the discomforts endured. He followed his trade of a brick and stone mason and had the contract for the lime material used in building Western College in Linn county. In 1872 he left that county and, using the same wagon, removed to Perm township, Madison county, where he continued to follow his trade and also farmed. He resided in that township until his death, which occurred on the 7th of November, 1882. He was a republican and quite active in politics in Madison county. His religious allegiance was given to the Evangelical church and he did much toward furthering the cause of Christianity in the communities in which he lived. His widow passed away on the 6th of February, 1889, having survived him for more than six years.

James Breakenridge was the fifth in a family of seven children and as his boyhood days were passed in Linn county he attended the pioneer district schools there in the acquirement of an education. In 1881 he began farming on his own account in Penn township, this county, and resided there until 1889, when he removed to Jackson township, taking up his residence on the homestead of his father-in-law. Subsequently he returned to Penn township, where he resided until 1908, when he removed to his present farm of one hundred and sixty acres on section 35, Jackson township, which he had purchased the year previous. He raises thoroughbred shorthorn cattle, representing the best strains in Iowa, and as he uses good business judgment in the management of his affairs his resources are constantly increasing. His farm is known as the Maple Grove stock farm and is one of the best kept up places in his locality.

On the 1st of February, 1888, Mr. Breakenridge and Miss Helen Perkins were united in marriage. She was born in New Hampshire and is a daughter of Erastus G. and Rosetta A. (Merrill) Perkins, the former born in Orange county, Virginia, May 20, 1822, and the latter in Charleston, New Hampshire, on the 21st of November, 1824. The father was educated at Newberry Seminary, in New Hampshire, and remained in that state until he was twenty-one years of age. For four years he engaged in the grocery business in New York city. In 1847, his father being congressman from New Hampshire, Erastus G. Perkins was appointed by President Pierce as clerk in the census office and for a time resided in Washington, D. C. In 1851 he came to this county and entered two hundred and forty acres of land from the government but after partly improving his place returned to New Hampshire, where he farmed for six years. He then came again to this county, bringing his family, and settled in Lincoln township, where he resided for ten years. He was postmaster, his home being the post office. He returned to Madison county in 1857 and there were then many evidences of the ravages of the hard winters of 1855 and 1856. Upon leaving Lincoln township he took up his residence on two hundred acres of land in Jackson township, where he resided until his death in 1889. In 1864 he was deputized county treasurer and recorder and he also served as county supervisor in addition to holding all of the township offices. He was quite active in the Grange, could be counted upon to cooperate in any worthy movement and in 1865 was elected captain of the Lincoln Home Guards. He was a Methodist and helped to organize the West Star church and to erect its house of worship. To him and his wife were born five children, of whom Mrs. Breakenridge is the second in order of birth. She has become the mother of four children, two of whom are living: Harold G., born September 14, 1894, who graduated from the Winterset high school in 1914 and is now at home; and Raymond D., born August 17, 1897, who is attending the Winterset high school. Aletha died in infancy and Glenn died when ten years of age.

Mr. Breakenridge is a republican and his opinions carry weight in the local councils of his party. He is at present serving as trustee of Jackson township and for several years was justice of the peace, while he has also been on the board of supervisors. His church membership is held in the West Star Methodist Episcopal church and he is a consistent and influential member of that society. Fraternally he is connected with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. His ability is evident in the success which attends his stock-raising activities and his integrity and uprightness are manifest in his daily life.

Taken from the book, “The History of Madison County, Iowa, 1915,” by Herman Mueller.