Nine, Martin Luther

NINE

Posted By: Karon Velau (email)
Date: 6/13/2021 at 16:25:18

MARTIN LUTHER NINE
born Aug 7, 1849, W. VA.

Martin Luther Nine - This gentleman is another one of the worthy and esteemed citizens of Virginia township, Warren county, Iowa, who look to Preston county, West Virginia as place of their birth, and the home of their forefathers. He was born August 7, 1849, son David and Margaret (Martin) Nine, the third in a family of eight children, two of whom were daughters. Of this number, six survive, viz.: Peter F., a farmer of Garrett county, Maryland; Martin L., Eva Elizabeth, wife William F. Wotring, of Preston county, West Virginia; John M., Preston county; Cynthia, wife of Thomas Griffith, Somerset county, Pennsylvania; and David C., on the old homestead in Preston county. David Nine, the father, was born in Preston county, West Virginia, December 23, 1822, son of Christian Nine, a native of Pennsylvania. In early life the latter crossed the Cumberland mountains into West Virginia, and there became interested in agricultural pursuits. He married a Miss Whitehair, a native of the Old Dominion, and they became the parents of eleven children, of whom seven were sons. He lived out his three-score years and ten, and died, and is buried in Preston county. Grandmother Nine at the time of her death was eighty years of age. While Christian Nine was successful as a farmer and business man, his son David, our subject's father, was even more successful, his life also being passed in the quiet of agricultural pursuits. David Nine acquired a large property and left a fine estate. He departed this life at his home in Preston county, September 30, 1895, and in the Wesley Chapel cemetery, in Union township of that county, his remains are interred. He was for many years a devout member of the Lutheran Church, exerted an influence for good in the community, and at his death a life of great usefulness was ended. The Christian lady whose life was blended with his for many years, and whose maiden name was Margaret Martin, was of German parentage and birth, and accompanied her parents in their emigration to this country. Her death occurred in 1878. She named her son Martin Luther, while her husband named all the other children. Martin Luther Nine received his early schooling in the log school-house near his home. Later he completed a high-school course and was a student in the West Union Normal and Terra Alta Normal, and has during his whole life been of a studious nature; and his range of knowledge has been largely increased by travel and close observation. After his graduation in the high school he taught for several years in the same room in which he had been a student, and he taught one term after coming to Iowa - the Valley school, in Squaw township, Warren county. His vocation, however, like his father's and grandfather's before him, has been that of farming. It was in 1881 that he came to this State, and since then he has made his home in Virginia township, Warren county.
March 30, 1881 was consummated his marriage to Miss Margaret Ervin, daughter of Elias Ervin, who has been a resident of Warren county for seventeen years. Their nuptials were celebrated at the home in which they at present reside. Mrs. Nine is an amiable and charming woman and is the mother of four interesting children, namely: Garfield Lincoln, born February 12, 1883; Beulah V., October 17, 1885; Lula Blanche, September 22, 1887; and Ray Clinton, December 29, 1890. When Mr. Nine took possession of his present farm it comprised eighty acres, with good residence and a portion of the land under cultivation. He has since added to the original tract by the purchase of 120 acres of adjoining land, the whole making a most desirable farm. Mr. Nine's political views harmonize with the principles of the Republican party, with which he has affiliated since he cast his first vote for General Grant for president. Although he himself has never sought official preferment, he has been honored with such in a local way and has served acceptably as a member of the School Board, as Road Supervisor, and as Township Assessor. He was first elected Assessor in 1887, has been re-elected, and is still the incumbent of this office. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church and of the Masonic order, at New Virginia. Source: A Memorial and Biographical Record of Iowa, Lewis Publishing Co., Chicago, Illinois, 1896, vol.1, p.445

History of Warren County, Iowa from Its Earliest Settlement to 1908, by Rev. W. C. Martin, Clarke Publishing Co., Chicago, Illinois, 1908, p.579
MARTIN LUTHER NINE
Martin Luther Nine, one of the worthy and esteemed citizens of Vir­ginia Township, was born in Preston County, West Virginia, August 7, 1849. His father, David Nine, was also a native of Preston County, born December 23, 1822, and was a son of Christian Nine, a native of the Old Dominion, who in early life crossed the Cumberland mountains and became a farmer of West Virginia. He married a Miss Whitehair, a native of Virginia, and they be­came the parents of eleven children. The death of Christian Nine occurred when he was seventy years of age, while his wife reached the more advanced age of eighty years.
David Nine devoted his life to agricultural pursuits, acquired a large property and left to his family a splendid estate. He died in his native county, September 30, 1895. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Margaret Martin, was born in Germany, as were her parents, who in her girlhood days brought their family to the new world, settling in Maryland. She died in 1878. She named her son Martin Luther in memory of her father and the old German reformer.
In a log schoolhouse near his home, Martin Luther Nine pursued his early education and afterward completed a high school course and became a student in the West Union Normal and the Terre Alta Normal. He has al­ways been a student interested in many lines of knowledge and in early life, he taught for several years in the same room in which his high school course had been pursued. He also taught for one term after coming to Iowa, having charge of the Valley school in Squaw Township. He arrived in Warren County in 1881, since which time he has been a farmer of Virginia Township.
On the 13th of March, 1881, Mr. Nine was married to Miss Margaret Ervin, a daughter of Elias Ervin, one of the early settlers of Warren County. They were married in the home where they now reside - the old Ervin homestead. Their children are six in number: Garfield Lincoln, the eldest, born February 12, 1883, is a graduate of the Simpson Business College of Indianola and for one year was assistant principal of that school. He now holds a lucrative position in the Bank of New Virginia; Beulah V., born October 17, 1884, is the wife of Clyde F. Wright and lives at Des Moines; Lulu Blanche, born September 22, 1886, is now teaching at Pleasantville, Iowa; Ray Clinton, born December 20, 1890; Esther Freda, born March 9, 1897, and Zena Fay, born November 16, 1898, are all at home.
Following his marriage Mr. Nine took possession of the Ervin place of eighty acres, which was fairly improved, but with characteristic energy he began the further development and improvement of this property and as his financial resources have increased he has extended its boundaries until it now comprises two hundred and sixty acres, constituting a most desirable farm. He has had a busy and useful life and in all of his agricultural interests, has been found progressive, practical and reliable. In politics he is a staunch Republican, giving his support to the party since casting his first presidential vote for General Grant. He has filled several local offices capably, serving as assessor, road supervisor and member of the school board. He belongs to the Methodist Episcopal Church and says that the first sermon he ever heard preached was by the father of Senator John P. Dolliver, of Iowa. He is well known in his community as a citizen whose aid and cooperation can be counted upon to further various progressive movements and measures that tend to advance the upbuilding of the county.