Sayre, Enoch

SAYRE

Posted By: Karon Velau (email)
Date: 6/13/2021 at 17:36:50

ENOCH SAYRE
born June 24, 1825, W. VA.

Enoch Sayre - The biographer is now permitted to touch upon the life history of one whose identity with the great State of Iowa covers a period of over thirty-one years - years crowded with activity in the quiet walks of life and with merited success. The record of such life can not fail to be of interest on these pages, which are devoted to a portrayal of the of the men and women who by their lives, their labors and their sacrifices have established their homes on the broad prairies of the Mississippi and helped to build up great State. It was in March, 1864, that Enoch Sayre arrived here, and from that to the present he has maintained his in Warren county. Mr. Sayre is of Eastern birth and ancestry. His forefathers were among the Puritans New England, drifted from there to New Jersey and finally to Virginia, and it was in was then Harrison county, Virginia ( now Barbour county, West Virginia), that he born, June 24, 1825, being the second of ten children of Solomon and Mary Ann (Ball) Sayre. Five of this family were sons and five daughters, and four are now deceased, those living being as follows: Enoch, whose name introduces this article, is the eldest survivor; Jedediah, who was named in honor of grandfather, is a farmer in Upshur county, West Virginia; Joseph, a farmer on land adjoining the old homestead in Barbour county, West Virginia; Harriet, wife of Henry Kennedy, lives at the old home place in Barbour county; Phebe, widow of John R. Posten, is a resident of Barbour county; and Sarah E., is the wife of Jesse Cole, a Barbour county farmer. Solomon Sayre, the father, was born in Virginia, in 1799, son of Jedediah Sayre, a native of New Jersey, and grandson of David Sayre, also of New Jersey birth. In Virginia and in his native county Solomon Sayre passed his whole life, for sixty years residing at the place where our subject was born. His life was devoted to agricultural pursuits, in politics he was a Whig and afterward a Republican, and his religion was that of the Methodist Episcopal Church. When in his eighty-fourth year his life work ended, and thus passed to Heaven one of the good men of the earth. The mother, also a devoted Christian and a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, died at the age of seventy- eight. Side by side their mortal remains are interred in the Sayre cemetery, in Pleasant township, Barbour county - an appropriate marble slab marking the spot.
Having thus briefly referred to his parentage, we now turn to the life of the immediate subject of this sketch, Enoch Sayre. He was reared on his father's farm and received his early training in the subscription schools which were held in a hewed-log house, located some three miles distant from his home, and rudely equipped with logs for both seat and desk. He walked to and from this rude “seat of learning” during the three winter months, and when not at school was occupied in farm work. He early had instilled into him by his Christian parents those lessons of honesty, industry and economy which form the foundation of all true success, and both by precept and example he was taught what it is to be a Christian. Thus passed his youthful days, and by the time he was twenty-four years of age he had saved enough money with which to purchase forty acres of land, or, rather, to make partial payment on it, for it was not clear of debt for a time. But by his well directed efforts he was enabled to meet the other payments as they came due, then to purchase forty acres more, and then still another forty. This was in West Virginia. In 1864 the spirit of emigration caused him to seek a home in Iowa, and in March of that year, as above stated, he arrived in Warren county. He forthwith purchased 360 acres of land, to which he added from time to time until he became the owner of nearly a thousand acres, and was ranked with the large land-holders of the county. But his generous and loving nature induced him to divide with his children as they grew up, and in this way he has disposed of much of his property. His comfortable and pretty rural home is located on section 31, of Virginia township, his residence being about 200 yards back from the highway and only about the same distance from the Madison county line.
Mr. Sayre was married January 20, 1851, to Miss Elizabeth Felton, daughter of John Felton, of whom so much has been written on these pages and whose log cabin was the first in New Virginia. She was born in Preston county, West Virginia, and for many years was his devoted and loving companion. Her death occurred September 3, 1885, and she is buried in the New Virginia cemetery. Of the ten children of their union we make record as follows: Harriet Virginia, born December 26, 1851, is the wife of H. C. Ludington, of Virginia township, Warren county; Mary Margaret, born September 16, 1853, is the wife of W. A. Howell, of Missouri; Matilda Jane, born May 15, 1855, is the wife of John Keller, of Jefferson county, Nebraska; Gideon, born December 28, 1856, died April 26, 1864; Sarah Luella, born September 10, 1858, is the wife of William C. Sayre, her third cousin, and resides in Audubon county, Iowa; John, born June 4, 1860, is in the State of Washington; Will E., born April 5, 1862, lives near his father; Waitman, born September 7, 1863, died of lung fever and smallpox April 19, 1864; Minnie Ellen, born September 5, 1866, is the widow of Ervin Anderson, and resides in Madison county, Iowa; and Alonzo, born February 20, 1870, married Miss Laura Forman, a native of Taylor county, West Virginia, and they reside at the Sayre homestead. All of the family are married except John, and they all occupy honored and useful positions in life, and at this writing the grandchildren of our subject number twenty-five. Like his parents before him, Mr. Sayre is a consistent member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Politically, he has long affiliated with the Republican party, but, in 1860, gave his vote in support of Mr. Bell, the Union candidate for president. While he has never sought official honors, he has been elected Township Trustee and Justice of the Peace and has served acceptably as such. Source: A Memorial and Biographical Record of Iowa, Lewis Publishing Co., Chicago, Illinois, 1896, vol.1, p.468

History of Warren County, Iowa from Its Earliest Settlement to 1908, by Rev. W. C. Martin, Clarke Publishing Co., Chicago, Illinois, 1908, p.802
ENOCH SAYRE
Enoch Sayre is numbered among those men whose strong traits of charac­ter were such as commanded for him the respect and confidence of his business colleagues and associates, and in fact of all with whom he came in contact. Without any special advantages at the outset of his career, other than those received in farm training and offered by the subscription schools in a pioneer district, he worked his way steadily upward until he was one of the extensive landowners of the county.
His birth occurred in what was then Harrison County, Virginia, but is now Barbour County, West Virginia, June 24, 1825, and he was the second of the ten children of Solomon and Mary Ann (Ball) Sayre. The genealogical record of the family shows that they were descended from Thomas Sayre of England who became the founder of Southampton, Long Island, in the early part of the seventeenth century. The name appears in the early history of New England among the puritan stock and is also mentioned in Chronicles of the early settlers of New Jersey and Virginia. Members of the family were prominent in the different wars of the country, including the French and Indian War, the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, the Blackhawk and Semi­nole Indian wars, the Civil War and the Spanish-American War. Others of the family gained fame as statesmen, orators and in professional and business circles.
Reared upon the home farm Enoch Sayre early became familiar with all of the duties incident to the development of the fields. He was educated in the old-time subscription schools "the little temple of learning" being a log building furnished with slab seats and desks. It was three miles from his home and the school term covered about three months in the winter, while the remainder of the year was devoted to work on the farm. He was fortunate being reared amid an atmosphere of Christian refinement and culture and the lessons of integrity, industry and economy were early impressed upon his mind, while he was also instructed in those principles which were for honorable and upright manhood. By the time he had reached the age of twenty-five years he had saved enough money to make partial payment on forty acres of land and with resolute purpose he set to work to clear this of all financial incumbrance. Prospering in his undertakings, his industry and careful ex­penditure enabled him soon to purchase another forty-acre tract, and he afterward purchased another tract of similar size, thus becoming the owner of one hundred and twenty acres of land in Virginia.
Attracted by the opportunities of the west, Mr. Sayre came to Iowa in 1864 and in March of that year settled in Virginia Township where he invested his capital in three hundred and sixty acres of partially improved land. For a time he lived in a log cabin and then a log house but later erected a frame dwelling, which is now occupied by his daughter, Mrs. Anderson. Through­out the period of his residence in Iowa, he prospered in his undertakings and from time to time added to his possessions until he became the owner of about one thousand acres, which was later divided among his children. He was one of the most successful agriculturists in this community and also one of the most honored because of the straightforward business methods he employed in gaining his prosperity.
On the 26th of January 1851, Mr. Sayre was married to Miss Elizabeth Felton, a native of West Virginia, and a daughter of John Felton, who was the first settler in New Virginia, Virginia Township, this county. Mrs. Sayre died December 3, 1885, and was buried in New Virginia Cemetery. She was a devoted and loving wife and mother, her first interest always being her home and family. She was also a lifelong member of the Methodist Episcopal Church and a most earnest Christian woman. Unto this worthy couple were born ten children: Harriet Virginia, now the wife of H. C. Luddington, a res­ident of Cheyenne Wells, Colorado; Mary Margaret, the wife of William Howell, whose home is in Dale, Oklahoma; Matilda Jane, the wife of John Keller, living at Crookston, Nebraska; Gideon, who died in childhood; Sarah Luella, the wife of William C. Sayre, of White Oak Township, Warren County; John, who is a resident of Bellingham, Washington; Will E., a farmer of Virginia Township; Waitman, who died in childhood; Minnie E., the widow of Irwin T. Anderson, also of Virginia township; and A. E., a farmer in the same township.
In his political views Mr. Sayre was a Republican and always kept informed on the questions and issues of the day. He held some minor offices, but was never a politician in the sense of office seeking. The Methodist Episcopal Church found him a constant and helpful member and one whose loyalty was manifested in many tangible ways. In his business life he made a notable record. He was for years president of the Iowa State bank at Osceola and was an extensive farmer and cattle-breeder. In all he undertook he won success and continued one of the foremost representatives of agricultural life in Warren County, until called to his final rest January 9, 1901. In his attitude everywhere was manifested the true spirit of altruism and although aggressive in every sense of the word, he always avoided even the semblance of that popular tendency so detrimental to the welfare of the community, mainly the sacrifice of friendship or principle for the promulgation of selfish interests.