Lockridge, James A.

LOCKRIDGE

Posted By: Karon Velau (email)
Date: 6/29/2021 at 13:24:25

History of Warren County, Iowa from Its Earliest Settlement to 1908, by Rev. W. C. Martin, Clarke Publishing Co., Chicago, Illinois, 1908, p.839

JAMES A. LOCKRIDGE
James A. Lockridge, residing on section 30, Greenfield Township, is numbered among the honored pioneers of Warren County, having made his home here continuously since 1853. His birth occurred in Hillsboro, Indiana, February 3, 1836, his parents being Samuel and Mary Philipp (Meeks) Lockridge. The father, who was a native of Augusta County, Virginia, followed farming as a life work and, after being married in West Virginia, brought his wife to Henry County, Indiana, and subsequently to Brown County, that state. At the latter place Samuel Lockridge entered six hundred and forty acres of land, being successfully engaged in its operation for sixteen years. On the expiration of that period he disposed of the land and came to Warren County, Iowa, in 1853, purchasing a farm of one hundred and sixty acres in Jefferson Township. There he made his home until he passed away at the age of fifty-five years, being accidentally killed in a sawmill. The death of his wife occurred in 1896 when she had attained the age of eighty-four years. Their family numbered nine children, four sons and five daughters, all of whom are still living.
James A. Lockridge, the second in order of birth in his father's family, was reared to agricultural pursuits and accompanied his parents on their removal to this county. In August, 1853, he began the operation of a rented farm south of Spring Hill, continuing to cultivate rented land until eight years after his marriage. In 1867 his father gave him the forty acres on which he now resides in Greenfield Township, to which he added from time to time until he now has a valuable and well improved property of three hundred and fifty-eight acres. It was originally timber land but through his earnest and well directed labors has been transformed into a productive and highly cultivated farm. He erected a substantial and commodious dwelling and barns, set out an orchard of one thousand trees and likewise assisted in laying out the roads here. In addition to the work of general farming he has also engaged in raising and feeding cattle and hogs, both branches of his business bringing to him a gratifying annual return.
In December, 1858, in Warren County, occurred the marriage of Mr. Lockridge and Miss Amanda J. Bedell, a native of Missouri and a daughter of Lefting Bedell, who came to this county in 1845. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Lockridge are as follows: Morganey, at home; Roach, a farmer of Linn Township, who wedded Miss Lawrence, by whom he has two children, Pearl and Harry Lawrence; Chrystie, also at home; Wytha, the wife of Whitley Allen, an agriculturist of Greenfield Township, by whom she has one child, Agnes; and Hephizibah, the wife of C. J. Pierce, of Des Moines.
Mr. Lockridge gives his political allegiance to the democracy where national questions and issues are involved but casts an independent local ballot. His fellow townsmen, recognizing his worth and ability, have called him to public office and he has served as road supervisor and school director. His religious faith is indicated by his membership in the Christian Church of Norwalk, in which he has held office. Fifty-five years have passed since he came to Warren County. This state was then a wild district, its lands un­claimed, its resources undeveloped. A few courageous frontiersmen had dared to locate within its borders but the work of progress and improvement remained to the future and there was little promise of early development. In the years which have since passed, Mr. Lockridge has not only witnessed a most wonderful transformation but has largely aided in the labors which have transformed the wild tract into a splendid commonwealth. He is a worthy representative of a well known old family here and is one of the best informed men of his age in the county. He is well acquainted with all the old settlers and, though he has passed the seventy-second milestone on life's journey, is still an active and public-spirited citizen, giving his cooperation to every movement and measure which tends to promote the general welfare or further the agricultural interests of Warren County.