Lough, Jacob F.

LOUGH

Posted By: Karon Velau (email)
Date: 6/29/2021 at 13:28:53

History of Warren County, Iowa from Its Earliest Settlement to 1908, by Rev. W. C. Martin, Clarke Publishing Co., Chicago, Illinois, 1908, p.573

JACOB F. LOUGH
Jacob F. Lough at one time served as supervisor of Warren County and was formerly identified with its general agricultural pursuits, but while not active in the work of the farm now he still gives to his farming and stock-raising interests his general supervision and has gained success through capa­ble management and diligence. He makes his home in Indianola, from which point he supervises his business affairs. His present place of abode is widely separated from the place of his birth, for he entered upon the journey of life in Rockingham, Virginia, December 10, 1842. His father, John Lough, was a native of Pendleton County, Virginia, but the mother, who bore the maiden name of Mary Zirkle, was born in Rockingham County. The Lough family is of German extraction, while the Zirkle family is of Irish stock. Both parents were consistent Christian people, who held membership in the Metho­dist Episcopal Church and John Lough voted with the democracy, until the outbreak of the war, after which he became a Republican. In his business life he was a blacksmith and farmer and found that industry is the key which unlocks the portals of success. He died in Barbour County, West Virginia, in 1889, having long survived his wife, who passed away in 1854.
Jacob F. Lough was the third in a family of six children and the youngest son. He was reared on the farm and attended the subscription schools, while later he spent one term as a student in Simpson College at Indianola, taking up his studies there after the war. During the period of hostilities between the north and the south he enlisted at Webster, West Virginia, on the 4th of July, 1863, as a member of Company C, Fourth West Virginia Cavalry, and thus loyally defended the interests of the Union. He served for eight months and then reenlisted, this time
becoming a member of Company D, of the Sixth Virginia Cavalry, with which he remained until the end of the war as a non-commissioned officer.
When the war was over Mr. Lough returned to the Old Dominion, but soon afterward came to Iowa, arriving in August 1865. He then located on a farm which he purchased in Jefferson Township and with characteristic energy began to cultivate and improve the fields. As the years passed his careful supervision was indicated by the neat and thrifty appearance of the place. He raised the cereals best adapted to soil and climate and also handled good grades of stock. Both branches of his business proved profitable and were carried on by him until 1892, when his fellow townsmen recognized his fitness for office and his loyalty in citizenship by electing him to the posi­tion of supervisor in 1892. He then removed to Indianola, where he has lived to the present time but still manages his farming and live-stock interests.
On the 29th of September, 1866, Mr. Lough was married to Mrs. Sarah E. Sarchett, the widow of John M. Sarchett, who was killed in ambush at Springfield, Missouri. By her former marriage Mrs. Sarchett had two chil­dren: Theodore H., a resident farmer of Jefferson Township, and Mary E., who is the widow of Lewis Marlatt and the owner of a millinery establish­ment in Indianola.
Both Mr. and Mrs. Lough belonged to the Methodist Episcopal Church and his name is on the membership rolls of the Odd Fellows lodge and of the James Randolph Post, of which he is a past commander. An earnest Repub­lican in his political views it was upon the party ticket that he was elected county supervisor in 1892, serving in the office for six years. During one year of that time lie filled the position of chairman. He has also held other offices and has represented the third ward in the city council of Indianola, exercising his official perogatives in support of all that is progressive in municipal affairs. He is a representative of our best type of American man­hood and chivalry. By perseverance, determination and honorable effort he has overthrown the obstacles which barred his path to success, while his genuine worth, broad mind and public spirit have made him a director of public thought and action.