Osborn, James H.

OSBORN

Posted By: Karon Velau (email)
Date: 6/29/2021 at 14:17:34

History of Warren County, Iowa from Its Earliest Settlement to 1908, by Rev. W. C. Martin, Clarke Publishing Co., Chicago, Illinois, 1908, p.934

JAMES HENRY OSBORN
Among the commercial enterprises which contribute to Indianola's busi­ness activity is the establishment of James Henry Osborn, who is carrying a line of dry goods and groceries, his store being located on the west side of the public square. He is anenergetic merchant, constantly watchful of opportunities pointing to success and his methods at all times have been in harmony with a high standard of commercial ethics.
A native of Winchester, Virginia, Mr. Osborn was born in 1859, a son of James W. and Margaret (Easter) Osborn, the former a native of Virginia, while the latter was born in Baltimore, Maryland. The father was of English lineage, while the mother was of Irish and Scotch ancestry. A farmer by occupation, he followed that pursuit in the Old Dominion until the 14th of April 1865, on which day he arrived in Iowa. Locating near Council Bluffs, he again resumed agricultural pursuits and continued to reside there through­out his remaining days. He was a prosperous man, his well directed energy and activity enabling him to leave an estate valued at fifty thousand dollars. In his farming and stock-raising pursuits he was intensely practical as well as energetic and his business record is one worthy of emulation. His life, too, was at all times honorable and upright, being in harmony with his professions as a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. He took an active part in the church work and served as class leader for many years. His early political allegiance was given to the democracy but later in life he became a Republican and held a number of township offices. He died in 1903 at the age of seventy-four years, having for a brief period survived his wife, who passed away in September, 1901, at the age of sixty-five years. She, too, was a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. They were the parents of nine children and all reached years of maturity.
James H. Osborn, who was the third in order of birth, attended the coun­try schools near Council Bluffs. He was but six years of age when brought by his parents to Iowa and he worked upon the home farm until he reached the age of twenty-eight years, when he began clerking in a dry goods store in Council Bluffs. He then went into business for himself at Griswold, Iowa, in 1891, there remaining until 1905, when he came to Indianola and here pur­chased an interest in the McCoy-Riggs Company. The firm name of Riggs & Osborn was then assumed and later Mr. Osborn purchased Mr. Riggs' interest and is now alone in business. He has a well appointed store and carries a good line of dry goods and groceries. His establishment is conveniently located on the west side of the square and the business is growing, for the public recognizes that his methods are reliable, his purposes honorable and his goods are all that he represents them to be. In addition to his store he owns a valuable farming property of eight hundred acres in South Dakota.
On the 23d of March, 1884, Mr. Osborn was married to Miss Laving Roosa, who was born near Kingston, New York, in 1861. They have four children: Frederick H., Walter E., Edith Mary and Clarence Robert. The parents are consistent members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, in which Mr. Osborn is serving as steward. He exercises his right of franchise in sup­port of the men and measures of the Republican party and keeps well informed on the questions and issues of the day but has never sought office, preferring to concentrate his energies upon his business affairs, in which he is meeting with signal success.