Romine, William

ROMINE

Posted By: Karon Velau (email)
Date: 6/30/2021 at 00:06:07

History of Warren County, Iowa from Its Earliest Settlement to 1908, by Rev. W. C. Martin, Clarke Publishing Co., Chicago, Illinois, 1908, p.893

WILLIAM ROMINE
William Romine, son of Ross and Meda (0lliver) Romine, was born in Indiana on the 9th of February 1843. Both parents died when he was but a little boy and he was reared by an older sister until old enough to care for himself, when, at an early age, he ventured forth to fight life's battles in his own behalf. His father had been a farmer and, following in his footsteps, he sought this field of labor, working for monthly wages. In response to a call for volunteers at the time of the opening of the Civil War he was among the first who hurried to the defense of the Union, enlisting August 8, 1861, as a private in Company I, Thirty-second Ohio Volunteer Infantry. On the expira­tion of his term of service he reenlisted and in all served four years and twelve days, participating in Sherman's march to the sea and the grand review at Washington at the close of the war. He was present at many important engagements, among which may be mentioned Champion Hill; the siege of Vicksburg; siege of Atlanta, Georgia; engagements of Cheat Mountain, Vir­ginia; Rich Hill, Virginia; Harpers Ferry, and several others. At Harpers Ferry he was taken prisoner, but was paroled. He was never in prison nor wounded, although he had his clothing pierced by bullets. Probably, because they made so deep an impression on his mind, Mr. Romine recalls the events of these stirring times much more vividly than he does the happenings of more recent years and it is entertaining and instructive to hear him converse upon this subject.
On the 6th of April, 1863, Mr. Romine was married to Miss Mary McQuillen, of Ohio, who was born in that State on the 18th of October, 1848. To this union have been born seven children, six of whom are still living. Their names, respectively, are as follows: Clara, the wife of Davis Hughes, a merchant at Spring Hill; Charles Curtis, a farmer of Virginia Township, a sketch of whose life appears elsewhere in this volume; John, who married Anna Schutt and died July 16, 1894; Oliver, a farmer of Polk County, Iowa, who married Grace Britten; Oscar, who married Dora Shigley; Fannie, the wife of John Shigley, both of whom reside on farms in North Dakota; and Edward, who resides at home with his parents and runs the farm.
Five years after his marriage, in 1868, Mr. Romine removed from Ohio to Iowa, where he bought eighty acres of land southwest of Indianola, on which he built a residence and lived there for about sixteen years. He then went to Saunders County, Nebraska, and farmed until 1898, when he returned to Warren County and bought his present place, upon which he has erected a comfortable residence equipped with all modern conveniences. The house is surrounded with beautiful grounds and the environments are such as to pro­mote peace on earth and good will toward all men, a sentiment which is dispensed freely from this hospitable home. Mr. Romine is not a member of any church, though his sympathy and support are given the Methodist Episco­pal Church, to which his wife belongs. In politics he has been a lifelong Republican, believing the principles of this party to be sound and conducive to good government.