McElroy, Samuel A.

MCELROY

Posted By: Karon Velau (email)
Date: 6/13/2021 at 16:02:26

SAMUEL A. MCELROY
born June 9, 1836, Ohio

History of Warren County, Iowa; Containing a History of the County, Its Cities, Towns & Etc., by Union Historical Company, 1879, p.679
McELROY, SAMUEL A., farmer, West Washington Township, Sec. 11; P. O. Indianola; born in Ohio, near the line of Pennsylvania, June 9, 1836; when three years old his parents emigrated to Ohio, where he lived till 1850, then moved to Marion county, this State, and lived till the fall of 1871, when he came to his present home; he was married in this county to Miss R. J. Lindsay, a native of Ohio, June 23, 1864; they have a family of one daughter, Elsie May, born Oct. 6, 1868; owns an improved farm of 122 acres.

Samuel A. McElroy, who is serving as County Treasurer of Warren county, Iowa, and makes his home in Indianola, is a native of the Buckeye State. He was born on the 9th of June 1836, in Trumbull county, Ohio, and is a son of John and Mary Ann (Watt) McElroy. The father, who was born in Washington county, Pennsylvania, in 1795, died in Warren county, Iowa in May, 1892, in the ninety-fifth year of his age. His wife, who was born in county Derry, Ireland in 1805, now lives with her son, Robert, and has almost completed her ninetieth year. They had a family of six sons and four daughters, all of whom are living, with the exception of the eldest and youngest child, Eleanor and George Watt. They died on the same day, the former at the age of twenty-three, the latter at the age of three, and were buried in the same grave at the old Ohio home. William is the eldest of the living children, and now follows carpentering in Milo, in Warren county, Iowa; Robert is engaged in farming the same county; Isabella is the wife of Isaac Lamb, who resides near Beatrice, Nebraska; Matthew B. is a carpenter of Indianola; Samuel is the next younger; John I. is a plasterer by trade and resides in Indianola; Mary E. became the wife of Stephen Easley, an agriculturist of Alexandria, Thayer county, Nebraska; and Margaret is the wife of J. H. Fitch, who follows farming near Bedford, Taylor county, Iowa. One of this family, John I., served throughout the Civil war as defender of the Union cause. The gentleman whose name heads this record was a child of two and a half years when his parents removed to Holmes county, Ohio. He there remained until 1850, when at the age of fifteen he came to Marion county, Iowa. The days of his boyhood and youth were passed upon a farm and he was early inured to the arduous labor of developing land. His education was mostly acquired in his native State, supplemented by a few terms attendance at the public schools of Ohio. Being crippled from his early youth, his misfortune necessarily prevented his attendance at school, though he afterward pursued a course of study under a Mr.Thornburgh in bookkeeping and commercial law, thus fitting himself for a practical business life. He was also under the instruction of private tutors a time and in this way, and through and observation, has become a man of information, keeping well informed on the issues of the day and the current topics of discussion. In 1864 Mr. McElroy married Miss Jennie Lindsay, a native of Ohio, who came to Iowa with her parents, Samuel and Maria Lindsay. They first located in Knoxville, then came to Warren county, and her mother is now living in Indianola. During the war of the Rebellion, the father who was then a member of the State Legislature, resigned his official position and put aside the pursuits of peace for those of war, serving with the Union army with the rank of Lieutenant. He died, July 31, 1895. He was for forty years an elder in the United Presbyterian Church. For six years following his marriage Mr. McElroy remained on the old home farm in Marion county, and then came to Warren county, where he purchased a farm, making it his place of abode until 1891. He still owns 200 acres of rich land in Lincoln township, but for the past four years has resided in Indianola, enjoying a justly merited rest from business cares. He was a progressive and enterprising agriculturist and his labor brought to him a comfortable competence. Mr. and Mrs. McElroy have had but one child, Elsie, an exceptionally bright and intelligent young lady, who died at the age of nineteen and a half years, while a student in Simpson College. Her death was a sad blow to her parents and to her many friends, for she was greatly loved by those who knew her. Mr. and Mrs McElroy are worthy and consistent members of the Presbyterian Church. He has been a life long Republican in politics, having cast his first presidential vote for Abraham Lincoln and supporting each candidate of the party since that time. He has held the office of Township Assessor for several years, served for about twenty years as Treasurer of the school district, and has now for several years served as Treasurer of Warren county. On the death of S. Conrad, he was appointed to fill that position, was then re-elected for a year to fill out the unexpired term, and in the fall of 1893 was elected for a full term, and in November, 1895, he was re-elected for a full term of two years. It is needless to say to those who know Mr. McElroy that his duties have been faithfully and conscientiously performed, for he is recognized as a valued citizen and one who has the best interests of the community at heart. Source: A Memorial and Biographical Record of Iowa, Lewis Publishing Co., Chicago, Illinois, 1896, vol.1, p.507