LOUGH, Jacob F. (1842-1923)

LOUGH

Posted By: Karon Velau (email)
Date: 5/24/2020 at 21:29:50

Jacob Franklin Lough
(December 10, 1842 – October 28, 1923)

J. F. Lough Called
After an illness of a little more than two weeks, J. F. Lough, one of Warren County’s oldest and most respected citizens, died at his home on West Second Avenue Sunday afternoon at 2:30. Mr. Lough’s last appearance away from his home was at a dinner given by the W. R. C. [Women’s Relief Corp] to the members of the G.A.R.[Grand Army of the Republic] of which he was a loyal and active member. Intense suffering marked the first days of his illness, but an operation brought a considerable relief and it was thought for a time that recovery was possible, but eighty years of life had left the body too frail to revive from the shock. Death followed a slight paralytic stroke Sunday noon. The funeral was hale at the residence Tuesday afternoon at 2:30, conducted by Rev. A. S. Woodard of the Methodist church, of which Mr. Lough was one of the oldest members. A full obituary will be printed next week.
[copied from a scrapbook at the Warren County Historical Society Library, Indianola, Iowa]

J. F. Lough|
Two years and a half before his death, J. F. Lough wrote a brief autobiography and bequeathed it to his great grandson, William Marlough Anderson, son of Mr. and Mrs. Hugh Anderson, of Des Moines. No formal obituary could be so interesting or authentic as extracts from this account of his own life, which the Tribune takes as follows: “The writer of this sketch was born in Rockingham County, Old Virginia, December 10th, 1842. His father was of German descent, his mother Irish. At the age of six months he removed with his parents to Barbour County, new West Virginia, where he grew to manhood. First I lived on Simpson’s Creek until eleven years old, then moved with the family to Pleasant Creek, when at the age of twelve years my mother died, a great loss to a twelve year old boy. The family consisted of father and mother and six children, three boys and three girls. While living on Simpson’s Creek I attended my first school, in an old log school house with a big fire place in one end where they rolled in big logs to keep up the fires. Schools those days were subscription schools, no free schools. Negroes were not allowed to attend schools.” Mr. Lough speaks of the outdoor oven where his mother baked her bread and of the blacksmith shop of his father, John Lough. At fifteen he contracted some trouble in his ankle that kept him on crutches, but did not keep him from attending school. After recovery and being able to work he continues. “About this time the civil war broke out and I was anxious to enlist for the union, but owing to my sore leg I didn’t get to until July 4th, 1863, when I enlisted in the 4th Virginia Cavalry for six months, served eight months and was discharged March 1st, 1864, worked on the farm during the summer and in September again enlisted for a year or during the war. Was on patrol duty in Washington, D. C. when the war closed. Was discharged 24th of May 1865.” Here Mr. Lough tells of leaving his father’s home and coming to Iowa, landing in Indianola in August 1865, where he attended Simpson College for the fall term. During the winter he lived with the family of George Griffith and attended the Griffith School taught by Chappelle Clark two miles west of town. He later taught the Middle Valley school near Lothrop. While living with the Griffiths he met Mrs. Sarah E. Sarchett, a “war widow” whom he married September 19th, 1866. They rented a farm near New Virginia for a year, then moved seven miles west of Indianola, and a few years later to a farm six miles west of Indianola where they lived until Mr. Lough was elected a member of the county board of supervisors in 1892. Since 1892 they have made their home in Indianola. Mr. Lough served six years on the board and five years as member of the city council from the third ward. He was a staunch republican in politics. His father voted the democratic ticket until the outbreak of the war, after which he became a republican. He joined the Methodist church when a boy 13 years old and from that time until his death was most of the time in some official position in the church. He leaves a widow, two step-children, Mrs. Mary E. Marlatt of Indianola, and Theodore Sarchett of Center Chapel neighborhood, fourteen grandchildren and several great grandchildren. In closing his autobiography he says: “Wife and I have now lived happily together for fifty-four years. She is unable to walk having lost the use of her limbs, but is able to go about in a wheel chair. I realize our time is running short, but this does not worry us for we are perfectly resigned to Gods’ will, whatever that may be.” J. F. Lough died Sunday, October 28th, 1923.
Resolutions of Respect and Sympathy
Resolved. That in the recent death of our respected comrade, J. F. Lough, the James Randolph post [Grand Army of the Republic] has lost one of its most indefatigable workers; one who has always been foremost in everything that was for the good of our order and whose wise counsel and helping hand was greatly appreciated. That, in the passing of our Comrade, Lough from our midst, our thoughts are directed to the great sorrow that has come to his family, especially to his invalid companion who will so sorely miss the loving, tender care that has been administered to her so faithfully in the past. We, therefore, tender to them our heartfelt sympathies in this, their great sorrow and hope they will feel that every member of the James Randolph post is a special friend to whom they can go in this, their time of need, with the assurance that help will be given to the extent of our ability. Unanimously adopted. [Copied from a scrapbook at the Warren County Historical Society Library, Indianola, Iowa]