John L & Mary North

NORTH WARRINGER

Posted By: Connie Swearingen (email)
Date: 10/13/2010 at 22:34:27

History of Woodbury County, Iowa 1984

John L and Mary North
By Harold and Marvel Walker

John L North was born June 7, 1836, at Lowville, New York. He was of English descent. Mary A Warringer was born October 7, 1846, in Grieg, New York. In 1866 they sold their farm in New York and came to Iowa where land was better and cheaper. They settled first at Boone, Iowa. Later they moved to Odebolt in Sac County. They were the parents of three children: Ida who died in infancy, Laura and Clara.

In 1885, they bought a farm in Woodbury County, 3 ½ miles southwest of Correctionville. John brought 280 acres of land for $9.00 per acre. Later he sold 120 acres of his farm for $12.00 an acre. Another 40 acres were purchased later from the Garber farm by his daughter, Clara and husband. This has continued to be the family farm.

Mary North died in 1902. Her father was a veteran of the War of 1812 and her grandfather was a soldier in the Revolutionary War.

John North loved growing things. He set out a fine orchard and experimented with new varieties by grafting. He was a faithful member of the Correctionville Methodist Church and was deeply interested in the building of the present structure in 1910. He left Correctionville in 1915 to make his home with his daughter, Mrs. Laura Coon, in Los Angeles, California. He died there March 28, 1921. Burial was in the Correctionville Cemetery.

Laura, the North’s elder daughter, was born I 1867 at Boone, Iowa. She married Isaac Coon. They lived in and around Correctionville until 1910 when they moved to California. Their children were: Ruby ‘Mrs. George Nahas’, Hazel ‘Mrs. Fred Tyndall’, Bernice ‘Mrs. Mert Beckwith’, Frank, John, and Russell. Laura died November 1948.

Clara, the younger daughter, was born at Odebolt, Iowa, November 21, 1875. She came to Correctionville with her parents in 1885. She married Frank Walker on March 6, 1895, at Sac City, Iowa. She inherited her father’s love for growing things. She had many unusual plants and flowers. They bought the North farm and lived there until they retired to Correctionville in 1943. Frank built a telephone line out from town and installed phones for the neighbors along the way. For years this was called the Walker Telephone Line. When they remodeled their house in 1918, they installed a carbide gas system for lighting the house and barn. Frank passed away June 6, 1946, and Clara, on September 13, 1949.

Frank and Clara Walker had two sons: Harold North, born February 9, 1903; and Roy Lincoln, born February 12, 1907.

Harold married Marvel Smith on August 11, 1942, at Maryville, Missouri. They lived on the family farm until retirement in 1968. They have one son, Raymond, born February 28, 1945. He married Darlene Schwarz, May 21, 1967. They live on the original North farm. Their son, Scott, born November 27, 1974, is the fifth generation to live there.

Roy, the Walker’s second son, married Ruth LeCount of Villard, Minnesota, on July 5, 1928. They bought a farm southwest of Correctionville and lived there until retirement in 1968. They were the parents of two daughters: Eva, born April 18, 1932; and Ann, born March 7, 1940.

Eva married Leonard Munsen, June 11, 1950. They are the parents of four children: Mary Ann ‘Mrs. James Arnolde’, of Sioux City who has one son, Bradley; JoLynn ‘Mrs. Mark Demarest’ who has one son, Luke; Karen, a student at Morningside College; and Steven at home. They live in Correctionville and own and operate a hardware store there.

Ann married Gary Schumacher. They have six children: Rex, who married Peggy Anderson, and lives near Cushing (they have two children, Bridget and Adam.); Jean, who works in Brookings, South Dakota; Nancy, who is married to Shaun McCrea and lives in California (they have one daughter, Alicia.); Holly, Jill, and Jack are still at home. Gary and Ann live on a farm near Cushing, Iowa.