Carroll County IAGenWeb

HISTORY OF CARROLL COUNTY IOWA

A Record of Settlement, Organization, Progress and Achievement

VOLUME II ILLUSTRATED

CHICAGO THE S. J. CLARKE PUBLISHING COMPANY 1912

Transcribed by Sharon Elijah September 20, 2020

The commercial interests of Glidden are very ably represented in the person of Abraham Moorhouse, who has been successfully identified with the grain and lumber business for over twenty years. He was born in Orange, New Jersey, on the 30th of December, 1840, and is a son of Henry and Mary (Booth) Moorhouse, natives of England. The paternal great-grandparents, Stephen and Mary Moorhouse, were the parents of three sons: Stephen, Isaac and Benjamin. The youngest son, Benjamin, whose natal day was the 17th of February, 1780, and his wife Hannah were the parents of seven children, whose births were as follows: Henry, who was born in Leeds, Yorkshire, on the 11th of October, 1804; Sally, who was born on the 2d of December, 1807; Isaac, born on the 10th of November, 1809; Benjamin, born on the 15th of January, 1812; Joseph, born on the 25th of February, 1815; Stephen, born on the 3d of August, 1817; and Thomas, born on the 9th of February, 1821. Benjamin Moorhouse, the paternal grandfather, was a large woolen manufacturer in England, and at the age of about twenty years his son Henry came to America in the interest of the woolen industry. After residing here about three years he returned to the mother country, where he was married on the 10th of July, 1830, to Miss Mary Booth. Two years thereafter he and his bride returned to the United States, five weeks being required for the journey which was made in a sailing vessel. Upon their arrival here they located in Dutchess county, New York, where their children were reared. After their sons were grown they moved to Wisconsin, locating in Elkhorn, where Mr. Moorhouse passed away on the 12th of July, 1887, at the venerable age of eighty-three. Nine children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Moorhouse, the order of their birth being as follows: Hannah, who was born on the 27th of February, 1832; William H., born on the 6th of February, 1834; Isaac, born on the 23d of March, 1835; Stephen, born on the 23d of April, 1837; Isaac, born on the 24th of November, 1838; Abraham, our subject; Stephen, born on the 18th of December, 1842; Edward, born on the 7th of December, 1843; and Thomas, born on the 8th of December, 1847.

Abraham Moorhouse was reared on the old homestead in Dutchess county, acquiring his education in the common schools which he attended until he had attained the age of seventeen years. In 1857 accompanied by his brother Isaac, he came to Wisconsin where they purchased one hundred and sixty acres of land in the cultivation of which they engaged. They were followed by the mother and another brother and sister, and three years later the father joined them. He had remained in New York to dispose of his interest in the woolen business, wishing to withdraw from this industry before changing his location. In 1861 Mr. Moorhouse responded to his country’s call and enlisted in the Twelfth Wisconsin Regimental Bank, with which he went to the front, where he remained for a year. At the expiration of that period he returned to the farm where he remained until about 1865. During this time he supplemented the education he had obtained in the common schools by a commercial course which he pursued in the Eastman Commercial College of Chicago, thus acquiring a more practical knowledge of business methods. When he left the farm he went to Elkhorn, where he clerked for a time and later engaged in the hardware business, continuing to be identified with the latter enterprise until 1876. He subsequently removed to Iowa, locating in Jefferson where he engaged in the lumber and grain business for thirteen years. Disposing of his interests at the expiration of that period he came to Glidden, engaging in the same business which he has ever since followed. Mr. Moorhouse has met with gratifying returns from his ventures and is regarded as one of the successful and substantial citizens of the town.

On the 30th of October, 1873, Mr. Moorhouse was united in marriage to Miss Mary Elizabeth Bogart, a daughter of Orlando and Katherine Bogart, natives of New York, where the father was a broker and banker. The first three years of their domestic life Mr. and Mrs. Moorhouse spent in Elkhorn. Three children have been born to them: Julia B., whose birth occurred on the 21st of July, 1874; Henry, born on the 21st of February, 1880, and who died on the 16th of May, 1890; and Orlando, born on the 23d of September, 1881, who is now engaged in business with his father.

The family are all earnest and active members of the Presbyterian church. His political support Mr. Moorhouse accords the republican party, although not being an officer seeker he never prominently participates in civic affairs. He and his family are highly regarded in the community, and take a prominent part in the social life of the town, graciously extending the hospitality of their beautiful home to their many friends.

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