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 November 1, 2020

The owner of five hundred and sixty acres of land in Carroll county, Iowa, Thomas Carey Wolfe may justly be named as one of the prosperous citizens of the county. For twelve years past he has lived in a beautiful home in Carroll in the enjoyment of the society of his family and friends, at the same time directing affairs upon his farms. He was born in County Kerry, Ireland, in 1845, a son of Maurice and Ellen (Carey) Wolfe, both of whom were natives of the Emerald Isle. The father came to America and engaged in farming in La Salle county, Illinois. In 1860 he settled in Clinton county, Iowa, and died there April 1, 1879, at the age of seventy-nine, his wife having passed a number of years previously. They were both devout members of the Catholic church. There were twelve children in their family, eleven of whom grew to maturity, namely, James, Ellen, Maurice, John, Mary, Margaret, Thomas C., Johanna, Richard, Catharine and Bridget.

Thomas Carey Wolfe came to America with his parents and was reared to fifteen years of age in La Salle county, Illinois. He then moved with his family to Clinton county, Iowa. He received his education in the district schools and assisted his father upon the home farm until after arriving at maturity. At the age of twenty-four years he came to Carroll county and purchased one hundred and sixty acres of land in Eden township, near Templeton, managing his affairs so ably that as the years passed he became one of the large landholders of that section, owning seven eighty-acre tracts, which includes some of the best land in the county. He moved to Templeton in 1883 and continued there until the 4th of May, 1898, since which time he occupied a beautiful home in Carroll.

On the 14th of February, 1874, Mr. Wolfe was united in marriage to Miss Mary Ann James, who was born on a farm eight miles from Berlin, Wisconsin, a daughter of Joseph and Cecilia (Finnerty) James. The father was born at Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England, and the mother in County Mayo, Ireland. The family came to America and after living for a while in Massachusetts removed to Wisconsin, where Mr. James cleared and improved a farm. Subsequently he came to Iowa and took up his residence in Poweshiek county, settling is Roselle township, Carroll county, in 1869. He died at Stuart, Iowa, in November, 1903, at the age of sixty-eight, and his widow is still living at that place. They had six children, John, Mary Ann, Celia, Joseph, Jane and David. Joseph James, the paternal grandfather, married Jane James. He died well advanced in years in Carroll county, Iowa. There were five children in their family, Eunice, Ann, Elizabeth, Joseph and Fannie. Thomas Finnerty, the grandfather on the maternal side, was a farmer. He died in his early manhood. The home of Mr. and Mrs. Wolfe was brightened by the arrival of nine children: Cecelia, now deceased, who became the wife of Joseph H. Meyers and had one child, Rita Marie; Ella, who died in infancy; Ann, who now lives at home; Joseph, a clerk in the postoffice at Carroll, who married Kate Meyers and has one child, Virgil; Maurice, a carpenter by trade, now engaged in farming at Jerome, Idaho, who married Adda Meyers and has two children, Helen and Maxine; Florence and Thomas, both of whom are at home; Edmund, now engaged as a stenographer; and John, a clerk in a dry-goods store at Omaha, Nebraska. Mr. and Mrs. Wolfe were reared in the Catholic church and are stanch upholders of the faith. Politically he gives his support to the republican party, believing that its principles are conducive to the welfare of the nation. He is a true friend of education and served many years as member of the school board, filling the offices of its treasurer and president. At Templeton he was a member of the city council and discharged his duties so acceptably that he was elected mayor of the town. This position he resigned when he removed to Carroll. He deserves much credit for the record he has made, advancing through his own efforts from a humble position until he has become one of the prominent men of this section.

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