JOHN McALLISTER

View Portrait of Mr. & Mrs. Thomas McAllister

A farm of one hundred and thirty acres of arable land and ten acres of timber land on section 9, Pioneer township, is the property of John McAllister, and in the development of the place he follows the most progressive methods of agriculture. His farm is endeared to him not only through the associations of manhood but also of boyhood, for it was here his youthful days were passed and it was here his birth occurred, his natal day being February 26, 1858.

Thomas McAllister, his father, was born in Ireland and was a son of Neice McAllister, who on leaving the Emerald isle crossed the Atlantic to Canada, where he resided for some years. He then left the Dominion to establish his home in the United States, making his way at once to Cedar county, Iowa. Thomas McAllister was largely reared in Canada and with his parents came to this state, where he soon afterward started out in life on his own account. On the 21st of April, 1857, he was married here to Miss Elizabeth McCluskey, a native of Canada. He purchased a tract of raw land of one hundred and sixty acres and later sold eighty acres of this, giving his attention to the cultivation and improvement of the remaining eighty acres. On the farm he built a good brick house, which was one of the first in the county. He assisted in making the brick and erecting the house, which is two stories in height and is still in a good state of preservation although it was built fifty-four years ago. He also made other substantial improvements on the place, including the erection of a good barn and outbuildings to protect grain and stock from the inclement weather. He fenced the fields, bought fifty acres of land adjoining and altogether developed a good farm. He learned how to economize time and make his labor count for the most and as the years passed by his intelligently directed efforts brought him success. His last years were spent upon this place, where he passed away February 3, 1907, and his wife survived him for only a few months, her death occurring September 28, 1907.

Their children were seven in number: John and James, who reside on the old homestead farm; Bernard, living in Howard county, Iowa; Thomas, who died in infancy; Mary, who acts as her brother’s housekeeper and owns an interest in the home place; Nancy, who joined the Sisters of Charity, being known as Sister Mary Bernarda, and who is now a teacher in the Catholic college at Boulder, Colorado; and Elizabeth, the wife of M. J. Davin, of Black Hawk county, Iowa.

Mr. McAllister and his family were reared in the Catholic faith and the daughter who became Sister Mary Bernarda was educated in the Catholic schools of Davenport and Dubuque. For some years she has given her life to religious work. Reared to farm life, John McAllister has always engaged in general agricultural pursuits and has not only carefully tilled the soil but for years has also made a business of raising, feeding and fattening stock for the market. In this work he has been successful and has become well known in Mechanicsville and in Cedar and Linn counties. After his father’s death he and his sister purchased the interests of the other heirs in the old home place which they now own, the sister managing the household affairs while Mr. McAllister gives his attention to the work of the fields, wherein he is winning a good return for his labors.