JOHN SECOR

View Portrait of Mr. & Mrs. John Secor

The home of John Secor stands on section 14, Pioneer township, and his attention is there given largely to the breeding and sale of pure blooded Hereford cattle and Norman horses. His farm is three hundred acres in extent—a well kept property conveniently and pleasantly situated within a mile and half of Mechanicsville. For more than a quarter of a century Mr. Secor has lived in Cedar county, arriving in 1883. He was born in Camden, Oneida county, New York, February 2, 1861, a son of Frank and Annette (Houghton) Secor. In early life he learned the tanner’s trade which he followed for several years, but the outbreak of the Civil war put all thoughts from his mind save his duty to this country and he joined a New York regiment with which he went to the south, participating in numerous battles. He was killed in the battle of the Wilderness, thus laying down his life upon the altar of his country. His widow survived him for a long period and carefully reared her family. From the Empire state she removed westward to Ohio and later was married again in Pennsylvania, after which she went to Cleveland, Ohio, where she continued to make her home until her death in 1908. By her first marriage she had but two children, the daughter being Mrs. Clara Brumagin, now a resident of Cleveland.

The youthful days of John Secor were passed in Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania. He started out in life on his own account when but ten years of age and went into the pineries of Michigan when thirteen years of age, where he was employed for four years. He worked at anything that came to hand in Cleveland and elsewhere and the opportunities of the west proved the attraction that brought him to Iowa in 1883, at which time he joined an uncle in Jones county. He began working as a farm hand by the month and was thus employed for two years on the farm which he now owns. He rented it for eight years, during which time his carful expenditure and unfaltering industry brought him a capital that enabled him to purchase the place and he became the owner of three hundred acres constituting one of the valuable farm properties of this part of the county. He has since been busily engaged in cultivating and further improving the land and the evidences of his handiwork are seen in the splendidly kept buildings whereon the work of repair is never neglected. Two large barns, cribs and sheds have been built by him and the barn used for his horses has a cement floor. All the buildings have been erected with a view to the comfort of the animals and convenience in their care, while the latest improved machinery is used to facilitate the work in the fields. For twenty years he has been engaged in breeding and selling Hereford cattle and is a well known stock dealer. In 1909 he purchased a pure blooded Norman horse, one of the finest to be found in the breeding stables of eastern Iowa. He feeds a carload of steers each year and occasionally ships a load of hogs. His stock-raising interests are therefore extensive and constitute a very gratifying source of income.

On the 20th of February, 1884, in Pioneer township, Mr. Secor was married to Miss Flora Gleason, who was born and reared here and is a daughter of M. W. Gleason, one of the pioneer settlers of Cedar county, who came from New York, and the sister of F. K. Gleason, of whom mention is made elsewhere in this volume. Unto this marriage has been born a son, Frank Secor, and a daughter, Grace, who died at the age of three years.

The political support of Mr. Secor is given to the republican party yet with independent tendencies he does not consider himself bound by party ties at local elections. For twelve years he has been identified with the schools and the cause of education finds in him a stalwart champion. His life record is a creditable one and may well serve as a source of inspiration and encouragement to others. An eminent jurist once said: “Some men start out in life with the aid of influential friends; some aided by luck; others by inheritance; but the great majority commence life without a shilling.” To the latter class Mr. Secor belonged. A boy of fourteen years, he faced the world and soon learned the lesson that industry constitutes the most potent weapon with which to attain victories in the business world. His indefatigable labor, therefore, has constituted the source of his success, which is of a most substantial character, placing him among the well known and leading breeders and dealers of pure blooded registered Hereford cattle and standard bred horses in Cedar county, his success making his name an honored one on commercial paper. His business industry, too, has ever stood as an unquestioned fact in his career and his life record proves that honesty is the best policy.