James W. Bentley is a
representative of the second generation of one of the
well-known pioneer families whose name has been
worthily linked with the social and material
development and progress of Clayton county, and,
loyal to and appreciative of the manifold advantages
and attractions of his native county, James Wilbert
Bentley has had no desire to sever his allegiance
thereto, for he has here continued an exponent of the
important and basic lines of industry under whose
influence he was reared and is one of the substantial
and enterprising farmers of Highland township.
He was born in this township
on the 26th of December, 1861, and is a son of Albert
and Sarah Jane Bentley, who became residents of the
county in the earlier '50s and who here passed the
remainder of their lives — folk of strong
individuality, invincible integrity and that
appreciation of the true value of human thought and
action that made them account well for themselves in
all of the relations of life. Of their children the
first-born, Albert, died in infancy; Emma, the widow
of George Keeland, resides in the state of North
Dakota; Charles E. is deceased; Mrs. Mary Bateman
resides in the city of Minneapolis, where her husband
is identified with business enterprise; and James W.,
of this review, is the youngest of the children.
After having made good use
of the advantages afforded in the public schools
James W. Bentley continued as an active and
resourceful assistant in the work of the home farm
until he had attained to the age of nineteen years,
when he went to West Union, Fayette county, where he
worked about one year. He then made his way to the
State of Michigan, but in the following spring he
returned to his native county, where he worked on a
farm until the ensuing autumn. He then went to
Minnesota, where he amplified his experience, but
after an absence of a year he showed his continued
loyalty to his home county by resuming his residence
within its borders and by renting the old homestead
farm of his father. He remained with his widowed
mother until her death, and shortly afterward, in
1883, he purchased his present farm, which is
eligibly situated in section 23, Highland township,
and which comprises two hundred and thirty-five acres
of the fine land for which this section of the
Hawkeye state is famed. Since assuming possession of
this domain Mr. Bentley has made many high-grade
improvements on the place, including the erection of
a house and other buildings of the most approved
modern type. He has had no aspiration for the honors
of political office but has shown loyal interest in
all things touching the well being of the community
and gives unequivocal support to the principles and
policies for which the Republican party stands
sponsor. In a fraternal way he is affiliated with the
Modern Brotherhood of America. His splendid rural
home is about four miles distant from the village of
Volga, from which place it receives service on mail
route No. 1.
On the 22d of June, 1884,
was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Bentley to Miss
Margaret Waltenbaugh, who was born in Clayton county,
April 28, 1865, and of the five children of this
union the eldest is Mabel, who is the widow of
Frederick Heiden and who now resides at Elkader;
Delia is the wife of William Davis, of Manchester,
Delaware county; Hattie is the wife of James Meyers,
of Volga; and Blanche and Mildred remain at the
parental home.
source: History of
Clayton County, Iowa; From The Earliest Historical
Times Down to the Present; by Realto E. Price,
Vol. II; pg. 39-40
-OCR scanned by S. Ferrall
