Albert Boleyn In America the true patent of nobility that is viewed with the greatest respect is that held by the man who has depended upon his own powers and exertions in making his way to the goal of worthy success, and such achievement has significantly characterized the career of Albert Boleyn, who became virtually dependent upon his own resources when he was a mere boy and who has pressed forward to the mark of large and well ordered prosperity. The evidences of his temporal success are shown in his ownership of one of the large and well improved landed estates of Clayton county, by his prominence as a buyer and shipper of live stock on a large scale and by his being a stockholder and director of the Volga Savings Bank, with which he has been thus identified from the time of its organization. He is one of the substantial and honored citizens of Clayton cdunty, a man whose life has been guided and governed by integrity and resolute purpose, and none is more clearly entitled to recognition in this history. Mr. Boleyn was born on a farm near Wadena, Fayette county, Iowa, on the 17th of December, 1866, and is the eldest of the three children born to Joseph and Mary (Poor) Boleyn, both natives of Pennsylvania. The second child, Amelia, is now the wife of Frank Jones, of Oelwein, Fayette county; and the third child, Inez, died in infancy. The subject of this review was not yet three years old at the time of his mother's death, which occurred in May, 1869, and his father continued to reside in Fayette county until his death, at the age of about sixty years. Joseph Boleyn was a young man at the time when he came from the old Keystone state and numbered himself among the pioneer settlers of Fayette county, Iowa, where he was long actively identified with agricultural pursuits, as one of the substantial farmers of the county, and he passed the closing years of his life in the village of Oelwein, where he died on the 8th of April, 1904. Albert Boleyn may consistently be said to have been graduated in the college of his own practical and varied experiences, and such were the exigencies of time and place that in his youth he was enabled to attend the schools of his native county in only a desultory way. When but seven years of age he began to provide for, his own maintenance, and his early compensation for his work on a farm was the princely stipend of five dollars a month. During the summer seasons he thus worked for wages during his boyhood and youth, and in the winters he worked for his board and availed himself of the privilege of attending the district schools. On the 21st of September, 1886, about three months prior to his twentieth birthday anniversary, he married Miss Margaret Lowe, the devoted young woman who was to be his helpmeet and zealous coadjutor in his efforts to achieve independence and enduring prosperity, she having been born and reared in Clayton county, where their marriage was solemnized and where they have maintained their home during the long intervening years. During the first year after his marriage Mr. Boleyn was employed at farm work by his wife's father and he then purchased one hundred and fourteen acres of land in Sperry township, where he instituted his independent operations as an agriculturist and stock-grower. It will not strain the imaginative powers to appreciate that in the years that followed in their course Mr. Boleyn was found applying his energies with unstinted zeal and circumspection, with the result that increasing prosperity attended his efforts and he was able to make appreciable advancement. All this is most clearly demonstrated in his ownership at the present time of a finely improved landed estate of three hundred and fifty-six acres, in Sperry and Highland townships, where he has long stood well to the front as one of the most progressive and energetic agriculturists and stock-growers of this county. Though he still gives his general supervision to the operations of his farm property he and his devoted wife have maintained their home in the village of Volga since October 17, 1906, when they took possession of their newly erected and modern residence, which is one of the most attractive in the village, with fine grounds comprising an entire block, and with a genuine hospitality that equals its physical charm. Since his retirement from the farm Mr. Boleyn has not permitted his energies and activities to wane, as he has developed a large and prosperous business in the buying and shipping of live stock. The extent of his operations along this important line of industrial and commercial enterprise may be appreciated the better when it is stated that during the months of August and September, 1915, he bought and shipped stock to the value of $127,576, the incidental financial transactions having been effected through the medium of the Volga Savings Bank, of which, as previously noted, he has been a stockholder and director from the time of its incorporation. Mr. Boleyn is a stalwart advocate of the cause of the Republican party and while he has not been troubled by office-seeking proclivities he has given most effective service in the position of justice of the peace. He is affiliated with the Modern Brotherhood of America and both he and his wife are zealous members of the Methodist Episcopal church of Volga, of which he is a trustee. David and Elizabeth (Dempster) Lowe, the venerable parents of Mrs. Boleyn now maintain their home at Volga and are honored pioneer citizens of Clayton county. Of their children Mrs. Boleyn is the eldest; Daniel likewise resides at Volga; Clarence, Harry and Susana are deceased. Of the five children born to Mr. and Mrs. Boleyn all remain at the parental home except the third, Walter M., who was born August 21, 1896, and whose death occurred November 21, 1898. The names and respective birth-dates of the surviving children are here noted: Benjamin H., July 15, 1888; David E., November 4, 1891; Vena, September 21, 1898; and Neva, September 11, 1903. source: History of Clayton
County, Iowa; From The Earliest Historical Times Down to
the Present; by Realto E. Price, Vol. II; page 51-53 |