Thomas Edgar, blacksmith,
round-house of the C., M.& St. P. railroad, was born
in Fifeshire, Scotland, Feb. 1, 1844; his parents were
John and Mary (McCahan) Edgar. They had a family of three
children-- two sons and one daughter. Thomas came with
his parents to America when he was four years of age, and
settled in Licking County, Ohio. When thirteen years of
age he began to learn the blacksmith's trade, in Ohio,
and continued until 1857, when he went to what is now
Corry, Erie County, Pa., and in 1859 returned to Ohio,
and worked at his trade until Aug. 28, 1861. He enlisted
in Company E, Thirty-first Ohio Infantry Volunteers, and
remained in the service until the close of the war, and
was promoted to Sergeant of the company. He was shot
through the left hand at the battle of Chickamauga, Ga.
At the close of the war he went to Erie City and the oil
regions, and Toledo, Ohio; in 1869 he came to Davenport,
Ia., and worked for the Rock Island & Pacific R.R.
two months, then came to North McGregor and has worked
for the C., M. & St. P. R. R. ever since. He married
Malinda Vanlaningham June 22, 1869, at Davenport. She wa
a daughter of Parly Vanlaningham, a farmer. Mr. and Mrs.
Edgar have seven children-- Laura R., Albert S.,
Florence, Lotta, Robert E., Fred W. and Anna. Mr. Edgar
has been a member of North McGregor City Council four
years and School Board three years, and inpolitics is
independent, and inclined to vote for the best man. He is
an old employe for the C., M. & St. P. R. R. Co., and
an enterprising representative man of North McGregor,
where he has been identified since 1869. He was one of
the first Aldermen of the town, and helped to organize
the town of North McGregor. source: History of Clayton
County, Iowa, 1882, p. 977-978 |