Brinten Sharp
Brinten Sharp, an enterprising and prosperous farmer of Union township, was born in Center county, Pennsylvania, August 11, 1855, a son of Elijah and Delilah (Canada) Sharp, both of whom were natives of Pennsylvania.
The father followed the vocation of forgeman in one of the large iron mills of that state and at the time of the Civil war enlisted as a soldier and for three years faithfully performed his duties in the rank and file. To him and his wife were born five children, of whom three survive, as follows: William, who resides in Milton, Lycoming county, Pennsylvania; Brinten, of this review; and Jeanette. The father's death occurred in 1899, the mother having passed away when our subject was but six years old.
After obtaining such education as he could in the public schools of Pennsylvania, Brinten Sharp engaged in farming in his native state for six years and then removed to Kane county, Illinois. There he worked by the month for three years, after which time he removed to Davison county, South Dakota, where he was numbered among the first settlers. He took a homestead, proved up on it and spent the following five years there, subsequently coming to Crawford county, Iowa. He located on a farm near Vail and for two years conducted a dairy business. He then removed to Union township, bought one hundred and sixty acres of land, which he later sold, and then purchased another tract, but after living on this for awhile he disposed of it and in 1907 bought his present home. Altogether he has owned three farms in Union township, all of which he improved, and at present his holdings consist of one hundred and twenty acres of excellent farming land.
Mr. Sharp was married at the age of twenty-one to Miss Anna Stover, a native of Pennsylvania, and the following nine children have been born to them: Milford, who lives in Dow City; Amanda, who became the wife of Charles Vassar and lives in Parker, South Dakota; Ira, a resident of Ute, Iowa; Elmer, of Rapid City, South Dakota; Ida, who married William Sterrett, of Dow City; Mabel, who is now Mrs. Allen Haymouth and resides in Dow City; Floyd, Meryl and Vivian, who are at home with their parents.
In exercising his right of franchise Mr. Sharp casts his vote for the republican party, and while taking due interest in public welfare he as never sought political preferment. In religion he was reared in the Presbyterian faith, and fraternally he is affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Modern Woodmen of America. He is recognized as a man of strict integrity and genuine worth in every relation of life and is classed with the well known and intelligent agriculturists of Union township, where he enjoys the merited esteem of his fellow citizens.
Source: History of Crawford County, Iowa. Vol. II. Chicago: The S. J. Clarke Publishing Co., 1911.