Owen Rumble
Coming to the new world in the year in which he attained his majority, Owen Rumble has eagerly and wisely embraced the opportunities that America offers and has developed an extensive business that ranks him as the leading florist of Crawford county, his greenhouses being located in Denison.
He was born in Portsmouth, England, on the 21st day of June, 1885, and is a son of George and Elizabeth Rumble, also natives of that country. For many years the father was a surgeon in the English navy but is now retired and is still living at Portsmouth, where the mother died in 1911. They were the parents of six sons, of whom Owen is the youngest.
Having attended the public schools of his native city and also a technical college, Owen Rumble then learned the business of a florist, at which he was employed for six years.
In 1906 he came to the United States and for about eleven years was employed by florists in New York and Pittsburgh. In 1917 he came to Denison, Crawford county, Iowa, and established a greenhouse under his name, which is also widely known as the Denison greenhouse.
Starting in a small way, but with an intimate knowledge of every phase of the business, he prospered from the beginning and has gradually added other greenhouses and equipment until today he has the largest and best equipped plant in the county. He not only supplies the local trade but also ships flowers and plants to practically all parts of the surrounding country. Courteous and accommodating, and producing the finest flowers, he has long enjoyed an enviable reputation as an enterprising and progressive business man and has contributed in a very large measure to the general prosperity of his community.
On August 1, 1910, in Brooklyn, New York, Mr. Rumble was united in marriage to Miss Florence Leadbetter, daughter of Samuel and Caroline Leadbetter, of Portsmouth, England, and they are the parents of two children, Florence Maud and Owen Beresford.
In political affairs Mr. Rumble maintains an independent attitude, voting according to the dictates of his judgment as to men and measures. Fraternally he is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Knights of Pythias and the Modern Woodmen of America. He also belongs to the Denison Kiwanis Club, the Chamber of Commerce and the Iowa State Florists' Association.
His religious connection is with the Methodist Episcopal church, of which he is a steward and to which he gives liberal support. Mr. Rumble is fond of outdoor life, hunting and fishing being his favorite forms of recreation. He is a gentleman of candid and straightforward manner and through the years of his residence here he has gained a host of warm and loyal friends throughout the county.
Source: Northwestern Iowa Its History and Traditions 1804-1926 , Arthur Francis Allen, Supervising Editor, Chicago, The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company , Chicago, 1927
Biography courtesy of Debbie Gerisher of the Iowa History Project for IAGenWeb.