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John Uriah Rector, who
died
April 3, 1911, was one of the most
successful farmers of
Oneida township, owning a fine
property of four hundred and ninety-five acres. He was also vice president of
the Security Savings Bank of
Greeley and vice president of
the State Savings Bank of
Oneida and held a number of local political offices, discharging to the full
all of the obligations which devolved upon him in every relation of life.
He was a man of unusual fineness of spirit and his upright life
commanded the respect of all.
Mr. Rector was born at
South Bend,
Indiana,
December 13, 1849, a son of Andrew J. and Elizabeth (Waldsmith)
Rector, who were natives of
South Carolina and
Indiana respectively. They came
to
Delaware county and located upon a farm in
Oneida township. Andrew J.
Rector made government entry on land north of Earlville in
Oneida township in 1849 and in
1851 a log cabin was built on this land, it being in this cabin that the
election was held in 1856, which resulted in the organization of
Oneida township.
Much of the youth of John
U. Rector was passed in this county
amid pioneer conditions. His father and mother believed
thoroughly in the advantages of a good education and not only saw that their son
regularly attended the schools in the neighborhood but sent him to
Lenox
College at
Hopkinton. After leaving
school he first taught for a while but decided
that he preferred farming as a life work and
accordingly took up his residence upon a farm in Oneida township
which remained
his home for almost forty years. He
was diligent in business and as he was
thoroughly progressive and always willing to utilize any new discoveries or methods that promised to make his
labors as a
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farmer more efficient he harvested annually abundant crops
which commanded high prices upon the market. He was an excellent farmer and a man of
unusually good business judgment
and the gratifying success which came to him was but the merited reward of
his good management and industry. He
attained more than a competence and was
connected with the broader financial life of his locality as vice president of the Security Savings Bank of Greeley and vice
president of the State Savings Bank of Oneida, both
of which institutions are
prosperous and thoroughly reliable.
Mr.
Rector was married on the 25th of March, 1880, to Miss Josephine Swinburne, a native of this
county, born March 28, 1861. Her
parents, John and Sarah (Burley)
Swinburne, were both natives of England and came to this country in 1852, first
locating in Joliet, Illinois, where they remained for three years, after which
they came to this county. Her father
died here on the 3d of January, 1886, but her mother is still living at the
advanced age of eighty-seven years and makes her home at Humboldt, Iowa. Mr. and Mrs. Rector became the parents of
three children, Eva, John U. and Andrew J. They took great pleasure in the training and education of their
children, who have repaid their devotion by
filial love and the leading of useful, upright lives. Eva attended the Manchester high
school and graduated from Bayless Business College in Dubuque. She taught music for a time and later was a
stenographer for one year. She was
married May 14, 1913, to Philip M. Cloud of Earlville and has a little daughter, Lois Maxine. John, a graduate of the Manchester high
school and also of the Ames Agricultural College, is engaged in the
operation of the home farm, as is also
Andrew J., who was likewise graduated from the Manchester high school and attended Ames Agricultural College
for two years. Andrew J. was married September 9, 1914, to Miss Vera Lenor
Beckwith of Greeley. The brothers
carry on general farming and are recognized as progressive and successful agriculturists. The Rector homestead is a splendid farm of
four hundred and ninety-five acres in
Oneida township and all of the improvements have been made by the
family. Many trees have been planted
upon the place and these add greatly to its attractiveness.
John U. Rector attended
the Methodist church for many years and was a trustee of the same, delighting in
doing anything within his power to further the cause of Christianity. He was an
active republican in political belief and was honored by election to a number of
offices of trust in his township. For
years he was committeeman from
Oneida
township. Fraternally he was a
member of the Masonic order and found much pleasure in
meeting with his brothers in the craft. His last sickness was of short duration
and on
April 3, 1911, he set out upon that
journey which eventually everyone must take "on that dark and unknown sea
which rolls around all the world”. His was a life which made for righteousness both of word and deed. Not only was he
scrupulously just and honorable in all of his dealings with his
fellowmen but he was kind and generous as well and many of the younger
generation especially bear witness to the genuineness and helpfulness of his
friendship. He was above all sincere and unostentatious, hating intensely all
affectation and display. His qualities of
upright manhood won him the respect of all and the goodwill which he
left for his fellowmen and his unfailing cheerfulness made him beloved by many. His demise was widely and deeply mourned
and the memory of his life
remains as a priceless heritage to those who were privileged to know him intimately.
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