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1907 Past and Present Biographies
Benjamin F. JaquesA native of Canada, he was born in the year 1861 and was therefore but nine years of age when he came to this county with his father, Thomas Jaques. The latter was a native of England and crossed the Atlantic to the new world when fourteen years of age. He established his home in Canada, where he resided until 1870, when he brought his family to Greene county. Here he made investment in eighty acres of land on section 14, Willow township, which his son Nick had broken the year previous. He had built the first house in Willow township and this dwelling still stands on the farm of Benjamin F. Jaques. In Canada, Thomas J aques was united in marriage to Miss Margaret Bird, also a native of England, and they became the parents of nine children, seven of whom are yet living. Following the removal to Greene county, they lived on section 14, Willow township, where the father gave his time and energies to the further development and improvement of the property upon which Nick Jaques had settled in 1869. He was for many years an enterprising agriculturist of the community, bringing his fields under a high state of cultivation, and upon the old homestead he remained until his death, which occurred in 1897. Benjamin F. Jaques was only about nine years of age when he came with his parents to Greene county and his education, which was begun in the schools of Canada, was completed in the public schools of this part of the state. Lessons of industry, diligence and economy were early impressed upon his mind and the occupation to which he was reared he chose as a life work. When a youth he had practical experience at the plow and in the harvest fields, so that when he purchased his home place and began farming for himself in 1876 he was well qualified to carry on the work. He has made all of the improvements on his property, including the erection of a commodious and attractive residence and a large stock barn, sixty-four by eighty feet. As the years have passed and his financial resources have permitted he has kept adding to his place from time to time and making other investments in Willow township until his landed possessions within its borders aggregate eight hundred and forty acres. He feeds about four hundred head of cattle and four hundred hogs per year and is thus one of the extensive stock-feeders of the county. The farm is carried on under his immediate supervision and all of the plans are made by him and executed under his direction. In 1892 Mr. Jaques removed to Chicago, where he lived for two years, after which he returned to Jefferson, where he has since resided. In 1906 he erected a large and beautiful modern residence, built in attractive style of architecture and supplied with most tasteful furnishings. It stands in the midst of a beautiful and well kept lawn and everything about the home is indicative of the refined taste and culture of the inmates. The purpose of Mr. Jaques’ removal from the farm to Jefferson was to give his children good educational advantages, realizing the value of mental discipline as a training and preparation for life’s practical duties. In 1887, in Chicago, Mr. Jaques was married to Miss Minnie Pond, a native of Iowa, and unto them have been born five children: Leonard and Harold, who are now operating the home farm; Bernette, Marjorie and Eber, all at home. Mr. Jaques spends the week days upon his farm, which in its splendid appearance indicates the careful supervision and care of the owner. All of the trees upon the place were set out by Mr. Jaques, who has also tiled the land and thus added to its productiveness, the system of drainage doing much to make the fields fertile. None of the accessories of a model farm are lacking here and the latest improved machinery is used in its cultivation. In all of his methods the owner is intensely practical as well as progressive and he never fails to carry forward to successful completion whatever he undertakes. He has made good use of his time, his talents and his opportunities, and he is today one of the most prosperous residents of the county, few having farming interests equal in extent and value to his. |
Transcribed from "Past and Present of Greene County, Iowa Together With Biographical Sketches of Many of Its Prominent and Leading Citizens and Illustrious Dead," by E. B. Stillman assisted by an Advisory Board consisting of Paul E. Stillman, Gillum S. Toliver, Benjamin F. Osborn, Mahlon Head, P. A. Smith and Lee B. Kinsey, Chicago: The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, 1907.  Site Terms, Conditions & Disclaimer |