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Mason Linn
Mason
Linn, a resident farmer of section 3, Kendrick township, was born on
the 26th of November, 1826, in Union county, Ohio, and has therefore
passed the eightieth milestone on life’s journey. He is now the only
surviving member of a family of nine children, whose parents were
Joseph and Nancy (Watson) Linn, both natives of Pennsylvania. In his
infancy the parents removed to Lafayette county, In diana, where they
resided for about ten years, after which they took up their abode in
Porter county, that state, where they lived for four years. They next
went to Henderson county, Illinois, but after a brief period removed to
Kankakee, Illinois, where they lived for four years. The mother died in
1840, and the father subsequently took up'his abode in Will county,
Illinois, where his death occurred.
Mason Linn accompanied his parents on their various removals through
his boyhood and youth, experiencing the hardships and privations of
pioneer life, as the family home was established on the frontier. He
was educated in the common schools and was only fourteen years of age
when his mother died, after which he started out in life on his own
account. He has since been dependent upon his own resources and
whatever success he has achieved and enjoyed is the direct result of
his own labor.
As a companion and helpmate for life’s journey Mr. Linn chose Miss
Rebecca Kile, a native of Knox county, Ohio, whom he wedded in 1848.
Her parents were Henry and Nancy (Haskins) Kile. Mrs. Linn was born in
1827 and died on the 7th of May, 1886. There were three children of
that marriage: Mansfield, who married Melvina Smith and lives in
Glidden, Iowa; William W., who died in infancy; and Nancy Ellen, the
wife of Walter S. Pound, of Greene county.
Following his marriage Mr. Linn resided in Kankakee county, Illinois,
for about six years, or until 1854, when he determined to make his home
in Iowa. He then drove across the country with ox teams, the slow and
tedious journey being completed when he arrived in Greene county. Here
he located on a farm which he now occupies, and which has been his home
for more than a half century. At that time there were but six or eight
farmers in the entire township and the work of development and
improvement seemed scarcely begun. In fact, the greater part of the
land was still unclaimed and uncultivated, while the streams were
unbridged and the forests uncut. There soon came to the county,
however, a hardy, resolute band of pioneers, who wrought a marked
transformation in the appearance of this part of the state, Mr. Linn
doing his full share in the work. He experienced all of the
difficulties and hardships incident to frontier life, living here at
the time when it was necessary to go to Panora to mill and to Des
Moines for his mail and groceries. Supplies could be obtained at no
nearer point, although it took from three to nine days to make the
trip. The land was undrained and the roads in a very poor condition and
often the teams would get mired in the sloughs and hciwould have to go
for help to get the wagon out. His first house was a log cabin, sixteen
by eighteen feet, but though the quarters were somewhat cramped they
made the best possible use of their opportunities and in course of
years were enabled to secure a larger home, supplied with all the
comforts and conveniences known to the older east.
Mr. Linn first bought two hundred and seventy acres when he first
located here, but has since sold a part of this, his farm at present
comprising one hundred and seventy-nine acres of rich and productive
land. The soil when drained and tiled is very fertile and responds
readily to the care and labor bestowed upon it. He has made good
improvements in the shape of substantial buildings, has added the
latest farm machinery to facilitate the work of the fields and has
planted a fine orchard which is now in bearing. Mr. Linn has done none
of the active work of the farm for the last fifteen years, but is
remarkably well preserved for one of his age and insists that he could
yet do a good day’s work - a fact which his friends do not doubt. He
has led a very busy and useful life, however, and well merits the rest
which he is now enjoying.
In politics Mr. Linn is independent. He does not affiliate with any
party, but votes for the men whom he thinks best qualified for the
oflice. For several terms he has been a trustee of the township and has
discharged his duties in prompt and able manner. In 1863 he joined the
Masonic order at Lake City, Iowa, and later demitted and is still a
member at Glidden, his daily life being in harmony with his professions
as a representative of the craft. The history of the pioneer settlement
of Greene county would be incomplete without the record of this
gentleman, who from its early development has been a prominent factor
in its substantial growth and improvement. He came to a district rich
in its resources, yet unclaimed as the domain of the white man, and
braving all the hardships and trials of pioneer life he has met with
success in his business affairs, but at the same time has contributed
to public progress and improvement.
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