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Charles SeveranceCharles Severance, who resides on Section
1, Palermo Township, is one of
Grundy County's leading farmers. He owns one hundred and eighty acres
of arable
and valuable land, which he has placed under a high state of
cultivation. The
fields are well tilled, and the many improvements upon the farm attest
the
thrift and enterprise of the owner, who is regarded as one of the
leading and
successful farmers and stock-raisers of the county. He makes a
specialty of
breeding thoroughbred Short-horn cattle, keeping on hand registered
stock.
Mr. Severance was born in Greenfield, Franklin County, Massachusetts,
September
5, 1838. His father, Pliny Severance, was born in the Bay State, and
after
arriving at years of maturity, wedded Sophia Risley. Her father was a
soldier in
the Revolution. The father of our subject was a hatter by trade, and
followed
that business until thirty years of age, when he turned his attention
to
farming, continuing in that work until 1856. That year witnessed his
arrival in
Grundy Co, where he resumed farming.
Charles Severance was reared in Franklin County, Mass., and attended
school
until seventeen years of age. With his mother and two sisters he then
removed to
Grundy Centre. There were only three families living in this place at
that time,
and we see that our subject is one of the oldest citizens in years of
continued
residence in the county seat. Their home was erected in the autumn of
1856, and
the lumber for that purpose was hauled from Dubuque, a distance of one
hundred
and twenty-five miles. Mr. Severance continued to make his home in
Grundy Centre
until about the close of the war (Civil), when he removed to the farm
upon which
he yet resides. There were no improvements upon the place, it being
still in its
primitive condition. The land, a tract of two hundred and forty acres,
was
entered by his brother, Henry Severance, who mysteriously disappeared
some years
ago and has never been heard from since.
On the 28th of May, 1880, the subject of this sketch was united in
marriage with
Miss Elizabeth E. Robson, who came to Grundy County at a very early
day. Three
children have been born of their union, a son and two daughters:
Gertie, Bertha
and Frank. All are still with their parents.
In his political views Mr. Severance is a Republican, but has never
been an
aspirant for official honors, preferring to devote his entire time and
attention
to his business interests, in which he has met with success. He is
numbered
among the honored pioneers of the county, and his name is inseparably
connected
with the history of this community. He has watched its growth and
upbuilding,
has aided its development, and has ever borne his part in the work of
public
advancement. He is enterprising, public-spirited and progressive, and
the best
interests of the community find in him a friend. He has a wide
acquaintance
through-out the county, and by all who know him is held in high regard."
p.
388-389
.
PORTRAIT
AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD
OF JASPER, MARSHALL AND GRUNDY COUNTIES, IOWA,
CONTAINING BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES OF PROMINENT CITIZENS,
Chicago, Biographical Publishing Co, 1894.
Charles was born in Greenfield, Franklin Co, MA on 9-15-1838. [MAVR] He
died
9-15-1888 in Grundy, IA. In 1856, he moved to Grundy Center, IA with
his mother
and two sisters to where his father and the rest of the family had
settled a
short time earlier. At that time there were only three families living
in
Grundy. Charles7 spent the rest of his life in that area. On 5-28-1880
Charles
married Miss Elizabeth E. Robson, a daughter of Thomas Robson of NY
state.
Charles (7) was a Republican but never aspired to official office. He was held in high regard by all who knew him. He was enterprising, public spirited and progressive.
He made a specialty of breeding thoroughbred short-horn cattle, keeping on hand registered stock. He was one of the leading farmers in Grundy County with his 180 acres under a high state of cultivation. (3)
| Spouses | Birth | Death | Occupation | Education |
| Elizabeth (Libbie) ROBSON 6,4,3,7 | May 1853 Herkimer Co, NY | 22 Feb 1938 Grundy Center, Grundy Co, IA | Teacher,wife, Mother | Mt. Carroll, Buffalo, NY High School 1 Year |
| Religion | Father | Mother | Marriage | Children |
| Baptist | Thomas ROBSON | Mary UNKNOWN ROBSON | 28 May 1880 Grundy Center, IA | Bertha (-1912) Gertrude Frank B. (ca1886-) |
Pliny Severance was
born in Greenfield, Franklin Co, MA on 24 July 1796. [MAVR] Children: [MAVR Greenfield, Franklin Co, MA] 1. Henry Severance born 25 Jan 1823 in Greenfield, MA. In 1855, eldest son Henry came west to IA and located property and made arrangements for the family to come west in the spring of 1856. He mysteriously disappeared under conditions indicating foul play while on a business trip by horseback sometime after 1872 and was never heard from again. He never married. He owned the farm now (1956) occupied by Ben Van Geest north of Grundy Center. The SEVERANCE house originally stood on East Main Street on the present site of the Mobile Oil Station. It now stands west of the canning factory and occupied by Mr. Venenga. (R.H.S 1956) There were only four houses in Grundy Center when they came in 1856. 2. Edwin W. Severance was born 16 July 1825 in Greenfield, Franklin Co, MA. He married Caroline Agatha St. John. They settled in Lincoln, IA. The family left IA after 1880 and settled in Jefferson Co, KY. They had a total of 7 children, only 6 were living in 1900. 3. George Severance was born 30 November 1827 in in Greenfield, Franklin Co, MA. He married Eliza Elizabeth Bacchus. George moved to East Hartford, CT in 1854 and worked at his trade as a burnisher until 1856, when he removed to and located in Grundy Co, IA and moved to Hudson, IA in 1860. The 1900 census shows them living in Black Hawk, IA. George Severance held offices of School Director one year, and Road Supervisor for three years. He was the first Road Supervisor elected in Grundy Co. There were only two houses in Grundy Center when George brought his family. He hauled the lumber from Dubuque, with an ox team, and built the first frame house in Grundy Center. He came through from Chicago to Waterloo with a team in 1856. He said “it rained every day but one while on the way.” They had 5 children. 4. Sabra Sophia Severance born 28 Feb 1830 in Greenfield, Franklin Co, MA. Did not marry. Buried in Rose Hill Cemetery, Grundy Center, IA. She taught school in Grundy Center and was the first postmistress in Grundy Center. She had a variety store there about 1870. 5. Mary Severance born about 1832 in Greenfield, Franklin Co, MA. She did not come west with the family. Married a jeweler in Bridgeport, CT. Had a daughter, Minnie. 6. Ellen Maria Severance born 4 July 1835 in Greenfield, Franklin Co, MA. She died 25 Jan 1873. She married Alfred Alline. Lived in Grundy Center, Waterloo and LeMars IA after 1871. Four children. 7. Charles Severance born 30 Sept 1838 in Greenfield, Franklin Co, MA. He married Elizabeth E. Robson. (See posted biography about Charles.) 8. Frederick Hollister Severance born 24
Sept
1841 in Greenfield, Franklin Co, MA. He served three years in the First
IA Cavalry, Co. G,
as a bugler, in the Civil War. He married Katherine Lyman Graves in
Northampton, MA. They
settled in Grundy Center, IA where he was in partnership with his
brother, Charles, in the
stock raising business. They later moved to KS, NE and CA. They had 4
children, 2 living
to adulthood. They both died in Los Angeles, CA Sources: 2.
THE SEVERANS (SEVERANCE, SEAVERNS) GENEALOGICAL HISTORY, compiled
by Rev. John F. Severance of Chicago, IL. R.R. Donnelly & Sons
Company, 1893. |
|
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Katherine
Lyman Graves Severance taken about the time of