Biographies | 1896 Bios
Hon. George Jenkins Maris
George J. Maris was born in a log cabin among the hills of Morgan county, Ohio, June 17, 1841, a son of pioneers of the Western Reserve. His father, Owen Maris, was born in Delaware county, Pennsylvania, son of David and Sarah (Fawkes) Maris. The Maris family were among the most prominent people of Delaware county, Pennsylvania. In their religious belief they were Quakers. Their history is traced back to England and to one George Maris, a Quaker, who was persecuted there on account of his religion and who sought refuge and freedom in America, landing here August 25, 1683. He acquired large tracts of land in Delaware county, Pennsylvania.
When Owen Maris was a young man he removed with his father to Jefferson county, Ohio, locating near Mt. Pleasant, where they were among the pioneer settlers. He was married in that county to Miss Rachel Jenkins, a member of one of the leading families in the county and a relative of George J. Jenkins, who was honored by General Grant with an appointment to a prominent position in Indian affairs. The Jenkinses, too, trace their ancestry back to the English. Mrs. Owen Maris died when the subject of our sketch was six months old. She was a woman of more than ordinary intelligence and force of character, and was the mother of a large family of children, eight in number, namely: Sarah Plummer, Marshall J., Mary Ann Penrose, Phoebe B. Wright, Rebecca Smith, Clark T., George J. and one who died in infancy. The father of our subject died in Iowa, at the age of sixty-five years. He was by trade a carpenter, and in religion, like his forefathers; he was a Quaker.
George J. Maris, the immediate subject of our sketch, spent his boyhood days in his native State and received his education in its public schools. At the age of seventeen he came out to Keokuk county, Iowa; where he spent three years, returning at the end of that time to Ohio. The following year, 1862, he came back to Iowa, this time taking up his abode at Spring Dale, Cedar county, where he bought a farm and where, June 2, 1865, he was united in marriage to Miss Mary E. Smith, who was born in Erie county, New York, a member of a highly respected family. Her parents, Gilbert and Lydia (Palmerton) Smith, were natives of Vermont, and her father is now a resident of Wichita, Iowa. Her mother is deceased. Their family is composed of the following members: Nathan E., deceased; Emily Harris, of Erie county, New York; Daniel W., Des Moines, Iowa; Hannah, wife of Jesse Binford, of Iowa; and Mary E. Maris. Mrs. Maris was a little girl of six years at the, time she came with her parents to Iowa, their settlement being in Cedar county, where she was reared and educated. Mr. and Mrs. Maris have had seven children, viz.: Emma B., bookkeeper in the State Treasurer's office, Des Moines; Eva P., wife of D. Spear, of this county; Lydia C., of St. Luke Hospital, Duluth, Minnesota; Emily R., a graduate of St. Luke Hospital; Walter S. and Florence L., at home. They lost one child in infancy. All have had good educational advantages and three of the family have at times been successful teachers.
In 1872 Mr. Maris removed to his present farm, 260 acres, in Seeley township, one of the best farms in all the country round, having substantial and attractive improvements and being under a high state of cultivation. Among the improvements we note a comfortable residence, good barns and other farm buildings, modern windmill, orchard of choice fruits and a ten-acre grove.
Politically, Mr. Maris has always given his support to the Republican party and is regarded as one of its "wheelhorses" in this county and district. In 1875 he was honored by election to the Iowa State Legislature and served as a member of the Sixteenth General Assembly, making a creditable record therein. Also he has on various occasions been elected to fill local offices. He served two terms as Treasurer of Guthrie county, has been a member of the High School Board, and to what ever position he has been called he has performed prompt and faithful service. Such, in brief, is a sketch of the life of one of Guthrie county’s best citizens.
A Memorial and Biographical Record of Iowa, Chicago, The Lewis Publishing Company 1896, pg. 43.