Harrison County Iowa Genealogy

HISTORY OF HARRISON COUNTY, IOWA, 1891
BIOGRAPHIES
Page 694
ARTHUR J. GILMORE

Arthur J. GILMORE, Chairman of the Board of Supervisors and a farmer of section 28, LaGrange Township, came to Harrison County in the spring of 1869, and bought one hundred and sixty acres of wild land on section 32, LaGrange Township, and then returned to Dubuque, to his family and there remained until June, 1870, when he moved to his farm and commenced to improve it. He built a frame house 14x16 feet, one story and a half high, and remained there until March 1871, when he sold out and rented a farm in Pottawattamie county, and the following fall bought the farm he now lives upon. He purchased one hundred and twenty acres, eighty acres of which was on section 28, and the remainder in 33. He built a frame house one story and a half, 14x22 feet, in which he lived until 1866, and then built his present residence. He now has another farm of one hundred and twenty acres, in sections 20 and 29. This farm is fenced in three forty-acre lots. Forty acres of bottom land are under the plow, and the remainder in pasture land and meadow.

He was born in the County of Tyrone Ireland, November 12, 1834, and in the spring of 1836, he came with his parents to America. They located in Lancaster City, Pa., but in 1849 came to Dubuque, Iowa, and moved over the line into Jackson County. Arthur being the only son, he remained at home after he had grown to be a man, he and his father working together. They sold their farm and in the autumn of 1863, bought a farm in Dubuque County, consisting of two hundred and eighteen acres. The mother died in 1867, and they sold out and moved into Dubuque, where they engaged in the grain business for two years, during which time the father again married and he and our subject divided their property.

Mr. GILMORE was united in marriage in Jackson County, Iowa, July 15, 1858, to Miss Sarah F. MCKENNA, by which union, nine children were born--John J., Arthur C., Thomas M., Mary P., twins, who died in infancy, Catharine E., Sarah L. E., and James J.

Sarah F. (MCKENNA) GILMORE was born in Canada in 1834, and when a girl came with her parents to Jackson County, Iowa, where she remained until the date of her marriage. She died in Harrison County, July 10, 1890. Her parents were both born in Ireland. Her father's name was Thomas MCKENNA, and her mother's maiden name was Catherine KELLEY. Her father died in Jackson County, Iowa, in 1876, and her mother in Anamosa, Iowa, 1882.

John GILMORE, the father of our subject, was born in Ireland in 1802, and came to America in the spring of 1836, and died in Dubuque, Iowa, October 1874. The mother of our subject, Catharine (MULGREW) GILMORE, was a native of the Emerald Isle, born 1805 in Tyrone County, and did in Dubuque County, Iowa, September 1866. They were the parents of four children--three daughters and one son, our subject being the second child.

Politically, Mr. GILMORE is identified with the Democratic party, and has been Chairman of the Board of supervisors for seven years. He was elected to the office of Township Clerk, also that of Assessor, for a number of years each. In the fall of 1883, was appointed to the office of County Supervisor from the third district of Harrison County, and has been elected three times, his time expiring January, 1892. Was re-elected the fall of 1891 with a majority of two hundred and four. He has ever guarded the best interests of Harrison County and its taxpayers.

Mr. and Mrs. GILMORE, together with their family, are members of the Roman Catholic Church. Of our subject's family it may be said that John is living in Idaho; Arthur C., is married and lives in Sioux City; Thomas M., is married and lives in Waterloo, Iowa, while the other four are at home. Arthur C., learned telegraphy at Shenandoah, Page County, Iowa. Thomas M., attended the High School at Missouri Valley, two years and then went to Ames' Agricultural College, for about eight months, and then went to Bailey's Commercial College at Dubuque, one year, graduating with the class of '8t, and is now in business at Waterloo.

Return to 1891 Biographical G Surnames Index

Back to 1891 Biographies Index