Harrison County Iowa Genealogy

HISTORY OF HARRISON COUNTY, IOWA, 1891
BIOGRAPHIES
Page 382
JAMES H. OLMSTEAD

James H. Olmstead, a substantial farmer residing in section 19, Taylor Township, came to Harrison County, in the spring of 1872, and settled in Clay Township, where he rented farm until the autumn of 1873, then he bought eighty acres of land in Clay Township, which he tilled for three years, then sold and rented in Cincinnati Township until the spring of 1881, at which date he removed to Butler County, Kan., bought a farm and remained until August of that year. He then sold and returned to Harrison County, Iowa, and lived on a rented farm until the spring of 1887. At this date he went to No-Man's-Land, south of Kansas, but only remained two months, when he retraced his steps to Harrison County, again he rented land that year, and the following spring bought the farm he now occupies.

Mr. Olmstead was born in Wisconsin, August 16, 1849. He is the son of Joshua and Mary (Walker) Olmstead, the bather being a native of Illinois, while the mother was born in Indiana. The father was a miller by trade. In 1850 our subject with his parents removed to Allamakee County, Iowa, and in 1856 to Dodge County, Minn. At that date Minnesota had not yet been admitted into the Union, and there were but three families living in Dodge County. They remained there until the spring of 1866, when they started over land for California going by the way of the Neosha Valley, Kans., and being so captivated with that section of the West, our subject's father bought land in Lyons County, Kan., and died in Butler County, Kan., in 1875. Our subject remained at home with is parents until twenty-one years of age, and then took a homestead in Butler County, Kan., remaining there until the spring of 1872, when he came to Harrison County, Iowa.

He was married in Lyons County, Kan., in 1869, to Miss Ellen Wilson, by whom two sons have been born, William and Robert. Ellen (Wilson) Olmstead, died in Butler County, Kan., and for his second wife our subject married Miss Ella M. Parker, the daughter of David and Emily (Stark) Parker. The date of our subject's marriage was August 1, 1874, they being united in Harrison County, Iowa. By this marriage six children have been born � Minnie M., Harvey, Emma A. (deceased), Oran F., Herman L. and Erle A.

Ella M. (Parker) Olmstead, was born in Ohio, October 2, 1853. Her father was born in Canada, her mother in New York State. They removed to Harrison County, Iowa, in June 1863. Mr. and Mrs. Olmstead are members of the Christian Church, and politically he affiliates with the Republican party.

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