Harrison County Iowa Genealogy

HISTORY OF HARRISON COUNTY, IOWA, 1891
BIOGRAPHIES
Page 875
NEPHI PURCELL

Nephi PURCELL, is entitled to space in this connection, if for no other reason, from the fact of his having come to the county in the spring of 1856. He is now located on section 31, of Lincoln, Township. He came to the county with his parents, being only ten years of age at the time. His father located in Boyer Township on one hundred and sixty acres of wild land, and our subject remained at home until he reached the years of his majority, and like many other boys whose parents emigrated to new countries, his educational advantages were very limited.

Our subject was born in Indiana in August, 1846, and is the son of Benjamin and Ella A. (TYLER) PURCELL, natives of Ohio, who were the parents of twelve children, he being the fifth child. His brothers and sisters were born in the following order--John died in 1878; Marion, Emaline; Sarah J. died in 1888; Nephi, Alma, Nancy A., Matilda, Permilia, David, Josephine and Benjamin. Ten of these children are living in Iowa. Our subject lived in Indiana, until he came to Harrison County, believing as most men do, that man is not completely qualified for the duties and enjoyments of this life, without the companionship of another, one of the gentler sex, so he sought the hand of Isabel JEFFERY, daughter of John and Mary JEFFERY, natives of Scotland, and upon March 9, 1868, she became his wife. As the result of this marriage union eight children have come to bless their home--John, born March 12, 1869; Amos, deceased, born November 22, 1870; Orvil A., born June 23, 1872; Orin N., November 30, 1874; Nellie deceased, born April 29, 1877; Mary, born September 29, 1879; Lester, February 1, 1882; and Floyd E., September 13, 1884.

Politically our subject is identified with the Democratic party.

His first purchase of land in the county consisted of eighty acres, the price of which was $5 per acre, one-half of which he paid down, from money he had earned while working out. He went to work to improve this land, built a long house, stable and outbuildings. Subsequently he bought eight acres more and kept on so doing until now owns three hundred and twenty-seven acres, one hundred and sixty-three acres of which are under the plow, thirty acres of timber and the remainder in meadow and pasture land. During the first years of his father's family's residence in this county they saw many hardships. Perhaps the greatest of these was during the great snow winter of 1856-57 when the snow was four feet on the level, and shut them off from the outside world. For about three months during that winter, the family lived on hominy and venison, having to crack their own corn, and draw their wood on a hand sled.

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