Harrison County Iowa Genealogy

HISTORY OF HARRISON COUNTY, IOWA, 1915
BIOGRAPHIES
Page 668
JAMES E. KEMMISH

The debt which Harrison county, Iowa, owes to the citizens of English birth or descent is one which the present historian hardly is competent to estimate. That it is heavy, however, is not open to question and upon the future historian of this section will fall the duty of footing up in a way the obligation which the generation of that time owes to those early residents of the pioneer breed who, leaving Albion's shores, put in their lot with the empire builders of this favored section. In making up such an estimate it is undoubted that the name of KEMMISH will come very near the top of the long list of English-born settlers who have aided so largely in the settlement and development of the county and whose influence ever had been exerted in all good ways for the betterment of the civic, moral and social life of the several communities in which their lines were cast.

James E. KEMMISH, president of the Persia Savings Bank at Persia, Harrison county, and one of the most influential citizens of this whole region, was born in Portsmouth, England, January 16, 1850, the son of Charles and Elizabeth (WILKE) KEMMISH, both natives of England and members of old families therein. To the union of Charles and Elizabeth (WILKE) KEMMISH were born ten children, four of whom are still living, as follow: Mrs. Elizabeth MOON, who resides in Idaho; Mrs. Jane LEWIS, who resides in Salt Lake City, Utah; James E., the immediate subject of this biographical narrative, and Daniel, who is living a life of retired comfort and ease at Council Bluffs, Iowa.

Charles KEMMISH, about the year 1852, decided, after mature deliberation and a careful weighing of the pros and cons, based upon all he had heard and read of the opportunities which awaited the man of diligence in the new country across the Atlantic, to come to America. Bringing his family with him, he immigrated from the crowded babel of London to seek a new location in this country. Attracted by the possibilities which seemed to be offered in such profusion in the then far west, he went to Salt Lake City, Utah, where for several years he followed the vocation to which he had been devoted in his home city, that of basket maker. Becoming convinced, however, that upon the farms of the great prairie lands of Iowa there awaited fortune and favor for whoever would properly apply his endeavors thereto, he decided upon another step in his quest for home and fortune in the new country, and, following this determination, came to Harrison county about the year 1859 and bought a farm in Union township, where he passed the remainder of his days, his death occurring in 1896, his wife, the mother of the subject of this biographical sketch, having preceded him to the grave in 1879. Charles KEMMISH was a man of much industry and found his farming venture both profitable and pleasant, he and his good wife early becoming among the best known and most popular residents of that section of the county.

James E. KEMMISH was about nine years of age when he came with his parents from England to this country, consequently the most of his education was acquired under the American system. He attended the district schools of Union Grove and the public schools of Council Bluffs, Iowa, helping his father on the farm during the vacation seasons, thus early acquiring a competent knowledge of farm life and the most approved methods of tilling the virgin prairie soil. Upon completing his school course he worked for three years as a "hand" on his father's farm, but in 1875 decided to start farming for himself. To this end he rented land from his father, which he tilled with such diligence and with so clear a profit to himself that two years later he was enabled to buy a farm of forty acres in Union township. Here his industry and careful attention to the needs of the soil again were rewarded and as the years passed he added to his original forty acres until he now owns nine hundred acres of as fine land as lies within the broad domain of Harrison county, and to which, notwithstanding his retirement from the farm, in the year 1911, he still gives a large measure of personal direction, being deeply interested in all the phases of active management of such an estate under modern methods of agriculture.

In 1877 James E. KEMMISH was united in marriage with Ona LYONS, who was born in 1860 in Warren county, Illinois, the daughter of Andrew and Matola (PECKENPAUGH) LYONS, both natives of Illinois. Mrs. KEMMISH's father was one of that glorious band who so freely gave their lives that the Union might be preserved in the dark days of the Civil War. He was a member of an Illinois regiment and bravely met a soldier's fate. Her mother survived the death of her soldier husband many years, her death occurring in the year 1900 on the home farm near Persia.

To the union of James E. and Ona (LYONS) KEMMISH eight children were born, as follow: Eldora, deceased; Leona, deceased: Mrs. Cora CHAPMAN, deceased; William; Fred, who lives on the home farm; Jessie; Roy, a well-known farmer of Harrison county, and Harry, who is still at home with his parents.

Since moving to Persia, Mr. KEMMISH has prospered even as he prospered on the farm, and he and his family enjoy the comforts and conveniences of one of the best homes in this part of the state. He long had been a share-holder and director of the Savings Bank of Persia, and in the year 1911 was elected president of this sound financial institution and very properly holds a place among the most influential and useful members of the community in which he makes his home. Mr. KEMMISH is a member of the local lodge of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and is much interested in the affairs of this popular fraternal organization. He always has given his adherence to the principles of the Republican party, in the cause of which he has exerted considerable influence in local affairs and during his residence in Union township was called upon to serve as township trustee, his administration proving of much value to the schools and other affairs of the township.

Mr. KEMMISH's activities in the social and financial life of Persia have amply proved his worth as a citizen and naturally enough he is looked upon as one of the directors of affairs in the rapidly developing community in which his lines have been cast so pleasantly and in which he and his charming wife are held in the highest esteem and most affectionate regard by all their large circle of acquaintances. In this comparatively new country many persons of foreign birth have very properly taken commanding positions in the communities in which they settled upon their arrival in this country, but among all these it is believed that there are few who have made a more distinctive success, a success based upon diligence, industry and merit, or who are regarded with better liking on the part of their neighbors, than has come to the man whose name forms the caption of this interesting biographical sketch, who, as a lad, was brought from crowded London to the boundless prairies of Iowa, the land of limitless opportunities. It is but proper, therefore, that a brief resume of the career of James E. KEMMISH should be contained in a volume of this character, and the historian is pleased to here present it.

Return to 1915 Biographical K Surnames Index

Back to 1915 Biographies Index