Pg 521

         WILLIAM H. CREIGHTON, deceased, a pioneer of Louisa County of 1835, was born in Pickaway County, Ohio, in 1805, and was a son of Hugh Creighton, a native of Ireland. His mother, whose maiden name was Hunter, was of Scotch ancestry. When a young man Hugh Creighton left his native land and emigrated to . . .

Pg 522

. . . America, settling in Ohio, where he was afterward married. He had received a liberal education, and in his younger days engaged in teaching. He and his wife reared a family of five children: William, our subject, is the eldest; Joseph H. came to this county at an early day, practiced medicine for several years, and was then ordained as a minister of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and ever since has been engaged in preaching, and now resides in Fairfield County, Ohio; his son Charles, who is also a minister, is President of the Nebraska State University. Samuel came to this county in 1845, where he engaged in farming for six years, and then returned to Fairfield County, Ohio, where he is now engaged in the nursery business; Henry, now deceased, was also a farmer of Fairfield County; Jane is the wife of Cyrus Hedges, a prosperous farmer of the Buckeye State. The parents of this family were devoted members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and active workers for their Master’s cause.

Our subject was reared upon a farm in Ohio, and received his education in the common schools. In 1835 he wedded Emily Hedges, and shortly after their marriage they emigrated to Louisa County, Iowa, settling on section 35 of what is now Elliott Township, where Mr. Creighton purchased 640 acres of land at a Government land sale. This was entirely unimproved, and the first winter passed in their new home was spent in an Indian wigwam, which was made of bark. Mr. Creighton immediately began the cultivation of his land, and soon had a fine farm, which comprised 620 acres at the time of his death, which occurred April 29, 1876. His wife is still living, and makes her home with her daughter, Mrs. Levi Storks, of Des Moines County. Nine children were born unto them, six of whom are living: Thornton, who died at the age of seventeen years; Hugh L., a farmer of Elliott Township; Samuel H., who enlisted in the War for the Union in the 1st Iowa Infantry, serving four months, and then enlisting in the 15th Iowa Regulars, served in that regiment as Sergeant until his death, which occurred in 1865; J. H., whose sketch appears elsewhere in this work; David J., a resident of Mediapolis, Iowa; Nancy J., wife of Levi Storks, a farmer of Des Moines County; Harriet Ann, wife of W. S. Miller, a farmer of Elliott Township, and Sarah E., who wedded Luther Blake, of Des Moines County.

Mr. Creighton was a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, of which body his wife is also a member. He was a man who took great interest in public affairs, and held various township offices. He came to this county when it was almost an unbroken wilderness, when the wild game abounded, when deer roamed over the prairie, and the Indian wigwams formed the principal settlements. Little can the rising generation realize the trials and hardships which were borne by the pioneers in order to make homes in the new country. They laid the foundation of the present prosperity of Louisa County, and to them the highest respect is due.