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JOHN A. REES, residing on section 8, Columbus Junction Township, is numbered among the honored pioneers of Louisa county, of which he became a resident in 1843. He was born in 1820 in the North of Wales, and is a son of John and Elizabeth (Edwards) Rees, who were also natives of that country. As his mother died when he was two years of age, he was deprived of the love and care which generally are the lot of children. His boyhood days were spent upon his father’s farm, and in 1842 he crossed the broad Atlantic, and came to America, settling first in Highland County, Ohio, where he engaged as a farm hand, working for ex-Gov. Allen Tremble. Subsequently coming into Louisa County, Iowa, he located in Columbus City Township, where he was employed on a farm for three years, and then went to Virginia Grove, where he worked for George Kee for two years. Going to St. Louis, Mo., at the expiration of that time, he secured employment in a coal mine, and also worked on the river for a period of four years, after which he returned to Louisa County in 1848, and wedded Elizabeth Morgan, a daughter of John Morgan, a sketch of whose life can be found elsewhere in this work. After his marriage he took a claim of 160 acres of land on section 8, Columbus City Township, which he immediately began to improve, and still makes his home.
In the spring of 1850, when the gold fever broke out, Mr. Rees, equipped with ox-teams, made a journey across the plains to California. He was five months in making the trip, and after reaching his destination engaged in mining for about two years, in which he was reasonable successful. He made the return trip by water in 1852, and after reaching home paid for the first quarter-section of land, which he had previously claimed. He is now the owner of a farm of 240 acres, of which his son Rollin has the management, though he lives with him.
To Mr. and Mrs. Rees were born nine children, four of whom are now living, viz: John M., who is a farmer of Elm Grove Township; Catharine is the wife of Richard Jenkins, of Columbus City Township; Mary wedded Hugh Davis, a farmer of Columbus City Township; and Rollin, who is also engaged in farming. In 1868 Mrs. Reese, who was a member of the Congregational Church, departed this life, but Mr. Rees now finds a pleasant home with his son Rollin, who married Margaret Humphrey, a native of Wales. They have two children, daughters, Elizabeth and Sarah. Religiously, Mr. Rees is a member of the Congregational Church, while politically, he is a Republican. For over forty years he has been a resident of Louisa County, has witnessed almost its entire growth and development, and is ranked as one of its best citizens. The portrait of Mr. Rees is given in this connection.
