Biographies For Muscatine County Iowa 1889

Source: Portrait and Biographical Album, Muscatine County, Iowa, 1889, page 411
SAMUEL GILBERT, deceased, is numbered among the honored pioneers of Muscatine County. He crossed the great river into Iowa in 1836, and entered land in Sweetland Township. The then village of Bloomington, now the prosperous city of Muscatine, consisted of but two or three cabins, the land was entirely uncultivated and covered with a thick growth of wild grass, which often grew to the height of a man; the trees of the forest were yet uncut, deer and all kinds of wild game abounded. White persons were not the only inhabitants in those days, for large bands of Indians were often seen. Mr. Gilbert was a native of Virginia, and a son of Mordecai and Melinda ( Organ ) Gilbert, who were the parents of seven children, namely: Priscilla, Charlotte, Samuel; Hiram, Sarah, Enoch, and Esther. Thinking that the West would furnish a better field for his future labors, in 1836 our subject emigrated to Iowa, which then formed a part of the Territory of Wisconsin, locating on a farm on what is now Sweetland Township. He immediately began the cultivation and developement of the wild land, and from the prairie developed one of the best homes in the community. In 1841 he was united in marriage with Mary Ann Chinn, their union being celebrated in this county. This lady is a daughter of Thomas and Susan ( Smith ) Chinn, who are numbered among the pioneers of 1839. She is descended from illustrious families on both sides. Her father who was an Englishman by birth, was an own cousin of Sir Walter Scott, and after his emigration to this country became one of the warm friends of George Washington, in fact Gen. Washington was the administrator of his estate and guardian of his children. Mrs. Chinn who is yet living at the ripe old age of ninety-three, was born in Kentucky, and Mrs. Gilbert is a daughter of the illustrious Sir Thomas Chinn of England. She is the eldest in a family of four children : R. W., the second child, is married and resides in Dumont, Colo.; Hezekiah is living in Cowley County, Kan., and Henry is now deceased.

By the union of Mr. and Mrs. Gilbert eight children have been born, seven of whom are now living : Martha is the wife of George Stiles, a farmer of Sweetland Township, whose sketch appears elsewhere in this volume ; A. J., a resident of Arkansas City, Kan., wedded Sarah Lorin, daughter of A. T. Lorin ; Alice M., who is now deceased ; Irena, wife of Rudolph Huffmaster, a resident of Muscatine ; Rowley is the husband of Melvina Gordon, and resides in Muscatine ; Mary C., is the wife of Howard Chandler, whose home is in Mercer County, Ill.; Douglas is a farmer residing in Hall County, Neb.; and Samuel, a resident of Sweetland Township, married Gertrude Lamp, a native of Prussia, and is employed as the engineer at the tile works. A friend to the cause of education, Mr. Gilbert provided his children with good educational advantages, such as would fit them for the practical duties of this life. He was a man of progressive ideas, always ready to take a step in advance, and always did everything in his power to promote any enterprise for the public good. His death occurred while he was in Indian Territory in 1873. Thus one more of the pioneers passed away, and there are now but few to tell the story of frontier life as enacted in the early days of this county. Mrs. Gilbert is still living on the old homestead in Sweetland Township, where she is surrounded by many warm friends.

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