Biographies
For
Muscatine County Iowa
1889



Source: Portrait and Biographical Album, Muscatine County, Iowa, 1889, page 309

ADAM OGILVIE, deceased. Among the earliest and most highly respected pioneers of Muscatine, was the worthy gentleman whose name heads this sketch, and whose memory is still fresh in the hearts of the old pioneers and more recent arrivals, who knew him best, and were privileged to enjoy his friendship. He was born in January,1804, in the parish of Keith, Banffshire,Scotland, on the beautiful farm known in Scotish history as Manse of Glengerrick. This farm has been in possession of this family from remote generations, and is still owned by one of the branches of the Ogilvie family. Our subject was the tenth son of William and Margaret ( Anderson ) Ogilvie, and his early life was passed at the Manse. When eighteen years of age he was apprenticed to the mercantile business in the city of Keith to John Ingraham, with whom he served three years, and was subsequently promoted to head man in the establishment. He then embarked in the same line of business for himself at Keith, which he carried on successfully for eight years.

In the spring of 1836 Mr. Ogilvie sold out, and in the month of June, of that year, he, in company with relatives, set out for the then Far West, the Mississippi Valley, and about the 1st of September of that year, reached the trading-post known as Bloomington, now Muscatine, where he purchased several lots, and decided to establish his home. He subsequently went on a tour of observation up the river as far as Dubuque, thence eastward to Galesgurg, Ill., and from there across the country to Burlington, Iowa and from there to Bloomington, making the trip on foot, and much of the way traveling in deep snow through an almost unsettled country. In 1837he opened a general store in a log cabin on Water street, the second mercantile house in Bloomington, counting the old trading post as the first. The log cabin was soon supplanted by a substantial two-story structure on the same street, the lower story of which he occupied as a store, using the upper story as a residence. Thirteen years later this building was removed to make way for a brick building of much greater pretentions, which is still standing.

As a matter of early history, some facts in regard to the erection of the wooden building spoken of may be of interest in these later days, when the river front just below the site of the old store was a wilderness of lumber piles, aggregating hundreds of millions of feet. The timbers of which the building alluded to above was built were all fitted, squared and framed on the lot where the house stood; joints, studding, rafters and weather boarding were made from trees generally growing in close proximity to the lot, while the flooring, which was of oak, was brought from Drury's mills in Illinois, and the pine lumber for doors, sash and finishing, and all the shingles, was brought from Cincinnati, Ohio, at considerable expense.

In 1844, having purchased a tract of sixty acres adjoining the town, Mr. Ogilvie built an elegant and commodious residence, which he named after ther ancestral home of his native land, "The Manse of Glengerrick," where he passed the remainder of his days in the company of wife and children. He was married in New York City, on the 9th of August, 1837, to Miss Isabella Milne, daughter of Peter and Isabella Milne. The lady was born at Keith, Scotland, and emigrated to America with her father in June 1837, her mother having died in Scotland. Four sons and a daughter were born of their union: Charles Duff, the eldest, died in childhood; William Henry, who lived to middle age, was unmarried, and died March 9, 1878; Charles B., born at Muscatine, Jan. 14, 1845, was graduated from Princeton College, N. J., in the class of ' 67, studied law at Columbia College, N. Y., and was admitted to the bar in 1872. He was married at Muscatine, Oct. 17, 1877, to Miss Lucy Jackson, daughter of Alexander Jackson, a pioneer of this city; Frank A., died April 17, 1878; Isabella, the only daughter and second child, is the wife of Col. C. C. Horton, of the 2d Iowa Cavalry, now an officer of the pension department, and a resident of Muscatine.

Mr. Ogilvie was enterprising and public-spirited, and made many substantial improvements in Muscatine and its suburbs. He was liberal toward worthy objects of charity and in support of religious interests, and was one of the most liberal contributors toward the erection of the present beautiful Presbyterian Church of that city, of which he lived and died a most devoted member. In the early settlement of Muscatine, section 35, township 77 north, range 2 west, was granted to Muscatine County for public purposes, and the County Commissioners appointed Mr. Ogilvie their agent to receive payment and deed to each of his particular lot. This delicate duty was performed with entire satisfaction to all concerned, and reflected credit upon him for his prompt, fair and upright discharge of the duties of the position. Mr. Ogilvie continued in the mercantile business until the time of his death. He was also engaged during the later years of his life in the real-estate business, but merchandising was his forte, and while he continued in that line exclusively he was eminitely successful. An upright, honorable man in all his relations with the world, both public and private, genial and affable in manner, and always ready to accomodate a neighbor or aid a friend to the extent of his ability, he won the universal good-will and esteem of all who knew him. His death occurred on the 5th of February, 1865, in the sixty-first year of his age. His death was sincerely mourned by the community where he had so long occupied a prominent place as one of the most worthy of the early pioneers. His estimable wife survives him, and still resides at the old homestead at Muscatine.


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