For
Muscatine County Iowa
1911
| Biographies For Muscatine County Iowa 1911 | |
Source: History of Muscatine County Iowa, Volume II, Biographical, 1911, page 772
THOMAS BIRKETT....In noting the men of prominence in Muscatine county who were instrumental in bringing it to its present position, the gentleman whose name stands at the head of this sketch could not be omitted. At the age of eighty-two years he is living retired, having turned over the responsibilities of business to younger shoulders and he now enjoys the repose to which he is entitled by many years of unremitting effort, in the course of which he attained a standing as one of the leading citizens of the county. He is a native of England, born May 15, 1829, and is a son of Robert and Mary ( Sailor ) Birkett, who passed the entire lives in the country of their birth. There were eight children in their family, the subject of this review being the only one now living.Thomas Birkett remained under the parental roof until sixteen years of age and then began his battle with the world by clerking in a dry-goods store. At twenty-one years of age he decided to try his fortune across the ocean and in 1850 he landed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he obtained a position as clerk in a store, which he held for one year. In 1852, being attracted by the possibilities of the gold fields, he started for the Pacific coast, going by way of the Isthmus of Panama, and after arriving in California spent three years prospecting and mining, his efforts meeting with varying results. Returning to the east, he was married and after visiting England with his bride again crossed the ocean. Having decided to devote his attention to farming, he came to Muscatine County and purchased a farm four miles south of West Liberty. Here he erected a small farm house and prairie stables, the latter of which he covered with grass. He set to work diligently to cultivate the soil and he did so to such good advantage that he became the owner of eight hundred acres of productive land, all of which he has sold except eighty acres. He was identified with other interests besides those of agriculture and for a number of years served as president of the People's State Bank of West Liberty but retired from this position in 1906. He has made his home in West Liberty since 1895 and, being a man of good judgment and accommodating disposition, his advice is much sought by younger persons who are desirous of being guided aright in important affairs in which they are embarking.
In 1855 Mr. Birkett was united in marriage in Newark, New jersey, to Miss Lucy Hargraves, a daughter of John and Maria Hargraves. By this union two childred were born : Lucy, now Mrs. J. I. Nichols, whose husband is a farmer in Muscatine county ; and Charles E. deceased. Mrs. Birkett having passed away March 29, 1859, Mr. Birkett was married in 1861 to Miss Susanna Hargraves, also of New jersey, and they have become the parents of seven children, namely : Lilla B., now the wife of Ed Fitzgerald, of West Liberty ; Edith M., the wife of Charles Mosher, also of West Liberty ; Bertha I., now the wife of Walter G., Mosher, of West Liberty ; Leslie R., deceased ; Vincent H., who is living on the old homestead ; Lindley L., a farmer of Muscatine county ; and Fred P., of Kansas. The mother of these children departed this life March 4, 1896.
Mr. Birkett for several years past has spent his winters in California, returning each spring to familiar scenes in Muscatine county. He is a member of the Methodist church and politically is identified with the republican party, serving on the board of supervisors for ten years and also for many years as treasurer and director of the school board. He has never sought public office, preferring the quiet, unassuming responsibilities of private citizenship. Each day he has endeavored to perform his duty and at all times he has stood ready to assist by word or otherwise those less fortunate than himself. In the evening of his life he is accorded the honor due to one who has been actuated by principles of fidelity and integrity.
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