For
Muscatine County Iowa
1911
| Biographies For Muscatine County Iowa 1911 | |
Source: History of Muscatine County Iowa, Volume II, Biographical, 1911, page 656
GEORGE W. BLACK....The owner of three productive farms and thoroughly qualified by experience and ability to conduct successfully several lines of business , George W. Black of Goshen township, has shown unusual capacity as a man of affairs. He succeeds in anything he undertakes because he devotes to it the energy and judgment necessary for success.Born in Muscatine county, January 30, 1859, he is a son of Arthur and Adaline M. ( Anderson ) Black, the former of whom was a native of Kentucky and the latter of Loudoun county, Virginia. They were married in Iowa City, January 18, 1853, and immediately afterward the father entered one hundred and sixty acres of land in Muscatine county, upon which he took up his residence, continuing there until his death, which occurred March 22, 1891. He was a resourceful man of laudable ambition and marked ability, and became the owner of three hundred and twenty acres in this county. The mother was called away January 24, 1893. There were four children in the family of Mr. and Mrs. Black : Marcella, who died at the age of nine years ; James C., now living retired at West Liberty ; George W., the subject of this review ; and Margaret J., now the wife of L. R. Moore, of Muscatine, Iowa.
George W. Black received his early education in the district schools and under the direction of his father became thoroughly familiar with all the various details of agriculture and stock-raising. After arriving at manhood he continued as manager upon the home farm and engaged quite extensively in feeding and shipping stock. He continued to live upon the family homestead after his marriage, owning a half interest in the farm until 1897, when he took charge of a grain elevator at Atalissa, operating it with a high degree of success for ten years. However, he continued more extensively in the occupation to which he had been reared, and about 1907 he purchased one hundred and twenty-four acres of land where he now lives. He is the owner of four hundred and sixteen acres in Muscatine and Cedar counties, a large part of which has been brought to a high degree of cultivation, so that he is enabled to secure the best results from his work. He is also identified with other interests and has been president of the Atalissa Savings Bank ever since its organization.
On the 20th of September, 1899, Mr. Black was united in marriage to Miss Margaret T. Moylan, who was born in Muscatine county, February 7, 1878, a daughter of Edward and Anna ( Fitzpatrick ) Moylan. The father was a native of Ireland and the mother of Cedar county, Iowa. They were married in Iowa City and are now living upon a farm of one hundred and fifty acres near that place. Mr. Moylan is a veteran of the Civil war, having served most creditably In the Thirty-fifth Iowa Volunteers. In his family were ten children : William Joseph, now engaged in the mercantile business at Muscatine ; Minnie Helen, who is the wife of Thomas McCarthy, a hotel keeper of Cedar Rapids, Iowa ; James, a resident of West Liberty ; Margaret T., now Mrs. George W. Black ; Frank J., also of West Liberty ; Bessie, who died at the age of nineteen years and six months ; and Henry A., Alice, Ralph P. and Gertrude, all of whom are living at home. Mr. and Mrs. Black have become the parents of two children : Helen A., born July 10, 1900 ; and Anna Elizabeth, born November 22, 1908.
Mr. Black is not identified with any religious denomination, but his wife is a valued member of the Catholic church. Politically he gives his earnest support to the democratic party and the esteem in which he is held by his neighbors is indicated by the fact that he has served as mayor of Atalissa for six years. Socially he is a strong factor in the community and fraternally he is identified with the Masonic lodge at Atalissa. A man of clear perception, great energy and of sound judgment, he has gained leadership through his own innate business talents, and his example has been a powerful incentive to younger men. Few residents of Muscatine county understand the possibilities of this part of the state any better than he and in the estimation of his friends the future holds for him greater rewards than any he has yet gained.
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