Zearing, Iowa 1956 History

favored a location on the Charles Hurst farm. The name, Ashurst, was selected for the new town. It was a contraction of the name, Ash, who was a railroad man, and the name, Hurst, owner of the land where the town was to be located. Some of the pioneers objected to the location. Those who opposed the Hurst laud for the location of the new town won the argument. The town was located on the Edward G. Richardson farm.

There was opposition to the name, Ashurst. One day a sewing machine salesman came to town. He heard the argument about a name for the town. It gave him an idea. He told the pioneers that if they would name the town in honor of his brother, Judge Zearing of Chicago, he was certain that the Judge would give the town a gift.

The first part of George's story has been confirmed by other pioneers. We made no attempt to trace the railroad man. It was obvious that he was with the railroad. There is no record of any pioneer living in Lincoln township by the name of Ash.

The name, Ashurst, was on the depot for a period of time after the town was officially named Zearing. There had to be opposition to the name or it would never have been changed.

The Zearing family could not find any record of a brother of Judge Zearing visiting Lincoln township in 1881. That fact had to be confirmed by two very reliable local pioneers.

Nellie Richardson Lewis Warner was the daughter of Edward G. Richardson. Zearing was founded on her father's farm. In a letter dated August 26, 1954, Nellie said that she heard the brother of Judge Zearing ask her father to name the town, Zearing. The brother said that he was certain the Judge would do something for the town in return.

Ellis J. Lewis was one of the Lewis Brothers. The Lewis Brothers published Zearing's first newspaper. Ellis said that he was living at Albion, Iowa, during the founding of Zearing. He returned to his home in Warren township, Story county, Iowa, about Christmas time. It was related to him at that time that a brother of Judge Zearing had visited his father.

We think that the evidence listed above confirms George's story as it relates to the naming of the new town. Everyone agrees that if Judge Zearing had not owned land in Lincoln township his brother would not have come here. The brother's primary purpose was to check on the Judge's land.

However, what about the statement that the brother was a sewing machine salesman? In support of that statement we have the admitted honesty of George W. Phillips. But statements from the Zearing family deny that there was a professional sewing machine salesman in the family.

Mildred N. Andrews of White Cloud, Michigan, gave us a possible answer. She said that the older families in Illinois discouraged