WILLIAM W. ELLIOTT
For several years William W. Elliott has lived retired
in Seymour and by reason of his high standards of integrity
and his honorable and upright life has gained the confidence
and esteem of many friends.
He is a native of Indiana, born in Morgan county,
February 18, 1845, and is a son of Brooks and Martha Elliott,
natives of Kentucky. In
the early days of his career the father of our subject moved
into Indiana and there resided until his death, which occurred
when his son William W. was only one month old, and only eight
days after the death of his wife. Following the death of his parents, the
subject of this review was taken into the home of his sister,
Mrs. John Bradley. This
family left Indiana in the fall of 1854 and moved into Iowa,
locating in Appanoose county, where William W. Elliott
attended school. He
was a lad of sixteen at the outbreak of the Civil war and was,
in consequence, unable to enlist until 1863, in which year he
joined Company H, Eighth Iowa Cavalry, under command of M. M.
Walden. He
served until the close of the war and was mustered out at
Macon, George, on the 13th of August, 1865,
receiving his honorable discharge. During the period of his enlistment he
saw active service all the time and once was in the thick of a
battle or a skirmish every day for thirty-three consecutive
days. He was
with Sherman on his Atlanta campaign and at Noonan, Georgia,
was wounded in his right leg and his horse was killed under
him by the same bullet.
He suffered from this wound for ten years. On McCook’s raid,
which took place on July 30, 1864, Mr. Elliott was captured by
the rebels and remained in prison for four months, during
which time he was afflicted four times with gangrene in his
leg. His horse
fell upon the leg which was not infected and Mr. Elliott has
always been more or less disabled as a result of his injuries. After his discharge
he returned to Appanoose county and settled on a farm on the 1st
of September, 1865. He
carried on general agricultural pursuits until 1896 and then
moved into Seymour, where he has since lived retired, with the
exception of the years from 1907 to 1911, when he resided in
Mt. Pleasant in order to educate his children.
On April 1, 1866, Mr. Elliott married Miss Amanda S.
Manning, a daughter of John and U. B. (Morgan) Manning,
natives of Ohio, who came to Iowa in 1850 and to Appanoose
county in 1854. Mr.
and Mrs. Elliott became the parents of three children: Martha L., who
married Charles G. Norris, of Numa, Appanoose county; William,
who died in infancy; and Edna Love, who lives at home. They are people of
wide charity and practical benevolence and at different times
have given a good home to five children who were left orphans. They are devout
members of the Methodist Episcopal church and in their lives
exemplify the doctrines in which they believe.
Mr. Elliott has firm faith in the principles of
prohibition and gives an active and helpful support to the
prohibition party. He
keeps in touch with his comrades of fifty years ago through
his membership in the Grand Army of the Republic, in which he
has attained a place of distinction. He has twice been commander of William
Kellogg Post, No. 186, and served for two terms in the same
position in McFarland Post, No. 20, at Mount Pleasant, Iowa. All the relations
of his life have been distinguished by the same steadfast
courage and perseverance which marked his work on the southern
battlefields and his entire career has been a credit and honor
to a man who once proved himself a valorous soldier.
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