JOSEPH E. FERREL
Joseph E. Ferrel is one of the highly successful
agriculturists and stockmen of Warren township, where he owns
a hundred and sixty acres of section 4, which constitutes one
of the valuable farming properties of that locality. He is a native of
Wayne county, his birth having occurred on the 17th
of February, 1865, and a son of John and Rebecca (Reese)
Ferrel. The
parents were born, reared and married in Pennsylvania, whence
they removed to Iowa in 1855, locating in this county. Here the father
purchased a hundred and twenty acres of raw land, to which he
added from time to time until he became the owner of over five
hundred acres, in the cultivation and improvement of which he
diligently engaged until his death, which occurred in 1888 at
the age of sixty-six years.
He had long survived the mother, who was forty when she
passed away in 1874. They
were the parents of nine children, our subject being the sixth
in order of birth.
There was no event of especial importance in the early
life of Joseph E. Ferrel to distinguish his youth from that of
the average lad who was reared in the section of Iowa during
the pioneer period. He
remained at home and assisted in the cultivation of the farm
until he was twenty-two, when he started out to make his own
way in life. Believing
that the west afforded better opportunities to young men of
limited capital, he went to Nebraska and bought a tree claim,
and a quarter section that had been proved up, all of which he
still owns, and applied himself to its improvement and
cultivation for seven years.
Returning to Iowa in the fall of 1893, he bought eighty
acres of land in this county and here resumed his agricultural
pursuits. He
subsequently increased his holding by the purchase on one
occasion of an adjoining eighty-acre tract and on another of a
forty, and there engaged in general farming and stock raising
with a good measure of success until 1904. In the year last
named he disposed of his farm and removed to his present
place, formerly the property of his father-in-law J. W. Smith. The entire tract
has been brought into a high state of cultivation, while its
value has been further enhanced by substantial improvements,
including large, commodious barns, ample sheds and
outbuildings, and a comfortable residence. These improvements
were all made by Mr. Smith, who also fenced the entire
holding, while Mr. Ferrel is making it hog tight. Mr. Ferrel is
largely planting his fields to hay and grain, and in
connection with his general farming he is engaged in
stock-raising, and is meeting with a good measure of success
in both lines of his business.
He specializes in the raising of Duroc-Jersey hogs,
which he feeds for the market, his herd averaging a hundred
head.
In 1887, Mr. Ferrel was married to Miss May Smith, a
daughter of J. W. and Martha (Beard) Smith, natives of
Illinois. They
came to Iowa in the early ‘50s, settling in this county, where
the mother passed away in 1905.
The father, who is one of the few surviving pioneer
farmers of Wayne county is now seventy-two years of age and
makes his home with our subject. Mrs. Ferrel, whose natal day was the 24th
of March, 1868, is the elder in a family of two. To Mr. and Mrs.
Ferrel there have been born on daughter and two sons, as
follows: Edith
O., who is attending Drake University at Des Moines; and Karl
J. and Leo B., both of whom are at home.
The parents are consistent members of the Christian
church of Allerton, in which Mr. Ferrel holds the office of
deacon. Politically
he supports the democratic party, and although he has never
figured in the official life of the community, he is not at
all remiss in matters of citizenship but extends his
indorsement to all movements he feels will promote the
progress or development of the county. Mr. Ferrel is
leading an active life and directing his undertakings in a
well organized and capable manner as is evidenced by the
appearance and condition of his farm, which pays tribute to
his skill as an agriculturist no less than to his business
ability.