Gill, James E.

GILL, SPELLMAN, SHEPARD, WOOD, SIMPSON, NORTHRUP, BROWN

Posted By: Mary H. Cochrane, Volunteer
Date: 6/30/2019 at 07:44:20

BIOGRAPHY ~ JAMES F. GILL
1867 ~ 1931
History of Decatur County Iowa And Its People
Prof. J.M. Howell & Heman C. Smith. p. 51. S.J. Clarke Pub. Co. Chicago. 1915.

James F. Gill, who for four years served the county well as auditor, is now residing upon his farm in Garden Grove township. He was born upon a farm near Columbus, Ohio, on the 1st of February, 1867, a son of A. P. and Victoria (Spellman) Gill. The father farmed in Ohio and after removing to Warren county, Iowa, in 1869, continued to follow agricultural pursuits. His wife passed away in that county, but he subsequently settled in Oklahoma, where he was living at the time of his demise. He was a republican in political belief and both he and his wife held membership in the Methodist Episcopal church. During the Civil war he fought for the preservation of the Union as a member of an Ohio regiment and his wife’s only brother, John Spellman, was made a captain before he was twenty years of age. Spellman Post, G. A. R., at Columbus, Ohio, is named in his honor. To Mr. And Mrs. A. P. Gill were born six children: J. R., a resident of Fargo, North Dakota; Mrs. Florence Shepard, of Sedgwick, Kansas; Mrs. May Wood, of Sioux City, Iowa; James F.; Mrs. Bird Simpson, of Piedmont, Oklahoma; and George, of Corpus Christi, Texas. The paternal grandparents of our subject resided near Hilliards, Ohio.

James F. Gill received his early education in the public schools of Warren County, Iowa, later completing the course in the Normal School at Garden Grove. For several years he taught in Garden Grove but in 1891 he went to Oklahoma, where he taught and also homesteaded a claim. In 1894 he returned to Garden Grove, but the following year went to Winterset and established the Winterset Reporter, which paper he conducted until March, 1896, when he sold out. Under his management the Reporter gained a place among the reliable papers of Madison county and it is now one of the leading journals of that section. After selling the Reporter, Mr. Gill resumed teaching, but in 1900 he was elected auditor of Decatur county, being reelected in 1902 and during the four years that he filled that position the work of the office was done promptly, accurate land systematically. Upon the expiration of his second term he became connected with an implement store in Garden Grove but only remained there a year. Since 1906 he has resided upon his farm in Garden Grove township and has devoted much attention to breeding high grade Belgian horses. He has some of the finest Belgian mares in the county and his influence has done much to improve the standard of horses raised in his locality. He also raises Duroc-Jersey hogs and derives a good income from his stock-raising He owns eight acre of land adjoining Garden Grove and also operates one hundred and ten acres of rented land.

In February, 1895, Mr. Gill married at Garden Grove, Miss Lenore Northrup, who was born in 1870, a daughter of A. C. and Melissa (Brown) Northrup, a sketch of whom appears elsewhere in this work. Mrs. Gill was reared at Garden Grove and received her education in the public schools there and in the Normal School and for eight years prior to her marriage engaged in teaching. Mr. And Mrs. Gill have two sons. G. Deane, a graduate of the Garden Grove high school of the class of 1913, also studied for a year at Denver University and is now teaching in this county. Lester N. graduated from the high school at Garden Grove with the class of 1915.

Mr. Gill is a republican and is an active worker in the party ranks. Fraternally he belongs to the Masonic order and his wife is identified with the Order of the Eastern Star and also with the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union. Mr. And Mrs. Gill are both adherents of the Presbyterian church and their cooperation can be depended upon to further movements seeking the advancement of their community along moral lines. Mr. Gill is very energetic and this trait, combined with his foresight and sound judgment, has enabled him to win a gratifying measure of success.