Biographies | 1896 Bios
Elijah Jackson Reynolds
A Hoosier by birth, he was born near Spencer, the county seat of Owen county, Indiana, July 5, 1832. His remote ancestors were English and his grandfather Reynolds was a participant in the American Revolution. Gillium Reynolds, his father, was a native of North Carolina, born in 1806, emigrated to Indiana in early manhood and settled in Owen county when that part of the State was nearly all covered with heavy timber. In Owen county he was married to Miss Winnie Beman, a native of North Carolina and a daughter of Jacob Beman. who was born in that State of English parentage. To this worthy couple were born thirteen children, two of whom died in infancy, the names of the others being as follows: Nancy Jane, wife of Thomas Burgess, who was a soldier in the late war and is now deceased; Sarah, wife of Jonathan Morris, Stuart, Iowa; E. Jackson; Isom R., Santa Barbara, California; Wealthy, wife of Artemus McCleran, who resides near Panora; Matilda, wife of Isaac Morris, Mahomish, Washington; Linnie Ann, wife of James Morris, who resides near Panora; Allen H., Panora; Willis, deceased; Jasper N., who lives near Panora; and Mary Ellen, wife of Moses Morris, resides in Washington.
The father left his home in Indiana, May 10, 1852, accompanied by his wife and little ones, and set out for Iowa, traveling with an ox team, and bringing with them three horses and twenty-five head of cattle. The journey from Indiana to Guthrie county, Iowa, consumed twenty-three days, and on their arrival here they stopped on a hill just south of Panora, where the father bought a claim on which was a log cabin. In July of the following year he took claim to a tract of Government land; but he was not permitted to enjoy his new home long, for in October, 1856, at the age of fifty years, he was called to his last home. Politically, he was a Democrat and a strong adherent to that party. He was, however, a great admirer of General Taylor and voted for him, the only time he left his favorite party. He was a man of strong physique and great moral courage, and exerted an influence for good wherever he resided. His widow, after surviving him many years, passed away in December, 1876.
E. J. Reynolds, with whose name we began this sketch, was reared in his native county and in his youth rendered his father valued assistance on the frontier farm, chopping, .grubbing and log-rolling. His education was received in one of the primitive log school-houses of the Hoosier State, the furnishings of which consisted of a broad, open fire-place, slab seats, and writing desks made of slabs pegged to the walls. School lasted only about two and a half or three months in each year. After the removal of the Reynolds family to Iowa, E. J. remained a member of the home circle for a year or more. Then he married and located at his present homestead adjacent to Panora. With the growth of the town he has sold off portions of his land for building purposes and now retains for his home place only forty acres. With the exception of two years spent in Guthrie Center, he has resided here with his family ever since. For eight years he operated a gristmill west of town. In 1870 he was elected County Treasurer, was twice re-elected, and served three terms of two years each, performing the duties of this important position with credit both to himself and to his party. Also he has held many other offices of trust, serving on school boards, as administrator, etc., and is now vice-president of the Guthrie County National Bank, which was organized at Panora in 1874 and in which he takes great interest. He was at one time engaged in the mercantile business, leaving it for the grain business, and bought and sold grain for six or seven years.
Mr. Reynolds was married June 23, 1853, to Miss Eliza Anderson, a native of Richland county, Ohio, born February 27, 1837. Her father, John Anderson, was one of the early pioneers of Guthrie county. He was born in Pennsylvania, was of English descent, and was married in Richland county, Ohio, to Miss Elizabeth C. Roe, a native of that State, and from there in 1852 they came to Iowa, locating northwest of Panora. Here he died in March, 1854, at the age of sixty years, leaving a widow and nine children, namely: Delilah, wife of Miles Gammill, deceased; Samuel, a minister of the gospel, residing in California; Rachel, wife of William Queen, of JeweIl county, Kansas; Eliza, wife of E. J. Reynolds; Mary, wife of Isom Reynolds; Sarah Jane, wife of John West, Hitchcock county, Nebraska; Lucinda, wife of Alexander Trent, Panora; Rebecca, wife of Daniel Diehl, Panora; and Elizabeth C., wife of Jacob Robinson, Gentry county, Missouri.. The mother died at the age of fifty-four years. Mr. and Mrs. Anderson were active members of the Presbyterian Church, and for a number of years he served as an Elder in the same. E. J. Reynolds and wife have had six children, five of whom are living and are as follows: Martha J., wife of William Spurgeon, Panora; Marshall M., cashier of the Guthrie County National Bank, is one of the prominent business men of the town; Sarah Ellen, wife of H. N. Pentecost, Panora; George M., president of the Des Moines National Bank, with which he has been connected for the past three years; and Arthur, cashier of the Des Moines National Bank. Mrs. Reynolds is a lady of rare culture and refinement and she and her husband have taken a pride in giving their children the best of educational advantages, thus fitting them to occupy, as they all do, leading positions in both social and financial circles. Mr. Reynolds takes an active part in advancing the interests of the temperance cause and both educational and church work. In politics he is a stanch Republican and has frequently served as delegate to county, State and Congressional conventions. Fraternally, he is identified with Panora Lodge, No. 121, A. F. & A. M.
A Memorial and Biographical Record of Iowa, Chicago, The Lewis Publishing Company 1896, pg. 247.