George R. Carroll Chaplain, 24^th IA

On March 13, 1831, George Ryerson Carroll was born in Upper Canada. His parents, Isaac Carroll and Lovina Skeel Carroll both had previous marriages and other children by their former spouses. When they married on November 12, 1826, the newlyweds moved to Oxford County, Canada from Ontario County, New York where Isaac had lived since his birth in the first of December 1777. They had four children.

In 1839, the family moved to Iowa from their home in Canada, perhaps looking for jobs, land, or simply a better life. George was a good student at school and religiously inclined. In 1854, he moved to Dubuque, Iowa, for a year at Alexandra College, and in 1855, he began preaching as a layman. Five years later, after attending the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor and Union Theological Seminary in New York City, he was licensed to preach by the Presbytery of Iowa Valley. He remained at the First Presbyterian Church of Wyoming in Jones County, Iowa for seven years, leaving his ministry only once.

That once began on February 13, 1864, when he mustered into the 24^th Iowa Volunteer Infantry Regiment as the regimental chaplain. He served seven months with the regiment, spreading God’s word through the ranks of soldiers. Unfortunately, he resigned his commission on November 13, 1864 and returned to his church in Jones County.

In 1868, he entered the service of the Presbyterian Board of home missions, and for six years he served as its district secretary in the Council Bluffs area. Making his headquarters in Cedar Rapids, he occasionally served in Sea City and Logan, Iowa. In 1892, due to age and failing health, he traveled to Germany, possibly hoping that the climate would suit him better. Returning to Cedar Rapids in 1895, he finished writing perhaps one of the most descriptive books, made in that time, about life in Cedar Rapids and the members of its upper echelons. Entitled, "Pioneer Life in and around Cedar Rapids, Iowa," copies of it can still be found in the Cedar Rapids’ Public Library and in the Linn County Genealogical Society’s library.

Shortly after releasing his book to the public, George Carroll died at 9:30 p.m. on December 19, 1895 and was buried in Oak Hill Cemetery in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.