Source: 1889 Biographical History of Cherokee County, IA: JOHN BRUCE ROWE
JOHN BRUCE ROWE, one of the most intelligent and enterprising farmers of Amherst Township, was born and reared in Cedar County, Iowa. His paternal ancestors were German and English, dating back to the time of William Penn. His maternal grandfather, Andrew Crawford, was a native of Ireland, and is also known in the annals of the State of Iowa as the first settler of Cedar County. During the first years of his residence there the Indians held war dances but a few rods from his cabin door, and his life there was truly pioneer. Abram L. Rowe, the father of our subject, was an excellent mechanic, and was able to provide well for the wants of his wife and two small children, when death seized him after a long illness. Thus his widow was left with two young sons to support, and her little means was nearly exhausted after paying heavy doctor's bills and other attendant expenses. She afterward married a farmer with some property. As John B. was the elder of the children, he was early inured to hard labor, with but little cessation excepting during the winter months, when he attended the district school. Naturally of a studious disposition, he thoroughly appreciated even this small opportunity, and often struggled through two miles of snow rather than miss a day. His mother always encouraged this desire for knowledge in her children, and trained them to lives of temperance and usefulness. When Mr. Rowe was sufficiently advanced, he entered Cornell College, Mount Vernon, Iowa, working Saturdays and evenings to pay his incidental expenses. He was soon elected a member of the Amphictyon Society, and ranked with the highest students. In consequence of his high standing and his excellent habits he enjoyed the favor of all his instructiors. Upon the death of his step father he remained on the farm to assist in the support of his mother and the children. He continued there two years, when he resigned his place to his younger brother, and came to Cherokee County, which was then beginning to attract attention from home-seekers. April 24, 1872, he settled on a quarter section of wild land, which he bought on five years' time, intending to improve it and sell it; with the rise in value he would complete his college course. But these were hopes and aspirations never to be realized. The first crop was destroyed by grasshoppers, and the four years following the hardest labor of a lifetime were spent in producing that which was harvested by those wose than pirates. When the grasshoppers swept over the land in great swarms, they appeared in the distance like a black thunder cloud, stretching our for many miles in either direction. Hard times ensued, and the poor pioneers could not forsake their home without dishonor and the certainty that their creditors would seize all they had left after the ravages of their inumerable foe. They could not sell, for the "hoppers" were the deadly "Upas tree" that made buyers pass by and through to lands beyond. So the settlers remained, working and hoping for for a better day, which finally dawned. During these dark years of trial and privation Mr. Rowe "bached," did his farm work in the summer, and taught school in the winter season. He was engaged in the profession of teaching twenty terms, and was very successful in his work. At the age of eighteen years he became a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and since that time he has been a zealous worker in the cause of his Master. He has served in an official capacity for many years, and to Sabbath-school work he has given much time, thought and attention. For five years he was superintendent of two Sabbath-schools at the same time, and for five years he was either president or secretary of the Cherokee County Sabbath-school Association. Of this last duty he was relieved at his own urgent request. In politices he is a Republican Prohibitionist, and has often been elected to offices of trust which he has filled with an eye ever watchful for his county's highest good. His community is enterprising, temperate, and has a high standard of of morals, a character which Mr. Rowe has been one of the main factors in forming. March 7, 1882, he was united in marriage to Miss Jennie E. Gibson, near Farley, Dubuque County, Iowa, where she had grown to womanhood. She is a woman of accomplishments, social and domestic, is an excellent wife and mother, and is thoroughly appreciated and loved for her many virtues. Mr. and Mrs. Rowe are the parents of two children living: JOHN WOODFORD and WESLEY NEWMAN. Mr. Rowe is a man of refined tastes and sensibilities, and a lover of all that is beautiful both in nature and art and literature. The influence for good which one such man has in a community can scarcely be measured, and those who come under his teaching and example may well count themselves among the favored.
JOHN BRUCE ROWE, one of the most intelligent and enterprising farmers of Amherst Township, was born and reared in Cedar County, Iowa. His paternal ancestors were German and English, dating back to the time of William Penn. His maternal grandfather, Andrew Crawford, was a native of Ireland, and is also known in the annals of the State of Iowa as the first settler of Cedar County. During the first years of his residence there the Indians held war dances but a few rods from his cabin door, and his life there was truly pioneer. Abram L. Rowe, the father of our subject, was an excellent mechanic, and was able to provide well for the wants of his wife and two small children, when death seized him after a long illness. Thus his widow was left with two young sons to support, and her little means was nearly exhausted after paying heavy doctor's bills and other attendant expenses. She afterward married a farmer with some property. As John B. was the elder of the children, he was early inured to hard labor, with but little cessation excepting during the winter months, when he attended the district school. Naturally of a studious disposition, he thoroughly appreciated even this small opportunity, and often struggled through two miles of snow rather than miss a day. His mother always encouraged this desire for knowledge in her children, and trained them to lives of temperance and usefulness. When Mr. Rowe was sufficiently advanced, he entered Cornell College, Mount Vernon, Iowa, working Saturdays and evenings to pay his incidental expenses. He was soon elected a member of the Amphictyon Society, and ranked with the highest students. In consequence of his high standing and his excellent habits he enjoyed the favor of all his instructiors. Upon the death of his step father he remained on the farm to assist in the support of his mother and the children. He continued there two years, when he resigned his place to his younger brother, and came to Cherokee County, which was then beginning to attract attention from home-seekers. April 24, 1872, he settled on a quarter section of wild land, which he bought on five years' time, intending to improve it and sell it; with the rise in value he would complete his college course. But these were hopes and aspirations never to be realized. The first crop was destroyed by grasshoppers, and the four years following the hardest labor of a lifetime were spent in producing that which was harvested by those wose than pirates. When the grasshoppers swept over the land in great swarms, they appeared in the distance like a black thunder cloud, stretching our for many miles in either direction. Hard times ensued, and the poor pioneers could not forsake their home without dishonor and the certainty that their creditors would seize all they had left after the ravages of their inumerable foe. They could not sell, for the "hoppers" were the deadly "Upas tree" that made buyers pass by and through to lands beyond. So the settlers remained, working and hoping for for a better day, which finally dawned. During these dark years of trial and privation Mr. Rowe "bached," did his farm work in the summer, and taught school in the winter season. He was engaged in the profession of teaching twenty terms, and was very successful in his work. At the age of eighteen years he became a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and since that time he has been a zealous worker in the cause of his Master. He has served in an official capacity for many years, and to Sabbath-school work he has given much time, thought and attention. For five years he was superintendent of two Sabbath-schools at the same time, and for five years he was either president or secretary of the Cherokee County Sabbath-school Association. Of this last duty he was relieved at his own urgent request. In politices he is a Republican Prohibitionist, and has often been elected to offices of trust which he has filled with an eye ever watchful for his county's highest good. His community is enterprising, temperate, and has a high standard of of morals, a character which Mr. Rowe has been one of the main factors in forming. March 7, 1882, he was united in marriage to Miss Jennie E. Gibson, near Farley, Dubuque County, Iowa, where she had grown to womanhood. She is a woman of accomplishments, social and domestic, is an excellent wife and mother, and is thoroughly appreciated and loved for her many virtues. Mr. and Mrs. Rowe are the parents of two children living: JOHN WOODFORD and WESLEY NEWMAN. Mr. Rowe is a man of refined tastes and sensibilities, and a lover of all that is beautiful both in nature and art and literature. The influence for good which one such man has in a community can scarcely be measured, and those who come under his teaching and example may well count themselves among the favored.
Source: 1889 Biographical History of Cherokee County, IA: JOHN BRUCE ROWE
JOHN BRUCE ROWE, one of the most intelligent and enterprising farmers of Amherst Township, was born and reared in Cedar County, Iowa. His paternal ancestors were German and English, dating back to the time of William Penn. His maternal grandfather, Andrew Crawford, was a native of Ireland, and is also known in the annals of the State of Iowa as the first settler of Cedar County. During the first years of his residence there the Indians held war dances but a few rods from his cabin door, and his life there was truly pioneer. Abram L. Rowe, the father of our subject, was an excellent mechanic, and was able to provide well for the wants of his wife and two small children, when death seized him after a long illness. Thus his widow was left with two young sons to support, and her little means was nearly exhausted after paying heavy doctor's bills and other attendant expenses. She afterward married a farmer with some property. As John B. was the elder of the children, he was early inured to hard labor, with but little cessation excepting during the winter months, when he attended the district school. Naturally of a studious disposition, he thoroughly appreciated even this small opportunity, and often struggled through two miles of snow rather than miss a day. His mother always encouraged this desire for knowledge in her children, and trained them to lives of temperance and usefulness. When Mr. Rowe was sufficiently advanced, he entered Cornell College, Mount Vernon, Iowa, working Saturdays and evenings to pay his incidental expenses. He was soon elected a member of the Amphictyon Society, and ranked with the highest students. In consequence of his high standing and his excellent habits he enjoyed the favor of all his instructiors. Upon the death of his step father he remained on the farm to assist in the support of his mother and the children. He continued there two years, when he resigned his place to his younger brother, and came to Cherokee County, which was then beginning to attract attention from home-seekers. April 24, 1872, he settled on a quarter section of wild land, which he bought on five years' time, intending to improve it and sell it; with the rise in value he would complete his college course. But these were hopes and aspirations never to be realized. The first crop was destroyed by grasshoppers, and the four years following the hardest labor of a lifetime were spent in producing that which was harvested by those wose than pirates. When the grasshoppers swept over the land in great swarms, they appeared in the distance like a black thunder cloud, stretching our for many miles in either direction. Hard times ensued, and the poor pioneers could not forsake their home without dishonor and the certainty that their creditors would seize all they had left after the ravages of their inumerable foe. They could not sell, for the "hoppers" were the deadly "Upas tree" that made buyers pass by and through to lands beyond. So the settlers remained, working and hoping for for a better day, which finally dawned. During these dark years of trial and privation Mr. Rowe "bached," did his farm work in the summer, and taught school in the winter season. He was engaged in the profession of teaching twenty terms, and was very successful in his work. At the age of eighteen years he became a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and since that time he has been a zealous worker in the cause of his Master. He has served in an official capacity for many years, and to Sabbath-school work he has given much time, thought and attention. For five years he was superintendent of two Sabbath-schools at the same time, and for five years he was either president or secretary of the Cherokee County Sabbath-school Association. Of this last duty he was relieved at his own urgent request. In politices he is a Republican Prohibitionist, and has often been elected to offices of trust which he has filled with an eye ever watchful for his county's highest good. His community is enterprising, temperate, and has a high standard of of morals, a character which Mr. Rowe has been one of the main factors in forming. March 7, 1882, he was united in marriage to Miss Jennie E. Gibson, near Farley, Dubuque County, Iowa, where she had grown to womanhood. She is a woman of accomplishments, social and domestic, is an excellent wife and mother, and is thoroughly appreciated and loved for her many virtues. Mr. and Mrs. Rowe are the parents of two children living: JOHN WOODFORD and WESLEY NEWMAN. Mr. Rowe is a man of refined tastes and sensibilities, and a lover of all that is beautiful both in nature and art and literature. The influence for good which one such man has in a community can scarcely be measured, and those who come under his teaching and example may well count themselves among the favored.
JOHN BRUCE ROWE, one of the most intelligent and enterprising farmers of Amherst Township, was born and reared in Cedar County, Iowa. His paternal ancestors were German and English, dating back to the time of William Penn. His maternal grandfather, Andrew Crawford, was a native of Ireland, and is also known in the annals of the State of Iowa as the first settler of Cedar County. During the first years of his residence there the Indians held war dances but a few rods from his cabin door, and his life there was truly pioneer. Abram L. Rowe, the father of our subject, was an excellent mechanic, and was able to provide well for the wants of his wife and two small children, when death seized him after a long illness. Thus his widow was left with two young sons to support, and her little means was nearly exhausted after paying heavy doctor's bills and other attendant expenses. She afterward married a farmer with some property. As John B. was the elder of the children, he was early inured to hard labor, with but little cessation excepting during the winter months, when he attended the district school. Naturally of a studious disposition, he thoroughly appreciated even this small opportunity, and often struggled through two miles of snow rather than miss a day. His mother always encouraged this desire for knowledge in her children, and trained them to lives of temperance and usefulness. When Mr. Rowe was sufficiently advanced, he entered Cornell College, Mount Vernon, Iowa, working Saturdays and evenings to pay his incidental expenses. He was soon elected a member of the Amphictyon Society, and ranked with the highest students. In consequence of his high standing and his excellent habits he enjoyed the favor of all his instructiors. Upon the death of his step father he remained on the farm to assist in the support of his mother and the children. He continued there two years, when he resigned his place to his younger brother, and came to Cherokee County, which was then beginning to attract attention from home-seekers. April 24, 1872, he settled on a quarter section of wild land, which he bought on five years' time, intending to improve it and sell it; with the rise in value he would complete his college course. But these were hopes and aspirations never to be realized. The first crop was destroyed by grasshoppers, and the four years following the hardest labor of a lifetime were spent in producing that which was harvested by those wose than pirates. When the grasshoppers swept over the land in great swarms, they appeared in the distance like a black thunder cloud, stretching our for many miles in either direction. Hard times ensued, and the poor pioneers could not forsake their home without dishonor and the certainty that their creditors would seize all they had left after the ravages of their inumerable foe. They could not sell, for the "hoppers" were the deadly "Upas tree" that made buyers pass by and through to lands beyond. So the settlers remained, working and hoping for for a better day, which finally dawned. During these dark years of trial and privation Mr. Rowe "bached," did his farm work in the summer, and taught school in the winter season. He was engaged in the profession of teaching twenty terms, and was very successful in his work. At the age of eighteen years he became a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and since that time he has been a zealous worker in the cause of his Master. He has served in an official capacity for many years, and to Sabbath-school work he has given much time, thought and attention. For five years he was superintendent of two Sabbath-schools at the same time, and for five years he was either president or secretary of the Cherokee County Sabbath-school Association. Of this last duty he was relieved at his own urgent request. In politices he is a Republican Prohibitionist, and has often been elected to offices of trust which he has filled with an eye ever watchful for his county's highest good. His community is enterprising, temperate, and has a high standard of of morals, a character which Mr. Rowe has been one of the main factors in forming. March 7, 1882, he was united in marriage to Miss Jennie E. Gibson, near Farley, Dubuque County, Iowa, where she had grown to womanhood. She is a woman of accomplishments, social and domestic, is an excellent wife and mother, and is thoroughly appreciated and loved for her many virtues. Mr. and Mrs. Rowe are the parents of two children living: JOHN WOODFORD and WESLEY NEWMAN. Mr. Rowe is a man of refined tastes and sensibilities, and a lover of all that is beautiful both in nature and art and literature. The influence for good which one such man has in a community can scarcely be measured, and those who come under his teaching and example may well count themselves among the favored.
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