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~ Irwin, Emmor E. ~
Self-assertion is believed by many people to be
absolutely necessary to success in life, and there are good
reasons for the entertainment of such belief. The modest man
very rarely gets what is due him. The selfish, aggressive man
elbows his way to the front, takes all that is in sight and it
sometimes seems that modesty is a sin with self-denial the
penalty. There are, however, exceptions to all rules and it is
a matter greatly to be regretted that the exceptions to the
conditions referred to are not more numerous. One notable
exception is the case of Emmor E. Irwin, well known business
man of Colfax, Jasper County, who seems to possess just a
sufficient amount of modesty to be a gentleman at all times and
yet sufficient persistency to win in the business world and at
the same time not appear over bold; and as a result of these
well and happily blended qualities, Mr. Irwin has won a host of
friends throughout the locality of which this history deals,
being well known to all classes as a man of influence,
integrity and business ability.
Mr. Irwin was born in Des Moines County, Iowa, January 13,
1859, and he is the son of Robert and Mary (Bales) Irwin, both
born in Belmont County, Ohio, where they were reared and
married. The father was a clerk in Ohio, but upon coming to Des
Moines County, Iowa, in 1855 or 1856, he turned his attention
to farming, having located on one hundred and sixty acres,
twelve miles west of Burlington. He soon had a good farm, and
there he continued to reside until 1865, when he moved to Tama,
and that was his home until his death, about 1912, his wife
having preceded him to the grave two or three years previously.
They were an excellent old couple and could claim hosts of
friends wherever they were known. There were six children in
their family, Emmor E. Irwin, of this sketch, who was named
after his maternal grandfather, Emmor Bales, a native of Ohio,
received his education in the public schools of Tama County,
which he attended during the winter months, working on the home
farm in the summer-time, but he seemed to have a natural bent
toward the business world, so he started in the mercantile
business at Adel, Iowa, and in 1887 he moved to Oswalt, Jasper
County, where he continued to run a store for four years with
his usual success; then, in 1891, he came to Colfax and
established a meat business which he conducted for five years,
enjoying an extensive patronage. His next venture was in the
Livery business, which he carried on for three years. Then in
1907 he was elected County Recorder, which office he filled two
years, discharging the duties of the same in a manner that
reflected much credit upon himself and to the entire
satisfaction of all concerned. Returning from the County seat
to Colfax when his term of office had expired, he became
manager of the Colfax Lumber Company, which position he still
holds, his business ability and straightforward dealings with
the company's numerous customers having done much to further
the prestige of the same.
Mr. Irwin, in his fraternal relations, is a member of
Riverside Lodge No. 389, blue lodge of Masons, Gebal Chapter
No. 87, and the Knights of Pythias.
Mr. Irwin was married on July 1, 1887, to Anna Bohlander, a
native of Illinois and the daughter of Peter Bohlander and
wife, old settlers here and a splendid family. To the subject
and wife one child has been born, Clarence E, a graduate of the
Colfax high school and now a teacher in the public schools of
this city. Page 666.
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