Page 468

 

 

GEORGE W. BLACK

 

 

Among the representative farmers of Platte township is George W. Black, living on section 13, where he owns and cultivates a farm of one hundred and sixty acres.  For a quarter of a century he has lived in this section of Iowa, arriving in Page county in 1876 and in Taylor county in 1884.  He was born in Warren county, Illinois, August 9, 1861, and was therefore a youth of fifteen years when he came to Iowa with his father, Samuel Black, who was a native of Tipton, Ohio, and there spent the days of his boyhood and youth.  Having arrived at years of maturity he was married in the Buckeye State to Miss Sarah Dunn a native of Indiana.  Samuel Black was a cooper by trade and also devoted a part of his time to general farming.  On removing to Illinois he took up his abode in Warren county, where he purchased land and opened up a new farm of two hundred and forty acres.  Most of his children were born upon that place.  In 1876 he came to Iowa, settling in Page county, where he purchased land and again performed the arduous task of transforming wild prairie into richly productive fields.  He thus cultivated two hundred and eighty acres and year by year gathered rich crops in return for the plowing, planting and harvesting which (page 469) made his one of the well-developed farms of the neighborhood.  He spent his last years upon that property and died February 16, 1902, at the advanced age of eighty-six.  His first wife had died in Illinois during the childhood of George W. Black and later the father married again, the second wife passing away about four years before the death of her husband.

 

George W. Black was one of a family of four sons and two daughters, all of whom reached adult age, while three brothers and a sister of our subject are yet living.  His youthful days were passed in Illinois and in Page county, Iowa, where he early became familiar with the arduous tasks of converting the virgin soil into rich and productive fields.  He aided his father in carrying on the home place until he had reached man's estate and the practical experience which he received made him well qualified for the work which he undertook when he started out upon an independent business venture.

 

Mr. Black made arrangements for having a home of his own by his marriage, on the 2d of October, 1884, to Miss Maggie Mawhinney, who was born and reared in Page county, a daughter of A. J. Mawhinney, one of the pioneers of Page county but a native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.  On leaving the Keystone State he had removed to Ohio where he married Miss Mary Hull, a daughter of Dr. Hull.  On coming to Iowa he developed a farm in Page county, being one of the first settlers in this part of the state.  Such was the wild and unsettled condition of the country at that time that it was necessary for him to go to St. Joseph, Missouri, to do his trading and one could ride for miles across the prairie without coming to a house or fence to impede his progress.  He spent the remainder of his life there and was recognized as one of the prominent and representative farmers of Page county.  Following his marriage Mr. Black came to Taylor county and settled on a farm in Grant township comprising one hundred and twenty acres of land, to the development and improvement of which he devoted his energies and undivided attention until 1902.  He then sold that property and bought one hundred and sixty acres, where he now resides.  In connection with his farming and stock raising he feeds and fattens stock, shipping about three carloads of cattle and hogs each year.  His business judgment is sound, his enterprise far-reaching and the success which he has enjoyed has come to him as the merited reward of his own labor.

 

Unto Mr. and Mrs. Black have been born three sons and a daughter: Samuel A., who assists in carrying on the home farm; Robert L., a student in the Clearfield high school of the class of 1910; Verbal D., also attending the Clearfield high school; and Mary E., a pupil in the home school.  The parents are members of Calvary Methodist Episcopal church of Clearfield, in which Mr. Black is serving as a steward, while his wife is an active worker in the church and Sunday school and in numerous auxiliary societies.  His children are also members of the church, so that this is a Christian household and one whose influence is a potent force for good in the community. 

 

Politically Mr. Black is a republican and while living in Grant township was officially identified with the schools for a number of years and has served as a member of the school board in Platte township.  He belongs to the Clearfield Masonic lodge and his influence is ever on the side of justice and truth, righteousness and progress.  He owns one of the neatest homes in Platte township and, (page 470) having been a resident of this section of the state from his childhood days, has witnessed the greater part of its growth and development.  He early realized the fact that success should be based upon the substantial qualities of industry, perseverance and integrity, and these qualities have been the potent factors in winning him the enviable position which he now occupies as a representative of the agricultural interests of Taylor county.