Biographical Sketch, 1899

Transcription

M. F. GARRISON is one of the wealthiest and most prominent citizens of Ohiowa, Fillmore county, Nebraska. Mr. Garrison makes his home with his daughter, Mrs. Mary A. Quinlan, and was born in Luzerne county, Pennsylvania, April 24, 1820, a son of Mathias and Susannah (Seeley) Garrison, who moved from New Jersey to that county. His parents both died in Pennsylvania, the mother when he was only eight years old. Their children were Elizabeth, Elsie, John, William, Nathan, Susannah, Rachel and M.F., the subject of this article. A romantic story connected with the early history of this family is as follows: The great-grandmother of Mr. Garrison was Lady Charlotte Douglas, who belonged to a prominent and aristocratic family of Scotland. On account of her high station, great beauty and many admirable qualities, she was stolen by a captain who had determined to win and marry her. Failing in this, however, he sold her to an American planter, George Fortner, who soon fell in love with and married this virtuous and lovely woman. To them were born three children, one son and two daughters, and Mr. Garrison's grandfather, a farmer of New Jersey, married one of the daughters.

M. F. Garrison received only a limited education in the subscription schools of his native state, but his business training was not meager, as he obtained an excellent knowledge of farm work and also of the mason's and bricklayer's trades. Determined to try his fortune in the west, in 1845 he left Luzerne county, Pennsylvania, and started for Illinois by team. On his arrival in Lee county, which was then a new country, he turned his attention to the pursuits with which he was familiar, and there purchased eighty acres of land. By his economy, industry and good management he was soon on the highway to prosperity, and became one of the wealthiest and most substantial farmers of that county, where in 1870 he owned a valuable farm of two hundred acres under a high state of cultivation and improved in modern style.

In Dixon, Illinois, Mr. Garrison was married, October 1, 1848, to Miss Mary E. Girton, who was born in Columbia county, Pennsylvania, May 9, 1817. Her mother, Elizabeth (Runion) Girton, died in Pennsylvania. The father and family later migrated to Illinois, where he died at the age of ninety-two and was buried at Dixon, Illinois. Mr. M. F. Garrison continued his farming operations in Illinois very successfully until 1878, when he sold his property and went to Fillmore county, Nebraska, where he purchased nine hundred and sixty acres of the finest prairie land in Franklin township. With the exception of about a half section the entire tract was raw land, and to its improvement and cultivation he devoted his energies with marked success and continued his farm operations until 1890. Soon after the death of his wife, however, he moved to his present home in Ohiowa, and has since lived retired in the enjoyment of the fruits of his former toil. He has been called upon to mourn the loss of his estimable wife, who died in Ohiowa, in 1890, at the age of seventy-three years. She was a devoted wife and mother, and a sincere Christian, and her death was deeply mourned by all who knew her. She was laid to rest in the Ohiowa cemetery. She left two daughters. Martha J., the older, is the wife of E. F. Medler, of Ohiowa, and has the following children: Warren F., married to Miss Eva Holland; Clara M., married to Millard Bigelow; Arthur W.; Clyde A.; Edgar M. and Elsie, all at home and constituting a happy family circle. The younger daughter is Mrs. M. A. Quinlan. Mr. Garrison is a strong advocate of the principles of the Populist party and cheerfully gives his support to all measures which he believes calculated in any way to advance the interests of his adopted town and county. His life is a living illustration of what ability, energy and force of character can accomplish, and it is to such men that the west owes its prosperity, its rapid progress and advancement. He has accumulated a handsome property, which he has divided between his two daughters, and with the younger, Mrs. M. A. Quinlan, he now finds a pleasant home.

Miss Mary A. Garrison was born in Lee county, Illinois, in 1859, October 14, and was there reared to womanhood. She accompanied her parents on their removal to Nebraska in 1878, and on the 1st of November, 1880, gave her hand in marriage to James W. Quinlan, who was born in Indiana, March 1, 1853. His parents, Laurence and Mary (Palmer) Quinlan, were natives of Ireland and England, respectively, and on their emigration to America located in Indianapolis, Indiana. They were married in that state and continued to make their home there until 1856, when they migrated to Clinton, Iowa. In 1866 moved to Quincy, Illinois, where they spent the remainder of their days in retirement until their death, and are laid to rest in Quincy, Illinois, cemetery. Their children were Daniel, Mary, Kate and James W.

During his early life, James W. Quinlan assisted in the operation of the home farm, and on leaving the parental roof, at the age of twenty-two years, he came to Exeter, Nebraska, where he first learned the tinner's trade, continued at same from 1876 to 1880, then gave his attention to the implement business with good success until 1890. After this date he turned his attention to the interests and improvements of his town (Ohiowa) and also served as representative of his district, the 37th, in the legislature in 1893, with credit and honor to himself, and universal satisfaction to his constituents. He was also a member of M. W. A. After 1893 he lived a practical life and attended to his business matters only, looking after his property interests. His death occurred December 22, 1894, while on a tour through the southern states. He was a shrewd, capable business man, upright and honorable in all his dealings, and had the confidence and esteem of all with whom he came in contact, either in business or social life. He labored earnestly for the good of his country and his fellow men, and was beloved by all. He erected the first large building in the town of Ohiowa and owned about one-half of the property there. He was called from life in the midst of his usefulness and was laid to rest in the Ohiowa cemetery. Mrs. Quinlan has displayed exceptional business ability in the management of her financial affairs since her husband's death, and has conducted all business in a most creditable manner. She is a devoted daughter to her aged father and a kind and affectionate mother to her three children: Jennie M., Rosalind and Le Roy. She is a lady of culture and refinement and is a member of Royal Neighbors, Court of Honor, Knights and Ladies of Security, and presides with gracious dignity over her beautiful home, extending a warm-hearted hospitality to her many friends.

Source & Notes

Transcribed from pp. 769-771 of Memorial and Biographical Record...of Butler, Polk, Seward, York, and Fillmore Counties, Nebraska (Chicago: George A. Ogle and Co., 1899) in June 2010. This is a full and exact transcription. I have checked it against the original, and it is identical in every character so far as I am aware, with the following (very minor) exception: I restored a period after the "M" in "M. F. GARRISON" that the publisher left out for stylistic reasons. In the original document, the "M" appeared as a two-line drop cap, and the publisher must have decided that trying to include the period alongside that drop cap would've just looked weird. (It would have, too.)