Source:History of Johnson Co, IA 1836-1882

Bibliographic Citation

Anonymous, c1883. History of Johnson County, Iowa

Publication History

This work was apparently published about 1883. It has since been republished by Bookhaven Press, La Crosse, Wis.

History of Johnson County, Iowa: containing a history of the county, and its townships, cities and villages from 1836 to 1882 : together with biographical sketches of many enterprising farmers, merchants, mechanics, professional and business men, a condensed history of the state, the constitution of the United States, an abstract of the most important laws, the natural history of the county, its organization, its political and religious history, agriculture, horticulture and stock-raising, war record, township histories, churches, schools, railroads and business enterprises, miscellaneous matters, etc., etc. 2000. La Crosse, Wis: Brookhaven Press.

The work is commonly cited as "History of Johnson County, Iowa, 1836-1882", with no author specified. It is frequently cited on the web as a source of individual mini-biographies. It is not known whether these uses are reyling on the c1883 document, or the republication.

Usage Notes

This work contains biographies of various persons who were living in Johnson County IA, at the time of publication. The original probably includes a chapter on local history, or perhaps considerably more, but one of the main uses of the work is that it provides a goodly number of short "vanity biographies". Such biographies were usually included, perhaps for a fee, and were based on information provided by the subject. As such they provide a very useful source of genealogical information about the subject that might otherwise be difficult to obtain. The following is a sample:

Joseph Walker, farmer and stock raiser of Pleasant Valley Township, post-office, Iowa City; was born September 19, 1819 in Portage County OH; came to Iowa and settled on Buck creek, in Pleasant Valley Township, September 1, 1837, and took up the first claim on Bear Creek, The farm upon which he now resides, of 320 acres. His brothers, Samuel and James, took up claims near him, and lived upon them for eight or ten years. He was married June 25, 1850, to Miss Jane Powelson of Washington County, IA. They have five children: Mary, Henry A., Joseph L., Callie, Emma. He is a member of the Universalist Church at Iowa City, and a republican in politics, and voted against the prohibitory amendment; has held several township offices, trustee and school director. He is a stockholder in the Johnson County Savings Bank, and one of its directors. He is one the Johnson County farmers who have made a success in life, and accumulated a sufficient amount of worldly goods to live comfortably. Source: History of Johnson Co, IA 1836-1882, Page 946 fide Ray W. Justus, 22 January 2009