History
of Tama County, Iowa
Springfield, Ill., Union Publishing Company, 1883.
M
Unless otherwise noted, bios
were submitted by Dick Barton.
HUGH McANULTY, one of Tama county's pioneers, was born in Berks county, Pennsylvania , March 4, 1831 . He is a son of Patrick and Catherine (O'Neal) McAnulty. The father died in Pennsylvania when Hugh was about twenty years old, and about four years later, in 1855, the subject of this sketch went to Minnesota , going as far north as Pembina, in the Red river country. His mother moved to Tama county, Iowa , and settled in Howard township, where she still lives. She is the mother of fifteen children, and is now eighty years of age. In 1859, Mr. McAnulty came to Tama City , settling in Howard township, where he bought forty acres of land, which he subsequently sold and then purchased eighty acres. He improved the land and lived there until his removal to Tama City . For the past ten years, Mr. McAnulty has done most of the county bridge building. In politics, he is a staunch Republican, has held the office of County Supervisor , and at present is a member of the Tama City School Board. In 1860, he was united in marriage with Miss Prudence Carlisle, a native of Illinois , and a daughter of Lewis M. Carlisle, as early settler of Benton county, Iowa . Five children bless this union: Lewis, Martha, Elmer, Mable and Florence .
ANDREW McILHINNEY
The first postoffice in the township was established in 1861, and was called Fork Postoffice. Andrew McIlhinney was the first postmaster, and the office was kept at his house on section 21. Mail was received once a week, it being on the route between La Porte City and Tama. After a few years this office was discontinued. Evergreen postoffice was established in 1870, with Dewitt Hayward postmaster, and the office was kept at Joel Hayward's house, on section 21. Andrew D. McIlhinney is the present postmaster, with the office at his residence on section 28, with a daily mail from Dysart.
Andrew McIlhinney is a native of Ireland , born in March, 1829. He made his home in his native land and with his parents until he attained his majority, and then came to America , and settled in the State of Pennsylvania . His marriage with Miss Nancy A. Smith occurred in 1859, and the same year they came to Iowa , and settled in Geneseo township, on land which Mr. McIlhinney had previously entered. They have four children living - Estella J., Fayette F., Byron W. and Theressa O.
GILBERT McMILLAN
Another man who came here to seek a home in 1855 was GILBERT McMILLAN, a Scotchman, who had come from the old country but a few months previous, and had made a short stop in Connecticut. He selected 120 acres on section 2, then went to Buckingham and lived until the spring of 1857, when he settled on his land and now makes this his home. Probably no man in the country is more fond of a joke than he, and it takes a good man to "get ahead" of him. It is said that J. Vertrees is the only person that ever did, and it happened in this way: Mr. McMillan had "considerable many hogs," and very little corn or feed of any description for them, and Mr. Vertrees had corn in abundance, but of hogs none. Meat was scarce in the neighborhood, and, in consideration of the hard work to be done, a necessity. In order to secure a supply, or make provision for the future, something must be done. There were the hogs and here the corn, a plan to get the two together would make pork. So Vertrees made a proposition to McMillan to take some of the shoats and feed them for one-half the pork. To this McMillan readily assented and Vertrees drove home the "porkers." In a few days he killed one of them, and wishing everything fair, called in Solomon Walls to divide it, which he did as carefully as possible, splitting exactly in the centre from the end of the nose to the tip of the tail. It was thin enough for a lantern, and without fat enough to cook it. Vertrees carried McMillan's half to him, when it suddenly dawned upon McMillan that there was something wrong about that contract, but notwithstanding his loss of hogs, he was not the man to "squeal" and enjoyed the joke as well as anybody. One day his neighbor, Chapman, was at his house when he was feeding his stock and said to him, "You have more stock than you need." "Mac" replied "yes, that is true," and pointing out two steers said, "You may have those two for all I care." Chapman knew well the propensity of his neighbor for joking, and knowing of course that McMillan would not think for a moment that he would actually take the cattle and drive them away, he concluded to play a joke by taking him at his word. It was a hot day in August, and he started the steers. They ran out on the prairie, and continued to run, with Chapman after them, until man and beast were both exhausted and mad. But finally, after much trouble and vexation, he succeeded in getting them well on the road toward home. When passing a neighbor's house, the man came out and asked, "what he was doing with those steers." He replied, "I am driving them home from McMillan's." "But," said the man, "they are my steers." Then Chapman saw "where the joke came in," and went home a very tired, but a wiser man.
Gilbert McMillan was born in the parish of Colmonel, Ayreshire, Scotland, June 16, 1816. His father was a farmer and stock-raiser. Gilbert received his education in the public school at Barr Hill, and continued to make his home with his parents until twenty-six years of age, when he was united in marriage with Miss Sarah Wilson, daughter of James and Jane (Lusk) Wilson. They have eight children: Agnes, Jennie, Maggie, David, James, Janet, Peter and Grace. At the time of his marriage the subject of our sketch rented a farm in the parish of Colmonel, and there lived until 1855, when he left his native land and came to America. He landed at New York city on the 24th of February, and immediately proceeded to Connecticut, where he visited friends until the following June, when he came to Tama county, Iowa, for the purpose of settlement. He entered 120 acres of land in the northeast quarter of section 2, of what is now Crystal township, but spent the first year on a rented farm in Buckingham township. In the fall of 1856 he purchased 40 acres of land adjoining his farm, upon which he moved a small frame house that he purchased in Buckingham township. after living here for some time he built an addition, and continued to occupy the house until 1880, when it was destroyed by fire. He then erected the frame house in which he now resides. Mr. McMillan now owns 260 acres of improved land and 70 acres of timber land.
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