CLARENCE A.
PIERCE
Clarence A. Pierce, one of the well known and
successful insurance men of Manchester, was born on a farm in Delhi township, January 21, 1858, a son of Montraville Pierce, who was a native
of Mount Holly, Vermont. He left that town and
for one year resided in the state of New York and for two or three
years lived in Kane county, Illinois, near Aurora. After his marriage,
which occurred in that county, he came to this county and took up his abode in Delhi township on a farm
located on the boundary line that separates Delhi from Oneida
township. After residing there for about five years he removed to Oneida township, where he made
his home for thirty years. Finally he took up his abode in Manchester, where he lived retired
until his death, which occurred April 27, 1903. He was married in
Kane county, Illinois,
to Miss Barbara Garfield, who died in September, 1893. She was
a native of Mount Holly,
Vermont, and a descendant of the Garfield family, her
great-grandfather and the great-great-grandfather of James A. Garfield being
brothers. Seven children were born to Mr.
and Mrs. Montraville Pierce, those besides the subject of this review being: Hattie, deceased; Lillie Z., a resident of
Los Angeles;
Edna, the wife of W. D. Mclntosh, of Manchester,
Iowa;
Robert and Jennie, deceased; and Juliette, who is a high-school teacher
in Los Angeles,
California.
Clarence A. Pierce completed a
public-school course and later spent one term as a student in Lenox College at Hopkinton. After
leaving school he engaged in farming in Oneida township and also
taught school for three years during the winter months. In 1892 he was elected
secretary of the Farmers Mutual Fire Insurance Association, a Delaware county corporation, and
held that office for eight years, during which time the business of the company
was trebled. In 1900 he came to Manchester
and engaged in the insurance business, in which he has since
continued, meeting with deserved success. He is a director of the Iowa Assessment
Mutual Insurance Association at Dewitt, Iowa, in connection with
his Manchester business, and for five years he was
secretary and manager of the Delaware Cooperative Creamery Company, during
which time the concern met with a substantial measure of prosperity.
Mr. Pierce was married September 16, 1888, to Miss Meda L. Millen, who was born at Greeley, Iowa, a daughter of Henry
and Sarah (Drybread) Millen, both of whom are deceased, Mr. Millen surviving
his wife several years and passing away in Earlville in August, 1913, in his ninety-first
year. Six children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Pierce, namely: Angie and
Alice, twins, the former of whom is a high-school teacher and the latter the
wife of Cecil L. Adams, of Ocheyedan, Iowa; Barbara, a high-school teacher;
Henry, a senior in the high school; Helen,
also a high-school student; and Norman, attending school.
Mr. Pierce is a republican in his political
belief, and served as a justice of the peace and was school director for twelve
years, doing much in that time to secure the best interests of the public
schools. Mr. Pierce holds membership with the Modern Brotherhood of America. He
is a man who in every relation of life has been true to the trust reposed in
him, has ever met his obligations and discharged his duties. His record is a
creditable one, winning for him high regard and placing him among the
substantial and valued residents of his city.
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