John STANSBARY
"Among the prominent citizens of Fayette County who have had a large part in the development and upbuilding of this section of the state, none stand higher in the community than John Stansbary, who, though now retired from active participation in business activities, is still numbered among the representative citizens of the county. Mr. Stansbary was born in Muskingum county, Ohio, in 1841, the son of George and Margaret (WELCH) Stansbary and the grandson of Isaiah Stansbary. Isaiah Stansbary, who was a slaveholder and lived twelve miles from Baltimore, Maryland, married in Ohio. Margaret WELCH was a native of Pennsylvania. George and Margaret Stansbary were the parents of eleven children, of whom three died in early childhood: the other, who are all living, are as follows: Mary, the wife of William BENNETT and living near Elgin, this county; Edmona, the wife of George WEST, lived near West Union, this county, until recently, when they moved to South Dakota; Isaiah lives at Maynard, this county; L. L. has lived in Fayette county most of his life; Milliron lives in Sioux City, Iowa; William J. lives near Los Angeles, California; J. J. is in Montana; John is the immediate subject of this sketch.
The subject remained in Muskingum county, Ohio, with his parents until he was about eight years old. In 1849 George STANSBARY brought his family to Fayette county, locating near the present site of West Union. The only other settlers in that neighborhood then were William WELLS and Jacob SMITH; also a man named Uri or Ory. The government land had not yet been opened to entry. All kinds of game was plentiful and the family larder did not lack for fresh meat. The nearest flouring mill was twenty-six miles distant and Mrs. Stansbary's father was engaged in making barrels for this mill. Indians were still to be seen occasionally, though from that time forward they gave the settlers no trouble. When the Stansbarys first came they lived for about three weeks with William WELLS. Mr. Uri had broken thirty acres of land and had erected a rude shack. Mr. Stansbary paid him for the improvements he had made and took his place, and the following year he also entered two hundred acres of government land near by. During that summer (1850) he helped to build the first house erected on the original plat of West Union, it being a log house owned by J. W. ROGERS. What is now the court house square was then a wheat field. Four years after Mr. Stansbary obtained this land he sold at a big advance and then made a prospecting trip of several hundred miles, taking his family with him in two wagons. After looking the country carefully over, he decided that Fayette County was the equal if not the best that he had seen, and he returned to West Union. Soon afterward he bought four hundred acres of land in Illyria township about seven miles east of West Union, and there he lived until the spring of 1892, when he sold his farm and moved to Oelwein, where he spent his remaining days, dying March 3, 1897.
John STANSBARY was reared on the home farm and remained with his parents until his mariage, in 1863, when he went to farming on his own account in Illyria township, where he bought a farm of eighty acres. He was a hard worker and a good manager and was prospered, so that from time to time he was enabled to add to his landed possessions, eventually becoming the owner of five hundred acres of good land. After he had gotten a good start as a farmer, he became interested in the stock business, buying hogs and raising cattle, which he shipped to the Chicago market. On the 23rd of August, 1887, he moved to Oelwein, where he has since resided. He had for nearly a quarter of a century devoted himself indefatigably to business and had succeeded in acquiring a fair competence, so that now he is enabled to enjoy that rest which he so richly earned. During the past four years he has spent the winters near Los Angeles, California. Mr. Stansbary assisted in the organization of the Aetna State Bank at Oelwein and was a member of the board of directors until 1909, when his continued absence in California led him to resign from that official position, though he still remains a stockholder in the institution. He now owns a one-hundred-acre farm in this county, and has four hundred acres of land located near Milner, Sargent county, North Dakota.
On March 25, 1863, Mr. Stansbary was united in marriage to Finette HOPKINS, who was born in Boone county, Illinois, the daughter of Henry and Nancy (HINMAN) Hopkins. Her father was born in New York state December 5, 1814, and her mother in the same state April 1, 1823. After Mrs. Stansbary's birth her family moved to Wisconsin, where they remained until June, 1849, when they came to Iowa, locating near Lima, Fayette county. Her parents lived in this county until 1863, when they went to Pennsylvania, where they lived for several years, eventually moving to Phelps county, Missouri, where they spent their remaining days, the father dying July 20, 1979, and the mother February 23, 1887. To Mr. and Mrs. Stansbary three children have been born, of whom one, a daughter, died in infancy. James K., who owns and operates a farm about two and a half miles north of Fayette, married Addie BUTLER, daughter of Lorin Butler, and they are the parents of six children, namely: Beulah E., Lola F., Blanche, Bernice, Milan and Leland. Clara Belle is the wife of James SYKES, a traveling salesman living in Kansas City, and they have one daughter, Lillian. Besides their own children, Mr. and Mrs. Stansbary have an adopted son, Albert C., who is unmarried and lives in this county, being engaged in farming.
In matters political Mr. Stansbary has given his support to the Democratic party, and served as justice of the peace for several years, eventually resigning the position. He was for six years a useful member of the Oelwein city council. In 1908 he was a delegate from Fayette county to the Democratic state convention. Fraternally he is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. The story of Mr. Stansbary's success is short and simple, containing no exciting chapters, but in it lies one of the valuable secrets of the marked which it records, and his private and business life are pregnant with interest and incentive, no matter how lacking in dramatic action, for in it we find the record of an honorable and useful life, consistent with itself and its possibilities in every particular."