Robert Porter Lewis

As printed in 1909

ROBERT PORTER LEWIS.

Robert Porter Lewis has now almost reached the seventy-sixth milestone on life's journey. He is living retired in the enjoyment of a well earned rest, but for many years was actively associated with agricultural interests and is still the owner of valuable farming property. Moreover, he is entitled to representation in this volume from the fact that he is one of the pioneer residents of the county, having lived within its borders for sixty-five years, during which time he has seen the wild prairie converted into fine farms dotted here and there with beautiful homes, while thriving towns and villages have sprung up, offering excellent inducements for the establishment of industrial and commercial enterprises within their midst.

Mr. Lewis was born in Decatur county, Indiana, November i8, 1833, a son of William B. and Eliza Jane (Donnell) Lewis, both of whom were natives of Kentucky. The father was a son of Samuel Lewis, of French descent, a native of Maryland, whence he removed to the Blue Grass state, while later he became a resident of Indiana and subsequently of Iowa. In early days he trained in the old state militia of Indiana and his son William became a captain in the light horse artillery. Samuel Lewis married Cassandra Laisure, and they reared several children, including William B., Nathaniel, John, James, Elizabeth and Mary. The father died in 'washington county at the age of eighty-five years, while the mother's death occurred when she was seventy-nine years of age. The maternal grandfather of Robert Porter Lewis removed from Kentucky to Indiana, settling in Decatur county, when it was still a frontier district. He made farming his life work and both he and his wife died in middle life. They were the parents of several sons and daughters: James; Samuel; John; Luther and Eliza. twins; Nancy; and Jane. The last named became the wife of William B. Lewis.

The father of our subject was reared to farm life and although he engaged to some extent in general merchandising he carried on general agricultural pursuits during the greater part of his life. He, too. became one of the pioneer residents of Decatur county, Indiana, and in 1845 he arrived in Washington county, Iowa, where he purchased three hundred and sixty acres of land in Brighton township. He also entered land from the government, and to each of his children gave eighty acres. He died on his farm in this county at the age of eighty-three years, and his wife, who survived him. was eighty-four years of age at the time of her death. They were members of the United Presbyterian church and were people of prominence in the community. In early life Mr. Lewis represented his district in the state legislature when the capital was at Iowa City and was a member of the state senate and also of the house after the seat of government was removed to Des Moines. As a member of the general assembly he took an active and helpful part in shaping the early legislation of the state and in holding the policy of the commonwealth. Unto him and his wife were born eleven children, six sons and five daughters, all of whom reached years of maturity, while five are still living: Robert P.; Mary Ellen, the wife of Henry Marshall, of Kansas; Elizabeth and Josephine, who are living at Iowa City, Iowa; and Thomas L., also a resident of Iowa City.

Robert P. Lewis arrived in Washington county when he was but eleven years of age and here he has since made his home. He was reared on the farm amid the surroundings of pioneer life, sharing with the family in all of the hardships and privations incident to frontier existence. He attended the district schools and remained under the parental roof until he attained his majority, when his father gave him eighty acres of land. He immediately began its cultivation but continued to make his home with his parents until twenty-five years of age. He then married and established his home upon his own farm. Later he left his wife and one child to go to the defense of his country, enlisting as a member of Company A, Twenty-fifth Iowa Volunteer Infantry, with which he served until the end of the war. He participated in the siege of Vicksburg, the battles of Arkansas Post, Ringgold, Missionary Ridge, Resaca and all of the military movements around Atlanta, after which he marched with Sherman to the sea and took part in the Grand Review in Washington. He went through all of the experiences that come on the long, hard marches and in the hotly contested campaigns, but was fortunate in never being wounded nor captured.

After the war Mr. Lewis returned to his farm in Brighton township, Washington county, and took up the active work in the fields, bringing his land under a high state of cultivation. He lived upon that place until 1890, when he rented it and removed to the county seat. In the meantime he had added two more eighty acre tracts and is now the owner of two hundred and forty acres, from which he derives a substantial income. He has lived retired, however, during the last nineteen years and well merits the rest which he is now enjoying.

It was on the 6th of October, 1858, that Mr. Lewis was united in marriage to Miss Olivia K. Tracy, a daughter of Joshua and Sarah (Moore) Tracy, natives of Virginia and Ohio, respectively. They arrived in Washington county, Iowa, in the spring of 1845, settling in Brighton township, where Mr. Tracy entered one hundred and sixty acres of government land, but was not long permitted to enjoy his new home, for his death occurred in 1847. He was also a twin. His wife passed away a week after his death. They were the parents of twelve children, six sons and six daughters, of whom four are now living: Bazil Tracy, a merchant of Brighton; Dr. Levi E. Tracy, living in Chillicothe, Missouri; Mrs. Lewis; and Sheriden Tracy, of Richland, Iowa, who was a soldier of the Civil war. In tracing back the ancestry of Mrs. Lewis it is found that the family are descendants of Sir William Tracy, who came from England to America in September, 1620, and settled in Virginia, where he owned a large estate and was the possessor of vast wealth. Back of him the ancestry is traced until the record covers a thousand years. Joshua Tracy, the grandfather of Mrs. Lewis, was a native of Virginia and married Nancy Vaughn, by whom he had eleven sons and one daughter. He lost his life in a snowstorm in the Allegheny mountains while making a trip eastward for salt, when about forty-six years of age. His wife reared their family and lived to be quite old, making her home in Belmont county, Ohio, on land which her husband had entered from the government. She died at the extreme old age of ninety-two years. The maternal grandfather of Mrs. Lewis was Robert Moore, who came from Ireland with his wife and settled in Belmont county, Ohio, where he engaged in farming. He died, however, when about eighty-seven years of age, and his wife died when about seventy-eight years of age. They were the parents of two daughters: Sarah, who became Mrs. Tracy; and Elizabeth, the wife of Samuel Casey.

Mrs. Lewis was born in Belmont county, Ohio, May 2, 1839, and was therefore about seven years of age at the time of the removal of the family to Iowa, in which state she gave her hand in marriage to Robert P. Lewis. They became the parents of three daughters and two sons: Mary Adella, who died at the age of three years; Mide C, who is a milliner and lives at home; Harry Tracy, who died at the age of two years; Helen Beatrice, the wife of James H. Baird, of Rockford, Illinois, and the mother of one daughter, Mary Olivia Beatrice Baird; and Earl Ashton, a successful business man, well known as a jeweler and as the owner of a large manufacturing establishment in Oskaloosa, Iowa. He married Vera Van Sickle.

Mr. and Mrs. Lewis are members of the Second United Presbyterian church and are well known in Washington and throughout the county, where they have an extensive circle of warm friends. Mr. Lewis belongs to I. G. White Post, No. 108, G. A. R.; his political allegiance is given to the republican party; and he is always progressive in his citizenship, but without desire for office. His life has been a busy and useful one and his business affairs have ever been characterized by unfaltering integrity and reliability. He has borne his full share in developing the county, which during the period of his residence here has been converted from a wild western district into one of the populous and prosperous counties of this great state. He has seen the building of the railroads, the introduction of the telegraph and the telephone and of many interests which contribute to the comfort and convenience of modern life and which are strong contrasts to the mode of living of the pioneers.

As printed in History of Washington County, Iowa from the first white settlements to 1908. Also biographical sketches of some prominent citizens of the county (1909). See the original pages. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.