Wiot R. Hinkley

As printed in 1912

The New York family of Hinkleys has a worthy descendant in the person of Wiot R., son of Samuel Hinkley and Adaline Perkins, who was born in Johnson county, Iowa, December 14, 1866. Samuel Hinkley was a native of Madison county, New York, and came to Johnson county in 1855 in company with his brother, Henry L., where he settled on a farm in Fremont township. There he lived until his death, January 30, 1908, at the age of eighty-nine years. His wife is still living. (For a more complete account of the ancestry and activities of the Hinkley family, see the biography of Henry Luther Hinkley, published elsewhere in this volume — Editor.)

Two children were born to Samuel Hinkley and wife: Julia, now Mrs. Jesse Holdeman, residing at Lone Tree, and the subject of this sketch. The former is the mother of an interesting family (see biography of Jesse Holdeman), while the latter is the father of six children, five of whom are living.

Following in the footsteps of his progenitors, Wiot R. Hinkley has devoted his energies to farming. On leaving school, he began work upon the old homestead of his parents. His first independent efforts were inaugurated in his twentieth year. When twenty-three he bought his first farm, upon which he lived for four years. On account of the ill health of his parents, he sold this place and moved hack upon the old farm to care for them. After his father's death he purchased the old Alva Hinkley farm, near the old home. This he improved, and sold in Decemher, 1911. He is at present living in Lone Tree, Iowa.

The marriage of Wiot R. Hinkley and Miss Lida Douglas look place in 1886. His wife was born and bred in Johnson county, being a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John L. Douglas. As previously stated, six children have blessed their home. Their names in the order of birth are: Ellen Eunice; Frankie Douglas, who died at the age of five years; Myrtle May; Mary Jane; Hazel Pearle; Harry Samuel.

Mr. Hinkley is a republican. The family have been members of the Christian church for fifteen years. Mr. Hinkley is one of the first members of Lone Tree lodge No. 160, M. B. A., and is active in the work of the order. In his forty-fifth year, he is a sturdy example of the Iowa farmer at his best. It is a write thing to say that he and his kind are the enduring and admirable foundation of the American republic. All thoughtful men will say, "may their like increase."

No further proof of the fact that America affords matchless opportunities for individual success is needed than the experience of some of the foreign-born residents of Johnson county, Iowa. The time-worn epigram that ' ' nothing succeeds like success" is given an explanatory setting in this section of the great western state of Iowa. Undoubtedly individual ability and persistent application are essential factors in financial victories, but it is a further fact that a fruitful field for the exercise of these qualifications enters largely into the final solution. Many wealthy citizens of southeastern Iowa came from sections of the old world where the earnest exercise of individual talents and industry availed small returns after many years of application. Transplanted to the fecund regions of the new world, these same talents and industry accumulated within a generation ample fortunes for their possessors. In the final analysis of the matter the most that can be said as between the individual and the scene of his efforts is that "honors are easy." Nor are the "honors" so inferior thai abundant glory may not be given to both factors. Success, real and honorable, is a fitting crown for any man even in the midst of the congenial conditions of southeastern Iowa. The fact that many fail under seemingly identical advantages only serves to emphasize the worth of the one who succeeds. It may be truly said of Johnson county that its history is glorious with the tales of individual successes, and these, taken in connection with the famous richness of its soil and favorable conditions of its climate, cannot but impress the

EESIl'EXCE OF AXTOX FISHER student of history with the claims of that county to distinction as one of the regions of American prosperity.

Anton Fisher is a Bohemian whose parents wisely brought him to America and to southeastern Iowa when he was young — thirteen years of age, to be exact. Today, at the age of fifty three, after forty years of effort, Anton Fisher is accounted one of the wealthiest men of Lone Tree, esteemed by Ins neighbors and honored by his fellow citizens with positions of public trust and responsibility. But between the Bohemian boy of thirteen and the American citizen of fifty-three there lies a history of earnest, persistent effort which tells the story of success. Martin and Mary (Shebek) Fisher were the names of our subject's parents, and they registered his birth as June

As printed in Leading events in Johnson County, Iowa, history (1912). See the original pages. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.