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McELHINNEY
A History of Tama County, Iowa Vol II; Chicago: Lewis Pub. Co., 1910.
Thomas R. McElhinney, a retired agriculturist and stockman residing in Waterloo, is yet one of the most prominent land owners in Tama county, owning in section 15 six hundred and forty acres, in section 16 fifty-five acres and in section 20 eighty acres, all in Geneseo township. he became a resident of this state in 1869, and locating in section 22, Geneseo township, he maintained his home there for thirty-one consecutive years, and in that time worked his way upward from obscurity to a place of prominence in the business world. His first market place was Waterloo, requiring a trip of eighteen miles from his home, while later the towns of LaPorte and Dysart were started, and for may years he traded at Traer. He was long an extensive buyer, feeder and shipper of cattle and hogs, handling in a period of four years over five thousand head, dealing in high grade stock and thoroughbreds. He now leases his large estate and is living in retirement at Waterloo, recuperating his health, for he was severely injured in a runaway accident in that city.
Mr. McElhinney was born at Oil City, Pennsylvania, August 1, 1850, a son of Patrick and Esther (Moffitt) McElhinney, who came to Tama county in 1870. Patrick McElhinney was born in county Donegal, Ireland and coming to the United States in 1845 or 1846 he located in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, and from there moved to Oil City, where he was married in 1847. He was a coal mine operator in that state, but after coming to Iowa he lived retired, and his death occurred in Geneseo township in 1872, when fifty-three years of age. Esther McElhinney, his wife, was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, but her parents were from Donegal, Ireland, and her father became a prominent and wealthy merchant of "Quaker City" but lost quite heavily in Jackson's panic. he later moved to near Oil City, and there both he and his wife died. Mrs. McElhinney, after the death of her husband, moved to Seattle, Washington, and she died there on Christmas day of 1904, when seventy-two years of age. Two of her daughters reside in that commonwealth. Their five children are as follows: A.S., the owner of a fruit and cattle ranch in the state of Washington; Jennie, of Seattle, Washington; and Ella, the wife of J.E. McGrew, also of that city.
Thomas R. McElhinney attained to years of maturity in Pennsylvania, completing a high school training at Franklin, that state, and a business course at the Iron City Business College at Pittsburg. He taught school in Pennsylvania for a time and clerked in the First National Bank of Waterloo for some two years, in 1872 and 1873, and that institution was among the few of its kind to withstand the memorable financial panic of those times. He has since mainly devoted his attention to stock dealing in connection with farming. He was married to Eleanor J. Hawke, who was born near Canton, that state, a daughter of Robert and Jane Hawke, farming people who spent the last years of their lives there. The ten children born to Mr. and Mrs McElhinney are all living. O.K., the first born, is a resident of Hanley, Canada, where he has served as cashier of a bank, and is also extensively interested in the lumber, land, and grain business. In association with a partner, a Mr. Hall, he has five lumber yards in Saskatchewan, Canada, and they are also handling large tracts of real estate, while recently they have started a townsite, where Mr. McElhinney expects to make his future home. He formerly served as the mayor of Hartley, Iowa, where he was also interested in the lumber business. He is married and has one daughter. A.R. McElhinney is conducting one of his father's farms in Geneseo township. Roscoe C., who is married and has a son, is farming in connection with his older brother, living in section 15. Ralph M is attending the agricultural college at Ames, Iowa, where he is captain of the football team, and he has served as a stock judge at several of the fairs in this state. Nelson is with his oldest brother in Canada; and Lulu, Florence, Salome, Gazelle and Faynelle are in school.
Mr. McElhinney votes with the Republican party, and has served Tama county as a supervisor for one term. He is a member of the Masonic order, including the Commandery at Vinton and El Kahir temple at Cedar Rapids, and has demitted to Waterloo Lodge, A.F. & A.M. he is a member of the Episcopal church, while his wife is identified with the Presbyterian denomination. Mr. McElhinney numbers among his relatives John W. Steele, the millionaire oil operator, and among his former personal friends the late lamented President McKinley, whom he often accompanied on his fishing trips and other sports.
http://www.celticcousins.net/irishiniowa/donegalbios.htm
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