Adair County Iowa

James G. Hendry is a factor in financial circles of Adair county as the proprietor of the Union Bank, a private institution in Bridgewater, which he established on the 6th of January, 1890, and which was the first banking institution of the town. His birth occurred in Andover, Essex county, Massachusetts, on the 2d of February, 1842, his parents being James and Catherine (Greig) Hendry, both of whom were natives of Scotland. They emigrated to the United States in young manhood and young womanhood, locating in Andover, Massachusetts, where they were married. In 1849 they removed westward to Wisconsin, locating in Fond du Lac county, where the father took up government land and spent the remainder of his life. Both he and his wife passed away in the year 1877.

James G. Hendry was reared under the parental roof and in the acquirement of an education attended the district schools and also pursued a high-school course at Fond du Lac. After putting aside his textbooks he assisted his father in the operation of the home farm until the time of his marriage in December, 1869. In the spring of that year he had come to Adair county, Iowa, purchasing three hundred and twenty-two acres of land on sections 8 and 9, Washington township, and in the following fall he returned home, was married and brought his bride to this county. He won a gratifying measure of success in the conduct of his agricultural interests and remained on the farm for forty years. It might still have been his home at the present time except for the fact that his wife’s failing health necessitated a removal. In February, 1910, he took up his abode in Bridgewater, where he had established the Union Bank on the 6th of January, 1890, this being the first banking institution of the town. For twenty years Mr. Hendry had daily traveled the distance from his farm to the bank. In the conduct of his financial interests he has manifested splendid executive ability and sound judgment and his efforts have contributed in large measure to the continued growth and success of the institution of which he is at the head.

In December, 1869, Mr. Hendry was joined in wedlock to Miss Mary E. Clark, a daughter of Daniel Clark, who came to Iowa from New Hampshire, taking up his abode among the early pioneer settlers of this state. To Mr. and Mrs. Hendry were born ten children, as follows: Grace A., who is the widow of Cyrus Covel and resides in Bridgewater; Katie A., the wife of H. D. Dinsmoor, of Buckingham, Colorado; Hattie E., who holds the position of cashier in her father’s bank; James C., who is deceased; Jessie M., who gave her hand in marriage to Leroy Warrior, an agriculturist of this county; Fred G., the proprietor of a meat market in Bridgewater; Charles R., a telephone man residing in Bridgewater; Hayes D., who died as a soldier in the Philippines; Edna F., who is the wife of Dr. Clifford Ross, of Belle Plaine, Iowa; and Lucy P., who is the wife of Robert Purdom. The wife and mother passed away on the 23d of July, 1914, her demise being the occasion of deep and widespread regret.

In politics Mr. Hendry has always been a stanch republican and for many years took an active part in local affairs. He has served in various township offices, including those of trustee, clerk and road supervisor, while for about forty years he held the office of justice of the peace, making a most creditable record in that capacity. Fraternally he is identified with the Masons, belonging to Fontanelle Lodge, No. 138, A. F. & A. M., and St. Johns Chapter, No. 73, R. A. M., of Greenfield, Iowa. The period of his residence in Adair county now covers about forty-six years and he has long been numbered among its leading, valued and prosperous citizens.