When Joseph S. Leamer came into Caldwell County in 1866, he brought with
him one horse and a set of harness. He had no money, and the first winter was spent in
cutting cord wood at the rate of $1 per cord, and he also split several thousand rails.
That was the means by which he was started on a successful career. It is needless to say
that he possessed industry and a vigorous physique, and these resources with a faculty of
good business judgment have put him in a position through the succeeding years where he is
now regarded as one of the most influential and prosperous men of Polo. He is one of the
most extensive land owners in the county, and his farms aggregate 635 acres. His home place
comprises seventy-five acres and adjoins the Town of Polo, being situated in section 21 of
Grant Township. His own residence is a large and commodious house of ten rooms, surrounded with large barns, feed
lots, and all the facilities for conducting his industry as a stock farmer. He keeps cattle
and hogs, and makes a specialty of the breeding of mules and horses. On his place can be
found some of the best thoroughbred Duroc swine in Caldwell County. Mr. Leamer understands
his business, is a thoroughly practical man, and his success is based on thorough business
qualifications and an integrity which has stood without question for nearly half a century.
Joseph S. Leamer comes of good old Pennsylvania stock of German ancestry on the maternal
side and of Scotch Irish on the paternal, and he was born in Blair County, Pennsylvania, in
1847. His parents were Jacob and Rebecca (Stevens) Leamer. In 1850 the family left
Pennsylvania and embarked on a river steamboat on which they descended the Ohio River and
then came up the Mississippi and found a home in Benton County, Iowa, where for several
years they lived surrounded by pioneer conditions. The father died at the age of
forty-seven, leaving a widow and nine children. The mother attained the advanced age of
ninety-three years. The parents were members of the United Brethren Church.
Joseph S. Leamer grew up in Iowa, had the surroundings of a pioneer farm and a new country,
and all his education came from the public schools. In 1867, about a year after his arrival
in Caldwell County, he married Elizabeth Webb, a daughter of Isaac Webb. Mr. and Mrs.
Leamer have a fine family of sons and daughters, mentioned briefly as follows: Elma,
wife of George Dixon of Polo; Lenora, deceased; Richard R., who is married and has two
children; Hiram, who died at the age of nineteen; Nellie Minger; Mattie Minger; Maude
Stone; Blanche Stone; and Frank, who is married and has two children. Mr. Leamer's sons
are all active farmers and cattle men. Mrs. Leamer is a member of the Baptist Church.
Though his own success has come from hard work and in spite of obstacles and lack of
advantages, Mr. Leamer has always shown a friendly interest in schools and other provisions
for the education of the young, and is a man of public spirit in all movements affecting
the improvement of his community.
Transcriber's Note: Jacob & Rebecca Leamer are buried in the Prairie United Brethren Cemetery, Taylor Twp., Benton Co., IA.
