Pilgrim, William F. 1875 -

PILGRIM, BOYER, ELWICK, JOHNS

Posted By: Joy Moore (email)
Date: 4/23/2015 at 08:58:19

WILLIAM F. PILGRIM.

William F. Pilgrim is one of the younger men who is finding his fortune in the soil of Winneshiek county, owning a fine property of one hundred and sixty acres on section 14. Madison township. He was born in Clay county, this state, in February, 1875, and is a son of Charles W. and Nancy E. (Boyer) Pilgrim, of whom further mention is made elsewhere in this work. He was reared and educated in Winneshiek county, having come to this part of Iowa as a child, and after completing the course in the public schools of Ridgeway, supplemented this by a course of Valder's Business College in Decorah. He remained with his parents until he was twenty-five years of age and his father then gave him one hundred acres of land on section 14, Madison township. To this he afterward added a tract of fifty acres which he purchased from his brother and another ten-acre tract, owning today one hundred and sixty acres of well improved land. He has operated it since that time and upon it has made substantial improvements, erecting all of the buildings with the exception of the house. He is a stockholder in the Farmers Hog Buyers Company of Decorah and is well known and favorably regarded in business circles.

In January, 1900, Mr. Pilgrim was united in marriage to Miss Anna A. Elwick, a daughter of John and Mary (Johns) Elwick, natives of England. The father came to this country about the year 1863 and turned his attention to farming in Decorah township, operating an excellent property near Decorah for the remainder of his life. He passed away in 1907, having survived his wife one year. Mr. and Mrs. Pilgrim have adopted two children, Harold, aged twelve, and Mildred, aged nine.

Mr. Pilgrim is a devout member of the Methodist church and is a republican in his political beliefs. Fraternally he is affiliated with the Masons and the Modern Woodmen of America, and is well known in the local lodges of both organizations. A resident of Winneshiek county since his childhood, he is widely known within its borders, and the substantial qualities which he has displayed in his business and social relations have gained him a high place in the regard and good-will of his fellow citizens.

Source: History of Winneshiek County, Iowa Vol. II Chicago the S. J. Clark Publishing Company 1913