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Charles Fox 

The subject of this sketch is another man who has shown what industry and indefatigable effort will accomplish, for they have raised him from a position where he had nothing to that of owner of one of the largest and most prosperous farms in his county and made him one of its leading citizens. His career shows also that the farmer’s occupation is not unprofitable, and that diligence in its pursuit brings a degree of success which may well be envied by those who have followed other professions.

Charles Fox was born in Northamptonshire, England, October 6, 1846, the son of John and Mary Walden Fox, both born in England, where he died in 1872, and his widow, with a family of five children, came to Fayette county, Iowa, and lived there until her death in West Union, July 2, 1893. John Fox was a farmer and overseer of a farm and worked for the same man for forty years, giving constant satisfaction and faithful service. He was the father of twelve children, of whom six are now living. Charles was reared on the farm and worked in the oil mills from the age of twelve to seventeen years. In 1864 he came to New York, and in 1866 to Fayette county, Iowa, and for thirty-four years has lived on the farm which he now owns in Clermont township.

In 1870 Mr. Fox married Nora N. Mercer, who was born in Van Buren county, Iowa, January 8, 1848, the daughter of James F. and Mary Sweet Mercer. Her father was born in Ohio, her mother in Missouri. They married in Missouri, and came to Van Buren county, where his wife died in 1851. Mr. Mercer was the father of six children by his first wife, of whom Mrs. Fox is the only one living. He married again and was the father of six children by his second wife, all of whom died in infancy. He enlisted in the army, was a reliable soldier, and lost his life at Pea Ridge.

Mr. and Mrs. Fox are the parents of seven children: John James, Mary Bell, Charles Reuben, Delbert William, Benjamin Franklin, Lottie Luella and Grover Cleveland. Mr. Fox has followed general farming and has found it extremely profitable. When he landed in New York he had a shilling, twenty-five cents in our money, and no more. Now he is the owner of three hundred acres of land in this highly productive region of Iowa, all of which is in a good state of cultivation and is well-improved. In politics he is a Democrat and was elected by that party to the office of township trustee, in which position he gave great satisfaction. No man in the township stands higher in the regard of his neighbors, and his farm is pointed out as one of the best around.

~transcribed for the Fayette Co IAGenWeb Project by Marsha Hyman