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1907 Past and Present Biographies
Joseph CarrollMr. Carroll is a native of Ireland, his birth having occurred in Queens county, on the 29th of June, 1847. His parents were Michael and Ann (Kinsella) Carroll. The father died on the Emerald isle, but the mother afterward bade adieu to friends and native land and sailed for the United States in 1865, settling in Dubuque county, Iowa. Joseph Carroll spent the first nineteen years of his life in the land of his nativity and is indebted to its public school system for the educational privileges he enjoyed, though he later attended St. Vincent's College in Kings county, Ireland. At the age of nineteen he came with his mother to the new world and worked for a brother on a farm in this state for six years. He resided in Dubuque county until 1871, when he came to Greene county and invested his earnings in two hundred and forty acres of wild land, where his house now stands. This he improved, transforming the raw prairie into richly cultivated fields, and as the years passed he added to his property from time to time until he is now one of the extensive landowners of Greene county, his possessions aggregating eight hundred acres. He has always followed general farming and stock-raising, feeding stock in both winter and summer. Whatever he has undertaken he has carried forward to successful completion and he has found that perseverance and energy will overcome many difficulties and obstacles. In 1899 he gave up the active work of the farm and now rents his land, but still lives upon his farm in a fine modern residence which is beautifully furnished. One of its attractive features is an extensive library, which would be an ornament to any home and with the contents of which Mr. Carroll is largely familiar. He is, indeed, a well informed man, having read broadly and possessing the ability of assimilating all that he reads. His study has covered a wide range. Aside from his farming interests Mr. Carroll is well known in banking circles. In 1889, in connection with C. J. Martin, he established the Citizens Bank of Churdan, which in 1891 became the First National Bank of Churdan - the first bank organized under the national banking laws in Greene county. The oflicers of the institution are C. J . Martin, president; Joseph Carroll, lst vice president; M. E. Blazer, 2d vice president; and M. F. Coons, cashier. The bank is doing a good business and is paying four per cent on deposits. Mr. Carroll is well known as a capable financier, easily solving intricate business problems and readily grasping the details of a complex business situation. Without any special advantages at the outset of his career he has made steady progress toward the goal of prosperity and is today one of the wealthy citizens of the county. His wealth, too, has been gained along legitimate business lines and his keen discrimination, unabating energy and industry that never flags, have constituted the salient elements in his business career. His record may well serve as a source of encouragement and inspiration to others, showing what may be accomplished through individual effort. Mr. Carroll has never married and of his father’s family of nine children, but three arestill living, his sister Maria and his brother Thomas, both making their home with him. Joseph Carroll votes with the democracy, giving the party his support since attaining his majority and he has served as township trustee. He is a member of the Catholic church and is a public-spirited citizen, displaying a deep interest in the public welfare. |
Transcribed from "Past and Present of Greene County, Iowa Together With Biographical Sketches of Many of Its Prominent and Leading Citizens and Illustrious Dead," by E. B. Stillman assisted by an Advisory Board consisting of Paul E. Stillman, Gillum S. Toliver, Benjamin F. Osborn, Mahlon Head, P. A. Smith and Lee B. Kinsey, Chicago: The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, 1907.  Site Terms, Conditions & Disclaimer |