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1907 Past and Present Biographies

John McNulty

John McNulty is a successful man, not because fate has been particularly kind to him, but because he has worked long and persistently to achieve the prosperity which he is now enjoying and which he justly merits. He was born in County Mayo, Ireland, sixty-two years ago and spent his minority in that country. At the age of twenty-one years he came to the United States, hoping to find more favorable business conditions in the new world than he could secure on the Emerald isle. For one year he was employed in a tannery in Delaware county, New York, and in 1868 he became a resident of Kankakee county, Illinois, where he worked for four years by the month as a farm hand. During that period he saved enough money with which to purchase a team and a few tools and then engaged in farming on his own account. cultivating rented land in Illinois for six years.

Mr. McNulty then came to Greene county, Iowa, and purchased eighty acres of raw prairie land in Hardin township. This be improved and four years later he sold out and purchased two hundred and forty acres where he now lives on section 3, Hardin township. It was an unimproved tract of land when it came into his possession, bearing little resemblance to the fine farm which we now see. Today there are upon the place three dwelling houses, one of which he and his wife occupy, while the other two are occupied by his sons and their families. He was one of Hardin township’s early settlers and, like most of the pioneers, began at the bottom round of the ladder, but has steadily climbed upward. He went into debt for the first land which he bought in the county, but he persistently set to work to discharge his financial obligation and as the years have gone by he has prospered, owing to his well directed labor and enterprise. He now has one of the best farms in the township, entirely free from debt, and is a well-to-do man. He has always made his word as good as his note, and that has always been considered as good as currency. In all of his business transactions he has been thoroughly reliable, and his example should serve to encourage and inspire others who have to begin life as he did - without capital, depending entirely upon their own resources for advancement.

In Kankakee county, Illinois, Mr. McNulty was united in marriage to Miss Bridget Hughes, a native of Ireland, who came to the United States in early womanhood. She is about three years his junior and has been a faithful companion and helpmate to him on life’s journey. In their fainily are two sons, M. J. and F. P. The former married Miss McGraw, who died leaving two daughters. M. J . McNulty resides upon his father’s farm and assists in its conduct. The other son, also living upon the old homestead, wedded Katie Wallace, and they have four children. While the sons largely relieve the father of the active work connected with the development and improvement of his property, he yet has general supervision over it and from it derives a good income.

Mr. McNulty is a communicant of the Catholic church. In politics he is independent, without desire for oflice and casting his ballot for the candidates whom he thinks best qualified for the public positions. He has made many friends during his residence in Greene county, possessing a genial nature, a ready understanding and good will to all. His business success, too, is most commendable, as it has been acquired through his own labor and perseverance, and he justly merits the comforts which have come to him as a reward of his untiring industry.

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.

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