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1907 Past and Present Biographies

Reuben S. Tallman

Reuben S. Tallman is the owner of an excellent farm of three hundred and twenty acres pleasantly situated on section 16, Paton township, in the midst of one of the richest agricultural districts of Iowa, and the splendid appearance of the place indicates his care and supervision, his practical methods and his progressive spirit. He was born in Jones county, Iowa, on the 10th of October, 1848.

His father, John Tallman, was a native of Ohio and in that state was married to Miss Lucinda Low, whose birth occurred near Baltimore, Maryland. They remained residents of the Buckeye state for only a brief period after their marriage, when they removed to Iowa, settling in Jones county in 1845. There Mr. Tallman purchased land and carried on farming, being numbered among the successful agriculturists for that community up to the time of his death, which occurred on the 30th of July, 1903, when he was seventy-two years of age. His widow still survives and is yet living in Jones county at the very advanced age of eighty six years. Mr. Tallman was quite prominent in local political circles and was honored with various oflices, filling all of the township positions and also serving as a member of the county board of supervisors for nine years. No trust reposed in him was ever betrayed in the slightest degree and his record as a business man and oflice holder was extremely commendable. His life, too, in all of its relations was in harmony with his professions as a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. His political allegiance was given to the republican party.

Unto him and his wife were born ten children, of whom eight are yet living: N. C., whose home is in Paton township; Reuben S.; Elizabeth, who for some years was a teacher in the public schools of Denver; W. H., living in Paton township; Mrs. Rose Neff, whose home is in Mount Vernon, Iowa; Mrs. Samantha Kane, a widow residing in Jones county, Iowa; Mrs. Angeline Boots, of the same county; and Wilbur E., who resides on the old home farm in Jones county. One son, James H. Tallman, served for three years as a soldier of Company E, Thirty-first Iowa Infantry, in the Civil war and died in Shelby county, Iowa, in 1905.

Reuben S. Tallman spent the days of his boyhood and youth on his father’s farm in Jones county and is largely indebted to the public school system of that locality for the educational privileges he enjoyed. However, he spent one year as a student in Cornell College at Mount Vernon, Iowa, but had to abandon his college course on account of illness. In 1871, in company with his brother, N. C. Tallman, he came to Greene county and here he purchased one hundred and sixty acres of school land. He and his brother were the first settlers of Paton township and built the first residence within its borders. Mr. Tallman of this review is therefore the oldest settler of the township today and is one of its most highly respected citizens. As the years have come and gone he has persevered in his work as a farmer and now has a fine place, which is splendidly improved, his farm comprising three hundred -and twenty acres of land, which he has brought under a high state of cultivation. Everything about his farm is indicative of his care and labor and shows him to be in touch with the most progressive methods of modern agriculture. He raises both cattle and hogs in connection with the cultivation of corn, wheat and other cereals.

On the 26th of August, 1885, Mr. Tallman was married at Pilot Mound, Iowa, to Miss Sarah E. Willett, a native of Illinois and a daughter of Morgan and Mary (Brown) Willett, in whose family were nine children, four of whom yet survive. Some years ago the parents removed to Kansas, where both passed away. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Tallman have been born nine children and with the exception of Alma, the fifth in order of birth, who died at the age of two years, the others are still living, namely: Elmer, Luella, Grace, Susie, Mary, Rose, Sandford and Francis.

Mr. Tallman is a member of the independent school board of Paton. He votes with the republican party and always keeps informed concerning the political condition of the country and the issues which are paramount in the campaigns. For years he has been a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, faithful to its teachings and exemplifying its principles in his daily life, in his relations with his fellowmen and in the conduct of his business interests.


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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