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1907 Past and Present Biographies

Henry F. Wise

Henry F. Wise, a representative of the farming interests of Paton township, living on section 11, claims Ohio as the state of his nativity, his birth having there occurred in Crawford county, on the 14th of August, 1845. His parents were Samuel and Rebecca (Highly) Wise, both of whom were natives of Pennsylvania. During the early boyhood of their son Henry they removed westward to Iowa, where they arrived in 1850. The father purchased a tract of land in Cedar county and devoted his remaining days to further developing and improving it, but was not long permitted to enjoy his new home, for his death occurred on the 18th of March, 1857, when he was thirty-five years of age. His wife, long surviving him, died in Paton in 1896, at the age of seventy two years. They were the parents of six children: John C., who was killed in a sawmill at Muscatine, Iowa, in 1867; Henry F., of this review; Harvey, who follows farming in Paton township; Charles, deceased; Ella, the wife of H. C. Erickson, of Paton township; and Katherine, the wife of J . F. Johnson, of Paton township.

Henry F. Wise was but five years of age at the time of the removal of the family to Cedar county, Iowa, where he spent his boyhood and youth upon a farm. He was trained for life’s practical duties, as he early began work in the fields and assisted in all departments of the farm work in connection with the raising of grain and stock. In 1876 he arrived 1n Greene county, where, in connection with his brother Harvey, he bought two hundred and forty acres of land. They began the development of the property, but later divided their interests. Henry Wise has continued to reside on his original farm in this county and is today the owner of two hundred and ten acres of rich and productive land. He has made all of the improvements upon the place himself and the farm is today an excellent property, which stands as the visible evidence of his life of thrift and energy. He is yet one of the world’s workers and will continue to be so up to the last, for indolence and idleness are utterly foreign to his nature, while diligence and perseverence are numbered among his strong characteristics.

Mr. Wise was married in Cedar county, Iowa, to Miss Matilda Ridenour, and unto them was born a son, Harry, who Is now living in California. Having lost his first wife, he afterward married her cousin, Miss Amanda Ridenour, who is still living. There are nine children by this union: Ed, a resident of Des Moines; Maud, the wife of Dr. Vance, whose home is in Colorado; Charles and Jesse, who are residents of Dallas Center, Iowa; Bessie, at home; Frank, who married Flossie Anderson and is living in Paton; Fred and Fannie, twins, both at home; and Mary, the wife of Ray Rhodes.

The parents are members of the Methodist Episcopal church, with which they have been identified for many years. In its work they are interested and to its support they contribute liberally. Mr. Wise votes with the democracy, having given to it his support since age conferred upon him the right of franchise. Fraternally he is connected with the Odd Fellows. He is widely known in this community as a man of genuine personal worth, who without ostentation or display has gained the friendly regard of his fellow citizens and is much esteemed by all who know him.

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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