My Genealogy Hound

GEORGE W. LaMASTERS.
When the tocsin of war sounded and men from all departments of life enlisted under the starry banner, coming from the workshops, the fields, the counting houses and the offices, George W. LaMasters with patriotic spirit advocated the supremacy of the Union and fought for its continuance upon the battlefields of the south. He is therefore one of the few surviving veterans of that long and sanguinary strife which led to the establishment of the government upon a firmer basis than ever before. He is now one of the prosperous, prominent and progressive agriculturists of Platte township, living on section 10, where he owns and operates a farm of one hundred and sixty acres. He came to this county soon after the close of the war, arriving here in March, 1868.

Mr. LaMasters is a native of Ohio, his birth having occurred in Morgan county on the 13th of March, 1844. His father, John LaMasters, also a native of Ohio, was a son of Abraham LaMasters, who was likewise born in the Buckeye state, while John LaMasters, the great-grandfather of our subject, was a native of France. He came to the United States with General LaFayette and served under him in the Revolutionary war. Becoming attached to the country during his military experience in defense of colonial interests, he resolved to remain here and later settled in Jefferson county, Ohio. He escaped the English bullets only to fall at the hands of a treacherous savage, being killed by the Indians at a later date.

John LaMasters, father of our subject, was reared in Jefferson county, Ohio, and was married there to Rebecca Cain. He learned the brick and stone mason’s trade and followed that during his active life. About 1881 he removed to Iowa, joining his son George W. in Union county, his last days being spent in Afton, where he departed this life at the very advanced age of eighty-seven years.

George W. LaMasters was reared to manhood in Morgan county, Ohio, and the experiences of a farm boy were his, the duties of the schoolroom claiming his attention during the winter months, while in the summer seasons he worked in the fields. In 1863, when but nineteen years of age, he offered his services to the government but was not accepted. Again in 1864 he volunteered, this time joining Company G of the One Hundred and Sixty-first Ohio Volunteer Infantry, with which he did active duty until the regiment was mustered out, when he was transferred to the Seventy-eighth Ohio, becoming a member of Company E. With that command he continued until the close of the war, doing valiant service for the Union. He participated in the fight at Martinsburg, at Harper’s Perry, at Kingston, North Carolina, and at Goldsboro, and marched with Sherman’s troops through Richmond and on to Washington, participating in the grand review, which marked the termination of the war and the return of the army to the pursuits of peace in the north. After taking part in that military pageant Mr. LaMasters went with his regiment to Louisville, Kentucky, where they were held for a time and later mustered out. He was honorably discharged at Columbus, Ohio, July 16, 1865, and although then but twenty-one years of age he returned home with a most creditable military record, having done active duty in defense of the Union in the south.

Again taking up the pursuits of civil life, Mr. LaMasters worked in a sawmill until 1868, after which he came west to Union county, Iowa. Here he was employed by the month as a farm hand for two years, after which he rented land and thus started out upon an independent business career, in which his labors would prove more directly beneficial to himself.

On the 3d of February, 1870, Mr. LaMasters was united in marriage to Miss Myra Madden, a native of Huntingdon county, Pennsylvania, who came to Iowa when a child of two years and was reared in Johnson county, where her parents established their home. There she acquired her education and later became a teacher, following that profession for a number of years, first in the old log schoolhouses and later in some of the early frame schoolhouses of the locality.

Mr. and Mrs. LaMasters began their domestic life upon a rented farm, which he tilled for seven years and during that time their industry and diligence brought him capital sufficient to enable him to purchase eighty acres in Platte township, where he now resides. This was entirely unimproved but he broke the prairie and fenced the fields and upon the farm erected a little cabin, in which he lived for a number of years. Later he bought eighty acres adjoining the original purchase, which he also placed under a high state of cultivation, making it a very fertile tract. He has since erected a large, neat, substantial residence, also a good barn and other outbuildings that afford ample shelter for grain and stock. The good orchard and a fine maple grove on his place were set out by him and are attractive features. He raises high grade stock and everything about the place is indicative of his care, supervision and untiring industry.

Unto Mr. and Mrs. LaMasters have been born two sons and two daughters: Walter W., a farmer and teacher of Grant township; John T., who carries on agricultural pursuits in Platte township; Hattie, who holds a state certificate and taught for twenty-three consecutive terms and is now the wife of F. Lucas, a farmer of Grant township; and Honolulu, the wife of E. Lucas, a resident farmer of Platte township. She, too, was a teacher of this county and both the sons and daughters have been provided with liberal educational advantages.

The parents are members of the Methodist Episcopal church, belonging to Grove chapel, and Mr. LaMasters was a valued representative of the Grand Army Post formerly at Kent, now disbanded. By his ballot he supports the men and measures of the republican party, being one of its stanch advocates since casting his first presidential vote for General Grant in 1868. Only at one presidential election has he failed to support the candidates at the head of this ticket. He has been somewhat prominent locally and has served as trustee of the township, while for eight or ten years he has been connected with the school board and has served as president of the board. He is deeply interested in all that pertains to educational progress and to the social and moral advancement of the community, while along material lines he has contributed in large measure to its upbuilding through his agricultural interests. As a citizen he is as true and loyal to the interests of his country today as when he followed the old flag upon the battlefields of the south.