My Genealogy Hound

I. N. Epperson justly deserves classification with the prominent business men and leading farmers and stockbreeders of Union county, where he owns five hundred and sixty-four acres of rich and productive land situated in Dodge township. He is one of the old settlers here, having made his home in Union county since 1875. His birth occurred in Bureau county, Illinois, near Princeton, January 25, 1851, and he is descended from an old southern family. His father, Harrison Epperson, was born in Ohio, while the grandfather, Elijah Epperson, was a native of Kentucky and a slave-owner of that state. On leaving the south he removed to Ohio and about 1827 became one of the pioneers of Bureau county, Illinois. The system of government had scarcely been installed there, so wild and unsettled was the region, and at his home was held the first election, there being but eleven voters in the county.

Elijah Epperson aided largely in laying the foundation for the growth and development of the county and his labors proved of the utmost benefit. Harrison Epperson was there reared, having been but three years of age at the time of the removal of the family to Illinois. His youth was spent amid the wildest environments of the frontier and he had no playmates but the Indians. He grew up among them, learned not a little of their language, and engaged with them in the sports in which the red sons of the forest delight. He was trained, too, in the work of the home farm and soon came to realize the value of industry and unfaltering perseverance as factors in the business world. Having arrived at years of maturity, he married Abigal Heaton, who was born in Ohio but was reared in Illinois. He then followed farming in Bureau county, reared his family there, but about 1880 sold his property in Illinois and came to Iowa, living retired in Afton up to the time of his demise in October, 1894. His wife passed away some six years previous, her death occurring in 1888. Their family numbered five sons and two daughters, of whom four sons and both daughters are yet living. T. H. Epperson of this family was a partner of his brother, I. N. Epperson, for a number of years but now lives in Sioux City, Iowa; Elijah is a resident of Long Beach, California; Warren died at Wadsworth, Nevada, after aiding in the construction of the Union Pacific and Frisco railroads through that place, while in the early days he was one of the heaviest freighters of the time. W. H., formerly a resident of Afton, is now living in Wray, Colorado. The sisters are: Mrs. Mary Seeley, a widow, residing in Wisconsin; and Sarah, the wife of M. J. Conklin, a farmer of Dodge township.

I. N. Epperson was reared to manhood on the old home farm in Bureau county, Illinois, and supplemented his early education by study in the Princeton high school. Having arrived at years of maturity, he followed farming there for a few years and was married there on the 7th of January, 1873, to Miss Jennie Fisher, who was born and reared in Bureau county.

Mr. Epperson, following his marriage, carried on farming in the county of his nativity until 1875, when he removed to Iowa, settling in Union county, where he purchased raw land in Dodge township, securing a tract of one hundred and sixty acres. With characteristic energy he began to cultivate this and soon the wild prairie grasses were replaced by waving fields of grain. He bought more land from time to time, for his untiring industry increased his financial resources, and he is now the owner of five hundred and sixty-four acres of the rich and productive soil of Union county. Of this four hundred and four acres lies within the boundaries of the home farm and he has two eighty-acre tracts not far distant. Annually he harvests good crops of the cereals best adapted to soil and climate and also raises, feeds and sells stock on quite an extensive scale. He usually fattens about one hundred head of cattle and from one to two hundred head of hogs each year, being the largest feeder and shipper in Dodge township. Moreover, his farm is one of the best improved properties in the township and has brought to him an excellent financial return. In 1884 he left the farm and removed to Afton, where he engaged in business as a general merchant under the firm style of Epperson Brothers. They bought out a store there and for nine years I. N. Epperson continued an active factor in the commercial circles of that place. He then sold his interest in the store and returned to the farm, whereon he continued to reside until 1904, when he erected two attractive residences in Afton. One of these, his own home, is one of the finest dwellings in the city. While living in town, he personally superintends his farm and business interests. He also erected a good business house here but later sold that property. Purchasing stock in the Afton Citizens Bank, he became a prominent factor in financial circles, was chosen a director of the bank and has been its president since 1904. He ranks prominent among the financiers and farmers of the county and his success is the splendid evidence of his well spent life, his unfaltering energy and his keen business discernment.

Unto Mr. and Mrs. Epperson have been born three children: The eldest, E. H. Epperson, was graduated from the Afton high school at the age of fifteen years and later engaged in teaching. Subsequently he attended college at Indianola, Iowa, where he manifested special aptitude in his studies. He was the youngest graduate of the Afton high school up to that time. He is now located in Seattle, Washington, with the National Cash Register Company, as traveling salesman and manager, with ten men under his control, and in his business life he has met with excellent success, fulfilling the promises of his youth. Maggie, who completed her education by two years’ study in Simpson College, of Iowa, is now the wife of Ira Walker, a leading farmer of Dodge township and the only son of W. F. Walker. Minnie, who was also a student in Simpson’s College and later a teacher, is now the wife of Frank Knight, a resident farmer of Dodge township.

In his political views Mr. Epperson has always been a democrat and his fellow townsmen have called him to several local offices. He served as township school treasurer for ten years, was also township clerk for two terms. He ranks prominent among the leading and successful business men of the county. His career has been marked by orderly progression, by excellent use of his opportunities and by keen business discernment. His career fully warrants the trust reposed in him and he commands the respect of his business colleagues and the admiration of all who know him.