Eli A. Barlow & Esther Moore New York, Illinois, and Iowa

1850 Big Flatts Chemung Co New York

Enumerated 19 October 1850 Page 137
Dwelling 149 Family 149

Eli's occupation: farmer Assets: $500

Eli Barlow age 36 male born in New York
Esther Barlow age 36 female
Benajah Barlow age 13 male
Cyrus Barlow age 12 male
Hiram Barlow age 9 male
Sylvania Barlow age 10 female
Dolle Barlow age 7 female
James Barlow age 6/12 male
Esther Churchill age 22 female born in Pennsylvania

I wonder if and what Esther Churchill's relationship to the family might be.

Enumerated 14 July 1860
Family 689 Page 511

E. A. Barlow age 47 Farmer Born in New York
Esther Barlow age 47 wife Born in New York
Benajah P. Barlow age 24 Farmer Born in New York
Sylvania Barlow age 20 Teacher Born in New York
Hiram Barlow age 18 Born in New York
Dolly Barlow age 16 Born in New York
James H. Barlow age 10 Born in New York
Annie Barlow age 6 born in New York
Nelson Atwood age 21 Lab & Farm Born in New York

*Note: Nelson Atwood will later marry Dolly Barlow.
Noting that his birthplace is also Chemung Co New York, I'm curious is he had a previous relationship to the family.

Eli A. Barlow Farmer age 56 Born in New York
Esther Barlow Keeping House age 56 Born in New York
James Harvey Barlow age 20 At Home Born in New York
Annie E. Barlow age 16 At Home Born in New York

1900 Woodword Des Moines Township Dallas Co Iowa

Barlow, Harve age 50 born February 1850 in New York
Barlow, Jane wife age 45 born August 1854 in Illinois
Barlow, Gertrude daughter age 20 born August 1874 in Iowa

3 boarders

1 servant

Married 36 years, 1 child born, 1 child living

Barlow, James H. age 60 owns a Grocery Store Born in New York
Father born in New York, Mother born in Pennsylvania

Barlow, Jane S. Age 55 Wife Born in Illinois
Father born in Pennsylvania, Mother born in Pennsylvania

No history of Woodward would be complete without mention of James H. Barlow who built the first business house and sold the first goods in the town. He has been closely associated with its growth and the part which he has taken in its upbuilding makes him one of its honored and representative citizens. For twenty-five years he has resided here, while the period of his residence in the county covers almost a third of a century.

He arrived in Dallas county in February, 1876- a young man of about twenty-six years. He was born in Elmira, New York, February 26, 1850, and is a son of Eli A. Barlow, a native of Delaware county, New York, where he was reared. Having attained his majority he married Miss Esther Moore, a native of Pennsylvania, and ten children were born unto them during their residence in the Empire state, where the father followed the occupation of farming. In the year 1857 he removed with his family to Illinois, settling in Kane county, in the vicinity of Geneva and St Charles and again the father gave his attention to agricultural pursuits. There he reared his family and spent his last years. Five of the sons and three of the daughters reached years of maturity, but only two are yet living, the sister being Mrs.Sylvania Penn Herrington a widow residing in Greenville, Iowa. The eldest brother, Benajah P. Barlow, was a soldier of the Fifty-second Illinois Infantry and died while in the service of his country in August, 1863 Hiram G. Barlow, another brother, was a member of the One Hundred and Fiftieth Illinois Infantry and served through the war. Later he married and settled in Kane county, Illinois and at his death left a wife and two daughters. The next brother , Cyrus W., died in the state of New York in 1856. A sister, Dolly, became the wife of N. P. Atwood, who was a soldier of the Thirty- third Illinois Infantry and served through the war, later settling at Belvidere where his wife died. The other sister, Anna, died unmarried.

James H. Barlow, whose name introduces this review, was reared to manhood in Kane county spending his boyhood and youth on the farm, where he followed the plow or worked in the harvest fields when not busy with the text-books which brought him a good common school education. Having attained his majority he made arrangements for having a home of his own through his marriage to Miss Jane Siglin, the wedding being celebrated on Christmas day of 1873. Mrs. Barlow was born and reared in De Kalb county, Illinois, a daughter of Jacob Siglin, one of the pioneers of that county, who lived to the ripe old age of ninety-two years Mr. and Mrs. Barlow began their domestic life in De Kalb county, where he engaged in farming for three years and then, removing to Iowa, in February, 1876, purchased land on section 1 Beaver township, Dallas county, where Mr. Barlow broke the sod and developed a farm. He fenced his land, erected good buildings and carried forward the work of improvement successfully operating his farm until 1882 when he came to Woodward and built the first business house of the town and sold the first goods here.

Opening a hardware and implement business, he continued in that line until1893, when he sold out. It was not until 1902 that he again entered the field of mercantile operations, opening a grocery store in which he has met with success, now carrying a large and well selected line of staple and fancy groceries and shoes. He has built up a good trade and is well known as an enterprising and reliable merchant whose success is well merited by reason of his straight-forward dealing and progressive methods.

Mr. and Mrs. Barlow have one daughter, Gertrude, the wife of Dr. A.M. Slatten, a practicing physician of Des Moines. The parents are members of the Methodist Episcopal church and Mr. Barlow is one of the charter members of the Odd Fellows Lodge at Woodward. He has several times been elected to all the offices of the order and for fifteen years acted as conductor to every member initiated. He was also district grand deputy for one term and he and his wife are connected with the Rebekah lodge. Although reared in the faith of the Jeffersonian democracy his father supported John C. Fremont for the presidency in 1856 and became an ardent advocate of republican principles. He has followed in his father's footsteps in this regard and also votes with the republican party. He has never been a politician in the sense of office seeking and in fact has always preferred that others should occupy the political positions, but for several terms he was the mayor of the city, and brought to bear in the discharge of his duties the same fidelity and enterprise which he has ever manifested in his business life. He is ever public-spirited and helpful and Woodward's citizens acknowledge and appreciate his worth.

Prosperity in the great majority of cases comes not through inheritance or through any fortunate combination of circumstances but as the direct result of close application and ceaseless activity, and it has been by this means that Mr. Siglin has gained a place among the prosperous farmers, stock-raisers, feeders and shippers of Dallas county, where he owns and cultivates a farm of two hundred and ten acres of well improved land in Beaver township. This farm has been his home since February, 1876. His birth place was near Easton, Monroe county, Pennsylvania, where he first opened his eyes to the light of day on the 28th of September, 1850. His father, Jacob Siglin, was born in the same county and was a son of Jacob Siglin Sr., also a native of the Keystone state.

The great-grandfather Siglin was a soldier of the Revolutionary war and the family comes of English ancestry, early representatives of the name being numbered among the pioneers of Pennsylvania. Jacob Siglin, Sr., was reared to manhood in that state and served his country as a soldier in the war of 1812. He married and spent his entire life in Pennsylvania, while Jacob Siglin, Jr., was there reared. Having arrived at years of maturity, he wedded Hannah Zetzer also a native of Monroe county, where they lived until 1852, when they went with their family to Illinois, making permanent location in De Kalb county. The father purchased land near Sycamore, where he opened up a farm of two hundred and forty acres and he afterward added to his possessions until at one time he owned seven hundred acres of valuable land in that locality. He was a prosperous and successful agriculturist, conducting his work along practical lines that have brought most desirable results. There he reared his family and made his home until he died in 1902, at the ripe old age of ninety-two years. His wife had passed away some years previously, when eighty-one years of age. In their family were five sons and five daughters, all of whom reached mature years, while three sons and four daughters are yet living. The eldest brother, Hon. Jacob Siglin, enlisted for service in the Civil war, first joining the Thirteenth Illinois Infantry. Later he was discharged and returned to Sycamore, where he and Captain Whitney raised a company, of which Mr. Siglin became the first lieutenant. They joined the Eighth Cavalry and Lieutenant Siglin Served with that command for about two years, when he was honorably discharged for disability and returned home. He was a man of superior education and a lawyer by profession. Removing to Nebraska he spent some time in that state and then went to Missouri but afterward made his way to the Pacific coast, locating at Marshfield, Oregon, where he successfully engaged in the practice of law. He was nominated and elected to the state legislature, serving for one or more terms. The next brother, Joshua Siglin, enlisted in the Union army, joining the Seventeenth Illinois Volunteer Cavalry, with which he served through the period of hostilities. He then returned to Sycamore, was afterward married, and settled upon a farm near Genoa where he spent his last days, his death occurring there in 1905. The next brother, Isaiah Siglin, reached adult age, was married in DeKalb county and later removed to Iowa, settling on a farm in Crawford county. He is now living retired in Dunlap, Iowa. Taylor Siglin resides at Marshfield, Oregon. He is a man of good education and for some years was a teacher. Becoming prominent in the west, he was elected and served as sheriff of his county and also filled the office of custom house officer at Empire City for four years. The sisters are: Mrs Mary Wright, a widow, living in Woodward, and the mother of J. H. Wright, who is mentioned elsewhere in this volume; Hannah, the wife of J.H. Barlow, whose sketch appears on another page; and Ella, the wife of William Whipple, of De Kalb county, Illinois.

M. W. Siglin was reared to manhood in De Kalb county upon the old homestead farm, which he continued to assist in cultivating until twenty-two years of age. He then took charge of the farm belonging to his sister, Mrs. Wright, who was a widow, and cultivated that place for three years. Mr. Siglin was married in the Methodist Episcopal parsonage at Genoa, on the 9th of January, 1876 to Miss Charlotte Edna Lawrence, who was reared and educated in DeKalb county. In the fall of 1875, Mr. Siglin had visited Iowa and purchased the land where he now resides, comprising two hundred and ten acres in Beaver township. He then removed to the county in February, 1876, following his marriage, and located on his purchase. He first built a small house, which was his home for a few years, while he was breaking his land and opening up his farm. He later added to and remodeled this and he now has a commodious and neat frame residence. There are also good barns and outbuildings upon the place and he has set out an excellent orchard and many shade and ornamental trees. He has also drained his land after the modern methods of tiling, has fenced his fields and has his farm under a high state of cultivation, it being one of the best in Beaver township. Annually he harvests good crops as a reward of his labors and he has also made a business of the raising, feeding and shipping of stock, which proves to him a profitabl e source of income. He is an excellent judge of stock and therefore makes his purchases judiciously. Having bought lots in Woodward, Mr. Siglin, in 1903, built a good brick business house there and established a meat market. The following year,1904, he built a fine brick hotel building adjoining his meat market known as Hotel Charlotte, being thus named in honor of his wife. This structure is an ornament to the city and is one of the best hotel buildings in Dallas county. It is supplied with furnace and there i s steam heat in all of the rooms, which are neatly and tastefully furnished. Mr. Siglin was one of the promoters and stockholders of the Woodward State Bank, and for some time served as a trustee, which position he recently resigned but he is still a director. He is also a stockholder in the Farmers Mutual Telephone Company and also in the Woodward Improvement Company. His business ability is such as to make him one of the most successful and valued citizens of his community. His labors have done much to promote public progress as well as individual success and thus he is accounted one of the public spirited residents of this part of the state.

Mr. and Mrs. Siglin are the parents of nine children, seven of whom are living: Jacob M., the eldest, is married and has three children. He is a man of good business ability and is associated with his father in the conduct of the meat market and hotel. Lawrence, Joshua and Harold are at home. Stella M. is also under the parental roof. Ethel is the wife of Claude Conger, of Kansas City, and Hannah J. is at home.

Politically Mr. Siglin is a republican as are two of his brothers, while two of the sons of the family are democrats. The father was originally an old line whig but also became a stanch republican. Mr. Siglin of this review has been twice elected and served as township trustee and has done effective work in behalf of public education as a member of the school board. He has never desired office, however, but has helped to elect good men to local positions. He and his wife are members of the Woodward Methodist Episcopal church, to the support of which he contributes liberally and he was also generous in his contributions toward the building of the house of worship. He is a subscriber now for the prospective new church to the amount of five hundred dollars. Fraternally he is connected with the Knights of Pythias and the Modern Woodmen. A man of tried integrity and worth, he has the confidence and esteem of the community and he has found in business life the reward for earnest, well directed and honorable effort. He stands today as one of the leading and successful men of the county and his strong individuality and upright character are widely recognized.