John Pearl Ellis
John Pearl Ellis is the owner of a large and complete
blacksmith shop in Postville and his success in the conduct of
this enterprise is the natural result of his industry and
enterprise. He was born in the city where he now resides, June
18, 1878, and is a son of Jonathan and Lydia A. (Dow) Ellis, the
former born in Ohio in 1813 and the latter in New Hampshire in
1842. In his earl years the father engaged in the hardware
business in; Postville but later turned his attention to dealing
in real estate, becoming afterward identified with agricultural
pursuits in Post township. He continued farming until 1885, when
he returned to the city and lived there retired until his death,
which occurred in 1901. The mother survives him and makes her
home in Postville. They were the parents of two children:
Gertrude, the wife of W. Krambeer, a blacksmith in Charles
City, Iowa; and John Pearl, of this review.
In the acquirement of an education John Pearl Ellis attended
public school in his native city but his advantages along this
line were extremely limited, for he has been earning his own
livelihood since he was fourteen years of age. The independence
and self-reliance which his early life engendered in his
character have remained among his most prominent qualities and
constitute one of the; chief sources of his present success.
Before he was sixteen years of age he began earning the
blacksmith’s trade and after he had mastered it worked in
the employ of others for about eight years and a half, at the end
of that time embarking in business for himself with a partner.
Their association continued for over five years and then Mr.
Ellis purchased his partner’s interest, becoming in this way
sole proprietor of a large and well equipped establishment. He
makes a specialty of horseshoeing and plow repairing but he does
also all kinds of repair work, employing two skilled mechanics to
assist him. His shop is equipped with all the newest gasoline and
electrical appliances, for he keeps constantly in touch with the
trend of modern progress along the line of his business and never
allows the work done in his establishment to be inferior because
of insufficient equipment. A progressive and able business man
and in addition a specialist in his chosen field, he has been
accorded a large and liberal patronage and this is constantly
increasing as the quality of his work become more widely known.
Mr. Ellis was married on the 2d of July, 1901, to Miss Carrie J.
Taylor, a native of Lincoln, Nebraska, and a daughter of Harland
and Jane (Bray) Taylor, the former a native of Ohio and the
latter of Iowa. The father was for many years employed by the
Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad but is now a resident
of Hopkins, Minnesota. His wife has passed away. Mr.and Mrs.
Ellis became the parents of five children, Lyle, Clifford, Keith,
Kenneth, Ruby, Evelyn and Naomi, all at home.
Mr. Ellis belongs to Brotherly Love Lodge, No. 204, A.F. &
A.M., and is identified also with the Independent Order of Odd
Fellows, the Ancient Order of United Workmen and the Modern
Brotherhood of America. He is one of the prominent business men
of Postville, identified with its growth and development, and he
is well known in Allamakee county as one of its progressive and
public-spirited citizens.
-source: Past & Present of Allamakee County; by
Ellery M. Hancock; S. J. Clarke Pub. Co.; 1913
-transcribed by Diana Diedrich
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