THOMAS MEREDITH, SR. was born in Donstone, Herefordshire, England, on May 26, 1824. His mother died when he was four years old, and the father took the family to Radnorshire, Wales, where Thomas Meredith's father died fifteen years later. Thomas Meredith took over the family grocery store, but it failed some time later, and he decided to go to America to make his fortune. He arrived in Madison, Wisconsin, and bought a farm seven miles south of Madison in 1852. In the fall of the same year, he headed for California by way of Panama, but was forced to stay on the ship until New York, since he was a member of the crew. At New York, he embarked for England and spent some time there, then brought his family with him on his return to Wisconsin. Thomas Meredith, Sr., sold his farm and in the spring of 1854 departed for Oregon with two wagons and about forty head of cattle. By the time he reached Iranistan, he learned that the last Oregon-bound wagon train had already left for the West, so he went to Council Bluffs and, after making inquiries, he laid claim to land in Section 32 of Brighton Township, two miles south and one mile west of the present site of Marne. He improved his lands and gradually added to them until the Meredith lands included parts of Brighton, Washington and Cass Townships in Cass County. In 1875, Thomas Meredith sold 160 acres of land in Section 21 to a group of Davenport business men who had incorporated themselves as the Marne Town Company, and the town of Marne was established on his land. Thomas Meredith, Sr., established the "Farmer's Tribune" magazine at Des Moines and for many years served as proprietor and editor. This publication served as the cornerstone from which the present major national publishing firm known as the Meredith Corporation is descended. Thomas Meredith, Sr., married Martha Griffiths, a widow, while still in Great Britain. She had a four-year-old son at the time which Mr. Meredith raised as his own. Thomas Meredith passed away in Cass County on December 18, 1902.

Transcribed from "The First Century, A History of Marne, Iowa 1875 - 1975", published in 1975, Marne, Iowa: The Marne Centennial Historical Committee, pg. 34. Transcribed (2015) by Cheryl Siebrass and contributed September, 2019.

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