William C. Linton, one of the pioneers of Clayton County,was born in Breckenridge County, Ky., on the 7th day of October, 1815. His parents, Benjamin and Lucy (Crewdson) Linton, were married in the State of Kentucky, where a family of twelve children was born, eight sons and four daughters. His father was by trade a tanner and currier, which he followed in connection with farming. He died in Kentucky in 1866. The subject of this memoir was reared on a farm, and received a common-school education. In May, 1842, he left Kentucky for Iowa, and located in what is now Allamakee, then Clayton County. In the fall of 1844 he entered a claim in Farmersburg Township, where he afterward made a farm and resided until 1882, when he disposed of it and moved to Monona Township, where he still lives. In 1849 he married Jennette Phillips, a widow of D. M. Barber, one of the early settlers of Clayton County. She was born in Chautauqua County, N.Y., April 14, 1825. Mr. and Mrs. Linton are the parents of three children--John, Millard F. and Mattie S. Mr. Linton came to the county when it was one vast wilderness, and has lived to see it transformed from a wild, uncultivated State to one of the wealthiest counties in Iowa. Mr. and Mrs. Linton are members of the Methodist Episcopal church. He was a soldier in the Mexican war. source: History of Clayton County, Iowa, 1882, p. 1047 |