Individual Details
John W. May
(2 May 1824 - 5 Nov 1902)
Biographical Souvenir of Delaware and Buchanan Counties Iowa
Published 1890, Pages 626-28
John W. May was born in Crawford County, Pa., May 2, 1824. He comes of Pennsylvania parentage, his father, John May, and his mother, who bore the maiden name of Jane Deen, both having been born and reared in the Keystone State. They always resided there and there also died, the father in 1866, in the seventy-second year of his age, and the mother in 1876 -- January 13 -- in the eighty-first year of her age.
The father came of Irish parentage; the mother of English. They belonged to the plain, substantial stock of their locality, being engaged throughout their lives in the peaceful pursuits of agriculture. They were the parents of eight children, of whom the subject of this notice is the third in point of age. The eldest, a daughter, Betsie, is now the widow of David Johnson, and resides in Crawford county, Pa.; Polly, the wife of James Greer, lives in Crawford county, Pa.; William is deceased; Washington is deceased; Nancy is the wife of Washington McIntire, and lives in Crawford county, Pa; Thomas lives at Pine Island, Minn., and the youngest, Sarah, is deceased.
John W., our subject, was reared in his native place, growing up on a farm and being trained to the habits of industry and usefulness common to farm life. He received a limited common-school education, his training in this respect being restricted to a few winter terms in schools of the neighborhood.
He began in the world for himself at the age of twenty, leaving home in 1844 and coming West as far as Boone county, Ill. He lived there till 1850, engaged in various pursuits. With the discovery of the great gold fields in California, he caught the infectious spirit of the times, and, in 1850 formed one of a party of fortune hunters, and made his way across the plains, spending the next four years in California.
Like all the early emigrants to the Pacific coast, Mr. May had a world of experience crowded into those four years of his life. He was four months crossing the plains by team, and he endured an amount of hardship and privation, and encountered an amount of adventure, which would make a readable romance of itself. Then came that strange unstable life, with its ebb and flow of feverish excitement, its many shocking tragedies, and equally as many exhibitions of personal heroism and unselfish devotion to humanity, which marked the history of those times. Mr. May was in the midst of it all, and saw it at its height.
He remained in California till 1854, engaged in mining, and made during the time about three thousand and six hundred dollars which he brought home with him in gold. He returned by way of Panama and was one month making the trip. Landing at New York he paid a visit to his old home in Pennsylvania, remaining during the summer, and then in the fall of that year he started West again, taking up his residence, as before in Boone county, Ill. He had previously purchased a farm there, and this he disposed of the next year.
He married in the meantime, and, in January, 1856, he came to Iowa. He came with the intention of staying, and his first step was to buy land. He bought two hundred and twenty-three acres in section 6, township, on which he erected a house, and on which, and a portion of the section adjoining, he has since resided.
He now has a farm of three hundred and sixty-nine acres lying in a body in these two sections, all well improved and in a splendid state of cultivation. Mr. May has given his entire time to farming pursuits since settling in the county, and he has met with a fair degree of success. He has taken considerable interest in the social and educational matters of his neighborhood, being ardent in his support of the public schools, and standing at all times for the enforcement of the law and the observance of good order.
He came West not as an adventurer but as a bona fide settler, his purpose being to make for himself and family a home where they might enjoy such comforts and pleasures as should fall to their lot. In the accomplishment of this purpose he has been singularly happy.
He was married, as above noted, while residing in Boone county, Ill. The event occurred November 29, 1855. The lady whom he selected to share his life's fortunes was a young lady, then of that county, Miss Marida Colvin, who was born in Erie county, N.Y., July 27, 1835. Her parents, Elijah and Maria (Austin) Colvin, were also natives of Erie county, N.Y., the father having been born in 1806 and died in 1873, and the mother born in 1808 and died in 1837. These were the parents of four children, or whom Mrs. May was next to the youngest. The eldest, a brother, James C., resides in Grundy county, this state; Anson is deceased, and Philinda, wife of Ross Porter, resides in Goffin's Grove township, this county.
Mr. and Mrs. May have had born to them five children -- Alice, born November 3, 1856, died October 11, 1860; twin boys, born March 1, 1863, and died in infancy; John A. born January 10, 1864, married Miss Orpha Toney, June 19, 1889, graduated in pharmacy in Philadelphia in 1887, and is now residing with his parents preparing for the practice of medicine; and last, Minnie, born November 22, 1868, and now the wife of Earl Bronson of Manchester.
Mr. May is an active supporter of all movements looking to the improvement of the condition of agriculture. He takes but little interest in politics beyond voting. He is a zealous democrat, having supported the democratic ticket since he was twenty-one years of age.
Published 1890, Pages 626-28
John W. May was born in Crawford County, Pa., May 2, 1824. He comes of Pennsylvania parentage, his father, John May, and his mother, who bore the maiden name of Jane Deen, both having been born and reared in the Keystone State. They always resided there and there also died, the father in 1866, in the seventy-second year of his age, and the mother in 1876 -- January 13 -- in the eighty-first year of her age.
The father came of Irish parentage; the mother of English. They belonged to the plain, substantial stock of their locality, being engaged throughout their lives in the peaceful pursuits of agriculture. They were the parents of eight children, of whom the subject of this notice is the third in point of age. The eldest, a daughter, Betsie, is now the widow of David Johnson, and resides in Crawford county, Pa.; Polly, the wife of James Greer, lives in Crawford county, Pa.; William is deceased; Washington is deceased; Nancy is the wife of Washington McIntire, and lives in Crawford county, Pa; Thomas lives at Pine Island, Minn., and the youngest, Sarah, is deceased.
John W., our subject, was reared in his native place, growing up on a farm and being trained to the habits of industry and usefulness common to farm life. He received a limited common-school education, his training in this respect being restricted to a few winter terms in schools of the neighborhood.
He began in the world for himself at the age of twenty, leaving home in 1844 and coming West as far as Boone county, Ill. He lived there till 1850, engaged in various pursuits. With the discovery of the great gold fields in California, he caught the infectious spirit of the times, and, in 1850 formed one of a party of fortune hunters, and made his way across the plains, spending the next four years in California.
Like all the early emigrants to the Pacific coast, Mr. May had a world of experience crowded into those four years of his life. He was four months crossing the plains by team, and he endured an amount of hardship and privation, and encountered an amount of adventure, which would make a readable romance of itself. Then came that strange unstable life, with its ebb and flow of feverish excitement, its many shocking tragedies, and equally as many exhibitions of personal heroism and unselfish devotion to humanity, which marked the history of those times. Mr. May was in the midst of it all, and saw it at its height.
He remained in California till 1854, engaged in mining, and made during the time about three thousand and six hundred dollars which he brought home with him in gold. He returned by way of Panama and was one month making the trip. Landing at New York he paid a visit to his old home in Pennsylvania, remaining during the summer, and then in the fall of that year he started West again, taking up his residence, as before in Boone county, Ill. He had previously purchased a farm there, and this he disposed of the next year.
He married in the meantime, and, in January, 1856, he came to Iowa. He came with the intention of staying, and his first step was to buy land. He bought two hundred and twenty-three acres in section 6, township, on which he erected a house, and on which, and a portion of the section adjoining, he has since resided.
He now has a farm of three hundred and sixty-nine acres lying in a body in these two sections, all well improved and in a splendid state of cultivation. Mr. May has given his entire time to farming pursuits since settling in the county, and he has met with a fair degree of success. He has taken considerable interest in the social and educational matters of his neighborhood, being ardent in his support of the public schools, and standing at all times for the enforcement of the law and the observance of good order.
He came West not as an adventurer but as a bona fide settler, his purpose being to make for himself and family a home where they might enjoy such comforts and pleasures as should fall to their lot. In the accomplishment of this purpose he has been singularly happy.
He was married, as above noted, while residing in Boone county, Ill. The event occurred November 29, 1855. The lady whom he selected to share his life's fortunes was a young lady, then of that county, Miss Marida Colvin, who was born in Erie county, N.Y., July 27, 1835. Her parents, Elijah and Maria (Austin) Colvin, were also natives of Erie county, N.Y., the father having been born in 1806 and died in 1873, and the mother born in 1808 and died in 1837. These were the parents of four children, or whom Mrs. May was next to the youngest. The eldest, a brother, James C., resides in Grundy county, this state; Anson is deceased, and Philinda, wife of Ross Porter, resides in Goffin's Grove township, this county.
Mr. and Mrs. May have had born to them five children -- Alice, born November 3, 1856, died October 11, 1860; twin boys, born March 1, 1863, and died in infancy; John A. born January 10, 1864, married Miss Orpha Toney, June 19, 1889, graduated in pharmacy in Philadelphia in 1887, and is now residing with his parents preparing for the practice of medicine; and last, Minnie, born November 22, 1868, and now the wife of Earl Bronson of Manchester.
Mr. May is an active supporter of all movements looking to the improvement of the condition of agriculture. He takes but little interest in politics beyond voting. He is a zealous democrat, having supported the democratic ticket since he was twenty-one years of age.
Events
| Birth | 2 May 1824 | Crawford County, Pennsylvania |  | ||
| Marriage | 29 Nov 1855 | Boone County, Illinois - Marinda Colvin | | ||
| Death | 5 Nov 1902 | Manchester, Delaware, Iowa | |
Families
| Spouse | Marinda Colvin ( - ) |
| Father | John May (1789 - 1866) |
| Mother | Jane Dean (1794 - 1876) |
| Sibling | Elizabeth May (1818 - 1898) |
| Sibling | Polly May (1821 - 1896) |
| Sibling | Nancy Jane May (1826 - 1905) |
| Sibling | William D. May (1828 - 1832) |
| Sibling | Thomas Joseph May (1830 - ) |
| Sibling | George Washington May (1832 - 1835) |
| Sibling | Sarah A. May (1835 - 1866) |
Endnotes
1. Randy May.
2. Randy May.
3. Randy May.