Individual Details
Thomas Jefferson Sheldon
(31 Aug 1828 - 20 Aug 1922)
Son of Thomas Sheldon (1789-1871) & Huldah Tharp (1790-1853). Husband of Henrietta Magers (1830-1914). Father of Evin Hayden Sheldon (1862-1943) & at least 8 other children. From the 1911 book Past and Present of Hardin County Iowa, pp. 635-638: Thomas Jefferson Sheldon
..., a prominent and well-known early settler of Hardin county, now living in Eldora, was born in Licking county, Ohio, near Zanesville, August 31, 1828. His ancestors were pioneers in that country. His parents were Thomas J. and Huldah (Thorpe) Sheldon, both natives of New Jersey... They settled in Ohio before the war of 1812 [by Sep 1809], and the father entered the service from that state. They cleared up a timber farm in the wilderness. About 1831 they moved to Holmes county and opened up another timber farm and lived on it about eighteen years. In 1849 Thomas J...came to Iowa, traveling the entire distance...on foot, and arrived at the home of a married sister in Louisa county, Iowa. In the spring of 1850 five men started from his sister's home for California, by the "overland route," with an ox team and one cow. The entire summer was spent in crossing the plains, and the caravan arrived at Placerville, California, in the fall. Of course it is understood that the subject of this article was one of the five men in the party. He had but fifty cents in money, a meal cost a dollar, and there was no "trust"! But a sequel to this dilemma resulted from one of the party picking up an old broken-down horse abandoned to die and trading him for a set of mining tools. He and Sheldon went to the then new "diggin's" on Weaver creek, and in time relieved their pressing needs. After working two weeks, and demonstrating that there was gold in sight, they hired out for five dollars a day, boarded themselves and slept in an old wagon box. Finally they built a cabin, but an extremely dry winter was upon them and they were unable to get water for their "washings," hence they were unable to accomplish much in the way of separating the gold from the refuse material with which it was mixed. Meeting an old schoolmate from Ohio, Mr. Sheldon was urged to join him for a trip to the Feather river country. At Sacramento they purchased two mules and loaded them with supplies and provisions, and spent a year mining on Feather river. They were well-equipped and lived well, having a tent for their home. They found an abandoned "diggin's" from which they took out one hundred and twenty-five dollars in a day, and many other days were nearly as profitable. But they tired of the rough life and isolation from friends, and at the end of a year returned to Ohio. Mr. Sheldon took about four thousand dollars home with him. But the spirit of adventure, combined with the "gold fever," was upon him, and after spending a few months at home, he again (in 1852) fitted out at St. Louis for another trip across the plains. There were four "Buckeyes" in this party. They went direct to the American river country, where the party took out five hundred dollars in a single day. They remained there a year, when they returned to Ohio, via the Nicarauga route, but returned again to the mining regions by way of the Panama route. The final return to the East was made in 1854, and the beautiful prairie country of Iowa was explored on the return. Mr. Sheldon came to Hardin county in November, 1854, his sister having remained here during all the family exploits in the mining country of the far West. He settled on the South Fork of the Iowa river, in Tipton township, but soon thereafter located at Point Pleasant, where he built a log house and put up a log store building, and opened the first store in the place. From the first Mr. Sheldon took an active part in the public affairs of the new county, and was one of the most aggressive workers in the county-seat contest of the late fifties. The question was decided in favor of his town, Point Pleasant, and he at once took active part in the building of a court house, and otherwise providing for the "guest" whose prospective coming had cost him so much time and effort. But when it was sought to remove the records and other county property from Eldora to Point Pleasant, an injunction was filed which brought the matter into the courts, and Eldora still held the prize! Mr. Sheldon succeeded in selling out his stock of merchandise to advantage, and he engaged in farming his lands near the village of Point Pleasant, where he had entered eight hundred acres. This he divided into three farms, and considered himself "land poor" for many years. Finally he was able to make a few trades which brought him some ready cash, and this he used in stocking the balance of his land. He was one of the early stock farmers in that locality. In this business he was prosperous, and as a stock raiser, buyer and shipper, a business which he followed for more than thirty years, he became wealthy. His principal business during these years consisted of rearing, fattening and shipping cattle and hogs, the grain for this purpose being raised on his own farms. But he also carried on an extensive business as a buyer and shipper of livestock. He retired from farm life in 1890, and took up his home in Eldora, where he still lives, and owns a good farm nearby. Up to the time of locating in Iowa Mr. Sheldon was unmarried, his sister being his housekeeper for a time after locating in the Hawkeye state. He wrote a letter to his "girl" in Knox county, Ohio, and asked her if she "would like to come to Iowa and keep his house and live with him"! The reply soon came, in which she stated that she would have to see him again before deciding such a momentous question! (Sensible girl!) He adjusted his affairs and left for the old home place country, where he married Henrietta Majors, thus closing a "contract" which neither party has ever had occasion to regret having made! Nine children, who are now living, were born to this union, all being married and happily engaged in life's struggles on their own account. These are Isabella, who is the wife of John Lynn, of Thompson, Winnebago county, Iowa; Huldah R., who became the wife of Daniel Blair, of Hubbard, Iowa; Malinda A., wife of Frank I. Stowe, of Winnebago county; Evans Hayden Sheldon, a retired farmer living in Eldora; Thomas C., engaged in operating the parental farm in Eldora township; William C., a farmer at Iowa Falls; Viola, wife of Lem. Harris, cashier of the Citizens Bank, Eldora; Frank, a farmer in Jackson township, near Eldora, and John P., who owns the old home farm near Point Pleasant.
Mr. Sheldon has been an active Democrat in political affiliations and now stands with the "progressives" on questions of internal politics. Throughout his extensive business and political career he has come in contact with the people in every sphere of human effort. He is a reader of men, as well as of current literature, and is thoroughly well informed. He has served as a member of the county board of supervisors, as justice of the peace, etc., and is the present Democratic candidate for the office of county treasurer. In point of religious affiliations, Mr. Sheldon has been a member of the Baptist church for thirty-five years. The "would-be" court house at Point Pleasant was merged into a house of worship, and in this building, erected for an entirely different purpose, several early church organizations held their services.
Family links:
Parents:
Thomas Sheldon (1789 - 1871)
Huldah Tharp Sheldon (1790 - 1853)
Spouse:
Henrietta Magers Sheldon (1830 - 1914)*
Children:
Isabel Sheldon Lynn (1856 - 1933)*
Huldah Ratchel Sheldon Blair (1858 - 1945)*
Malinda Ann Sheldon Stowe (1860 - 1940)*
Evan Hayden Sheldon (1862 - 1943)*
Thomas Clinton Sheldon (1864 - 1942)*
Viola Sheldon Harris (1867 - 1937)*
William Seymour Sheldon (1868 - 1954)*
Frank Silas Sheldon (1871 - 1946)*
John Putnam Sheldon (1872 - 1945)*
Siblings:
Catherine Clarinda Sheldon Johnson (1812 - 1895)*
Hester Jane Sheldon Blair (1825 - 1909)*
Thomas Jefferson Sheldon (1828 - 1922)
Martha P Sheldon McFarland (1832 - 1900)*
George Washington Sheldon (1834 - 1906)*
Susan M. Sheldon Atwater (1837 - 1923)*
Isaiah Putnam Sheldon (1855 - 1908)**
..., a prominent and well-known early settler of Hardin county, now living in Eldora, was born in Licking county, Ohio, near Zanesville, August 31, 1828. His ancestors were pioneers in that country. His parents were Thomas J. and Huldah (Thorpe) Sheldon, both natives of New Jersey... They settled in Ohio before the war of 1812 [by Sep 1809], and the father entered the service from that state. They cleared up a timber farm in the wilderness. About 1831 they moved to Holmes county and opened up another timber farm and lived on it about eighteen years. In 1849 Thomas J...came to Iowa, traveling the entire distance...on foot, and arrived at the home of a married sister in Louisa county, Iowa. In the spring of 1850 five men started from his sister's home for California, by the "overland route," with an ox team and one cow. The entire summer was spent in crossing the plains, and the caravan arrived at Placerville, California, in the fall. Of course it is understood that the subject of this article was one of the five men in the party. He had but fifty cents in money, a meal cost a dollar, and there was no "trust"! But a sequel to this dilemma resulted from one of the party picking up an old broken-down horse abandoned to die and trading him for a set of mining tools. He and Sheldon went to the then new "diggin's" on Weaver creek, and in time relieved their pressing needs. After working two weeks, and demonstrating that there was gold in sight, they hired out for five dollars a day, boarded themselves and slept in an old wagon box. Finally they built a cabin, but an extremely dry winter was upon them and they were unable to get water for their "washings," hence they were unable to accomplish much in the way of separating the gold from the refuse material with which it was mixed. Meeting an old schoolmate from Ohio, Mr. Sheldon was urged to join him for a trip to the Feather river country. At Sacramento they purchased two mules and loaded them with supplies and provisions, and spent a year mining on Feather river. They were well-equipped and lived well, having a tent for their home. They found an abandoned "diggin's" from which they took out one hundred and twenty-five dollars in a day, and many other days were nearly as profitable. But they tired of the rough life and isolation from friends, and at the end of a year returned to Ohio. Mr. Sheldon took about four thousand dollars home with him. But the spirit of adventure, combined with the "gold fever," was upon him, and after spending a few months at home, he again (in 1852) fitted out at St. Louis for another trip across the plains. There were four "Buckeyes" in this party. They went direct to the American river country, where the party took out five hundred dollars in a single day. They remained there a year, when they returned to Ohio, via the Nicarauga route, but returned again to the mining regions by way of the Panama route. The final return to the East was made in 1854, and the beautiful prairie country of Iowa was explored on the return. Mr. Sheldon came to Hardin county in November, 1854, his sister having remained here during all the family exploits in the mining country of the far West. He settled on the South Fork of the Iowa river, in Tipton township, but soon thereafter located at Point Pleasant, where he built a log house and put up a log store building, and opened the first store in the place. From the first Mr. Sheldon took an active part in the public affairs of the new county, and was one of the most aggressive workers in the county-seat contest of the late fifties. The question was decided in favor of his town, Point Pleasant, and he at once took active part in the building of a court house, and otherwise providing for the "guest" whose prospective coming had cost him so much time and effort. But when it was sought to remove the records and other county property from Eldora to Point Pleasant, an injunction was filed which brought the matter into the courts, and Eldora still held the prize! Mr. Sheldon succeeded in selling out his stock of merchandise to advantage, and he engaged in farming his lands near the village of Point Pleasant, where he had entered eight hundred acres. This he divided into three farms, and considered himself "land poor" for many years. Finally he was able to make a few trades which brought him some ready cash, and this he used in stocking the balance of his land. He was one of the early stock farmers in that locality. In this business he was prosperous, and as a stock raiser, buyer and shipper, a business which he followed for more than thirty years, he became wealthy. His principal business during these years consisted of rearing, fattening and shipping cattle and hogs, the grain for this purpose being raised on his own farms. But he also carried on an extensive business as a buyer and shipper of livestock. He retired from farm life in 1890, and took up his home in Eldora, where he still lives, and owns a good farm nearby. Up to the time of locating in Iowa Mr. Sheldon was unmarried, his sister being his housekeeper for a time after locating in the Hawkeye state. He wrote a letter to his "girl" in Knox county, Ohio, and asked her if she "would like to come to Iowa and keep his house and live with him"! The reply soon came, in which she stated that she would have to see him again before deciding such a momentous question! (Sensible girl!) He adjusted his affairs and left for the old home place country, where he married Henrietta Majors, thus closing a "contract" which neither party has ever had occasion to regret having made! Nine children, who are now living, were born to this union, all being married and happily engaged in life's struggles on their own account. These are Isabella, who is the wife of John Lynn, of Thompson, Winnebago county, Iowa; Huldah R., who became the wife of Daniel Blair, of Hubbard, Iowa; Malinda A., wife of Frank I. Stowe, of Winnebago county; Evans Hayden Sheldon, a retired farmer living in Eldora; Thomas C., engaged in operating the parental farm in Eldora township; William C., a farmer at Iowa Falls; Viola, wife of Lem. Harris, cashier of the Citizens Bank, Eldora; Frank, a farmer in Jackson township, near Eldora, and John P., who owns the old home farm near Point Pleasant.
Mr. Sheldon has been an active Democrat in political affiliations and now stands with the "progressives" on questions of internal politics. Throughout his extensive business and political career he has come in contact with the people in every sphere of human effort. He is a reader of men, as well as of current literature, and is thoroughly well informed. He has served as a member of the county board of supervisors, as justice of the peace, etc., and is the present Democratic candidate for the office of county treasurer. In point of religious affiliations, Mr. Sheldon has been a member of the Baptist church for thirty-five years. The "would-be" court house at Point Pleasant was merged into a house of worship, and in this building, erected for an entirely different purpose, several early church organizations held their services.
Family links:
Parents:
Thomas Sheldon (1789 - 1871)
Huldah Tharp Sheldon (1790 - 1853)
Spouse:
Henrietta Magers Sheldon (1830 - 1914)*
Children:
Isabel Sheldon Lynn (1856 - 1933)*
Huldah Ratchel Sheldon Blair (1858 - 1945)*
Malinda Ann Sheldon Stowe (1860 - 1940)*
Evan Hayden Sheldon (1862 - 1943)*
Thomas Clinton Sheldon (1864 - 1942)*
Viola Sheldon Harris (1867 - 1937)*
William Seymour Sheldon (1868 - 1954)*
Frank Silas Sheldon (1871 - 1946)*
John Putnam Sheldon (1872 - 1945)*
Siblings:
Catherine Clarinda Sheldon Johnson (1812 - 1895)*
Hester Jane Sheldon Blair (1825 - 1909)*
Thomas Jefferson Sheldon (1828 - 1922)
Martha P Sheldon McFarland (1832 - 1900)*
George Washington Sheldon (1834 - 1906)*
Susan M. Sheldon Atwater (1837 - 1923)*
Isaiah Putnam Sheldon (1855 - 1908)**
Events
| Birth | 31 Aug 1828 | Licking County, Ohio | |||
| Death | 20 Aug 1922 | Eldora, Hardin County, Iowa | |||
| Burial | Eldora City Cemetery, Hardin County, Iowa |  |  |
Families
| Spouse | Henrietta Magers (1830 - 1914) |
| Child | Viola Sheldon (1867 - 1937) |
Notes
Burial
Plot: Block E L30-1Endnotes
1. Find A Grave Memorial# 27989936.