Wapello County IA Archives Biographies.....Harrow, A. G. 1852 - 
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Joy Fisher http://www.genrecords.net/emailregistry/vols/00001.html#0000031 June 28, 2013, 11:33 pm

Source: See Below
Author: S. J. Clarke, Publisher

A. G. HARROW.

In presenting to the public a history of the representative men of Ottumwa and
the state of Iowa who have by superior force of character, energy and ability
won for themselves conspicuous and commanding positions in private and public
life, we find that by the consensus of public opinion none is more worthy to be
cited as an example than A. G. Harrow. Not only has he maintained the highest
standards in banking, but he also possesses in a high degree those excellencies
of human nature that make men worthy of regard among their fellows. He is a
high-minded man, progressive and reliable in business and keenly alive to all
that tends toward the advancement and betterment of city, state and nation. He
conducts operations of extended and weighty character and largely through his
individual efforts has succeeded in making Ottumwa a commercial center. He is
one of the native sons of the city and from pioneer times has been an interested
witness of its growth and development. His birthplace was a little log cabin on
a part of what was then the Harrow farm, comprising five hundred and six acres,
the pioneer dwelling standing about where North Benton street crosses West
Fourth street, and his natal day was December 3, 1852. His father, Francis M.
Harrow, was a son of Charles F. Harrow and the latter was a pioneer of Wapello
county. He was born in Bracken county, Kentucky, in 1800 and in 1821 he was
united in marriage to Miss Grace Frame. In 1843 they removed to Wapello county
and purchaseg a trct of land in the vicinity of the present site of Ottumwa. The
high school on West Fourth street is situated on a part of the original Harrow
homestead. Charles F. Harrow, one of the first commissioners of Wapello county,
was elected to that office in May, 1844.

His son Francis M. Harrow was born in Kentucky in 1826, came with his parents to
this state and was married in Ottumwa on the 18th of February, 1852, to Miss
Harriet F. Humphreys. Captain James Ward, the maternal great-great-grandfather
of A. G. Harrow, was killed October 10, 1774, at the battle of Point Pleasant,
at the mouth of the Great Kanawha river in Virginia, in a battle between the
whites and the Indians. The whites were commanded by General Lewis and the red
men by an Indian warrior named Cornstock. In that engagement two hundred were
killed, it being the greatest battle fought up to that date between the two
races. Mr. and Mrs. Francis M. Harrow had three children, of whom one has passed
away, the others, being: Albert G.; and Frances M., the widow of Frederick
Hanger, of Little Rock, Arkansas. The father passed away October 31, 1855, and
the mother’s death occurred on the 2d of February, 1864.

A. G. Harrow spent his youthful days under the parental roof and supplemented
his public-school education acquired at Ottumwa at the Adams school by an
academic course in the Iowa State Agricultural College at Ames, which he
attended in 1869-70, and a business course at Bryant &: Stratton’s Business
College at Chicago in 1870. He was one of the promoters of the Johnston Ruffler
Company, which was organized in 1871, and he was continuously identified with
the business and its active management until it was sold to eastern parties in
1898. He was likewise one of the owners of the Ottumwa Iron Works and still
retains an interest in the business, being treasurer of the company. He was one
of the organizers of the Ottumwa National Bank and has been a member of its
board of directors since 1887. In financial as well as industrial and commercial
circles his name has figured prominently, and he is today recognized as a
leading representative of banking interests in Iowa. In 1888 he assisted in the
organization of the Ottumwa Savings Bank, of which he is one of the directors,
and at the present time he is vice president of the Ottumwa National Bank and
the Wapello County Savings Bank. His efforts in and connection with banking
circles, however, have extended beyond the city in which he makes his home, for
he is now president of the Hedrick State Bank al Hedrick; vice president of the
Farson Savings Bank at Farson; and also vice president of the Union Trust &
Savings Bank at Farmington, Iowa. He is numbered among the directors of the
Batavia Savings Bank at Batavia, Iowa, and is a stockholder in the First
National Bank at Hedrick and in the Hedrick State Savings Bank. He is likewise a
stockholder in the Blakesburg Savings Bank at Blakesburg, Iowa, and has done
much to establish and maintain the banking system of his section of the state
upon a safe, sound basis. While he is thoroughly progressive, he is at the same
time conservative, maintaining an even balance between these two qualities.
Extending his activities into other business fields, he is now secretary and
treasurer of the Courier Printing Company, is a stockholder, director and vice
president of the Davenport Times of Davenport, Iowa, and in 1904, in connection
with leading business men of Ottumwa, he purchased a large interest in the
Ottumwa Gas, Light, Heat & Power Company and in 1905, in connection with J. T.
Hackworth of Ottumwa, he obtained control of the gas company, of which he was
elected president, with Mr. Hackworth as secretary. He continued as chief
executive officer until 1911, at which time they sold their holdings in the
business to the United Light & Railway Company of Grand Rapids, Michigan. Mr.
Harrow was one of the twenty men who made it possible for the Dain Manufacturing
Company to move to Ottumwa from Carrollton, Missouri. At an early day after its
location here he became interested in the Dain Manufacturing Company financially
and was a director in the same for ten years and at the time it was taken over
by Deere & Company of Moline, Illinois, in May, 1911, he was the largest
stockholder in the Dain Manufacturing Company next to the president. At the
above mentioned time Hackworth and Harrow owned one hundred sixty-one thousand
and eight hundred dollars—-over one-fourth—of the capital stock of the company,
which at that time was six hundred thousand dollars. Mr. Harrow is also a
director of the Ottumwa Railway & Light Company and is largely interested in
valuable business properties 011 Main street. He is a forceful and resourceful
business man, ready to meet any emergency, and with the ability to coordinate
seemingly diverse elements into a unified and harmonious whole.

On the 9th of October, 1877, Mr. Harrow was united in marriage to Miss Mary L.
Carpenter, a daughter of Colonel Seymour D. and Sarah (Weare) Carpenter. They
have become parents of a daughter, Mary Grace, who was married in Ottumwa,
January 12, 1904, to J. Rudy Smith, of Little Rock, Arkansas, where they now
reside. Their children are: Natalie Harrow and Stephen Harrow Smith. In his
political views Mr. Harrow has ever been a stalwart republican. Socially he is
connected with the Wapello Club and for two years was president of that
organization. He has been associated with Mr. Hackworth in business for a period
of forty-three years and the relations between them have ever been of the most
cordial character. They both stand as representative men of the city and have
contributed largely to its upbuilding and progress along many lines. Mr. Harrow
is a representative of one of the oldest families here and at all times has
taken an active and helpful part in promoting public progress and in
contributing to the general welfare. His name stands as a synonym for energy,
enterprise and business integrity and what he has accomplished represents the
fit utilization of the innate talents which are his. There is no dissenting
voice when Mr. Harrow is mentioned as one of the leading, influential and
honored residents of Ottumwa. His opinions have long carried weight not only in
business affairs but in public matters as well. All know that he never
sacrifices the public welfare to individual interests. Progress and patriotism
might well be termed the keynote of his character and one never overshadows the
other in his life work.


Additional Comments:
Extracted from:
HISTORY OF WAPELLO COUNTY IOWA
ILLUSTRATED
VOLUME II
CHICAGO
THE S. J. CLARKE PUBLISHING COMPANY 1914


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