Wapello County IA Archives Biographies.....Hackworth, James T. 1839 - ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/ia/iafiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Joy Fisher http://www.genrecords.net/emailregistry/vols/00001.html#0000031 June 28, 2013, 11:25 pm Source: See Below Author: S. J. Clarke, Publisher JAMES T. HACKWORTH. The leaders are few. The great majority lack either the initiative which brings leadership, or the determination that enables them to overcome difficulties and use their opportunities to the best advantage. James T. Hackworth, however, was early imbued with the laudable ambition of attaining success and making his work count as a factor in business progress. Advantages that others have passed heedlessly by he has improved, and in the utilization of his opportunities he has reached a prominent position in business circles. No record of Wapello county would be complete without extended reference to him. His birth occurred in Adams county, Ohio, January 12, 1839. His father, George D. Hackworth, was born in Virginia in 1810 and in August, 1845, cast in his lot with the pioneer settlers of this county, establishing his home in Center township, where he lived upon a farm until 1857. He then removed to Ottumwa, where he served for several years as county surveyor and was also county auditor for two years. In 1873 he removed to Kansas and his last days were spent in Cowley county, where he departed this life in March, 1878. He left a widow and four children, two of whom have passed away since his death. His wife bore the maiden name of Clarissa Morris and was born in Ohio in 1814. They became the parents of seven children, but three had departed this life prior to the father's demise. America Ann, the eldest, became the wife of Charles M. Kellogg, and died, leaving one child. Ellen M. married George W. Bowen and passed away in Ottumwa, leaving a family. James T. is the elder son. Mary J. became the wife of Robert Porter and died, leaving five children. George J. is also deceased. Barbara L. is a resident of Quincy, Kansas. Emily H. married Robert Painter and died, leaving a family. James T. Hackworth was a little lad of but six years when the family came to Wapello county, where he has since made his home, covering a period of almost seven decades. He attended the common schools and afterward entered the Iowa Wesleyan University at Mount Pleasant, from which he was graduated with the class of 1860. Deciding to make the practice of law his life work, he began reading law under the direction of Professor Henry Ambler, of the Iowa Wesleyan University, during his college course at Mount Pleasant, and was admitted to the bar in 1861. For ten years he engaged in the practice of law in Ottumwa, entering upon the active work of the profession after filling the office of county surveyor for a year. In 1863 he was appointed assistant assessor of United States internal revenue for Wapello county and acted in that capacity for three and half years during the period of the Civil war. In 1872 he joined Allen Johnston, A. G. Harrow and J. G. Hutchison in organizing the Johnston Ruffler Company. In 1877 Captain Hutchison withdrew and W. T. Major became a partner in the business. On its organization Mr. Hackworth was elected president and so continued for twenty-six years. This company was extensively engaged in the manufacture of sewing machine attachments and during a part of its history employed as many as five hundred hands in the factory. Mr. Hackworth also assisted in the organization of the Ottumwa Iron Works, which was formed in 1880 and is an outgrowth of the Johnston Ruffler Company, having been promoted by the partners of the former concern. Mr. Hackworth remains as vice president of the latter company, which controls one of the important industrial enterprises of the city. He has also figured actively in connection with the Dain Manufacturing Company. The business of that corporation was brought to Ottumwa through the efforts of twenty men, among whom was J. T. Hackworth, who became vice president of the company and so continued until its consolidation with the Deere Company of Moline, Illinois, in the year 1911. This by no means covers the extent of his activity along business lines, however. He has figured most prominently in financial circles and is today president of the Ottumwa National Bank, of which A. G. Harrow is vice president and R. W. Funk cashier. This bank is capitalized for one hundred thousand dollars and has a surplus of one hundred and ten thousand dollars. Mr. Hackworth is also president of the Wapello County Savings Bank, capitalized for fifty thousand dollars and with a surplus of twenty-five thousand dollars. He is likewise president of the Batavia Savings Bank, the Blakesburg Savings Bank and the Union Trust & Savings Bank at Farmington. He is also treasurer of the Hardsocg Wonder Drill Company, is a director of the Ottumwa Savings Bank and is the owner of a large amount of real estate, consisting mainly of business houses located on Main street in Ottumwa. His property holdings and his business interests are the visible evidence of a life of well directed energy and thrift and have brought him to his present enviable position of leadership in Wapello county. On the 21st of August, 1866, Mr. Hackworth was united in marriage to Miss Sue C. Kisinger and they make their home at the corner of Court street and Pennsylvania avenue in Ottumwa, where they have resided for more than thirty years. He belongs to the Methodist Episcopal church and has been a member of the official board of the First Methodist Episcopal church of Ottumwa for a half century and is now president of its board of trustees. He has also been president of the board of trustees of the Ottumwa Public Library since its organization and which now has between thirty and forty thousand volumes on its shelves, and is an influential part of the educational system of the city. There are indeed few who can boast of having witnessed the growth and transformation of Ottumwa and Wapello county through almost seventy years as Mr. Hackworth has done. He has lived to see wild lands converted into rich and productive farms, has seen towns and villages spring up and become thriving cities and centers of trade and has been an interested witness of the moral and intellectual progress, which has kept pace with the material advancement of the community. He has not only been a witness, however, but has been a most active participant in all that has wrought for beneficial change and, while promoting his individual success, has contributed in very large measure to the general prosperity of city and county. His intense and well directed activities have found their just reward, and the honor and integrity of his business methods have given him firm hold upon the respect and confidence of the people. His fellow townsmen say that too much cannot be said in praise of Mr. Hackworth as a promoter of the business interests of the city, county and state. They recognize what he has done for Ottumwa and appreciate his efforts in its behalfefforts that have at all times been resultant. He seems to see from the beginning the possibilities for any undertaking and is never satisfied until the utmost limit for successful accomplishment has been reached. He takes keen pleasure in solving complex industrial, commercial or financial problems and his is largely the joy of success in doing what he undertakes rather than in gaining material prosperity. Moreover, his efforts have always been of a character that have contributed largely to the material welfare of the community and thus his lifework has come to constitute a most important chapter in the history of his city and county. Additional Comments: Extracted from: HISTORY OF WAPELLO COUNTY IOWA ILLUSTRATED VOLUME II CHICAGO THE S. J. 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