Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1907-09-05

ful citizen at all times but his opin-
ions had to go and were unchange-
abie. He was as immovable as the
rock of Gilbralter when once he took
a stand, and as firm as adamant. but
behind it all was a generosity and
kindness of heart that knew no
fbounds He was much interested In
young men, and rejoiced in their sue.
cesses. We have an autograph letter
from him in our library, written in
his peculiar and almost unreadab(e
hand, along this line. We knew much
OF Judge Negus in early times. and
saw many evidences of his kindness
OF heart. He loved to write but was
not always discreet in his writings.
We remember he wrote an article for
one of our early publications under
the title. "a Peep Into the Churches. /"
One Sunday night he made tour of
the various churches in Fairfield.
peeped into the windows, which gave
him thought for his article. 1t "stir-
Fred up the animals around town,
and brought down upon him the sever
est citicisms from the ministers of
Fairfield. But this pleased the Judge.
ne was a good citizen, an honest man,
and Fairfield is much the better for
his having lived in It, Two children,
L. s. Negus, and his daughter Mary,
who married Thomas Griffith, CAPT
talist at Red Oak, both make that
city their home
Last but by no means the least of
those who participated in that famous
lecture course was Hon. James F.
Wilson, who from his early arrival in
Fairfield, attained distinction from
year to year. almost by leaps and
bounds. He was the first president of
the First National Bank, which was
organized in May, 1866, and he re.
manned it's president until the day Cf
his death, which was in 1885. He was
a delegate FROM Jefferson county in
1856 to state. convention to revise
the state constitution, a delegate to a
constitutional convention March 5,
1857; member of the national repub.
lican convention in Chicago in 1850,
which nominated Abraham Lincoln
Iof Illinois for presiuent, and Hannibai
Hamlin of Maine for vice president
He was a member of the Iowa legisla-
ture, the house in the seventh and the
senate in the eighth general assemb-
lies. He entered CONGRESS- as a repre-.
sentative from the FIT district of
Iowa in 1861. being cleo ed to succeed
Hon. Samuel R. Curtis of Keokuk. He
remained in the lower house of Con
gress until 1869, when he was elected
United States senator, which position
he occupied until his death Mr.. Will
son made a national reputation for
himself and his state while in con
gress. He served on the Andrew
Johnson impeachment committee. and
had much to do in making the tariffs
Of our times in early days He, In
connection with Hon. VIM. B. Allison,
Hon. John A. Kasson and Hon. James
w. Grimes, were made the subject If
an article on tariff in the American
Magazine by Ida M. Tarbell, about !.
year ago
A United States pension Office was
established in Fairfield in the early
sixties, for. the payment of pensions
to soldiers, and David B. Wilson
(brother of J. F.) and now the vii
lage SQUIRE was put in charge
The educational institutions of
Fairfield in ante bellum and stage
coach times, were much above the
average of sister cities. In. June,
1849 Rev Lancelot G. Bell having
previously erected building. opened
a female seminary which continued
for several years to be Furnishing
institution. 1t changed hands and
was finally suspended. In talking the
other day with Hon. w. Is. Bonnifel1,
the venerable president of the First
National Bank of Ottumwa, who spent
his boyhood days about nine
miles east of Fairfield, he said he
furnished the shingles that went on
Rev. Bells seminary building. He