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JAMES STIVERS, farmer, Jackson Twp., Sec. 36; P.O. Olin; born October 20, 1825, in Genesee Co., N.Y.; in 1836, came to Ohio; in 1855, he came to Jones Co. He owns 459 acres of land. His son E. H. enlisted, in 1864, in Co. P, 5th I.V.C.; served to the end of the war. He married Elizabeth Clark in 1853; she was born in Virginia; have ten children—John, Elvira, Alice, Charles, Olive, Emma, Dan D., Nellie, James and Elizabeth; has one son by a former marriage—Enos H. Republican.
Source: &History of Jones County, Iowa, Western Historical Company, Chicago, 1879, page 613.
James Stivers, deceased, was for many years one of the representative men of Jackson township, where he was a pioneer. Through hard work and constant economy he accumulated five hundred acres of fertile farming land and was a well-to-do man at the time of his demise, July 25, 1884. He was born in Genessee county, New York, October 20, 1825, being a son of Benjamin and Saphrona (Strong) Stivers, natives of New York. In 1836 the family moved to Pomeroy, Ohio, and in 1855 migrated to Jones county, Iowa, but the father died on the trip at Tipton, this state. He was an exhorter of the Methodist church. His widow returned to Ohio, where she passed away two years later. They has a family of seven sons and two daughters, as follows: Polly Gilmore, Timothy, George, William, Daniel, all deceased; Adelia Pratt, a resident of Kansas; James, deceased; Norman, of California; and Benjamin F., who was a captain in the Civil war and is now deceased.
 When James Stivers came to Jackson township the country was in a wild state and he had to go to Davenport for all his supplies. He began by buying seventy acres on section 36, Jackson township, but adding to his farm, he finally owned five hundred acres where his widow now resides. Not only did he put up a house and barns, but he set out shade and fruit trees and did all he could to develop and improve his property. In his younger days he followed blacksmithing, but later in life devoted himself to his agricultural pursuits. In 1849 he made a trip overland to California and returned two and one-half years later.
Prior to his marriage with the present Mrs. Stivers, Mr. Stivers married her sister, by whom he has one son, Enos H., a resident of Olin. After her death he married in 1852 Elizabeth Clark, who was born in Virginia, October 31, 1829, but was only six months old when she accompanied her parents to Meigs county, Ohio, where she was married. She is the daughter of John S. and Katherine (Ewing) Clark, natives of Virginia, who died in Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. Clark had nine children, two of whom died in infancy, the others being: Jane, Mary, Alcinda, Evelyn, Elizabeth, Samuel and Catherine.
Mr. and Mrs. Stivers had ten children, who reached maturity, namely: John, who lives at Anamosa; Elvira, who married Samuel Monroe, of Olin; Alice, who married a Mr. Hayden of Jackson township; Charles; Olive, who married James Glenn, of Olin; Emma, who married Horace Story, of Madison township; Dan, who lives in Madison township; Nellie, who married William Osborn, of Kansas; Elizabeth, the wife of G. L. James, whose sketch appears elsewhere in this work; and James C., who is on the home place with his mother. There are two deceased: George M., who died at the age of fourteen months; and Minnie, who died at the age of eight years.
As a man Mr. Stivers was honored and respected by all who knew him. Possessing as he did fine natural abilities and those qualities which constitute the true man and valuable citizen, it was not difficult for him to win the esteem and confidence of his neighbors and business associates, and he was deeply mourned. While still living in Ohio Mr. Stivers joined the Methodist church, having been reared according to its teachings. Mrs. Stivers owns eighty-eight acres of the homestead and James C., who is with her, owns fifty-five acres. He is a good farmer and devoted to his mother and her interests.
Source: History of Jones County, Iowa, Past and Present, R. M. Corbitt, S. J. Clarke Publishing Co., Chicago, 1910, p. 344.
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