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biography from Portrait & Biographical Album of Mahaska Co., Iowa, 1887
J. B. MORLEY resides upon section 14, Des Moines Township. He is a native of Belmont County, Ohio, born in 1821, and is a son of Levi and Sarah Mobley, the former being a native of the District of Columbia and the latter of Harrison County, Ohio. In 1852 Mr. Mobley, the subject of this sketch, moved to Henry County, Iowa, and in 1859 came to this county, and purchased forty acres of land south of the river in Des Moines Township, where he lived until the faIl of 1869, when he moved to section 14, where he now lives and has 104 acres of land, fifteen of which are devoted to fruit. In 1841 Mr. Mobley was united in marriage with Lucy Pratt, by whom he had three sons: Chester, now in Colorado, engaged in the stock business; Seth, at Grand Island, Neb., engaged in the newspaper business, and also a real-estate dealer; George, now in Washington Territory, engaged in farming. They all served three years in the 7th Iowa Cavalry during the war of the Rebellion. Mr. Mobley's second marriage occurred in 1856, when he wedded Elizabeth Dana, a native of Washington County, Ohio. By this union there were eleven children, all of whom are now living: James in Oregon engaged in farming; Alonzo, in Mahaska County, engaged in the fruit business; Richard now in Nebraska, engaged in farming; May is the wife of Edward Wood, a native of California, who now resides in Sutton County, in the Sacramento Valley, that State; Owen is also in California engaged in farming; the others are William, Grace, Frederick, Mack, Carrie and Brice. The father of Mr. Mobley was a farmer, and died in 1855, aged sixty-five years; his mother died in 1878, at the age of eighty-four years. His father was a soldier in the War of 1812, while Mr. Mobley himself enlisted in the 42d Iowa Infantry, as aLieutenant, but never left the State. In early life he learned the trade of a boat-builder, and worked at the saae from 1842 to 1850. It was his custom to build a boat, load it with produce, and run it to New Orleans, where he would sell the boat and cargo at a profit. In 1850 he engaged in the drug business, which he continued for two years, but on account of ill-health was compelled to sell out the business. In 1852 he moved to Henry County, Iowa, where he worked one year as a carpenter, and for the same length of time was engaged in the hotel business. He then ran an engine in a mill for two years, after which he moved to Centerville, Iowa, where he lived from the summer of 1856 till the spring of 1859, when he came to this county, as already stated. Since coming here he worked for three winters at mining, the remainder of the time being engaged in general farming, stock-raising and the fruit business. His sales of fruit now amount annually to upward of $1,500. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity.
Portrait & Biographical Album of Mahaska Co., Iowa, 1887
Mahaska County, Iowa Genealogy