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biography from Portrait & Biographical Album of Mahaska Co., Iowa, 1887
W. C. SEMPLE, a prosperous farmer and resident of Scott Township, was born in Carroll County, Ohio, in 1828, and is a son of Samuel and Jane (Crawford) Semple, who were natives of Ireland, and came to this country in 1812. The paternal grandfather of our subject was a soldier in the War of 1812. Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Semple were among the early settlers of Ohio, loeating in Carroll County while the Indians were yet in possession of a large portion of the territory, and passed through all the trials and difficulties incident to life in those perilous times. W. C. Semple was reared to manhood under the parental roof, and married, Oct. 30, 1856, to Miss Rebecca Mackerman, a native of Carroll County, Ohio, and a daughter of Daniel and Lucinda (Bradford) Mackerman, the mother a native of Ohio, and the father of Pennsylvania, where he followed the occupation of farming. Our subject and his wife became the parents of four children, two now deceased: Sarah Jane, the wife of Joseph Stevens, resides in Marion County, Iowa: Daniel James lives in Merrick County, Neb.; Marietta, Mrs. John Harrold, lives in Des Moines Township; Orpha Ruth is at home; Samuel L., born in 1869, died Sept. 10, 1880, aged eleven years, six months and thirteen days. He was accidently killed by the discharge of a revolver in his own hands. Mr. Semple arrived in this county May 31,1863, and located on section 4, in Scott Township, upon land then purchased, and which he has developed to the highest state of cultivation. The buildings and other improvements on his farm are of the most substantial character, and have been built with a view to both comfort and convenience. The house alone cost over $2,200. Mr. Semple is principally engaged in stock-raising, in which he has achieved signal success, and it has proven to him a most profitable branch of business. He is careful and systematic in farming, as in all other affairs in life, and a worthy representative of that sturdy ancestry which "knows no such word as fail." He possesses great force of character, and an indomitable will, matures his plans and then pursues them to successful results. Such men are valuable citizens, whether they be found in the public or private walks of life.
Portrait & Biographical Album of Mahaska Co., Iowa, 1887
Mahaska County, Iowa Genealogy