JOHN P. VAlL

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JOHN P. VAlL, a retired farmer residing at Worthington , is one of the pioneer settlers of the county, having made his home here continuously since 1872. During the greater part of this time he resided In Seward township, but since 1896 his home has been at Worthington .

John P. Vail was born in Tompkins county, N. Y., May 26, 1833. He descends from one of the colonial families of America , and the family can be traced back to the year 1300 in England. The founder of the American branch of the family was Jeremiah Vail, whom we find living at Salem , Mass. , in the year 1639, engaged in the blacksmith business. He left three children, all born in Salem , from one of whom is descended our subject. The paternal grandfather of John P. Vail was David Vail, born at Chester , Orange county, N. Y., July 23, 1763. He was a weaver by trade, and later moved to Smith's Cove, N. Y., and at the time of his death lived at Newfield, Tompkins county, N. Y. One of his sons was John Vail, the father of our subject. He was born in New York state August 26, 1785; and died in 1878. He was united in marriage to Mrs. Elizabeth Strang, the mother of our subject. She was born May 30, 1803, and died about 1870.

Mr. Vail lived in the county of his birth until 22 years of age. There he secured a country school education, and there during his early years he worked on farms in that vicinity. He moved to Rockford , III., in 1855, and near that city he engaged in farming until the outbreak of the civil war. He enlisted in company K, of the 74th volunteer infantry, August 6, 1862, and was at once sent to the front. He took part in the battles of Perryville and Stone River , and in the last named engagement was seriously wounded on December 31, 1862. So serious was his wound that from that time until hill discharge, July 22, 1865, he was in hospital at Camp Dennison , Ohio .

After his discharge from the army Mr.Vail returned to his old home at Rockford , but soon afterward moved to the extreme northern part of Illinois, near Beloit, Wis.  There he engaged in farming until his removal to Nobles county in 1872.

Mr. Vail was married at Rockford , Ill. , Feb. 5, 1857, to Sophronia H. Sisson. She died October 10, 1883, at the family home in Nobles county, and was the first person buried in the Seward cemetery. To that union five sons were born: Louis Baldwin and Jay C., both of whom have died; Ora S., Amos P. and James R. Ora S. is now superintendent of the Breckenridge, Minn. , schools. For ten years prior to accepting that position he was superintendent of the Canby, Minn. , school. Amos P. farms the old homestead in Seward township. James R. is in the civil service, being collector of customs at Linden , Washington . Mr, Vail's second marriage occurred September 15, 1875, when he was united in marriage to M. Jennie Linderman, daughter of Luther G, and Olive M. Linderman. One child, a boy who died in infancy, was born to this union. An adopted daughter, Daisy Luella Vail, is one of Nobles county's school teachers.

October 0, 1872, was the date of the arrival of Mr. Vail to Nobles county, he having filed on the land in June of the same year.: He filed a soldier's homestead claim on the northwest quarter of section 22, Seward township, which land he still owns. There he en gaged in farming and made his home until 1896. He passed through the grasshopper scourge, the Indian scare, and other unpleasant incidents of Nobles county pioneer life, While enduring many hardships in the early days, he prospered, and is now rated as one of the solid men of the county. He retired in the fall of 1896, moved to Worthington , and has made his home in that city since, where he has one of the finest residences in the place.

The standing of Mr. Vail in the community in which he lived for 24 years is best attested by the fact that during his entire residence there he was a township officer, Immediately after his arrival in the fall of 1872, he was elected chairman of the board of supervisors of Seward township.

 Thereafter at different times he was a member of the township board, clerk of the board, road master and school director. He was appointed postmaster of Seward post, office when that office was established in 1874 and served three years. He was one of the orgnnizers and builders of the Seward Methodist Episcopal church and always took a prominent part in church matters. Mr. and Mrs. Vail are both members of the Worthington Methodist church, and Mr. Vail is one of the trustees.

Note; John P. Vail is buried in the Seward Cemetery, Seward Twp, Nobles county Mn.