Source: Past & Present of Bureau County, 1906
Transcribed by: Denise McLoughlin, Tampico Area Historical Society, www.tampicohistoricalsociety.citymax.com

Photo submitted by Dorrie Simon

B. F. SEARL

B. F. SEARL, whose home is on section 10, Selby township, follows farming and also gives considerable attention to the raising and breeding of stock. He was born on what is known as the Ridge in that township, August 20, 1853, his parents being John S. and Amanda (MILLER) SEARL, who came to Bureau county in the '40s, and were married here. Both were natives of Ohio. Our subject's paternal grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. Brown SEARL, also came to this county and settled on the farm in Selby township now owned by E. G. SEARL, where both died. They were laid to rest in the Ridge cemetery, as were the parents of our subject.

For three years the father, John S. SEARL, resided on the Ridge and the following four years he spent on the Jacobs farm on the township line. At the end of that time he removed to section 11, Selby township, where the greater part of his life was passed, though he spent the last eleven years on his father's farm on the Ridge. In business affairs he prospered and became a large land owner, having althogether twenty eighty-acre tracts, mostly in Selby township, and three hundred and twenty acres in Guthrie county, Iowa. He gave to each of his ten children one hundred and sixty acres and all of the land which he owned is still in possession of the family. His son, B. F. SEARL, owns four eight-acre tracts of land, including the home place on section 11. John S. SEARL was deeply interested in the improvement and upguilding of the county, and his fellow-townsmen, recognizing his worth and ability and his devotion to the public good, several times called him to office. He served for a number of terms as supervisor, also as assessor, road commissioner and in other offices, discharging his duties with promptness and fidelity. Unto him and his wife were born ten children: B. F., of this review; Mrs. Mary M. RAWSON, now of Holden, Missouri; A. J. and M. F., who are residents of Princeton; Mrs. Samantha GROSS, of Princeton; E. G.. of Selby township; Mrs. Maria HASSLER, of the same township; W. W., of Iowa, who died March 7, 1905; Sarah Ann, who died on the old homestead farm, October 11, 1875; and Samuel, whose death resulted from an accident in Iowa.

Reared under the parental roof, no event of special importance occurred to vary the routine of farm life for B. F. SEARL in his boyhood and youth. He was educated in the public schools of Selby township and has always followed farming. He has also handled horses and cattle in large numbers, making a specialty, however, of fine horses, and during the past few years he has raised a number of fast horses. For three years he made his home on another farm in Selby township, where he has three hundred and twenty acres of rich and productive land, all in one body. This is well cultivated and highly improved and is altogether a model farming property, equipped with the accessories which facilitate farm work and render the work of the fields less laborious.

Mr. Searl was married to Miss Mary A. LONG, also a native of Selby township, where her girlhood days were passed. She is a daughter of Francis M. and Caroline (PIPER) LONG, who came to this county in 1842 and were farming people. Her mother died December 16, 1861, during the early girlhood of the daughter, and in 1888 the father removed from Bureau county to Iowa, where he died about seven years ago. The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. SEARL has been blessed with nine children: John S., of Iowa, who is engaged in farming, drilling wells and operating a thresher and also deals in agricultural implements; Bert, Nancy, Andrew and Cole, all at home; Ada and Sadie, twins, at home; and Caroline and Benjamin F., who are also under the parental roof.

Politicaly, Mr.SEARL is a republican and has been elected to several local offices . He has served as road commissioner and as assessor for several terms, and has also acted as judge of elections. He is quite prominent socially, belonging to the Masonic lodge at Arlington, the Knights of Pythias lodge at Malden and the Odd Fellows lodge at Hollowayville. He is carefully and successfully conducing his business interests and stands as a representative of that progress in agricultural life which has largely revolutionized farming in the last quarter of a century. The name of SEARL has long been a prominent and honored one in connection with the tilling of soil and the raising of stock in this countyand B. F. SEARL has added luster to the family record by his own business activity an commercial integrity.

Related links: Bureau County Photos