LEWIS NOWLAN.
The popular general agent for the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy railroad in Bevier, Macon county, has been identified with railroad interests from his youth to the present time and has won advancement through the various grades of promotion by reason of his able and faithful service. Mr. Nowlan is one of the well known and highly esteemed citizens of Macon county, had the distinction of being the first mayor of his fine little home city of Bevier, and is the owner of a well improved landed estate in the county, devoting the same to diversified farming and stock-growing.
Lewis Nowlan reverts to the picturesque old Green Mountain state as the place of his nativity, having been born in Montpelier, the capital of Vermont, on the 31st of March, 1850. His father, James Nowlan, was born in Ireland and was a child at the time of the family immigration to the United States. He was reared to maturity in the state of Vermont, where he received his limited educational discipline in the common and parochial schools, and where was solemnized his marriage to Miss Catherine Donaghue, who likewise was born in the Emerald Isle but who came with her parents to America when she was a child. James and Catherine Nowlan became the parents of six_children, of whom five are living, namely: Lewis, who is the immediate subject of this sketch; Daniel, who is a resident of Frankfort, Indiana; Margaret, who is the wife of Richard O’Connor, of Mt. Sterling; Mary, who is the wife of John Holland, of Fort Wayne, Indiana, and Patrick, who is a resident of Portland, Oregon. The father was actively identified with railroad interests during practically his entire mature life. He removed from New England to the state of Illinois, where the family resided for a number of years and where he served one term as tax collector of Brown county. In 1878 he removed with his family to Missouri and established his home in Brookfield, Linn county. He became road master for the Hannibal & St. Joseph Railroad and was incumbent of this position until his death, which was the result of injuries received in the well remembered railroad wreck at Brush Creek this state, 1881. His wife survived him and resides at Mt. Sterling, Illinois. Both were devout communicants of the Catholic church, and in politics he was originally a Whig and later a Democrat.
Lewis Nowlan, whose name initiates this review, was a child at the time of the family removal to Illinois, and at Mount Sterling, that state, he was afforded the advantages of the parochial and public schools. That he made good use of the opportunities thus afforded him is evident when we revert to the fact that he proved himself eligible for pedagogic honors, having been employed as a teacher in the public schools of Illinois for some time. Thereafter he turned his attention to the railroad business, beginning in a modest capacity and finally winning his way upward in positions of increasing trust and responsibility until he was appointed to his present office,-—that of general agent for the Chicago, Burlington &_ Quincy Railroad at Bevier. He established his home in this city in 1878 and here his interests have since been centered. He has accumulated a competency through his own well directed endeavors, and his fine farm property, located in Bevier township, comprises 160 acres. He gives a general supervision to the property and the same yields good returns, being, as already stated, devoted to general agriculture and the raising of high grade live stock.
In politics Mr. Nowlan is found arrayed as a staunch supporter of the generic principles of the Democratic party, to which he gives his support where national and state issues are involved, but in local affairs he is independent of strict partisan dictates, giving his influence and utilizing his franchise in support of the mean and measures meetingwith the approval of his judgment. He has long maintained inviolable hold on popular confidence and esteem in his home community and in 1889, upon the incorporation of Bevier as a city, he was chosen its first mayor. That his administration of municipal affairs met with unstinted popular approval is shown in the fact that he was retained in the office of mayor for eight consecutive years. For two years he served as clerk of the board of education, and his co-operation and influence have ever been extended right loyally in the support of measures and enterprises tending to advance the material and social welfare of the community. In 1903 he served in the office of school director, and in the cause of education finds in him a staunch advocate. Heand his wife are communicants of the Catholic church and he is affiliated with the Knights of Columbus and the Modern W'oodmen of America.
On the 28th of April, 1902, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Nowlan to Miss Catherine McGoon, who was born at Mount Sterling, Illinois, and they have one child, Lewis, J r.
The popular general agent for the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy railroad in Bevier, Macon county, has been identified with railroad interests from his youth to the present time and has won advancement through the various grades of promotion by reason of his able and faithful service. Mr. Nowlan is one of the well known and highly esteemed citizens of Macon county, had the distinction of being the first mayor of his fine little home city of Bevier, and is the owner of a well improved landed estate in the county, devoting the same to diversified farming and stock-growing.
Lewis Nowlan reverts to the picturesque old Green Mountain state as the place of his nativity, having been born in Montpelier, the capital of Vermont, on the 31st of March, 1850. His father, James Nowlan, was born in Ireland and was a child at the time of the family immigration to the United States. He was reared to maturity in the state of Vermont, where he received his limited educational discipline in the common and parochial schools, and where was solemnized his marriage to Miss Catherine Donaghue, who likewise was born in the Emerald Isle but who came with her parents to America when she was a child. James and Catherine Nowlan became the parents of six_children, of whom five are living, namely: Lewis, who is the immediate subject of this sketch; Daniel, who is a resident of Frankfort, Indiana; Margaret, who is the wife of Richard O’Connor, of Mt. Sterling; Mary, who is the wife of John Holland, of Fort Wayne, Indiana, and Patrick, who is a resident of Portland, Oregon. The father was actively identified with railroad interests during practically his entire mature life. He removed from New England to the state of Illinois, where the family resided for a number of years and where he served one term as tax collector of Brown county. In 1878 he removed with his family to Missouri and established his home in Brookfield, Linn county. He became road master for the Hannibal & St. Joseph Railroad and was incumbent of this position until his death, which was the result of injuries received in the well remembered railroad wreck at Brush Creek this state, 1881. His wife survived him and resides at Mt. Sterling, Illinois. Both were devout communicants of the Catholic church, and in politics he was originally a Whig and later a Democrat.
Lewis Nowlan, whose name initiates this review, was a child at the time of the family removal to Illinois, and at Mount Sterling, that state, he was afforded the advantages of the parochial and public schools. That he made good use of the opportunities thus afforded him is evident when we revert to the fact that he proved himself eligible for pedagogic honors, having been employed as a teacher in the public schools of Illinois for some time. Thereafter he turned his attention to the railroad business, beginning in a modest capacity and finally winning his way upward in positions of increasing trust and responsibility until he was appointed to his present office,-—that of general agent for the Chicago, Burlington &_ Quincy Railroad at Bevier. He established his home in this city in 1878 and here his interests have since been centered. He has accumulated a competency through his own well directed endeavors, and his fine farm property, located in Bevier township, comprises 160 acres. He gives a general supervision to the property and the same yields good returns, being, as already stated, devoted to general agriculture and the raising of high grade live stock.
In politics Mr. Nowlan is found arrayed as a staunch supporter of the generic principles of the Democratic party, to which he gives his support where national and state issues are involved, but in local affairs he is independent of strict partisan dictates, giving his influence and utilizing his franchise in support of the mean and measures meetingwith the approval of his judgment. He has long maintained inviolable hold on popular confidence and esteem in his home community and in 1889, upon the incorporation of Bevier as a city, he was chosen its first mayor. That his administration of municipal affairs met with unstinted popular approval is shown in the fact that he was retained in the office of mayor for eight consecutive years. For two years he served as clerk of the board of education, and his co-operation and influence have ever been extended right loyally in the support of measures and enterprises tending to advance the material and social welfare of the community. In 1903 he served in the office of school director, and in the cause of education finds in him a staunch advocate. Heand his wife are communicants of the Catholic church and he is affiliated with the Knights of Columbus and the Modern W'oodmen of America.
On the 28th of April, 1902, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Nowlan to Miss Catherine McGoon, who was born at Mount Sterling, Illinois, and they have one child, Lewis, J r.