Representative Ezekiel J. Sankey View All Years

HONORABLE E. J. SANKEY

MR. SPEAKER: Your committee appointed to prepare a resolution commemorative of the life, character, and public service of the late Honorable E. J. Sankey of Decatur county, Iowa, former member of the Thirtieth, Thirty-first and Thirty-third General Assemblies of Iowa, begs leave to submit the following memorial:

Honorable E. J. Sankey, Civil War veteran, former county and state official, and a resident of Decatur County, died at Leon, Iowa, on September 29, 1936, at the advanced age of ninety-two years. He was born on August 2, 1843, at Potters Mills, Center county, Pennsylvania.

In 1849 Mr. Sankey, with his parents, came west to Burlington Iowa. Soon after their arrival in Burlington this family suffered the loss of their father and one son, who died of cholera which was then epidemic. Following these deaths Mr. Sankey and his mother joined some Pennsylvanians of their acquaintance, and settled in Louisa county, Iowa. From 1850 to 1851 our subject attended a subscription school, and later the public schools. In 1856 he moved with his mother to Decatur county, locating four miles north and one half mile east of Leon, where he resided until August 15, 1861, when he enlisted in Company “L”, 3rd Volunteer Cavalry. In January, 1864, he re-enlisted for three years as a Veteran, and on the eleventh of June of that year was wounded at the battle of Guntown. He returned home on furlough, but as soon as possible, rejoined the army although the wound in his leg was not yet healed. He was honorably discharged on the 26th of February, 1865, on account of wounds after serving for almost four years. He was with the army of the Tennessee, and participated in the campaigns in Tennessee and Mississippi. Twenty years after the close of the war it was necessary to have his left leg amputated about eight inches from the thigh joint, as a result of the wound received at Guntown.

Upon return home from the front, Mr. Sankey purchased a farm in Franklin Township in Decatur county, and turned his attentions to the operation of his farm. In 1867 he was elected sheriff of Decatur county, and two years later was re-elected to that office, having proved able and fearless in the discharge of his duties. At the expiration of his second term he again resumed his farming operations until January 1, 1878, when he returned to Leon to take up his duties as County Treasurer. Since that time he resided in Leon, and contributed much to the development of that city. From 1885 until 1889 he was clerk of the district and circuit courts. In 1903 he was chosen to represent his district in the lower house of the State Legislature, and served throughout the Thirtieth and Thirty-first General Assemblies. In 1908 he was again elected as State Representative.

Mr. Sankey was married on the 6th of May 1866 to Miss Mary M. Gillham, who passed away in 1907, leaving eight children, of whom four are now living: namely, Kate, wife of T. J. Smith, of Lamoni, Iowa; Lois, who married James A. Lea, of Pocatello, Idaho; Cleora, a trained nurse now living in California; and Carlisle, a resident of Davis City, Iowa, who is married.

Honorable E. J. Sankey played a very important part in local and state affairs. He was a member of one of the pioneer families of this state, and his interest in the welfare of Iowa and her citizens continued throughout his long useful life. He gave the credit for whatever success in life he achieved to his mother whose energy, ability, and unswerving integrity were an inspiration to him to perform every duty to the best of his ability. He always held the confidence of his fellow citizens who repeatedly elected him to offices of trust and responsibility, and he at all times proved worthy of the honor. There were few, if any, better known men in Decatur county, and none were held in greater respect and esteem than he.

Therefore Be It Resolved by the House of Representatives of the Forty-seventh General Assembly of the state of Iowa, That in the passing of the Honorable E. J. Sankey, the state has lost a valued and honored citizen, and the House of Representatives of Iowa, by this resolution, tenders its sympathy to the surviving family.

Be It Further Resolved, That a copy of these resolutions be spread upon the Journal of the House, and that the Chief Clerk be directed to forward an enrolled copy to the family of the deceased.

DAVID A. DANCER,

ROY J. SOURS,

G. T. KUESTER,

Committee.

Unanimously adopted, April 19, 1937.