Peter George Hitch Jr.

PETER GEORGE HITCH JR. It is not given to every man to make a success in life, nor are all fitted for the same kind of work; but when the work fits the man, then is success much more apt to result. Peter George Hitch, Junior, assistant manager of the American Fork & Hoe Company, of Fort Madison, is one who has always displayed an aptitude for his kind of work, and in his present company he is receiving the appreciation to which his abilities entitle him. He was born at Godmanchester, England, in Huntingtonshire, October 28, 1872, a son of Peter George Hitch, also a native of Huntingtonshire, England.
Educated in the common schools of England, and taught the miller trade, the elder Peter George Hitch came to the United States and located at Fort Madison, Iowa, in 1873, with the idea that he could easily secure employment, but the first year he was here he was forced to work at anything he could find to do. In 1874, however, he secured steady employment with the Morrison Plow Company, and continued with that concern for a quarter of a century, becoming foreman of the blacksmithing department, which position he was holding when he resigned, and leaving industrial life, devoted the remainder of his years to farming until 1919, when he retired. Several years ago he served as a member of the city council of Fort Madison. He married Miss Ellen Thackray, of Huntingtonshire, and the following children were born to them: Peter George, Junior, who was the third born; Tanjore T., who is vice president of the American Fork & Hoe Company; Benjamin James, who resides at Pontoosue, Illinois; Mrs. Nelle T. Brown, who resides at Revere, Missouri; William H., who resides at Fort Madison. The father of these children died in 1926 at his residence in Fort Madison.
In April, 1873, Peter George Hitch, Junior, was brought to this country by his parents, and he was reared at Fort Madison and attended the common schools, which he completed in 1886, after which he began working in the Iowa Farming Tool Company, and continued with that company for a year, after which he took a commercial course in the Johnson Business College; and in 1889 and 1890 he attended the Iowa Commercial College in Iowa City, from which latter institution he received his diploma. While attending college he earned his own way by working. Returning to Fort Madison after he felt prepared for a business career, he entered the Fort Madison Iron Works Company as stenographer and bookkeeper, but in 1891 left to become stenographer for the Iowa Farming Tool Company, with which he has since remained. After reorganization the concern became the American Fork & Hoe Company, and he is its assistant manager as well as one of its stockholders. The business is in a flourishing condition and the trade territory for the produce is a wide-spread one. Mr. Hitch is a thirty-second degree, a Knight Templar and Shriner Mason, holding membership in the Shrine in Kaaba Temple, of Davenport, Iowa. He also belongs to the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. In religious connections he is an Episcopalian. For about twelve years he served on the school board, for five years of that time being its president. For two terms he was a member of the city council of Fort Madison, and he has served as president of the Boy Scouts.
On May 19, 1898, Mr. Hitch married Miss Ellinor C. Dickie, and she died in November, 1902, having borne him three children: Mrs. Emily H. Cole, of Prophetstown, Illinois; Peter James, who is a resident of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; and Mrs. Dorothy H. Foglesong, of Fort Madison. In August, 1905, Mr. Hitch was married to Miss Emily Dickie, of Montrose, Iowa, and they have three children: Gilbert D.m who is a student of the Iowa State College, Ames, Iowa, Ellinor, now Mrs. Levert McGee, of Redvers, Saskatchewan, Canada; and Mary Helen, who is a student of the Iowa University, Iowa City.
Personally Mr. Hitch is a man of strength of character, and is recognized as one of the most reliable and highly-esteemed business men of Lee County, and one who has yet many years of usefulness before him. (excerpt from A Narrative History of the People of Iowa with SPECIAL TREATMENT OF THEIR CHIEF ENTERPRISES IN EDUCATION, RELIGION, VALOR, INDUSTRY, BUSINESS, ETC.. by EDGAR RUBEY HARLAN, LL. B., A. M. Curator of the Historical, Memorial and Art Department of Iowa Volume IV, THE AMERICAN HISTORICAL SOCIETY, Inc. Chicago and New York, 1931)

Peter married Eleanor Childs Dickie on 19 May 1897 in Ft. Madison, Lee Co., IA.¹ (Eleanor Childs Dickie was born in Jan 1874 in IA ^{6 7} and died in Nov 1902 in IA.)

Peter next married Emily Elizabeth Dickie on 29 Aug 1905 in Ft. Madison, Lee Co., IA.¹ (Emily Elizabeth Dickie was born on 29 Aug 1870 in Burlington, Des Moines Co., IA ¹ and died on 18 Feb 1939 in Ft. Madison, Lee Co., IA ¹.)