The Councils Bluffs Public Library is digging into its blog post archive to bring you content you may have missed. This Early Citizens of Council Bluffs blog was originally posted in 2018 and highlights the life of Jeremiah Folsom.
Jeremiah Folsom was born in New Hampshire in 1817. As a young man he moved to Michigan and in 1840 married Marcia A Hopkins. While in Michigan they had two children, Marcia and Edward. Jeremiah was listed as a glass manufacturer in the 1850 federal census.
In 1854 the Folsom family came west with the family of W. W. Maynard. Together Folsom and Maynard founded the Council Bluffs Chronotype newspaper.
Jeremiah didn't show up in the society columns of the newspaper, instead he was found in the land transactions. He also ran a dry goods store, but his main business was as a land speculator.
In 1868 Marcia passed away at the age of 52. She is buried in Fairview cemetery.
In July of 1869 Jeremiah married Sarah Marie Blake. They had 3 children, Adell, Florence and George. Unfortunately, Sarah died at the age of 31 about a week after giving birth to George. She is buried in Fairview Cemetery.
When Jeremiah was 59, he married Agnes Petrie who was 39. She became stepmother to Sarah's three children and in 1878 she and Jeremiah had a son, Ward.