Alexander Fulton
Encyclopedia
For the founder of Alexandria
Alexandria, Louisiana
Alexandria is a city in and the parish seat of Rapides Parish, Louisiana, United States. It lies on the south bank of the Red River in almost the exact geographic center of the state. It is the principal city of the Alexandria metropolitan area which encompasses all of Rapides and Grant parishes....

, Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...

 (1805), see Alexander Fulton (Louisiana)
Alexander Fulton (Louisiana)
Alexander Fulton was a merchant, planter, and local politician originally from Washington, near Pittsburgh in western Pennsylvania, who in 1805 founded the city of Alexandria, Louisiana, which he named for himself....

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Alexander Fulton (August 29, 1805 – January 17, 1885) was the founder of the Iowa State Agricultural Society.

Fulton was born in Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania
Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania
Huntingdon County is a county located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. In 2010, its population was 45,913.Huntingdon County was created on September 20, 1787, from part of Bedford County. Its county seat is Huntingdon.-Geography:According to the U.S...

 to James and Ann Fulton. He was their fourth child. In 1807, the Fulton family moved to Baltimore, Maryland, and in 1814 to Ross County, Ohio
Ross County, Ohio
As of the census of 2000, there were 73,345 people, 27,136 households, and 19,185 families residing in the county. The population density was 106 people per square mile . There were 29,461 housing units at an average density of 43 per square mile...

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In 1822, Fulton joined the Methodist Episcopal Church
Methodist Episcopal Church
The Methodist Episcopal Church, sometimes referred to as the M.E. Church, was a development of the first expression of Methodism in the United States. It officially began at the Baltimore Christmas Conference in 1784, with Francis Asbury and Thomas Coke as the first bishops. Through a series of...

. On June 22, 1826, he married Eliza Jones. Shortly after, they moved to Delaware County, Ohio
Delaware County, Ohio
Delaware County is a fast-growing suburban county in the state of Ohio, United States, within the Columbus, Ohio Metropolitan Statistical Area. According to the United States Census Bureau's 2004 population estimates, Delaware County's population of 142,503 made it the fastest growing county in...

, where they had five children: Robert J. (1829–1857), Gilbert Lafayette (1831–1853), Joseph Warren (1833–1903), William C. (1836–1857), and Martha Amelia (1838–1855). During this time, Fulton worked as a millwright
Millwright
A millwright is a craftsman or tradesman engaged with the construction and maintenance of machinery.Early millwrights were specialist carpenters who erected machines used in agriculture, food processing and processing lumber and paper...

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In 1843, the family moved to Fairfield
Fairfield, Iowa
Fairfield is a city and the county seat of Jefferson County, Iowa, United States. The population was 9,464 in the 2010 census, a decline from 9,509 in the 2000 census. - History :...

, Jefferson County
Jefferson County, Iowa
-2010 census:The 2010 census recorded a population of 16,843 in the county, with a population density of . There were 7,594 housing units, of which 6,846 were occupied.-2000 census:...

, in the Iowa Territory
Iowa Territory
The Territory of Iowa was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 4, 1838, until December 28, 1846, when the southeastern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Iowa.-History:...

. On May 29 of that year, Fulton purchased 40 acres (0.2 km²) of land from the government and built a log cabin
Log cabin
A log cabin is a house built from logs. It is a fairly simple type of log house. A distinction should be drawn between the traditional meanings of "log cabin" and "log house." Historically most "Log cabins" were a simple one- or 1½-story structures, somewhat impermanent, and less finished or less...

 in the northeast quarter of the southwest quarter of section 26, township 72, R 10 W. On December 8, 1845 he purchased another 40 acres (0.2 km²) of land, in section 10 of township 71; and on October 15, 1846, another 40 acres (0.2 km²), in section 34 of township 71.

While in Fairfield, Fulton was the proprietor of the first drug and book store in the area. He also organized and was the first member of the Jefferson Lodge No. 4, a branch of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows
Independent Order of Odd Fellows
The Independent Order of Odd Fellows , also known as the Three Link Fraternity, is an altruistic and benevolent fraternal organization derived from the similar British Oddfellows service organizations which came into being during the 18th century, at a time when altruistic and charitable acts were...

. He and Eliza were also foster parents. One of their many foster children took the name Morris Fulton. Fulton is said to have had a "celebrated truck garden".

Fulton was one of the founders of the Iowa State Agricultural Society. This organization was a forerunner of the Iowa State Fair
Iowa State Fair
The Iowa State Fair is an annual state fair held in Des Moines, Iowa.The 2011 Iowa State Fair was held August 11–21 and marked 100 years of the butter cow sculpture.-History:...

.

Fulton represented Iowa Governor Cyrus C. Carpenter
Cyrus C. Carpenter
Cyrus Clay Carpenter was a Civil War officer, the eighth Governor of Iowa and U.S. Representative from Iowa's 9th congressional district.-Early life:...

 at the United States Centennial celebration in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...

in 1876.

He died in his Fairfield home on January 17, 1885. His tombstone is number 492 in lot 52 of the Old Fairfield City Cemetery.

External links

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