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George Matthew Allee |
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(1877-1958) |
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George was born in 1877 to parents, Mary E. Kingman and Jesse J. Allee, in Newell, Ia. His family moved into the Allee Mansion in 1891, when George was 14 years old. The whole community attended their open house, which was a celebration of divine food and fantastic entertainment. In June of 1900 George and his mother, as well as his aunt and uncle, traveled to Europe. They set sail to return to America on August 30th, from Scotland on the SS Anchoria. On the trip home, his uncle somehow encountered the Bubonic Plague, and died on the ship just as they neared their awaited destination in the New York Harbor. They brought his body home for a proper burial. George was a graduate of Newell Public School. He then attended Cornell College and graduated from Harvard University at age 27, in 1904. He is one of the early developers of inbred corn. He spent his life developing strains of corn that would withstand the winters early frost and give the cattle a better weight gain. George organized the Newell Farmers Institute in 1911. They sponsored 35 corn shows in Newell up until 1949. Local farmers would receive ribbons for the best quality and display of their corn. These corn shows were believed to be the best in the state. In 1914, George became President of the Iowa Agricultural Experimental Association, which connected him to the Iowa College, now known as Iowa State University. In 1926, he becamer President of the Iowa Corn and Small Grain Growers of Iowa. A great deal of credit goes to George for the value and success of the Iowa Corn Yield Test developed on the Allee farm and now used throughout the world. |
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__________________________________________________ Newell Historical Society Box 5 Newell, Ia 50568 Questions? Contact Us! |
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