Last updated: March 23, 2021
Place
Theodore Minthorn Farm
National Park Service
Quick Facts
OPEN TO PUBLIC:
No
MANAGED BY:
Private
Herbert Hoover's grandparents Theodore and Mary (Wasley) Minthorn came to Iowa from Ontario, Canada in 1859. Their seven children included Hoover's mother Hulda and his uncle Henry John. They owned Lone Tree Farm, about three miles from West Branch.
Dr. Henry John Minthorn
Dr. Henry John Minthorn, born April 25, 1846, turned to helping slaves fleeing from their southern masters as a way to show his opposition to slavery. He was a driver on the Underground Railroad, operating with Lawrie Tatum and James Townsend, among others. In 1864, he enlisted in the U.S. Army and served in Cedar County's 44th Infantry unit. His daughter later stated that he "enlisted without parental consent" and "returned home ill and without honor among his family or the Society of Friends."
In 1885, John and Laura Minthorn took their orphaned young nephew, Herbert Hoover, in to their family in Newberg, Oregon. Hoover lived with the Minthorns in Newberg and Salem, Oregon, until he departed for college in 1891.
John Minthorn died October 11, 1922 in Portland Oregon.