A New London Story

I am going to tell you story that happens to be about some of my family. It happened in 1916. It was a story I heard growing up but never really knew how much was embellished. I found out that it was pretty straight forward…at least according to the several New York and Iowa newspapers.

John Quincy McKinnon was one of 16 children born to Thomas and Elizabeth Smith McKinnon. He was born near Greenfield, Indiana in 1850. He was an Iowan by age three. He married in 1875. His first wife died in 1877, and he was left alone with two small children. J. Q. didn’t remarry until 1886 when he was 36 years old.

His second wife was Margaret Morrow. She was 15 years younger than John, but her health proved to be fragile. She died as an invalid in 1925 after having had four children: John Quincy Jr., Curtis, Ralph, and Geneva. Geneva died at four months, but Margaret’s sons survived and thrived, especially John Jr.

The first John Q. was an active citizen. In 1895, he was on a poster as one of the prominent citizens of New London and vicinity. According to his obituary, he had been New London’s mayor multiple times, and its postmaster during the Cleveland administration. He was on many boards and was a member of the Oddfellows.

John Quincy Jr., born on July 6, 1887, was John Sr.’s golden boy. Brilliantly smart, he graduated early from both high school and college… three years each. He became a teacher, a principal, and a superintendent at various schools.

He returned to college and was an excellent athlete, standing 6’ 3” and weighing 200 pounds. He wrestled for Columbia garnering nationwide recognition and played football for the University of Minnesota. He was in the 10% that passed the law boards on their first try. It seemed he excelled at everything he tried.

He received his law degree from Columbia in 1913 and was practicing law and living in Brooklyn by 1916. He worked for a well-known law firm on 27 Wall Street. He was engaged to be married to a Du Pont. What parent wouldn’t be proud!

On July 9, 1916, three days after his 29th birthday, he was at the shore when he saw two girls struggling with a tidal current. Quoting the paper, “The New York papers have devoted columns to this act of heroism of John McKinnon…who by super human strength rescued two young woman that the lifeguards refused to help saying the current was not survivable. He landed them safely on the beach before his great heart burst from the exertion, he dropped dead at the feet of a crowd of three thousand.” This may be the first example of many where a bad heart felled a McKinnon male.

His father, John Sr., was devastated. As he was lost in his sorrow, his gaze landed on 5-week old Donald Norton, his first grandchild from son Ralph and his wife. He had a plan. He would offer Ralph and Yoma $1,000 to change the baby’s name to John Quincy III. No one would remember he had ever been named Don…and he was right. John Sr. now had his living memorial to his fallen son.

The offer wasn’t refused…in today’s money, that $1,000 was truly significant. Baby Don became John III.

From that name change on, John Sr. was known to the other grandkids as “John’s grandpa.” When John got a quarter, the rest of the grandkids got a nickel.

The original John Quincy died in 1931 at the age of 83, outliving two wives and two of his children. The three John Quincy’s are buried not far from each other at Burge.

The last John Quincy, the fourth, was born in 1944 and is living quite successfully in Chicago. How did the story end? It came to its logical conclusion … John IV had two daughters.