Encyclopedia Dubuque
"Encyclopedia Dubuque is the online authority for all things Dubuque, written by the people who know the city best.”
Marshall Cohen—researcher and producer, CNN
Affiliated with the Local History Network of the State Historical Society of Iowa, and the Iowa Museum Association.
STAFFORD, John
STAFFORD, John. (Wexford, IA-Dubuque, IA, Oct. 15, 1888). Editor. Stafford, only twenty-five years old when he died of "brain fever," was editor of the Industrial Leader, the labor newspaper of Dubuque.
Trained as a blacksmith, Stafford came to Dubuque and worked in the shops of the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul railway. With the beginning of the labor movement in Dubuque, Stafford accepted leadership roles in the Knights of Labor where he was recognized as a fluent speaker. Locally Stafford served as the city recorder until offered the position of editor of the Leader.