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Jasper County, Iowa
Historical and Genealogical Data Exchange
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A. T.
Guthrie Among
those whose life history is closely interwoven into that of Jasper County is A.
T. Guthrie. He is the son of Isaac
and Martha Guthrie and was born in Palo Alto Township, Jasper County, Iowa, June
22, 1859. His parents emigrated
from Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, in 1853, taking up land in Jasper County,
which is still in the family. The
story so often recited of the hardships and privations of the early settlers in
a new country is the story of the parents of the subject of this sketch, and the
boyhood of A. T. Guthrie was replete with the weird charm and rugged romance of
the wilderness. It was from this primitive surrounding, from this nearness to
God's great unclaimed solitude, that the little pioneer boy drank in that
strength of manhood and sterling worth which stamp him as one of Jasper County's
best citizens. Mr. Guthrie moved to Cairo, Nebraska, at the age of twenty-two,
where for a time, he engaged in farming with very good success, and there in
Hall County he owns a splendid farm of one hundred and sixty acres. That region was at that time very new and the land yielded
readily to cultivation. After a
period of six years Mr. Guthrie returned to Jasper County, Iowa.
It was upon his return to Iowa that he was married to Agnes Stewart in
1888, whose history will be treated in detail later in this article.
The next move of Mr. Guthrie was to Holyoke, Phillips County, Colorado,
where the subject engaged in farming. He
was elected sheriff of the County by the Republicans and served in that capacity
two terms of two years each, performing his duties well and efficiently. Upon retiring from the office of sheriff he engaged in the
implement business for six years, after which he sold out and returned to Jasper
County, Iowa, in 1902, where he has since resided. Mr.
Guthrie is the owner of a splendid farm of one hundred and twenty acres in
Jasper County, one mile south of Newton known as the old Andy Stewart farm.
Aside from general farming Mr. Guthrie is engaged in the raising of
thoroughbred stock, registered Percheron and Shire horses, shorthorn cattle, and
Shropshire sheep. He owns a fine set of farm buildings, furnished with many
modern, up-to-date conveniences. Mr. Guthrie is a
member and steward in -the Presbyterian Church and is affiliated with the blue
lodge and Royal Arch Masons at Newton, Iowa. He is the oldest of three children
now living, having one brother, Charles Guthrie, and a sister, Mrs. Lillie
Spencer, wife of Bert Spencer, all residing in Jasper County and all of them
prosperous people. Agnes Guthrie,
wife of the subject of this sketch, is a daughter of Andrew Stewart, who came to
America from Scotland in 1865, engaging in the coal mining industry.
Her mother's name was Mary Stewart and no hardier or better people ever
come to any country than they. By
their industry and frugality they came to own one of the best farms in the
entire County. Mrs. Guthrie was seven years of age when she came to this
country, and, with the exception of her sojourn in Colorado with her husband,
has since resided in Jasper County, Iowa.
She is the type of the thrifty housewife, a good mother and a woman of
rare discernment and intelligence. She
is a member of the Presbyterian Church.
Three children have blessed the union of Mr. and Mrs. Guthrie, the eldest, Stewart I. Guthrie, being twenty years of age; Vernon A. Guthrie, seventeen years, and Frank A. Guthrie, aged thirteen years. They are also raising a young lady, Violet Wilson Guthrie, aged fifteen years. All reside at home with their parents and assist in the farming and stock raising, the stock raising being conducted under the name of A. T. Guthrie & Sons. The
Past and Present of Jasper County, Iowa, Gen. James B. Weaver, Editor-in-Chief,
1912, B. F. Bowden & Co., Indianapolis, IN, p. |
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