Garner, J.C.

VANTASSELL, EVANS, GOWAN, HOWE

Posted By: BCGS
Date: 12/10/2009 at 14:44:49

There is hardly a line of business activity in which J.C. Garner is not engaged and, what is more to the point, is not successful. He is today to be ranked among the most substantial men of Bremer county, Iowa, and that his success is entirely due to his own efforts is the more creditable to him. Not only does he own one of the finest farms on the Cedar river but he also has valuable city property, is interested in the timber business, the grain elevator business, has extensive Canadian farm holdings and is agent for Canadian properties. Mr. Garner is a man large in stature and large in mind, a man of remarkable energy, a broad, shrewd, wide-awake business man, fully able to meet the keenest competition of this arduous age. Although he suffered reverses during the panic of 1893 and was then already past middle age, he has retrieved his fortunes and "made good" in the best American sense of that phrase. Moreover, there is credit due Mr. Garner as a veteran of the Civil war, for when a young man he followed the colors in defense of that which must ever be most precious to this nation.

J.C. Garner was born in Middleboro, Vermont, September 27, 1843, a son of Charles Garner, of England, who with his wife came to America about 1840 and located in Middleboro. They were cotton spinners by trade and their services were soon in great demand. In 1848 the parents removed to Rockford, Illinois, making the journey by way of Lake Champlain through the Erie canal to Buffalo and by boat to Chicago, whence they used wagons to reach their destination. There the father engaged in farming, having bought an improved farm for two dollars and a half per acre. This statement in itself gives an idea as to money value in those times. He remained on this farm until 1881, when he sold out and retired, making his home in Waverly, Iowa, where he resided until his death, his demise occurring at the age of seventy-five years.

J.C. Garner was the eldest of a family of six children. He spent his boyhood and youth in Winnebago county, Illinois, on his father's farm. On July 20, 1861, he enlisted in Company B, Seventh Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry, under Captain Gordon, being mustered in at Madison, Wisconsin. However, owing to the fact that he had not reached the age of eighteen he was refused. In September 1861, however, he again offered himself for service and enlisted in Company C, Fifty-fifth Illinois Volunteer Infantry, under Colonel Stewart, being mustered in at Chicago. Thence they went to St. Louis and on to Paducah and Pittsburg Landing, taking part in the battle, in which Mr. Garner was wounded. After having convalesced he was attached to the Fifteenth Army Corps, under Grant, until the battle of Missionary Ridge, when he came under the command of General Sherman, with whom he remained until he was honorably discharged at Rome, Georgia, on October 15, 1864. He took part in the battles of Vicksburg and the fighting before Atlanta and always distinguished himself by faithfully fulfilling his duties and exhibiting valorous bravery at critical moments.

After having doffed the uniform Mr. Garner went to the south, where he spent two years, engaging in the raising of cotton in Louisiana with varying success. In 1869 he came to Iowa, locating in the district of Osage, where he farmed for some time. The year 1871 finds him in Waverly engaged in various lines of business endeavor, such as dealing in wood and being engaged in installing pumps, wells, and, in fact, following any occupation which would bring financial returns. In 1875 he entered the lumber business and also the mercantile business and so continued actively until 1900, owning five yards in Iowa and an equal number in North Dakota. Mr. Garner never lost his nerve in critical situations and weathered the financial storm of the '90s with such good success that he is today considered one of the most substantial men of the county, although his reverses during those years of financial depression would have broken the spirit of many a weaker man. For thirty years he has handled horses and has become recognized as one of the most expert judges of those animals. He now owns one of the most attractive and valuable farms on the Cedar river, comprising one hundred and sixty acres. Fifty to sixty acres are annually put in grain and that his methods are intense and up-to-date can be easily gleaned from the fact that he averages ninety bushels to the acre. Five acres of the farm are devoted to a valuable apple orchard. His horse and cattle barns are modern, substantial and in every way equipped with the latest devices. An idea as to the size of his horse barn is given by the fact that it has seventy individual stalls. On the farm is found one of the finest brick residences of the section, a handsome, commodious building, the erection of which necessitated an outlay of over ten thousand dollars. Mr. Garner also owns a brick residence in Waverly which is situated in a half block of ground located on the west side of the city and is used as his town house. He has city property on West Bremer street and other business realty. For twenty-five years he was engaged in the mercantile business to good purpose. He also does an extensive business under the firm name of Garner Brothers, the firm operating grain elevators, and derives a substantial additon to his income from this source. For the past seven years he has been dealing in Canadian lands and is now assisted in his multifarious undertakings by his sons, who are all successful business men.

On January 15, 1872, Mr. Garner was united in marriage to Miss Hattie Van Tassell, of New York, a daughter of Oliver Van Tassell, of that state, who came to Iowa in the late '60s. Mr. and Mrs. Garner are the parents of the following children: M.C., who is engaged in the hotel business, managing two establishments at Benson, Minnesota; Walter J., who is engaged in the grain and land business and also deals in horses at Wayburn, Canada, his father being a partner in the undertaking; C.J., who is also engaged in business with his brother at Wayburn; Mabel, who married Frank Evans, of St. Catharines, Canada, the latter being general manager of the Swift extablishment at that place; Viva, who is the wife of William Gowan, of Springfield, Massachusetts, the latter being selling agent for a large western lumber mill at that place; and Vera, now Mrs. Harry Howe, of Seattle, Washington, whose husband is connected with railroad interests. All of the children enjoyed a good education and the sons were placed, through the efforts of their father, in such a position that it is safe to prophesy as to their financial independence in the near future.

Having passed his seventieth birthday, Mr. Garner still actively looks after his many interests and is as keen as ever as regards any business deal. Allthough he is deeply interested in public affairs and ever gives his support to worthy causes, he has never cared to enter the political arena, his business activities practically precluding outside interests. He is a member of the Grand Army of the Republic and through that connection keeps awake the spirit of camaraderie which bound together the boys in blue when they were fighting for the cause of the Union on the battlefields of the south. He also is a Mason, being a member of the blue lodge, and carries into his every-day life the beneficent principles of that high-minded organization. Not only has Mr. Garner attained to individual wealth but he has been a powerful factor for growth and advancement in Bremer county and Waverly and by creating new values has added to the resources and assets of his district. As an agriculturist he sets a splendid example in his well managed farm, which is run along scientific lines. Moreover, he has given to America splendid children, all of whom continue to bring new lustre to the family name and to make it honored wherever the name of Garner is known.

History of Bremer County, Iowa Vol. II 1914