Beatty, John P.

BEATTY, EWING, RODGERS, CAMPBELL, KERR, WESTCOTT, CONDIT, HARRAH, MORGAN, MCKONKEY

Posted By: Volunteer Transcriber
Date: 12/3/2008 at 12:27:21

BEATTY, John P.

Farmer and Stock Raiser; Sec. 10; P. O. Newton; born in Fayette Co., Ohio, Dec. 8, 1828. He married Miss Phebe E. CONDIT in Albany, Athens Co., Ohio, in 1856. They had one child - Harvey L., died Sept. 1, 1859. Mrs. Beatty died July 3, 1858. Mr. Beatty came to Iowa, October 1855; bought his farm and returned to Ohio in March 1856; returned to Iowa and settled on his farm, which he now owns, in March 1858. He married, for his second wife, Elizabeth J. KERR, in Ohio, in 1860. She was born in Ross Co., Ohio, in April 1835. They have six children - Maggie E., James A., Robert K., Minnie and Bertie (twins) and Mary E. Mr. Beatty was elected to the 14th General Assembly for two years; has held the office of Board of Supervisors four years, and held numerous township offices. He has 300 acres of land, valued at $50 per acre; has one of the largest and most expensive houses and barns in Jasper Co.; has 300 fruit trees and 200 forest trees; a fine location, with all the pleasant comforts of life. Mr. and Mrs. Beatty and eldest children are members of the Congregational Church. ~ "Malaka Township Biographies," The History of Jasper County, Iowa, (Chicago: Western Historical Company, 1878)
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~ Hon. John P. Beatty ~
Few of the citizens of Jasper County are more widely and none are more favorably known than the gentlemen with whose name we introduce this sketch, and who was formerly a member of the State Legislature. At the present time he is engaged in farming and stock raising, being the owner of one of the most valuable farms in Newton Township. No enterprise has been originated in this community since the date of his arrival to which, when assured of its beneficial results, he has not given his cordial support and warm sympathy, and he has contributed his quota to the progress of the county. He aided in the organization of the First National Bank of Newton, of which he has been a Director from its inception.

Born in Fayette County, Ohio, December 8, 1828, our subject is tile son of Alexander N. and Margaret C. (Ewing) Beatty. The Beatty family is of Scotch-Irish ancestry, and was prominently connected with the Presbyterian Church in Scotland prior to the religious revolution, but at that time they left the country and settled in the North of Ireland. Capt. John Beatty, our subject's grandfather, emigrated to America just before the War for Independence, settling not far from Lewistown, Pa. Commissioned a Captain in General Washington's army, he gallantly wielded a sword through the entire war, taking part in fourteen of the principal battles of that bloody conflict, as well as participating in many small engagements. He was twice married, and reared a large number of children. In 1809, accompanied by his family, Captain Beatty removed to Fairfield County, Ohio, where he opened up a farm in the wilderness and endured all the hardships incident to life on the frontier. He died in Fairfield County in 1823. Alexander Beatty, the father of our subject, was one of the children of his father's first marriage, and was born in Pennsylvania in 1797. His mother, a Scotch lady of much culture, died when he was small, and, therefore, we can learn but little of her family history. A half-brother of Alexander is now living at Mt. Pleasant, Iowa, at the age of eighty-five years (1893). For many years an influential businessman, he is now living retired. One of his sons, James H., is a Federal Judge in Idaho, residing in Boise City.

After his marriage, Alexander Beatty settled upon a farm in Fayette County, Ohio, where he continued to make his home until his death, April 12, 1878. He was a pronounced Abolitionist, and many a poor runaway Negro found in him a true friend. He was known to have an underground station for their protection. A man of decided opinions, he always possessed the courage of his convictions, and was an influential citizen of his community. The mother of our subject was the daughter of Capt. Thomas Ewing, who was of Scotch-Irish ancestry, and won his title for meritorious service in the War of 1812. She was born in Fairfield County, Ohio, in 1807, and died in February 1856.

In the parental family the subject of this sketch was the fourth in the order of birth. One of his sisters died when a young lady, and a brother died in infancy. Jane Elizabeth married Thomas D. Rodgers; the latter, who is deceased, was a resident of Highland County, Ohio. Margaret married James Campbell, and died at the age of twenty years. Clara A. married James E. Kerr, who died in Missouri; she now resides at Helena, Mont. William A. died in February 1839, when but three years of age. Nancy Emily became the wife of Rev. Robert Westcott, a prominent Presbyterian minister residing in Clarinda, Page County, Iowa. James A. served as private in the Eighty-first Ohio Infantry for three years, participating in the siege of Atlanta and accompanying General Sherman on his memorable march to the sea; he now lives in Ohio, where he owns a part of the old homestead, his birthplace. Calvin O. also owns a part of the old home place, where he now resides. The sons, like their father, are all radical temperance men, and are identified with the Prohibition Party.

The gentleman of whom we write was reared upon his father's farm, and in his youth had limited advantages, attending school but two years prior to his twenty-first year. He then entered the academy at Albany, Athens County, Ohio, where he spent two years. Afterward he taught school in the wintertime and worked on his father's farm during the summer seasons until he was twenty-seven years of age. In September 1856, he married Miss Phebe E. Condit, who was born in New Jersey and was for many years a successful teacher, in which profession she engaged at the age of sixteen.

In the winter of 1855-56, Mr. Beatty made his first visit to Iowa, and purchased some land not far from his present farm. In the spring of 1858 he came here to make for himself a home. July 4 of the same year his wife died, leaving a son only a month old, and a year later he died. October 11, 1860, Mr. Beatty married Miss Elizabeth J. Kerr, of Ross County, Ohio, the daughter of a well-to-do farmer of that county. They have had six children, namely: Margaret, the deceased wife of G. R. Harrah, and a young lady of culture, who had a fine musical education; James A., who is married and lives on a part of his father's farm; Robert K., who married Mary Morgan, of Davenport, and is a traveling salesman, living in that city; Minnie and J. Benton (twins), the former being the wife of Dr. A. B. Palmer, of Newton, and the latter marrying Miss Lillie McKonkey and residing with his father on the farm; and Esther, a talented young lady and a student in the Newton Academy.

As a farmer and stock-raiser, Mr. Beatty has for years been prominent, and in the industrious pursuit of his vocation he has accumulated a competence sufficient to provide handsomely for his children and also retain enough for his old age. He was reared under a strong Abolition influence, and later cast his lot with the Republican Party. In 1871 he was nominated for the State Legislature, to which position he was elected, serving with great credit to himself and to the satisfaction of his constituency. For five years be was a member of the County Board of Supervisors, and for a long time has served as Justice of the Peace. He has also held the other township offices. In religious belief he is a Congregationalist, and his wife is also identified with that denomination, in which for many years he has been a Deacon. A lifelong friend of temperance, an honorable man, a public-spirited champion of progressive measures, he is one of those quiet, unassuming Christian gentlemen who have given character to the great west. Portrait and Biographical Record, Jasper,
Marshall and Grundy Counties, IA Page 285.