Guittar, Theodore (1842-1919)

GUITTAR

Posted By: Joyce Hickman (email)
Date: 12/18/2008 at 16:11:35

Theodore Guittar
Dec 20, 1842 - Apr 22, 1919

(From the 1883 History of Pottawattamie County, Iowa, by J. H. Keatley, p.24, Council Bluffs)
Theodore Guittar, County Sheriff, was born in 1842, in St. Louis, Mo., and became a resident of Council Bluffs in 1855. He received his education in the public schools of Council Bluffs, and, in 1877, was elected to the office of Constable. To this office he was re-elected, serving four years during the two terms; he spent two years as Deputy Sheriff under George Doughty, in 1872-73, and also two years in the same capacity under A. L. Kahle. In 1881, he was elected by the Republican party to the office of Sheriff of the county; his majority was forty-one votes; he is now engaged in the discharge of the duties of that office. In 1862, he entered the army as a private in the Second Iowa Battery. During his service, he was in many hard-fought battles, among which were the following: siege of Vicksburg, battle of Nashville, Tenn., Jacksonville, Miss., second siege of Mobile, bagttle of Selma, Ala., Montgomery, Ala., and Tupelo, Tenn. Mr. Guittar is a member of the Grand Army of the Republic, and also of Bluff City Lodge, No. 49, I. O. O. F.; he was married, in 1869, to Miss Elizabeth Beecroft, a native of England, and who came to the United States in 1854, with her people, and to Council Bluffs in 1860. They have but one child, a daughter.

(From the 1891 Biographical History of Pottawattamie County, Iowa, p.564)
THEODORE GUITTAR, United States Deputy Collector of Internal Revenue, of Council Bluffs, Iowa, was born in St Louis, Missouri, Dec 20, 1842. He attended the common schools of that city until 12 years of age, when in 1855 his parents moved to Council Bluffs and consequently, Mr. GUITTAR is one of the early settlers of this place. He is of French descent, his ancestors having come from that country to Canada, settling near Quebec. His grandfather, Vansaw GUITTAR, was born in France but subsequently came to Canada and engaged in farming. He was married in the latter country, and soon afterward removed to St Louis, where all his children, four sons and one daughter, were born. One son, Francis, the father of our subject, when twelve years of age, engaged on a boat for the American Fur Company a short time, and afterward became an agent for the same company, remaining in their employ until 1840. In that year, he engaged in the same business on his own account as an Indian trader. In 1852 he opened a store of general merchandise at Council Bluffs, continuing the same until 1878, when he retired and still resides in Council Bluffs at the ripe old age of 81 years. He was in this city as early as 1825, when it was an Indian camping ground; it afterwards became an Indian trading post. He traveled from St. Louis to the mouth of the Yellowstone in keel-boats.

Mr. GUITTAR was married at St Louis, Missouri, in 1841, to Miss Eugenia BONO, who was born July 8, 1824, and is still living. They have three sons: Theodore, Francis Jr., and Frederick. Francis and Frederick are engaged in farming and reside in St Louis Co., Missouri, near St. Louis. Theodore, our subject, attended school and also clerked in his father's store until August 11, 1862, when he enlisted in the 2nd Iowa Battery, Light Artillery; thought not 20 years old and remained in the service until the close of the War. He was in the siege at Vicksburg, Nashville, Tennessee; Tupelo, Tennessee; Jackson, Mississippi; and was in both battle and siege of Raymond, Hurricane Creek, Old Town Creek, Oxford, Black River Bridge and others. At the close of the War, Mr. GUITTAR returned to Council Bluffs and remained as clerk in his father's store until 1870. He then purchased a farm two miles east of this city, where he engaged in farming and fruit raising. He remained on this farm five years, and then settled in Council Bluffs.

In January 1875, he was appointed Deputy Sheriff, served two years, and was then elected Constable of this city. He held this office one term, and was re-elected; but after serving half of his second term, was elected County Sheriff in 1881, and re-elected in 1883. At the expiration of his second term, in January 1886, he engaged in the real estate business, purchasing and renting houses of his own. April 1, 1890, he was appointed by Lewis WEINSTINE Deputy Collector for the Fourth District of Iowa. December 20, 1869, Mr. GUITTAR was united in marriage in this city to Elizabeth BEECRAFT, a native of England who resides in Council Bluffs. Mr. and Mrs. GUITTAR have one daughter, Eugenia I., born December 17, 1873. Mrs. GUITTAR is a member of the Baptist Church, and Mr. GUITTAR is a member of the I.O.O.F., Council Bluffs Lodge No. 49, and also of Abe Lincoln Post No. 29 of Iowa, and is a Republican politically. He is one of our representative citizen and businessmen, and enjoys the confidence and respect of all who know him.