Blatherwick, John Henry

BLATHERWICK, CASWELL, MCARTHUR, WILEY

Posted By: Gary Norris (email)
Date: 11/30/2012 at 07:28:04

One of the well known citizens of Grinnell, a veteran of the Civil war, a successful man of business and the heard of a remarkable family of scholars is John Henry Blatherwick whose name introduces this review. He is a native of Portage county, Ohio, born April 16, 1849, and is a son of James and Matilda (Caswell) Blatherwick. The father was born at Notingham, England, and the mother in New York state. In 1845, the family removed to Waukegan, Illinois, where the father followed farming, but was subsequently engaged in the insurance business in Chicago, where both he and his wife made their home throughout the remainder of their lives. In their family were eleven children and of this number three were soldiers of the Civil war. Our subject's paternal grandfather was one of the first lace-makers in Nottingham, England, came to the United States with his seven sons, James, being the eldest carried seven thousand dollars in gold in a belt strapped around his waist.
John H. Blatherwick received his early education in the common schools and after laying his books aside became connected with agricultural interests in Illinois. At the time of the Civil war he enlisted in the Fifty-first Illinois Infantry and served as a member of the band until honorably discharged and mustered out at Corinth, Mississippi. Returning from the war, he rented a farm in Illinois for two years and then came to Iowa and engaged in farming for twelve years in Blackhawk county. Subsequently he lived in Carroll county, Iowa; Antelope county, Nebraska, and Sioux county, Iowa, finally taking up his residence at Grinnell in 1903, where he has since continued.
In December, 1869, Mr. Blatherwick was united in marriage to Miss Nettie McArthur, of Blackhawk county, a daughter of John McArthur, who was born in Scotland. The following children were born until Mr. and Mrs. Blatherwick, namely; Wilfred E., who is now a practicing physician of Drake, North Dakota; John Clarence, engaged in farming at Breckenridge, Minnesota; Charles, deceased; Ada, who is the wife of Professor Wiley, of the Iowa State University; George, who graduated from Rush Medical College of Chicago and is now engaged in practice at Denver, Colorado; Alexander, also a graduate of Rush Medical College of Chicago and now practicing at Los Angeles, California; Belle, a teacher at Iowa City; and Norman, who is now taking a post-graduate course at the University of Illinois. The children have attained a remarkable record in educational lines, all of them except Ada, who was graduated in Music at Epworth Conservatory and finished study in Chicago, being graduates of Grinnell College, and three of the sons are successfully engaged in the practice of medicine. During a period extending over eighteen years one or more of the children were in attendance at Grinnell College.
Politically Mr. Blatherwick supports the men and measures of the republican party - an organization with which he has been in hearty sympathy ever since he cast his first ballot fifty years ago, in 1861. In religious belief he is a Congregationalist and fraternally he holds membership in Gordon Granger Post, No. 64, G.A.R. Mr. Blatherwick has passed the seventy-first milestone on life's journey and looks back on many years of pleasing and useful labor. His efforts have not been expended entirely in pursuit of selfish aims as he has many times extended a helping hand to a weary or disheartened fellowman and today he enjoys in an unusual degree the confidence and respect of a large circle of the best citizens of Grinnell.

History of Poweshiek County Iowa
- A Record of Settlement, Organizations, Progress and Achievement, Vol. II
written by Prof. L. F. Parker.
Published by The S. J. Clarke Publishing Co., in 1911
Pages 163-164