Guy, John B. (1830-1914)

GUY

Posted By: Karon Velau (email)
Date: 6/13/2021 at 15:18:26

JOHN Bryant GUY
(March 10, 1830 - December 19, 1914)

J. B. Guy, a pioneer of Otter township, Warren county, finds a warm spot in the heart of every soldier, and this is especially true of the soldiers of Iowa and those of his regiment, the Thirty fourth Iowa. He was born in a log cabin on his father's farm in Iredell county, North Carolina, March 10, 1830, a son of William and Kesiah (Wellman) Guy. Our subject was the fifth born of their nine children, five of whom are now living, - Elsie Ann, Rebecca Ellis, Ollie Adeline, A. J. and J. B. In 1832 the parents located in the dense woods of Indiana, where they hewed their way to sunlight and civilization There they spent the remainder of their lives and our subject also received the rudiments of his education there, while travel and his own studious efforts have effectually supplemented this discipline. He came to Polk county, Iowa in 1851, and five years afterward located his present fine farm, which at that early day was indeed a wild and uncultivated tract of land. This he has transformed into a beautiful and productive section and his kindly eye has yearly witnessed the yellow corn and grain spring out of the once wild prairie land as the result of his own efforts. His little log cabin has been replaced by avery fine home and his eighty acres have widened into a farm of 220 acres. Forty acres of the place lie in Belmont township, twenty acres of which are in timber. Ever industrious, this sterling citizen and soldier has won acompetence for his declining years. August 12, 1862, Mr. Guy enlisted at Indianola as a private in the Thirty-fourth Iowa Infantry. He accompanied his regiment to Chickasaw Bayou, where they had a severe battle with the enemy; at Arkansas Post they again faced the enemy, and participated in the siege of Vicksburg, and in the engagement at Fort Blakely. This is indeed but a cursory record of the hardships this sterling patriot endured in the defense of his country's flag during his long period of service, but his many comrades and friends attest to the laurels he gained as a good soldier, who deemed duty a privilege. Mr. Guy was mustered out at Davenport, Iowa, September 20, 1865, and returned to his home. He was married in Polk county, Iowa February 12, 1852, to Miss Mathilda Emmons, a native of Muskingum county, Ohio, and a daughter of John Emmons. They have had eight children, four now living: Clarence, a well-known farmer of Belmont township, Warren county; A. R. of Milo; Sherman, a farmer of this township; and John, at home. The deceased children were Florence, Blanche, Susan, Jane, and Laura. In his home life Mr. Guy has ever unconsciously shown the many domestic traits which have won for him the everlasting esteem of his kindred, and which are but the natural results of a disposition abounding in love and good will to all mankind. Much credit is also due the remarkable Christian lady who graces his fine home. Mr. Guy affiliates with the Grand Army of the Republic, Post No. 275 of Milo, and is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Ever since the inception of the Republican party, he has been a stanch advocate of its doctrines, and his loyalty today is even in excess of that of previous years. Yet he has never sought political preference from its hands. He cast his first presidential vote for General Scott. Source: A Memorial and Biographical Record of Iowa, Lewis Publishing Co., Chicago, Illinois, 1896, vol.1, p.403

History of Warren County, Iowa from Its Earliest Settlement to 1908, by Rev. W. C. Martin, Clarke Publishing Co., Chicago, Illinois, 1908, p.464
JOHN BRYANT GUY
John Bryant Guy is a retired farmer who has reached the seventy-sixth milestone on life’s journey. He is now living in Milo and has been a resident of the county for fifty-six years, so that he is numbered among its pioneer settlers, and can remember the time when most of its homes were such as are seen upon the frontier in a newly developed region. He has lived to see remarkable changes as the work of transformation has been carried forward by the band of sturdy men and women who established homes here and have converted the wild land into rich, productive farms or promoted business enterprises which have led to the growth and upbuilding of the towns and cities.
Mr. Guy was born in Iredell County, North Carolina, March 10, 1830, his parents being William and Keziah (Wellman} Guy, who were also natives of North Carolina. During the infancy of their son, John, however, they left the south and removed to Indiana, where they spent their remaining days. The father was killed by being thrown from a horse in 1842, while the mother survived until 1865.
John Bryant Guy was only about ten years of age at the time of his father's demise. He remained at home until eighteen years of age, when he left the parental roof and assumed the responsibilities of life for himself. He has since been dependent upon his own resources and as the years have passed he has made a creditable name and place for himself in business circles. In 1851 he arrived in Iowa, at which time he took up his abode in Polk County, there living until 1856, at which time he settled upon a farm about two miles north of Milo. With characteristic energy he began the develop­ment and cultivation of the place, fenced the fields, tilled the soil, cultivated the crops and raised his stock, working on, year after year, until 1905, when he resigned the management of the farm to his sons and secured a comfortable home in Milo, where he is now living a quiet, retired life. Indolence and idle­ness, however, have been utterly foreign to his nature. He has lived a busy, active life and now, in his declining years he does not surrender the "bless­ings of labor," but is occupied with the care of his garden and his home, and his place represents a most tasteful and well kept appearance.
Mr. Guy was married in 1853 to Miss Matilda Emmons, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John Emmons, who were natives of Ohio, where they spent their entire lives. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Guy have been born eight children, but the second born is deceased, and Laura, Florence and Blanche have also passed away. Clarence is a farmer living at Guide Rock, Nebraska, while Albert is an auctioneer of Indianola; Sherman resides upon the old homestead in this county, and John is engaged in buying and selling stock and is also the leading auctioneer in Indianola.
At the time of the Civil War, Mr. Guy responded to the country's call for aid and in September, 1862, joined Company C, of the Thirty-fourth Regiment of Iowa Infantry, under command of Colonel Clark, with General Steele's division of the Thirteenth Army Corps. He participated in many battles, including the siege of Vicksburg, and the last battle of the war at Fort Blakeley. He was mustered out at Houston, Texas, August 15, 1865, and was discharged at Davenport, Iowa, returning home with a most creditable military record, making him worthy of the gratitude which the country owes to its old soldiers who preserved the Union through the darkest hour in its history. He is now a member of the Grand Army post at Milo. He was long a sup­porter of the Republican Party but now votes with the Prohibition Party, because it embodies his ideas upon the temperance question. For about thirty-eight years he has been a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church and his life, honorable and upright in all intents, purposes and actions; has been in harmony with his professions. He is one of the well known citizens of the county, owing to his long residence here, and well deserves mention among the representative pioneers.