Montgomery, William C.

MONTGOMERY

Posted By: Karon Velau (email)
Date: 6/13/2021 at 16:10:11

WILLIAM C. MONTGOMERY
born Aug 4, 1838

William C. Montgomery, ex-Sheriff of Warren county, Iowa, and one of its well-known citizens, has for years had his residence in Virginia township. He is a representative of a family which has for several generations figured in the history of Kentucky, Indiana, and Illinois. It was in Knox county, Illinois, in his father's log cabin, about six miles east of Galesburg, that William C. Montgomery was born, August 4, 1838, his parents being Hugh and Dycie (Anderson) Montgomery. Hugh Montgomery's birthplace was on the site of the Tippecanoe battlefield, the date of his birth being 1816. His father, John Montgomery, fought by the side of William H. Harrison in that war in which the latter distinguished himself; and John Montgomery's father, Hugh, the great- grandfather of our subject, was a participant in the Revolution. Early in the present century John Montgomery left Kentucky, the State of his birth and that of his father before him, and crossed the mountains and rivers into Territorial Indiana, where he entered a tract of land and established his home, and where for many years he exerted a wide influence that was felt for good. At the time of the Indian uprising this sterling pioneer went forth with other brave citizens to give battle to the dangerous foe, and after the red men had been subdued he returned to his home. He and his good wife, who also was a native of Kentucky, passed the rest of their lives and died in Indiana. They reared a family of three sons and two daughters. Their son, Hugh, was married in Indiana to Miss Dycie Anderson, by whom he had seven children, two sons and five daughters, of whom the following survive: William C., whose name appears at the head of this review; Martha, wife of George Earl, a farmer of Madison county, Nebraska; and Mrs. Alice Taylor, Cromwell, Iowa. In 1835, Hugh Montgomery removed with his family to Knox county, Illinois, and settled on the frontier, miles from any neighbor, and there he had his abiding place until 1893, since which year he and his wife have spent most of their time with their children in Iowa. Although having reached the octogenarian rank, he is young in his feelings and actions, and greatly enjoys the companionship of his grandchildren. His wife is now in her seventy-ninth year. Disease has made inroads upon her constitution, and for some time she has been a sufferer. William C. Montgomery was reared in his native county, his education being received in subscription schools which were held in a log house five miles from his home. He recalls as his first teacher, Mr. Robert Montague, who is still living. On reaching man's estate, Mr. Montgomery chose to follow the calling in which he had been brought up, and to which his father's life has been devoted, that of farming. In 1869 he left Illinois and removed to Missouri, locating first in Harrison county and later in Gentry, and after five years spent in Missouri came to Iowa, the date of his arrival in Warren county being October 6, 1874. For seven years he resided in Belmont township. Then he came to Virginia township and purchased 120 acres of land on section 8, which he now owns and occupies, his place being a desirable and valuable one.
Mr. Montgomery was married January 21, 1858, when not yet twenty years of age, to Miss Mary E. Chittenton, a native of Hancock county, Indiana. She had removed with her parents from Indiana to Knox county, Illinois, when a child. Of this happy union were born ten children, seven sons and three daughters, namely: Annetta, who died in Belmont township, this county, while in her teens; the next two died in infancy; J. E., the fourth born, is a resident of Virginia township; Charles V., also of this township; Samuel A., a schoolteacher of Indianola; Hugh, New Virginia; and Dycie, Mattie, and Fred at home. When he became a voter, Mr. Montgomery allied himself with the Democratic party, casting his first presidential vote for Stephen A. Douglas. He voted for Lincoln's second term and since then has always supported the Republican party. He has himself frequently been honored by official preferment. He has served as School Director in three different States, having filled the office altogether no less than twenty years, and few there are who have a deeper interest in the public schools than he. In 1885 he was elected Sheriff of Warren county, a position he filled most ably and acceptably from 1886 until 1890, when his term expired; also he has been Constable, and at this writing is Justice of the Peace. During the dark days of the rebellion Mr. Montgomery's patriotism asserted itself, and like his forefathers in early days, he was ready to fight for his country. July 22, 1862, he enlisted as a member of Company K, Eighty-third Illinois Volunteer Infantry, and served until he was honorably discharged, November 17, 1862. He is a member of the A.O.U.W. Source: A Memorial and Biographical Record of Iowa, Lewis Publishing Co., Chicago, Illinois, 1896, vol.1, p.380