Nutting, William P.

NUTTING

Posted By: Karon Velau (email)
Date: 6/29/2021 at 14:16:07

History of Warren County, Iowa from Its Earliest Settlement to 1908, by Rev. W. C. Martin, Clarke Publishing Co., Chicago, Illinois, 1908, p.544

WILLIAM P. NUTTING
William P. Nutting, a prosperous and successful farmer and stock-raiser of Otter Township, was born at Leverett, Worcester County, Massachusetts, not far from Northampton, Greenfield and Orange, on the 4th of August, 1847. His father, David H. Nutting, a sketch of whom appears elsewhere in this volume, brought his family to Iowa in the year 1855, when our sub­ject was but eight years of age, and here he has resided ever since. On first entering school, he and his brother attended a subscription school in Iowa, of which his mother was the teacher, and the educational advantages which they thus enjoyed were fully as good as they could have had in the place of his birth, as Mrs. Nutting was a woman of exceptional culture, education and refinement. Mr. Nutting remained at home and assisted his father in his extensive farming operations until the year 1873, when he was married to Miss Catherine McLennan, at which time the young couple took up their abode on the home farm where they have since resided.
While William P. Nutting was particularly fortunate in being possessed of a gifted mother who early instilled into his youthful mind the principles of a sound and sensible education, he was no less fortunate in the practical training which his father bestowed upon him in the line of his chosen voca­tion. His success in conducting farming operations is attested by the fact that he now owns some nine hundred acres of land, eight hundred and twenty acres of which are in Otter Township and the remaining eighty in Belmont Township. Much of this he has acquired through his own efforts, though a part of it is the result of a division of his father's estate. In addition to the cultivation of grains and cereals, Mr. Nutting is also an extensive stock-raiser and breeder of shorthorn Durham cattle, double stand­ard, or Durham and hornless. He has a herd of registered stock, also many graded cattle. He feeds a great many cattle and hogs, often having as many as two hundred of the latter on hand.
Mrs. Nutting was born in 1850 in Inverness, Scotland, the daughter of William and Ellen (Johnson) McLennan. Her parents came to Iowa during the first years of the Civil War. Here Mr. McLennan bought three eighty-acre tracts of land, located in White Breast, Belmont and Otter Townships, and here they lived throughout the remainder of their lives, both of them passing away at the old home place in White Breast Township. They were the parents of six children, five of whom are still living, namely: Catherine, the wife of Mr. Nutting, of this review; Ann, the wife of John McKenzie, of Winterset, Iowa; Jennie, the wife of William Hastings, a farmer re­siding near Madora, Squaw Township; John, a hardware merchant, located at Earlham, Dallas County, and Jessie, a former teacher of Warren County, who resides at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Nutting.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Nutting have been born seven children, all of whom are yet living. Herbert W., resides on the J. F. Goode farm, now owned by his father. He married Miss Lizzie Dennis and they have one daugh­ter, Eveline. Nellie is the wife of Cassius McNear, a farmer of Otter Town­ship, and they have one daughter, Vivian. Ansel is just entering the ministry of the Presbyterian Church. As a preparation for this work he has had exceptional educational advantages. He was a student in the Milo high school, also took a course of study at Fairfield and at Omaha. He was licensed to preach at Des Moines, and has followed this profession for sev­eral years. He will soon be ordained a minister of the Presbyterian Church and will accept a charge at Derby, this state. Ray, Myrtle, John and Mary reside at home with their parents. Myrtle has followed the occupation of teaching.
Mr. Nutting is a prominent and active member of the Presbyterian Church at Milo, of which he has been an elder since its organization. The Republican Party finds in him a staunch supporter of its principles. His father was an old line Whig. He has been in public life at various times, having served as township clerk, as township trustee and in other minor offices. He is a man of exemplary habits and sterling worth, and no one in the community is held in higher regard.