Carroll County IAGenWeb

HISTORY OF CARROLL COUNTY IOWA

A Record of Settlement, Organization, Progress and Achievement

VOLUME II ILLUSTRATED

CHICAGO THE S. J. CLARKE PUBLISHING COMPANY 1912

Transcribed by Sharon Elijah August 20, 2020

Through the improvement of the opportunities which Iowa offers in agricultural lines S. P. Gulick has become one of the substantial citizens of Carroll county. He is one of Iowa’s eastern-born residents, his birth having taken place in Montgomery county, New York, on the 25th of August, 1845, a son of William and Anne Marie (Parks) Gulick. The father, who was born in the same county in 1801, was a blacksmith by trade, who, in 1856, sought the opportunities of the middle west, locating in Clinton county, Iowa. He was engaged at his trade there for several years, after which he came to Carroll county and here he resided with his son, S. P. Gulick. During his latter years he lived retired and passed away on the 3d of June, 1880. His wife’s death followed ten years later, at which time she was laid by the side of her husband in West Side cemetery. She was descended from an old Connecticut family and her father served in the Revolutionary war. To Mr. and Mrs. William Gulick were born three sons and four daughters, namely: Lonette, the deceased wife of P. J. Schuyler, whose remains were also interred in West Side cemetery; Henry, deceased; Sarah, the widow of Richard Wagner, of Denison, Iowa; Cynthia, who married Charles Jones, also of that city; Emma, the deceased wife of George Harris, of Rockwell City, Iowa; William, who was killed while serving in the Civil war at the battle of Bayou Meto; and S. P., of this review.

In the county of his nativity S. P. Gulick spent his first eleven years of his life, and his education, which had been begun in the Empire state, was continued in the schools of Clinton county, Iowa. After his graduation from the high school he pursued a course at the college at Mount Vernon, Iowa, and with his broad mental training he returned home to take up the cares and responsibilities of business life. In 1873 he came to Carroll county where he entered a farm in Arcadia township, about a half mile from West Side. The land was unimproved when it came into his possession, still covered with its native growth, and Mr. Gulick had first to clear a road before he could haul the timber with which to build his house. There were no bridges in the district at that time, and it was necessary to fill many of the ditches with brush in order to pass over them. The dwelling which he erected is still standing and is one of the old landmarks of the locality. Confronted by the arduous task of converting his raw prairie land into productive fields, Mr. Gulick at once concentrated his efforts upon its development and improvement and, overcoming all obstacles and difficulties which lay in his path, it was not long ere he had brought his farm under a high state of cultivation. He not only erected substantial and commodious barns and outbuildings but set out many fruit trees and also had a fine grove of shade trees of his own planting and instituted many other improvements. His farm, consisting of eighty acres, is now equipped with all of the machinery necessary for the successful conduct of an agricultural enterprise and is one of the desirable and valuable properties of the township.

In 1886 Mr. Gulick was married to Miss Mary Hannah, and they have one son, Robert, who now operates his father’s farm. The parents hold membership in the Methodist Episcopal church, the teachings of which form the guiding influences of their lives, and the political support of Mr. Gulick is given to the republican party. He early learned the lesson that success must be purchased at the price of earnest, well defined labor, and by constant exertion, associated with good judgment, he has gained a place among the substantial agriculturists of Arcadia township and commands the respect and confidence of all with whom he has business relations.

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