Harrison County Iowa Genealogy

HISTORY OF HARRISON COUNTY, IOWA, 1915
BIOGRAPHIES
Page 870
JOHN P. GARNER

One of the earliest pioneer families of Harrison county is the GARNER family, who have been connected with its history since 1861. John P. GARNER was less than two years of age when his parents located in Harrison county and here he has made his home since that time. He has been an active participant in its affairs for more than half a century and has seen it emerge from a pioneer condition to its present state of prosperity. He has seen the swamps give way to well-cultivated fields, the villages grow to flourishing cities, the trails across the prairie into well-graded highways, and in all of this transformation he has borne his share.

John P. GARNER, the son of Henry and Anna M. (MAHONEY) GARNER, was born November 11, 1859, in Pottawattamie county, Iowa. His father was born July 13, 1837, in North Carolina, and was the son of David and Jane GARNER.

When Henry GARNER was seven years of age the family moved from North Carolina to Adams county, Illinois, and lived in that state until 1846. In that year they came on west to Kanesville, Iowa, now Council Bluffs, where they squatted on a piece of ground until the government put it on the market. At that time the family pre-empted it and secured undisputed possession of the land. In March, 1861, Henry GARNER came to Harrison county, Iowa, and bought two hundred acres in Raglan township. He lived in a log cabin fourteen by sixteen feet until 1865, when he built a handsome brick house, making and burning the brick for it himself. Anna M. Mahoney, the wife of Henry GARNER, was born April 16, 1833, in Maryland, a daughter of Stephen and Margaret Mahoney. The history of the Mahoney family is given elsewhere in this volume.

John P. GARNER was the seventh of fourteen children born to his parents. He received a good common-school education in the schools of Raglan township and has made his home in this township since the spring of 1861. He remained at home until he was twenty-five years of age and then married and went to farming for himself, renting land for a few years before buying his present farm. He saw the first train run on the Chicago & Northwestern railroad from Sioux City to Omaha. He has seen thousands of acres reclaimed from its swampy condition and much of his own farm has been greatly improved by the extensive system of drainage which has been put into operation in the western part of the county. Mr. GARNER also put out the orchard on his farm when he was a small boy. This orchard consists of about four hundred trees and is one of the best fruit bearers in the county. This orchard is responsible for a part of the name which Mr. GARNER gives to his farm, which is known as the �Western View Stock and Fruit Farm.� In addition to his general farming and fruit raising Mr. GARNER is an extensive breeder of full-blooded Duroc-Jersey hogs.

Mr. GARNER was married April 17, 1887, to Hattie GAMET. She was born in Harrison county and is a daughter of David and Nancy (HUTCHISON) Gamet. The reader is referred to the history of George L. Gamet, found elsewhere in this volume, for further information concerning the family. The Gamets were early settlers in Harrison county, and have been prominent in its history for more than half a century. Mr. and Mrs. GARNER are the parents of five children, two of whom are living, David H. and Helen M. David married Mary Asenbrener, and is living with his father. Helen M. is still living with her parents. The deceased children are as follow: Mamie E., who died at the age of two; Alma, who died at the age of eighteen months, and Rolland, who died at the age of four.

Mr. GARNER is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America. He is a Democrat and has been active in the life of his township in political matters. He has served as clerk of Raglan township and also as one of its trustees and road supervisors. He is now one of the directors of the Harrison County Fair Association, is also a member of the Westside Farmers' Club, and has been president of the latter organization for five years. He is a stockholder in the Magnolia creamery and the C. Hafer Lumber Company, of Council Bluffs. The family are loyal members of the Latter-Day Saints church of Mondamin.

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