Harrison County Iowa Genealogy

HISTORY OF HARRISON COUNTY, IOWA, 1915
BIOGRAPHIES
Page 781
GEORGE D. MCINTOSH

The MCINTOSH family came to Harrison county, Iowa, in 1856, driving an ox team from Putnam county, Indiana. The family first located in St. Johns township, on land where the city of Missouri Valley now stands. The parents of George D. MCINTOSH lived in this county the remainder of their lives with the exception of four years when they were living in Kansas. When the MCINTOSH family came here there were still many Indians roaming through this section of the state, and elk, deer, buffalo and all kinds of wild game were to be found in abundance. In these early days there was a great deal of boating up and down the Missouri river. At that time the channel of the Missouri river was a mile and a half farther east than it is at the present time.

George D. MCINTOSH, the son of Moses B. and Elizabeth (MARKSBURY) MCINTOSH, was born on May 8, 1848, in Putnam county, Indiana. His parents were both natives of Kentucky, the MCINTOSH family being of Scottish-Irish descent and early settlers in the United States. The parents of George MCINTOSH lived in Indiana for several years after their marriage and it was not until 1856 that they decided to go west. They drove in a large �prairie schooner,� with four yoke of oxen and a one-horse team, and made the long overland trip from Indiana to Iowa. They located in St. Johns township in Harrison County, among the very earliest settlers in that neighborhood. In his boyhood days George D. plowed with his oxen practically all of the ground now occupied by the city of Missouri Valley. In 1868 the Chicago & Northwestern railroad was built through this county and as Missouri Valley was an important location, the railroad company bought the MCINTOSH farm, and the father then moved one mile south of the growing village. He bought another farm, but lived on it only a short time, going then to Kansas, where the family remained for four years. They then returned to this county and Moses MCINTOSH bought a farm one and one-half miles north of Missouri Valley, where he and his wife lived the remainder of their days.

George D. MCINTOSH was the sixth of twelve children born to his parents. He was eight years old when the family came to Harrison county and consequently had received part of his education in Indiana. He completed it in Harrison county, Iowa, and continued to reside at home until he was nineteen years of age. After coming to Harrison county he attended school for a time, although he had to go four miles in order to reach the nearest schoolhouse.

When he reached the age of nineteen Mr. MCINTOSH went out into the world to make his own living. He worked on the farm and did considerable rafting on the Missouri river. After he was married he rented land for ten years and then homesteaded one hundred and sixty acres in Kansas at the time his parents were living there. When his parents returned to Harrison county he sold his homestead also and returned with his wife and family to this county. He rented land until 1910 and then bought seventy-five acres in section 5 of Clay township. He carries on general farming and stock raising, making a specialty of Chester White hogs, feeding about sixty head for the market each year. He has placed many improvements upon his farm and now has it under cultivation in such a manner as to provide him a comfortable income year after year.

Mr. MCINTOSH was married on February 7, 1869, to Matilda J. SUMMERS, who was born in Wayne county, Iowa, a daughter of John A. and Elizabeth (WOLF) SUMMERS, natives of Virginia. Her parents moved to Harrison county in 1891, and have since made this county their home.

To Mr. and Mrs. MCINTOSH were born ten children: Elizabeth, who is employed in the Smith shirt factory at Omaha, Nebraska; W. Press, who lives at home; John, who is married and lives in Morgan township; Henry, a farmer of Morgan township, who married Maggie NEAL; Louis, a farmer of Cincinnati township, who married May COBURN, and has three children, Richard, David and Edith; Elsie, who married William JOBE, a farmer of Clay township; Harvey, who lives at home; Edna, who is the wife of Fred JOBE, a farmer of Clay township, and has three children, Opal, Delilah and Alice; Thomas C., who married Anna Hall, and Earl, who died when four years of age.

Mr. MCINTOSH is a stanch Democrat in politics, but has never taken a very active part in political affairs. He has been a director on the school board of his township for many years and also president of the board. The family are all loyal members of the United Brethren church. Mr. MCINTOSH has always been interested in outdoor life, due to the fact that there was an abundance of game during his earlier years. In fact, he still enjoys hunting and trapping, and has done more or less of it all of his life.

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