Iowa
Old Press
Des Moines Express
Des Moines, Polk co. Iowa
May 13,1899
Polk County Pioneer Dies
At his home near Altoona at 10:15 p.m. Tuesday, May 9,
Grandfather Bishard quietly passed beyond the river to the other
shore to meet his life partner, who preceeded him on January
24th. He died very peacefully when the end came, although he had
suffered much during the past two weeks.
John C. Bishard was born in Cambridge, Guerney county, Ohio, on
the 25th day of January, 1812, and came to Des Moines from Seneca
county, Ohio, in October, 1859. He was a resident of Polk county
for forty years and lived on the farm where he died over thirty
years. On New Year's day Mr. and Mrs. Bishard had passed
sixty-six years of married life, a record seldom equaled. Mention
of it was made in a lengthy article in The Express at
the time, as Grandfather Bishard was personally known and most
hightly esteemed by The Express editor. One of
his sons, Grammar Bishard, is a citizen of Walnut township and
has universal sympathy in his bereavement. Grandfather Bishard
through all his life was an ardent Methodist, a whig and
republican, and he died as he lived, an honored man, and a
christian. He was buried beside his wife and two
soldier sons in the Canfield cemetery Thursday May 11. The
services were held at the home, two and one-half miles southeast
of Altoona.
[transcribed by KLG, September 2005]