Wapello County IA Archives Biographies.....Forsyth, J. T. 1848 - 
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Joy Fisher http://www.genrecords.net/emailregistry/vols/00001.html#0000031 July 9, 2013, 3:45 pm

Source: See Below
Author: S. J. Clarke, Publisher

J. T. FORSYTH.

J. T. Forsyth may well be termed a self-made man, for the success which he now
enjoys is the result of his own well directed efforts. Since the spring of 1901
he has resided upon his present farm of one hundred and twenty-five acres on
section 4, Center township. He was born in Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania,
October 24, 1848, a son of James and Sarah (Perry) Forsyth, who were natives of
County Down, Ireland, the father born December 2, 1815, and the mother on the
30th of October, 182 r. In 1840 James Forsyth sailed for America, landing in New
York where he worked in the market. He later went to western Pennsylvania and
worked on a steamboat, then rented a farm and sent for his parents. In 1844 he
returned to Ireland for his marriage and soon afterward brought his bride to the
new world. They came in a sailing vessel, taking six weeks for the trip. They
established their home in Pennsylvania, where they resided until 1851.

In that year they came to Wapello county, settling in Richland township. This
was then a frontier region in which the work of civilization and improvement
seemed scarcely begun. Mr. Forsyth entered land from the government near
Kirkville and began the arduous task of developing a new farm. As the years went
on he brought his fields to a high state of cultivation and won the merited
reward of persistent, earnest effort along agricultural lines. Both he and his
wife passed away near Kirkville, the former March 8, 1885, and the latter on the
8th of July, of the same year. They were Presbyterians in religious faith, and
their forefathers were driven from Scotland at the time of persecution because
of their belief. In his political views Mr. Forsyth was a stanch democrat, never
faltering in his allegiance to the party. Unto him and his wife were born ten
children: Elizabeth Parker, now deceased; James, who died in Ottumwa; J. T., of
this review; R. George W., of Richland township; Sarah, who has passed away;
Fannie, the deceased wife of Silas Warren; Mary, the deceased wife of James
Olney; Charles, who has departed this life; Melila, of Seattle, Washington, who
has engaged in teaching for more than twenty-five years; and Jennie, the wife of
Eli Warren, of Indianola, Iowa. Jennie, Fannie and James were also successful
teachers.

J. T. Forsyth spent his boyhood days under the parental roof and assisted his
father until twenty-two years of age. In 1870 he was married and began farming
on his own account, northeast of Kirkville, where he resided for nine years. He
then went to Union county, where he lived for twenty-two years. After renting
land for three years he purchased property, his industry and economy making this
step possible. After more than two decades spent in that county he disposed of
his property and returned to Wapello county in the spring of 1901. Here he
invested in one hundred and twenty-five acres of land, which is now a well
improved and valuable farm, constituting one of the attractive features in the
landscape.

It was on the 22d of December, 1870, that Mr. Forsyth married Miss Mary C.
Chisman, who was born in Indiana, May 14, 1851, and in the fall of 1854 was
brought to this county by her parents, John and Catharine M. (Goodwin) Chisman,
who were also natives of the Hoosier state, but spent their last days in
Ottumwa. Mrs. Chisman, who was born August 27, 1831, died June 30, 1913, at the
advanced age of almost eighty-two years. Mr. Chisman, who was born in 1821,
departed this life June 4th, 1896. He always followed farming, thus providing
for the support of his family, which numbered five children: George N., living
in Ottumwa; Mrs. Forsyth; Simon K., a resident of Blakesburg; Douglas E., of
Oneida county, New York; and William P., whose home is in Albia, Iowa. A number
of the Chisman family have been school teachers. The father of Mrs. Forsyth
taught school in this county in the early days and her brothers, Douglas and
William, were also successful teachers, while the latter later became a lawyer.

Unto Mr. and Mrs. Forsyth were born nine children: William, who died at the age
of two and a half years; Della, the wife of John Seth of Adams township, by whom
she has three children; Robert, of Ottumwa, who is married and has one child;
Bertha, the wife of John Power of Dillon, Montana, by whom she has three
children; Edmond Q., of Great Falls, Montana; Anthony C., of Monroe county,
Iowa, who has one child; Mary Matilda, the wife of Fred Ross of Ottumwa, and the
mother of two children; Dora, the wife of Spencer Miller, of Center township,
and the mother of two children; and Arthur Raymond, who died at the age of two
and a half years. Of this family, Ed enlisted from Nebraska on the 13th of May,
1898, for service in the Spanish-American war and was mustered out in the
following October. He then enlisted for service in the regular army, with which
he was on duty for six years. He was twice in the Philippines, was also on duty
in China, Australia and Alaska. He is a man of splendid physique, being six feet
in height and weighing two hundred and forty pounds. Robert Forsyth engaged in
teaching in early manhood and is now foreman in the Hutchison Wholesale Grocery
house. The Forsyth family is a large one, the members of whom meet annually in a
family reunion.

Mr. Forsyth is a democrat in his political views and while living in Union
county served as justice of the peace. He has also filled the office of road
supervisor, but has preferred to confine his attention to his business affairs
rather than to seek office. In addition to farming he is a director of the High
Point Telephone Company, occupying this position since the line, was
established. He is a representative of one of the old pioneer families of this
section of Iowa and can relate many interesting incidents of the early days. His
father went to mill many times with ox teams, driving to Burlington, which was
the nearest point at which he could have his grist ground He had nothing to take
but corn and J. T. Forsyth never saw wheat bread until he was ten years of age.
When the mill was established at Bonaparte, forty miles from Ottumwa, it was
thought to be very near. There were few advantages to be enjoyed in those early
days. The settlers had to depend entirely upon what they could raise, and they
depended upon each other for assistance in many lines of work. The spirit of
helpfulness was prevalent, and each neighbor seemed willing to aid those near
him. Mr. Forsyth has lived to witness remarkable changes in the methods of
farming, as the crude machinery of pioneer days has been done away with through
modern invention and been supplanted by the splendid agricultural implements and
machinery of the present. He has also lived to see the pioneer homes replaced by
commodious modern residences, while the farmers, who had to go forty or sixty
miles or even greater distances to mill, now have almost all the conveniences of
city life. The telephone has brought them into instant communication with the
city and the rural free delivery keeps them in constant contact with the world's
activities and progress.


Additional Comments:
Extracted from:
HISTORY OF WAPELLO COUNTY IOWA
ILLUSTRATED
VOLUME II
CHICAGO
THE S. J. CLARKE PUBLISHING COMPANY 1914


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