John McWhirter

MCWHIRTER, MORRISON, MUTCH, WIER

Posted By: Clay County IAGenWeb Coordinator (email)
Date: 11/30/2010 at 06:46:04

John McWhirter, treasurer of Clay county, and a representative and highly respected citizen, was born in Cook county, Illinois, June 28, 1859, a son of James and Jane (Hanna) McWhirter, natives of Scotland, who had three children, namely: David, of South Dakota; Maggie, wife of James Gardner, of Waterloo, Iowa; and John. The father has followed agricultural pursuits since he came to America, at which time he settled at Arlington Heights, Cook county, Illinois, from which place, in the year 1869, he moved to Iowa and located in Tama county, where he still resides and is active in the cultivation of a farm containing two hundred and twenty acres. He is held in high respect as a citizen of genuine worth. He and his wife are stanch adherents of the Presbyterian faith. The paternal and maternal grandfathers of John McWhirter were natives of Scotland, where they passed away after having lived to a ripe old age.

John McWhirter, in company with his parents, came to Iowa in 1869, when nearly eleven years of age and was reared on his father’s farm in Tama county, while in the district schools he acquired his education. He remained at home until he was twenty-two years old, when for several years he was engaged by his brother as a stock buyer. Subsequently he formed a partnership with S. C. Hause and for two years they conducted a grocery business in Morrison, Grundy county. After disposing of his interest in the business, he engaged in farming in that county for several years and after having spent ten years as a grain dealer in Everly, Clay county, he removed to Spencer in 1902, where for two years he was in the real estate business, at the expiration of which time he was elected county treasurer, which position he has filled for five years. He owns a farm of one hundred and sixty acres in Red Lake county, Minnesota.

Mr. McWhirter, on December 6, 1885, wedded Miss Letitia Morrison, daughter of Jeff and Susan (Troutman) Morrison, who was born in Grundy county, where her parents, natives of the Keystone state, were early settlers and where he father still lives, her mother having passed away, leaving the following children: John; Elizabeth, wife of Peter Mutch; Kate, widow of A. S. Wier; Ulysses G.; Allie, deceased; and Letitia. Mr. and Mrs. McWhirter have two children: Ralph and Esther. Mrs. McWhirter is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, where her husband also attends services but with which he is not affiliated. Politically he is an advocate of the republican party, using his vote and influence during campaigns in behalf of its candidates. He is a man of executive ability and of industry, and these qualities are making him an able official, his record having won him high commendation.

Contributed by: Susan Gregory. Source: History of Clay County Iowa – Steele – 1909, page 616.