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ROBERT H. COULTHARD

 

Robert H. Coulthard, who is engaged in agricultural pursuits on section 11, Holt township, was born in Wisconsin, September 3, 1864, and is a son of Henry and Mary (Hutchinson) Coulthard, a sketch of whom appears elsewhere in this volume.  He is the eldest in a family of ten children and was but six or seven years of age when they settled in this county.  In consequence he can well remember some of the hardships of the early days, for as soon as he was able he assisted in the work that was carried on on the home place and assumed some of its responsibilities.  He remained there until 1891, when he married and set out to make a home of his own.  The habits of industry and the skill he had learned in his youth have stood him in good stead and he is now the owner of one hundred and sixty acres of fine arable land.  On it he pursues a line of diversified agriculture, with what result is indicated by the excellent cultivation of his fields and the well cared for condition of his buildings.

 

In 1891 Mr. Coulthard was united in marriage to Miss Minnie Hartzel, who was born in Henry county, Iowa, and is a daughter of Samuel and Josephine (Sigler) Hartzel.  The father came to Iowa in the early days of its colonization and when the Civil war was inaugurated enlisted in the Thirteenth Iowa Volunteer Infantry.  He is now living in Clayton township, this county, with his wife, who was born in Van Buren county, Iowa.  Three children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Coulthard: Robert Louis, Clyde Henry and Mary Lois.  They are all at home and are being reared in the faith of the Christian church, the religious denomination to which their parents give their allegiance.

 

Mr. Coulthard is a republican in his political views and has held some responsible positions in the local affairs, having served for the past fifteen years as treasurer of the school board and for two terms having fulfilled the duties of a township trustee.  He has demonstrated that the trust of the public reposed in him was not misplaced, though he is modest of his abilities, and does not seek to bring himself conspicuously before the voters of his locality.