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Isaiah Reid Carithers belongs to a much-respected and well-established family of Yellow Springs township, and now occupies a place with the prosperous farmers of today. He is a son of Andrew French and Mary L. (Reid) Carithers, his birth occurring on the old home farm in Yellow Springs township, Sept. 23, 1866. When his parents came to Des Moines county, they entered one hundred and sixty acres of land, and were the only family that lived on this place. A more complete biography of the parents of this subject will be found in the sketch of A. F. Carithers, elsewhere in this volume.
Mr. Reid Carithers is a man of good education, which was begun in the district schools in Yellow Springs township, where he prepared himself to enter the academy at Morning Sun, Iowa. Wishing to gain more book learning than these schools afforded, he entered Geneva College at Beaver Falls, Pa., where he was a student for a short time. Returning from college he took up the life of a farmer, which occupation he has since followed. Since Mr. Carithers settled on his one hundred and twenty acres of land in Section 7, in 1888, he has made all of the improvements, and now has a nice house and good barn, and is well fixed for general farming. He sells about fifty or sixty head of hogs annually, and some six head of cattle. This year he has about twice as many hogs as he generally has.
Dec. 12, 1888, Mr. Carithers married Miss Rosanna Baird, a daughter of John and Catherine (McElhinney) Baird. Mrs. Carithers was born in Yellow Springs township, May 22, 1866, and received her education in the district schools of the same place. Her father came to Des Moines county in 1840 from Philadelphia, Pa. As time advanced, Mr. Baird was "getting on his feet" as the saying is, and each year found him better fixed in life. He added to his small tract of land till at his death, which occurred July 4, 1881, at the age of sixty-eight years, he owned three hundred and twenty acres of well-improved land. Mrs. Baird entered into her eternal rest April 14, 1900, aged seventy-eight. They were the parents of twelve children, and were members of the Reformed Presbyterian church.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Carithers two children have been born: John French, born July 30, 1890, and William Work, born July 11, 1899. Mr. Carithers has never cared for official recognition, as his farm has needed his undivided attention. He and his estimable wife are members of the Reformed Presbyterian church, where he has served as trustee for the past nine years. Mr. Carithers has always made it a point to attend to business before pleasure, and has taken much pains with his home place. He is now very comfortably situated, and the straightforward and manly manner in which he has ever conducted his everyday life, both socially and in a commercial way, has gained for him the same good name that was accorded to his aged father, and being just in the prime of life, we predict for him a still brighter future.
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