BIOGRAPHY: John Monroe Whisler , Fremont County, Iowa Copyright c) May 2001 by Terry Girardot. This copy contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives. ************************************************************** USGENWEB ARCHIVES NOTICE: These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by any other organization or persons. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material,must obtain the written consent of the contributor, or the legalrepresentative of the submitter, and contact the listed USGenWeb archivist with proof of this consent. The submitter has given permission to the USGenWeb Archives to store the file permanently for free access. ********************************************************************* John Monroe Whisler Born 30 Apr 1849 - Wayne, , Indiana Died 06 Sep 1916 - Farragut, Fremont, Iowa History of Page County John Whisler, descendant of the "Pennsylvania Dutch," came from Unionville, Iowa to Fisher Township in 1874. He had married Maria Gunter in 1870, the daughter of a Baptist minister. To the union were born: Charles, Frank, Henry, William, and Dora. Charles, the eldest son, came from Appanoose County with his parents in a covered wagon. Charles Whisler married Linda Hemphill 10 Jan 1897. They had 3 children: Myrtle Frances who died in infancy (1900), Clarence Theodore b 15 Jul 1902 d. 26 Jun 1977, and Norman b 9 Oct 1906 d. 1965. History of Fremont County, Iowa 1881 Whistler, J.M., farmer, section 5, P.O. Farragut; born in Indiana in 1849. Removed to Appanoose County, Iowa, when 2 years of age, where he grew to manhood. He spent his early life in working on a farm, attending common school in the winter. Mr. Whistler came to Fremont county in 1874, locating first in Fisher township; afterwards, in 1875, removing to where he now resides. He was married in 1870, to Miss Maria C. Gunter, a native of Monroe county, Iowa. Five children have been born to them: Charlie E., Frank E., Henry A., Willie E., and Dora B. When Mr. Whistler first came to the county he had almost nothing but his stout heart, his strong hands, and his faithful wife. He now owns a fine farm of 160 acres, and in a good state of cultivation, with an orchard grove, all of which has been acquired by industry and economy. History of Fremont County, Whisler History by Ruby Whisler Caligiuri I was very glad to hear about Locust Grove's hundreth anniversary. My grandfather and grandmother were among the earliest settlers in the township. They came to Fremont County in 1873. First they settled in Fisher Township where my father was born, in 1874. By the time he was old enough to be getting outside, the had moved to the place where Mr. and Mrs. Clint Mart lived so many years. y grandfather built that house and the huge barn there and many times I have heard my father talk of the days when he was too small to go to school; he followed Tom Morgan (the grandfather of Elizabeth and Bill Morgan) as he broke the prairie sod with a single plowshare and a pair of oxen. He said in this days there was not a fence between his father's house and Farragut. My grandfather, John Monroe Whisler, came from Unionville, Iowa, where he had lived since early childhood. He was a descendant of "Pennsylvania Dutch" forebearers. Dunkards had lived in what is now the United States since the 1680's and they spoke German. My grandfather, too, spoke German. He committed a great offense against his people by marrying outside his church. My grandmother, Maria Whisler, was the daughter of a Baptist minister. So I suppose that is one of the reasons they moved west. They came from Appanoose County, Iowa with a team and wagon and all their wordly goods. They brought their eldest child, Charles, with them. My father was the second oldest of their children, followed by Al, William, and Dora (Mrs. John Livingston). The old Fairveiw School, sitting upon the hill was the school attended by all five of them. Back in those days attendance was not very good except during the winter months. However, during the long winters, young men of twenty to twenty-three years old attended school. It was not uncommon for some of these older fellows to be reciting with seven or eight-year olds in the ungraded school of those days. The school had a usual attendance of 35 to 40 during the winter. My grandparents did not believe in too much education. My father tried to go to high School in Farragut, but the handicaps were too many. His brother, William, convinced his parents that he wanted to be a minister, so he even got to attend Drake University, but never became a minister. My grandparents were very active in the support and organization of the Christian Church in Farragut. Grandfather was a successful farmer, and as his children married, he gave them each an eighty-acre farm. One of these farms (the one where I was born and grew up) is still owned and farmed by a Whisler. It has never been owned by anyone else. Billy Whisler lives there now. On that farm is a pasture, along the little creek that flows through it, that we always called 'the prairie' because, as far as I know, that land (about 10 acres) has never felt a plowshare, but is still the original prairie sod. It abounds in native Iowa flowers and grasses. Now it seems that the Whisler family is in danger of dying out. There are many relatives and descendants, but few are there to carry on the family name. Billy has two sons, Bob Whisler of Rock Springs, Wyoming has only little girls and Bill Whisler who played football for one of the big Canadian teams are the only ones left to perpetuate the name for this branch of the family (lots of them in Appanoose County, though). Some place among my possessions should be a big, old book - a history or Mills and Fremont counties. I believe it must have been published on the anniversary of those counties marking fifty years. If i could find it, there should be some interesting things in it, as it was published at the turn of the century. I know there are pictures of homes and of people living in the Locust Grove Township at that time. There is a picture of my grandparents and one of their home and I am surprised there is not a picture of the big barn, as it was famous in its day. Farmers 200 to 300 miles away knew of it. My uncles and aunts married into other pioneer Locust Grove families. My mother, however, came from Appanoose County. Charles Whisler married Linda Hemphill and they had two sons, Norman (deceased) and Clarence (who lives near Shenandoah), Al, who married Clara Livingston (the daughter of a Civil War Veteran). They had two children, Thelma (deceased) and Glen of Rock Springs, Wyoming, where he is a very successful businessman. William, who married Gertrude Morgan (of rural Hamburg) had seven children, Lois Deater, Lake Okoboji, Wendall and Cletus (both deceased), Wilfred (Yankton, South Dakota), Pauline (Kansas City, Missouri), Rita (Las Vegas), and Maxine who lives in western Nebraska. Dora, who married John Livingston, a cousin of Clara mentioned above. He was the son of the large family of Horatio Livingston and was a brother of Ira Livingston and Hattie Lightfoot.