bio-Guyer

1882 History of Linn County, Missouri

BIOGRAPHY (S)

GUYER

HENRY D. Grantsville Township, page 856

Mr. Guyer is a native of Madison county, Kentucky, where he was born May 10, 1818. He is a son of John and Ellen (Hill) Guyer, the former born in Virginia in 1798, dying March 31, 1854; the latter was born in Stokes county, North Carolina, in 1792, and died October 26, 1842. The subject of this sketch remained in Kentucky until 1834 when he accompanied his father’s family to Cooper county, Missouri, where they remained until the following year, when they came to where Linn county now lies, the county not then having been organized. Mr. Guyer’s father at first settled in the southeastern part of the county, near where St. Catharine now stands; where Henry D. remained for three years and then returned to Cooper county and lived with his uncle for eighteen months, during which period he attended school a part of the time and worked for his support the remainder. He then went to Miller county, where he worked for his brother-in-law for twelve months. September 17, 1841, he was married to Elizabeth A. McComb, who was born in Tennessee, October 4, 1818. The marriage service was performed by J. T. Davis. Mrs. Guyer’s father, Jacob M. McComb, was born in Ireland about the year 1772, and died in Texas in 1866. He was a teacher by profession. Her mother was Sarah Evans, born in Georgia, and who died in 1846. After his marriage Mr. Guyer continued to reside in Miller county for about five years. In 1843 he came to this county, purchased and settled on the farm where he now lives, in Grantsville township. Mr. and Mrs. Guyer had born to them nine children, all of whom are still living. Mrs. Guyer died December 18, 1873, after a lingering illness of some twelve months. She was a consistent member of the Baptist Church and died in the hope of a blissful immortality in the world beyond the tomb. November 17, 1874, Mr. Guyer married Nancy Cotton, a sister of his first wife, and a native of Tennessee. In 1861, when the Civil War broke out, Mr. Guyer enrolled in the Missouri Militia, and was on duty at intervals for about two years. He is a member of the Baptist Church. By his own exertions he has become a prosperous farmer and the possessor of a fair competence of the world’s goods. His children are: Sarah A., born June 21, 1841; John H., born April 3, 1843; Thomas J., born May 31, 1845; Margaret J., born August 17, 1847; Jacob M., born June 24, 1849; Eliza C., born September 12, 1853; James L., born March 18, 1855; Mary E., born February 19, 1848 (out of order, or s/b 1858? kk); and William H., born December 11, 1861. Four sons and two daughters are married.

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JOHN H. Grantsville Township., page 856

was born in Miller county, Missouri, on the third of April, 1843. He is the eldest of a family of nine children, and is a son of Mr. Henry D. Guyer, whose biography is published elsewhere in this work. Our subject came to Linn county, this State, with his father when the former was but five years old, and was reared on the old Guyer farm in Grantsville township. He obtained his education in the schools of the county, which he attended during the winter season, while living with his parents. In the fall of 1864 Mr. Guyer enlisted in Company A of the Forty-second Regiment of Missouri Volunteer Infantry, and served till June 28, 1865, when he returned to his home in Linn county. He was married on the seventeenth day of June, 1866, to Miss Elizabeth Fosher, a native of Buchanan county, Missouri, and born January 6, 1846. Their wedding ceremony was performed by the Rev. Hustead. Seven children have been born of this union, six of whom are still living. Their names are: Walter E., Cora E., Henry A., Jennie C., Charles R., Elizabeth C., and John W. Mr. Guyer owns a fine farm of six hundred acres in Grantsville township, and has it well improved with good residence, barn and out-buildings, and it is well supplied with live stock. He is an industrious, useful member of society, and both himself and wife belong to the Methodist Episcopal Church South.

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THOMAS J. Grantsville Township., page 855

Mr. Guyer is a native of Missouri, and was born in Miller county, May 31, 1845. His father, Mr. Henry D. Guyer, is a native of Kentucky, the date of his birth being May 10, 1818. The mother of our subject bore the name of Elizabeth McComb, before she was married to the elder Guyer. She was born in Tennessee, October 4, 1818, and died December 1873. When Thomas was one year old his parents moved from Miller to Linn county, and settled in Grantsville township. Mr. Guyer was reared on the farm, working thereon in the summer and attending school during the winter months.

In the war of the Rebellion his sympathies were with the Union cause, and he enrolled, in the spring of 1863, in the Home Guard Militia, serving one year and a half. In July, 1864, he enrolled in company A, of the Forty-second Missouri Volunteers, a regiment of infantry, his company being commanded by Captain William H. Lewis. He was on duty as a good soldier till he was honorably discharged in August, 1865, when he returned to his home in Linn county. Soon afterwards he bought a farm in Grantsville township near his old home, and worked it for three years, making his home with his parents at their homestead. In 1871, Mr. Guyer was married to Miss Jane Hague, who was born in Athens county, Ohio, on the eighth of March, 1840. Shortly after his marriage, Mr. Guyer took his bride to his farm, where they have ever since resided, he giving his attention to agricultural pursuits. Besides what he produces from his own farm, Mr. Guyer engages in buying and shipping live-stock, and has visited, as a stock dealer, the States of Iowa and Arkansas.

Mr. and Mrs. Guyer have had six children, five of whom are still livin. The names of their offspring are as follows: Reuben H., Charles E., Thomas L., Allie M., Elbert H. (deceased), and Sarah J. Mr. Guyer is a strong advocate of truth and liberty, and is every way a good citizen.

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