Joshua R. GORSUCH, b. 1831
The farming interests of Union township
have a worthy representative in Joshua R. Gorsuch, who is living on section 22 and has been
one of the extensive landowners of the county
but has divided his property among his children, retaining possession, however, of one
hundred acres of land. He has passed the
Psalmist's span of three score years and ten,
his birth having occurred in Harrison county,
Ohio, September 1, 1831. His parents were
Charles and Matilda (Roberts) Gorsuch. the
father was born in Maryland, about twenty-five
miles from Baltimore, in 1797, and the mother's
birth occurred in Ohio. The paternal grandparents were also natives of Maryland and the
family is of Irish origin. Charles Gorsuch devoted his entire life to general agricultural
pursuits, becoming the owner of a valuable farm
of two hundred and fifty acres in Delaware
county, Ohio, where he successfully carried on
general agricultural pursuits for some years.
In 1854 his son Joshua came to Iowa on a
prospecting tour, knowing that he had no
chance to get land in Ohio. Noting how cheap
land was in Iowa he returned to the Buckeye
state and advised his father to sell and come
west, so that in the spring of 1855 Charles
Gorsuch, having disposed of his property in
the east, drove with his family across the country and took up his abode in Union township,
Mahaska county. He purchased a farm near
where his son Joshua now lives and made his
home here until his death, which occurred in
1873. He was a man of very limited education, having had no school privileges in his
youth but he was a very successful farmer. His
wife survived him for only about a year.
Joshua R. Gorsuch was the second in order
of birth in a family of nine children, all of
whom came to Iowa in 1855, and one brother,
William Gorsuch, is now living in Union township, while a sister, Mrs. Latcbam, resides in
southern Kansas. These, with the exception of
our subject, are all that are now living.
Joshua R. Gorsuch from early boyhood was
imbued with a desire to obtain a good education and told his father that if he would help
him to attend school he would not ask for any
property. The father, however, thought a
common-school education was sufficient and
Mr. Gorsuch of this review was permitted to attend only the district schools of the
neighborhood. He remained with his parents until after
they came to Iowa, when he began farming on
his own account, purchasing eighty acres of
land where he now resides. It was mostly
timber and the remainder was covered with
brush. His first dwelling was a small frame
house in which he lived until he erected his present large frame residence in 1866. He thought at
first if he ever succeeded in clearing up that
eighty acres it was all the land that he wanted,
but as the years passed by and his financial resources increased he added to his property from
time to time until eventually he became the
owner of about seven hundred acres of valuable
land. He has since divided this among his children although he still retains the title to the
different farms and he has one hundred acres
which will be inherited by the daughter who remains with him and is acting as his
housekeeper.
Mr. Gorsuch was married in May, 1857, to
Miss Eleanor McMasters, born October 22,
1829, a daughter of Samuel and Eleanor McMasters. Her death occurred May 28, 1884.
In their family were nine children: Charles Q.,
who was born June 7, 1858, and died October
23, of the same year; S. L., who was born August 31, 1859, and married Lizzie Gilbert, their
home being on a farm adjoining his father's
property; Martha, who was born February 11,
1861, and is the wife of Ben Latchman, of this
township; Robert E., who was born December
30, 1862, and is in California; Alfred N., who
was born October 14, 1864, and died at the age
of fourteen months; Matilda, who was born
June 5, 1866, and is acting as her father's
housekeeper; Irene, who was born October 19,
1868, and is the wife of Charles Curry, of this
township; James, who was born June 6, 1871,
and is living in California; and Mary, who was
born February 23, 1873, and is the wife of
Miles Bashaw, of this township.
Mr. Gorsuch has been a very successful
farmer and his success is attributable to his
good management and his close attention to
business. For many years he bought and fed
cattle, making most of his money in that way.
He has done much hard work but is still a robust man, enjoying good health. In politics he
was formerly a democrat but is now a republican, nor has he ever sought office as a reward
for party fealty. He is a member of the
Methodist Episcopal church and although he
never joined any fraternal orders or societies
he has advised his sons to join the Masons.
He is a man thoroughly reliable and straight-
forward at all times and in his business has
manifested not only justice but consideration
and it is safe to say that he has not an enemy
in the world.
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from Past and Present of Mahaska County, Iowa by Manoah Hedge
The S. J. Clarke Publishing Co. 1906
Past and Present of Mahaska County, Iowa
Mahaska County, Iowa Genealogy
Iowa Genealogy
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