John Monteith

John Monteith (July 11, 1829 – January 16, 1901) was a Scottish American immigrant, farmer, and Republican politician. He was a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly, representing northeast Grant County during the 1873 session. He also served as a non-commissioned officer in the Iron Brigade of the Army of the Potomac during the American Civil War.

Early life John Monteith was born in the town of Newton Stewart, Wigtownshire, Scotland, in July 1829. He received a common school education in his native country and emigrated to the United States in 1850, along with his parents and siblings. They originally settled in Vermont, then moved to western New York and to Indiana in 1851. In the Winter of 1851–1852, he worked in Texas, before finally coming to Wisconsin in the Spring of 1852, where his family was temporarily settled in Janesville. He moved to the town of Liberty, in Grant County;

Monteith was promoted to corporal in his company while the brigade was in northern Virginia. In August 1862, their brigade saw their first major combat of the war. They were marching north from the Rappahannock with three other Union brigades near Gainesville, Virginia, where they encountered several brigades of Stonewall Jackson's corps. The 7th Wisconsin and its brigade engaged the enemy, withstanding the combined assault of five brigades for the entire afternoon and evening. This is where the brigade earned the nickname "Iron Brigade". The engagement came to be known as the "Battle of Gainesville" and is considered the first day of the Second Battle of Bull Run. Monteith was one of dozens of men wounded at Gainesville.

Political career Monteith returned to Grant County, Wisconsin, and in 1864 settled on a farm in the town of Fennimore, where he remained for much of the rest of his life. He became active in the Republican Party of Wisconsin, and was considered a Radical Republican. He was elected to the town board in 1870, and was chairman of the board in 1871 and 1872. As chairman of his town board, he was also a member of the Grant County Board of Supervisors in 1871 and 1872. He did not run for re-election in 1873.

He went on to serve two more years on the town board, in 1880 and 1886. Due to poor health, he largely retired from politics after this.

Personal life and family

John Monteith was the fourth son of Andrew Monteith and his wife Isabelle (née Henry). John Monteith's parents and siblings also emigrated to the United States and lived out their lives in Grant County. His younger brothers, Samuel and Robert, served alongside him in the 7th Wisconsin Infantry; Samuel died at Antietam. His elder brother, William, served as postmaster of Willet, Wisconsin. Several nephews also served in local office in Grant County.

John Monteith married Elizabeth Dinsdale in 1866. They had four children together, though one child died in infancy.

In 1896, John Monteith moved to Linden, Wisconsin, to maintain the home of his wife's uncle, Reverend Matthew Dinsdale. They returned to Grant County in the Spring of 1900, moving to a new home in the unincorporated community of Preston. He suffered a steady decline in health and was largely confined to his bed from October 1900 until his death on January 16, 1901.

Electoral history Wisconsin Assembly (1872)