John J. Bristle is one of the most progressive agriculturists of Whiteside county. He owns about four hundred and sixty seven acres of rich farming land in Union Grove and Ustick townships, has remodeled the buildings upon his place and has a well furnished modern residence. Everything about his farm bespeaks the supervision of a practical, progressive owner and the success which he has achieved attests the value of the methods he has followed in carrying on his work. He is one of the county's native sons, his birth having occurred near Sterling, September 29, 1858.
His father, George J. Bristle, was born in Germany in 1828 and came to America at the age of twenty-six years, first settling in Ohio, whence he afterward came to Illinois and entered the employ of Dr. Pendleton of Sterling. In 1843 he made his first purchase of land, becoming owner of ten acres, and when he had saved a sufficient sum from his earnings he bought forty acres in Ustick township, upon which he resided until 1867. He then removed to Clyde township, where he lived for a number of years, after which he invested in property in Morrison and retired to private life, enjoying throughout his remaining days the fruits of his earnest and unremitting toil. There he died April 27, 1904, and his genuine worth as a man and citizen made his death the occasion of deep regret to many friends. He has one brother residing in the middle west, Simon Bristle, who is now living retired in Boone, Iowa, while another brother, Fred Bristle, died in Sterling. The mother of our subject bore the maiden name of Dorothy Eslinger. She was born in Germany in 1831 and was married in Ohio, where her parents continued to reside until they were called to their final rest. Unto Mr. and Mrs. George J. Bristle were born four children: John J.; Lewis, who is now living retired in Morrison; Lizzie Landis Bristle, who died in Coleta in 1903; and Mrs. Susan Deeters, of Morrison.
As a farm boy John J. Bristle spent the period of his minority and in assisting his father in carrying on the home farm he laid the foundation for his present success. He has always followed general agricultural pursuits and is today the owner of valuable property of neat and attractive appearance. In his business career he accomplishes what he undertakes and brooks no obstacles that can be overcome by determined, persistent effort.
On the 25th of December, 1882, Mr. Bristle was married to Miss Adda Body. Her father, Isaac Body, was born July 12, 1837, in Iroquois county, Illinois, where his parents, Isaac and Mary (Myers) Body, had located on coming from Pennsylvania. Isaac Body was reared to the occupation of farming, which he chose as his life work, and when twenty-six years of age he started out on his own account. In 1863 he came to Whiteside county and for a year cultivated a rented farm in Ustick township. In the succeeding year he purchased eighty acres of land, which he cultivated with satisfactory and substantial results. He has erected here an excellent class of buildings and the farm is most pleasantly located, while its improvements make it a valuable property. His interests include two hundred and twenty acres in Ustick township and one hundred and twenty acres in Clyde township, all of which is cultivable.
On the 13th of November, 1860, Isaac Body was married in Carroll county, Illinois, to Miss Cyrena Dyson and they became parents of seven children: Adda, the wife of John Bristle; Charles C., a farmer and stock-raiser living in Trumbull county, South Dakota; Della E., the wife of George Tyson, of Portland, Oregon; Mary L., the wife of Herman Dykema, living on a farm in Ustick township; Samuel M., a resident of Portland, Oregon; Elmer J., who died September 26, 1804; and Etta C., the wife of Albert Mathews, also a resident farmer of Ustick township. The father of this family died August 12, 1887, being killed in a wreck. He was a republican in his political views and both he and his wife were members of the Methodist church. Mrs. Body was born November 15, 1839, in Carroll county, Illinois, and is still living. Her parents were Hezekiah and Ruth (McIndoo) Dyson, natives of Indiana, whence they removed to Carroll county, Illinois, when it was still a frontier district. Their children were James, Charles, William, Cyrena, Hezekiah, Ruth, Cornelius, Margaret A., Dimmis D. and Mary E. Dyson.
After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Bristle located on the old home place in Ustick township, comprising one hundred and sixty acres of land, upon which Mr. Fish now resides, having rented the property for sixteen years. In 1893 they removed to Morrison, where they resided for nine years and then purchased the farm which is now their home, becoming the owners of this property October 11, 1898. Since that time Mr. Bristle has remodeled all of the buildings and now has a nice, well furnished modern home and also ample shelter for grain and stock. His possessions aggregate four hundred and sixty-seven acres of rich and productive land in Union Grove and Ustick townships and the farm is productive and valuable. He is also extensively engaged in stock-raising, feeding on an average of three carloads of cattle and hogs per year. He grinds his grain with a new gasoline engine, which he has lately installed, and he uses all of the latest improved machinery to facilitate the work of the fields and the farm. Everything about the place is indicative of his progressive spirit and the wisdom of his judgment concerning business matters is manifest in his success.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Bristle have been born two daughters and a son. May, who was born November 27, 1883, is now the wife of Paul Wilson, a farmer of Ustick township. Ruth, born August 14, 1885, died November 12, 1893. George E., born December 5, 1889, attended school in Morrison and is now assisting his father in carrying on the home farm, being a young man of good business ability and enterprise.
Mr. Bristle votes with the republican party and is in thorough sympathy with its principles and purposes, but is not a politician in the sense of office seeking. His ambition has been to acquit himself of life's duties honorably before all men, to improve his capabilities and opportunities and to become of use in the world; and it is to this spirit mainly that he owes his advancement.

SOURCE: History of Whiteside County, Illinois : from its earliest settlement to 1908
Chicago: Pioneer Pub. Co., 1908, 1493 pgs.