D. Countryman was a farmer and stock raiser of Section 31, Grant Township, Ida County, was born in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, in 1841, a son of Peter and Margaret (Nicholas) Countryman. He was reared and educated in Rock County, Wisconsin. He began farming for himself in Linn County, Iowa. In 1875 he came to Ida County, and was the first settler in what is now Grant Township (then Maple Township). He bought 65 acres of raw Iowa land on the West Soldier River. He at once began improving the land, and erected a small shanty. After breaking 20 acres, he returned to Linn County to get his family.
He was married in Linn County, Iowa, in 1865 to Lydia Usher. She was a native of that county and a daughter of Hiram and Lucinda (Williams) Usher, natives of Ohio. Lydia and her husband had seven children, namely: Ida M. (Mrs. A. J. Menter); Rosa (deceased at age of 13 years); C. C.; Sylvia; Hiram (deceased at age of 5 years); Lawrence; and Pearl.
D. Countryman raised good draft horses, and had a fine carriage team (took first premium at the Ida County Fair in 1891). He did serve on the school board of Grant Township and was the first Assessor of Grant Township. In 1893, he owned 292 acres of well cultivated land, and had erected a good two-story residence in 1890. Three acres of his place was devoted to a grove and orchard. He had seven brothers and sisters, namely: Horace (an excellent millwright of Stillwater, Montana); Alexander; Eli; Lewis; John; George; and A. J.