Aaron V Proudfoot

PROUDFOOT, VANSCOY, POSEGATE, HAWORTH, HILLIS, PEASLEY

Posted By: Debbie Gerischer (email)
Date: 4/10/2009 at 19:08:23

A Narrative History
of
The People of Iowa
with
SPECIAL TREATMENT OF THEIR CHIEF ENTERPRISES IN
EDUCATION, RELIGION, VALOR, INDUSTRY,
BUSINESS, ETC.
by
EDGAR RUBEY HARLAN, LL. B., A. M.
Curator of the
Historical, Memorial and Art Department of Iowa
Volume IV
THE AMERICAN HISTORICAL SOCIETY, Inc.
Chicago and New York
1931

AARON V. PROUDFOOT has been for thirty years established in teh practice of
law at Indianola, judicial center of Warren County, and in addition of being
one of the representative members of the bar of this city and county he is
also president of Worth Savings Bank and is valued as a loyal and public
spirited citizen.
Mr. Proudfoot, a representative of one of the sterling pioneer families of
Iowa, was born at Liberty, Clarke County, this state, June 13, 1862, and is a
son of Jacob and Cyrena (VanScoy) Proudfoot, of whose family of five sons and
two daughters only three are now living: W. T., a resident of Yakima,
Washington; C. F., of Osceola, Iowa; and Aaron V., of this review.

After profiting by the advantages of the public schools of his native county
Aaron V. Proudfoot entered Simpson College at Indianola, and in this
institution he was a member of the class of 1884. In this city he then studied law
in the office of Creighton & Hays and later in that of the law firm of Hall &
Hartman. He thus thoroughly grounded himself in the science of
jurisprudence, and his technical reinforcement was augmented by his six years of service
as clerk of the District Court. He was admitted to the bar in 1899, has
since continued in the practice of his profession at Indianola, and his
personality and his achievement mark him as one of the leading members of the bar of
Warren County.

Mr. Proudfoot is a stalwart in the ranks of the Republican party, and he
represented his district in the State Senate during the general legislative
assemblies designated as the Thirty-third, Thirty-fourth, Thirty-seventh and
Thirty-eighth, besides having been influential also in the work of special
sessions held within this period. He was a member of the Iowa Senate at the time
of the election of Hon. A. B. Cummins to the United States Senate, and he once
served as presidential elector from Iowa on the ticket of his party. As
president of the Board of Trustees he is giving loyal service to his alma mater,
Simpson College, which is maintained under the auspices of the Methodist
Episcopal Church, of which he and his wife are zealous members, he having been a
delegate to four of the general conferences of the church, in which
connection he was made a member of the Episcopal committee. He is a lay member of the
World Service Commission from the Omaha area of the Methodist Episcopal
Church, including the states of Iowa and Nebraska. Mr. Proudfoot is one of the
veteran and honored members of the Warren County Bar Association and has
membership also in the Iowa State Bar Association. He is a past grand master of
the Iowa Grand Lodge of the Ancient Order of United Workmen, and has
membership in the Monday Club, the first literary club to be organized in Indianola.

Reverting to Jacob Proudfoot, father of the subject of this sketch, it is to
be noted that he was born and reared in West Virginia and that he thence
came to Iowa in the year 1855. He gained pioneer honors in Clarke County,
having served in the State Legislature. He reclaimed and developed a farm and
also followed his trade, that of blacksmith, his service in the work of this
ancient craft having covered a period of fully sixty years. He was one of the
revered pioneer citizens of Liberty, Clarke County, at the time of his death
in 1899, and his widow passed to life eternal in 1919, both having been devout
members of the Methodist Episcopal Church.

In conclusion is given brief record concerning the domestic chapter in the
career of Aaron V. Proudfoot. On the 10th of May, 1885, was solemnized his
marriage with Miss Louie L. Posegate, who likewise was born and reared in Iowa
and who is a daughter of the late Eli and Rebecca V. (Haworth) Posegate.
Mrs. Proudfoot was graduated from the Indianola High School and was also a
student in Simpson College, and she has long been a gracious figure in the social
cultural and church life of her home city. Charity M., elder of the two
children of Mr. and Mrs. Proudfoot, is the widow of John M. Hillis, of Hillsburg,
Indiana, and now maintains her home in Indianola, her children being Ruth,
Mary L., Richard A. and John E. Edwin V., younger of the two children of Mr.
and Mrs. Proudfoot, was graduated from the University of Chicago, and is now
engaged in the fidelity bond business in the City of Davenport, Iowa, the
maiden name of his wife having been Mary Louise Peasley.