Biographical and Historical Record of Ringgold and Decatur Counties, Iowa, (Lewis Publishing Company (1887)), p. 527:

“JOHN W. ATEN, farmer, resides on section 10, High Point Township, where he owns 220 acres of excellent land in a good state of cultivation. He was born in Fulton County, Illinois. His parents, Aaron and Dorcas (Glass) Aten, were natives of Ohio, and came to Garden Grove, Decatur County, in 1871, where they still reside. Mr. Aten was reared to the vocation of a farmer, which he has followed thus far through life. He was married in Decatur County, in 1870, to Elizabeth, daughter of Benjamin and Mary A. Woolley, early settlers of Decatur County.”

Transcribed by Christy Jay for Decatur County, Iowa, Rootsweb.