Charles Sedgwick, who devotes his attention to the pursuits of farming and stock raising with excellent results, owns and cultivates a tract of land comprising one hundred and forty acres on sections 24 and 25, Richland township.  His birth occurred in Kane county, Illinois, on the 30th of May, 1856, his parents being C. S. and Jane (Naulton) Sedgwick, the former a native of New York and the latter of England. They removed to Illinois in the '40s, locating in Kane county, and subsequently took up their abode on a farm in Delaware county, Iowa. Here the father passed away on the 27th of March, 1889, while the demise of the mother occurred at Aurora, Illinois, February 8, 1892. They had nine children, seven of whom are still living.

       Charles Sedgwick attended the common schools in the acquirement of an education and remained under the parental roof until twenty five years of age when he was married and established a home of his own. He followed farming in Kane county for the next three years and then came to Delaware county, Iowa, locating on a farm in Richland township. Subsequently he took up his abode on a farm of one hundred and forty acres on sections 24 and 25, Richland township, whereon he has resided continuously since and in the operation of which he has won a gratifying degree of prosperity. In connection with general farming he devotes considerable attention to stock raising, which adds materially to his income.

      In 1881 Mr. Sedgwick was united in marriage to Miss Blanche Reising, a native of Kane county, Illinois, and a daughter of Valentine and Addie (Fisk) Reising, who were born in Germany and Pennsylvania respectively. The mother removed to Illinois in 1859, locating in Kane county, where she gave her hand in marriage to Valentine Reising, who passed away in Aurora. Mrs. Reising, became the mother of five children and still makes her home in Aurora. To Mr. and Mrs. Sedgwick have been born six children, as follows: Blanche A. whose birth occurred May 12, 1882, and who is the wife of William Coleson of Texas; Charles V., born February 12, 1887, who is a resident of Richland township;  Clyde, whose natal day was July 30, 1889; Alice I., born April 12, 1892; Irene E., born April 16, 1898; and Cole M., whose birth occurred on the 16th of February, 1900.

      Mr. Sedgwick is a stanch republican in politics and has ably served as a member of the school board. Both he and his wife attend the services of the Catholic church. The long period of his residence here has made him widely and favorably known, for he has always followed the most straightforward business methods and the highest and most honorable personal standards.