WASHINGTON I. BABB was born in Des Moines County, Iowa, October 2, 1844.  His education was begun in the public schools and continued in the Wesleyan University at Mount Pleasant.  Early in 1863 he enlisted in the Eighth Iowa Cavalry, serving with his regiment in the Army of the Cumberland until the close of the war.  He took part in the Atlanta campaign, the battles of Franklin and Nashville and the Wilson expedition through Alabama and Georgia.  Upon his return to Mount Pleasant, Mr. Babb reentered the University, graduating in 1866.  He studied law, was admitted to the bar and entered upon practice in 1868.  He was a member of the law firm of Woolson & Babb, which for eighteen years was regarded as one of the ablest in that section of the State.  Although originally a Republican, Mr. Babb differed with his party on reconstruction policy and united with the Democrats after the war.  In 1883 he was elected to the House of the Twentieth General Assembly in a strong Republican county, serving as a member of the committees on judiciary and railroads.  In 1890 he was chosen judge of the Second Judicial District, resuming practice upon leaving the bench in 1895.  When the free silver issue became prominent Judge Babb was largely instrumental in securing the adoption of a sound money platform at the Democratic State Convention of 1895, which nominated him for Governor.  In 1896 he received the Democratic  vote in the General Assembly for United States Senator.  He adhered to the sound money wing of the party in the campaign of 1896.  Judge Babb has taken a deep interest in education, serving for more than twenty years as a trustee of the Iowa Wesleyan University, and several years as regent of the State University.  The former institution has conferred upon him the degree of LL. D.

LYSANDER W. BABBITT was one of the pioneers of Iowa.  He was born in Seneca County, New York, January 31, 1812, and came to the Mississippi valley in 1836, locating at Burlington, which was then in Michigan Territory.  In 1838 he was appointed by General Henry Dodge adjutant of a regiment organized to protect the frontier.  In 1842 he explored the upper valley of the Des Moines River and while camped at the mouth of the Raccoon, predicted that the future capital of the State would be located in that vicinity.  In 1844 he journeyed with an ox team to Knoxville where he built a mill and opened a store.  In 1848 he was elected on the Democratic ticket, Representative in the Legislature for the district composed of Marion, Jasper, Polk and Dallas, and all of the counties in that tier to the Missouri River.  He served two terms in the House.  While a member he introduced and urged the passage of a bill to remove the capital from Iowa City to Des Moines, then a new town laid out upon the spot where he had camped six years before.  In 1853 he was appointed Register of the United Sates Land Office at Council Bluffs and removed to that place.  In 1857 he purchased the Council Bluffs Bugle, one of the leading journals of his party in the State.  In 1859 he was the Democratic candidate for Lieutenant-Governor but was defeated.  In 1867 he was again elected to the Legislature.  He removed to Arkansas in 1881 where he died October 4, 1885.  He had been one of the influential leaders of the Democratic party of Iowa for half a century.

A. K. BAILEY was born in Wales, Erie County, New York, November 18, 1835.  After attending school until he was thirteen, he entered his father's office and learned the printer's trade.  In 1860 Mr. Bailey came to Iowa, locating in Winneshiek County and with his father, Wesley Bailey, founded the Decorah Republican.  For more than forty years he has remained with that journal as one of the editors and publishers.  It has long ranked among the best weekly newspapers in the State.  He has, during that period, in addition to conducting the Republican, held the office of treasurer and recorder of the county, served sixteen years as postmaster of Decorah and for four years, from 1890 to 1894, represented his county in the State Senate.  While a member of the Senate he was an earnest advocate of the Australian ballot law and one of the zealous supporters of the establishment of the State Historical Department.  He and his father were among the pioneer journalists of northern Iowa and widely known throughout the State as among the ablest editors.

GIDEON S. BAILEY was born in the State of Kentucky in 1810 and came to the "Black Hawk Purchase" in 1837, locating on the west bank of the Des Moines River in Van Buren County.  He was a physician but from boyhood had taken a deep interest in public affairs.  When the Territory of Iowa was established in 1838, Dr. Bailey, then a young man of twenty-eight was chosen one of the member of the First Legislative Assembly.  He was the author of the first school system established in the Territory.  As chairman of the committee on schools he framed a bill, which became a law on the 24th of December, 1838, providing for public schools in each county free to all children between the ages of four and twenty-one.  The bill also provided for the building of schoolhouses.  Dr. Bailey was reelected to the House of the Second Legislative Assembly and in 1840 was elected a member of the Council where he served two terms.  In 1844 he was a member of the First Constitutional Convention.  In 1845 he was appointed by the President United States Marshal for Iowa.  In 1857 he was elected to the State Senate, serving in the Seventh and Eighth General Assemblies.  This honored pioneer lawmaker, who helped to frame the first statutes and first Constitution, has long been the only survivor of the earliest legislators and has lived to witness the marvelous development of the educational system he helped to found in the First Territorial Legislature of Iowa.  He was for forty years one of the trusted leaders of the Democratic party of the State.

JAMES BAKER was born in Gallatin County, Kentucky, December 25, 1823.  His father removed to Shelbyville, Indiana, where the son received his education.  In 1852 he came to Iowa, locating at Bloomfield in Davis County, where he studied law and entered into partnership with his brother-in-law.  H. H. Trimble.  At the beginning of the Civil War Mr. Baker entered the volunteer service and received a commission as captain of Company G. Second Infantry.  In November he was promoted to lieutenant-colonel and eight months later became colonel of that famous regiment.  He was mortally wounded while gallantly leading his regiment at the Battle of Corinth on the 3d of October, 1862.  He lived until the 7th of October, when death ended his sufferings.

NATHANIEL B. BAKER is a name which will for all time be intimately associated with Iowa' war history.  He was born at Hillsborough, New Hampshire, September 29, 1818.  A graduate of Harvard, he entered the law office of Franklin Pierce in 1839 and began practice in 1842.  He was for three years editor of the New Hampshire Patriot and in 1846 became Clerk of the Supreme Court.  In 1851 he was elected to the Legislature and chosen Speaker of the house of Representatives, serving two terms.  In 1852 he was one of the presidential electors and voted for his old preceptor for President.  In 1854 he was elected Governor of New Hampshire and was the last Democrat who held that office before the political revolution which left his party in the minority.  In 1856 Governor Baker became a resident of Iowa, locating at Clinton.  In 1859 he was elected to the Iowa Legislature and when the War of the Rebellion began he led the war wing of his party to give cordial support to Governor Kirkwood's administration.  The Governor appointed him Adjutant-General of the State and all through the Rebellion his superb executive ability was given to the work of organizing the fifty-seven regiments of volunteers which Iowa furnished to the President.  He organized a system that has preserved a permanent record of the service of every Iowa soldier who entered the army.  As the war progressed the duties of Inspector-General, Quartermaster, Paymaster and Commissary-General were imposed upon him, and the duties discharged with promptness unsurpassed.  He was untiring in caring for the comfort of Iowa soldiers, and as the regiments were discharged he gathered at the State Arsenal all of the battle flags which were brought home for careful preservation.  He planned and superintended the great reunion of Iowa soldiers in 1870, where every one of the 20,000 veterans was eager to take him by the hand.  He held the office of Adjutant-General to the day of his death, which occurred on the 13th of September, 1876.  Governor Kirkwood issued a proclamation announcing his death and enumerating his great services to the State.  The national flag was displayed from the public buildings at half-mast and minute guns were fired the day of his funeral, which was one of the most imposing ever seen in the State.  A monument was erected to his memory over his grave in Woodland Cemetery, Des Moines, by voluntary contributions of Iowa soldiers.

THOMAS BAKER, A notable pioneer of Iowa, was born in Muskingum County, Ohio, in 1810 and was appointed colonel of a regiment of militia when but nineteen years of age.  He studied law, was admitted to the bar and, in 1836, came to the "Black Hawk Purchase" and made a claim many miles beyond the nearest settlement in Slaughter County.  He was driven out by the Indians and his cabin burned.  He returned to his claim in 1838.  In August, 1841, he was elected to the House of the Fourth legislative Assembly and reelected to the Sixth, serving through one extra and two regular sessions.  He moved to Polk County in 1845 and the following year was elected to the Senate of the First General Assembly to the State from the district composed of the counties of Polk, Dallas, Jasper and Marion.  Upon the organization of the Senate Mr. Baker was chosen President, becoming the first presiding officer of that body.  He was a staunch Democrat and his party had a majority in the Senate, while the Whigs controlled the House.  Party feeling was intense as the first United States Senators were to be chosen.  Neither party had a clear majority on joint ballot, as there were several independent members.  After one ballot without a choice, the Senate refused to meet the House in joint convention and the session ended without electing Senators.  During all of the bitter contest Mr. Baker presided with such fairness as to win the respect and confidence of every member of the Senate, which gave him a unanimous vote of approval just before adjournment.  He was a Democratic candidate for judge of the Fifth District in 1849, but was defeated.  In 1850 Mr. Baker removed to California where he served in the Legislature and was for many years Receiver of the United States Land Office.  He died in November,  1872.

CALEB BALDWIN was born in Washington County, Pennsylvania, 3d of April, 1824.  He graduated at Washington College in 1842 and immediately began the study of law.  In 1846 he came to Iowa, taking up his residence at Fairfield where he entered upon the practice of his profession.  He served two terms as prosecuting attorney and in 1855 was appointed by Governor Grimes Judge of the Third Judicial District.  In 1857 he removed to Council Bluffs.  In 1859 he was elected Judge of the Supreme Court and became Chief Justice in 1862.  In 1865 he was appointed by President Lincoln United States District Attorney for Iowa.  In 1874 he was appointed by President Grant, Judge of the Court of Commissioners to settle the Alabama claims.  He died in the winter of 1876.

JOHN N. BALDWIN is a native of Council Bluffs, and the son of Judge Caleb Baldwin.  He was born July 9, 1857, and received a thorough education in the public schools of his native city.  He entered the Law Department of the State University and graduated with high honors at the age of twenty, in the class of 1877.  Mr. Baldwin began the practice of his profession in Council Bluffs and has become one of the most successful corporation attorneys west of Chicago.  In 1894 Mr. Baldwin was President of the Republican State Convention and delivered an able and eloquent address.  He was chosen by the friends of Senator Allison to present his name for President before the National Republican Convention at St. Louis in 1896, by which he became known as a public speaker of unusual ability.  In 1890 he was one of the presidential electors at large on the Republican ticket.

JABEZ BANBURY was a native of England but came to America when quite young.  He was a mechanic and located at Marshalltown, Iowa.  Before the Rebellion he had some military experience as a member of an independent company.  In June, 1861, he helped raise a company which was attached to the Fifth Iowa Infantry, as Company D, of which Banbury was elected first lieutenant.  He won rapid promotion, becoming captain in February, 1862, major in July following and colonel in April, 1863.  After the fall of Vicksburg, he was for a time in command of a brigade.  He was mustered out of the service in August, 1864, and removed to California in 1870, where he died on the 11th of December, 1900. 

WILLIS H. BARRIS, clergyman and scientist, was a native of Beaver County, Pennsylvania, where he was born July 9, 1821.  He entered Alleghany College at Meadville in 1835 and graduating, took a course of civil engineering, which he completed in 1841.  From his youth Mr. Barris was a student of natural science, especially geology, in which later he prosecuted original studies.  At the age of twenty-one he entered his General Theological Seminary in New York City from which he was graduated in 1850, being ordained in 1852.  Upon the advice of Bishop Lee, Mr. Barris came to Iowa in 1855, becoming rector of Trinity church at Iowa City.  While there he continued his work in geology and became a member of the Board of Regents of the University in 1858.  The following year he became rector of Christ's church at Burlington and "contributed largely to the creation of that scientific interest with which Burlington limestone is now regarded."  Portions of his collection went to the British Museum, but a larger part went to the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Cambridge, and a large number of crinold forms described by Wachsmuth, Springer and others were first discovered by Dr. Barris.  In 1866 he became professor of ecclesiastical history (including Greek and Hebrew) in the Theological Department of Griswold College at Davenport, the chair having been created and endowed for his occupancy.  Dr. Barris occupied the chair for twenty-five years, being above all else a churchman.  He was, however, a leading spirit in all scientific research and while at Davenport published many valuable articles, mainly in the Geological Reports of Illinois.  He was largely instrumental in founding the Davenport Academy of Sciences, served on its board of trustees and was its president, 1876, and later was curator and corresponding secretary for many years.  He was a member of many scientific societies and in 1869 Griswold College conferred upon him the degree of Doctor of Divinity.  Dr. Barris died at his home in Davenport June 10, 1901, having been a citizen of Iowa for forty-six years.

WILLARD BARROWS was one of the first Government surveyors of the public lands of Iowa.  He was born at Munson, Massachusetts, in 1806 and received a good education.  In 1832 he was employed in surveying the lands of the Choctaw Purchase and later the swamp lands of the Yazoo River.  In 1837 he came to Iowa and was employed in the first surveys of the "Black Hawk Purchase," along the Wapsipinicon River.  In 1838 he located with his family at the new town of Rockingham on the Iowa side of the Mississippi River, five miles below Rock Island.  In 1840 he surveyed the islands in the Mississippi between the Rock River and Quincy.  In 1853 he made a careful examination of northern Iowa and published an excellent map of the State, with descriptive notes.  It was by far the best map of Iowa that had been made and was adopted as the official map of the State, when published in 1854.  Mr. Barrows was an extensive traveler over the American continent and an accomplished writer.  He was the author of the first history of Scott County, which was published in the old Annals of Iowa.

GEORGE W. BASSETT was born in Canada in 1827.  He received his education in Wabash College, Indiana, and the Cincinnati Law School.  He came to Iowa in 1856, studying law with John A. Kasson in Des Moines.  He located at Fort Dodge in 1858 where he practiced his profession.  In 1861 he was a lieutenant in a company of cavalry raised at Fort Dodge which was attached to the Army of the Potomac.  He was disabled by wounds in battles and had to resign in consequence.  Upon his return to Fort Dodge in 1863 Lieutenant Bassett was elected to the State senate for the northwestern district consisting of twenty-eight counties and represented more than one-third of the territory of the State in the Tenth and Eleventh General Assemblies.  For nearly twenty years Mr. Bassett was the general agent for the leasing and sale of the lands embraced in the Agricultural College grant, disposing of nearly 200,000 acres of lands.  He died in California on the 6th of February, 1896.

JOHN F. BATES was the first colonel of the first regiment furnished by Iowa to the War of the Rebellion.  He was born on the 3d of January, 1831, at Utica, New York.  He paid his expenses at school for six years by performing the labors of janitor.  From 1852 to 1855 he was an insurance agent in New York City and then removed to Iowa locating at Dubuque.  There he was elected Clerk of the District Court in 1858.  When Governor Kirkwood issued his proclamation on the 17th of April, 1861, calling for volunteers for a regiment to serve for three months, thousands of citizens responded.  But one thousand could be accepted and when they were organized into the First Iowa Infantry in May, John F. Bates was chosen colonel.  He commanded the regiment in the battles of Booneville and Dug Springs under General Lyon, but at the greater Battle of Wilson's Creek he was not present.  His military career closed at the end of three months when the First Iowa was mustered out.

WILLIAM M. BEARDSHEAR was of Scotch ancestry and was born November 7, 1850, at Dayton, Ohio.  He was reared on a farm and attended the public schools until fourteen years of age when he enlisted in the Union army and was accepted because of his unusual size and strength.  He served through the entire war in the Army of the Cumberland and returning, entered the ministry in the United Brethren church, preaching at Arcanum and Dayton, Ohio.  Meanwhile he attended Yale preaching at Arcanum and Dayton, Ohio.  Meanwhile he attended Yale Theological Seminary for two years.  In 1881 he came to Iowa, accepting the presidency of Western College at Toledo, being one of the youngest college presidents in the country.  In 1889 he was elected principal of the Des Moines public schools, but in 1891 resigned to accept the presidency of the State College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts.  For fifteen years Dr. Beardshear took an active interest in education, attending every session of the Iowa State Teachers' Association, of which he was president in 1894.  In the National Educational Association he served as manager and delegate from Iowa, as president of the industrial department and in 1901 was unanimously chosen president.  In 1897 Dr. Beardshear was appointed by President McKinley a member of the United States Indian Commission.  He died at Ames, August 5, 1902.

CHARLES BEARDSLEY was born near Mount Vernon, Knox County, Ohio, on the 18th
of February, 1830. He prepared for college at Granville Academy and Wesleyan
University, Delaware, entering the Ohio Medical College at Cincinnati and was
graduated from that institution. In 1855 he came to Iowa and began the
practice of medicine at Muscatine, but soon removed to Oskaloosa, where in
1861 he became editor of the Weekly Herald. He was an accomplished writer
and his paper attained wide influence in that section of the State. He was
appointed postmaster of Oskaloosa, by President Lincoln. In 1865 he removed
to Burlington becoming one of the owners and the chief editor of the Hawkeye.
In 1869 he was elected by the Republicans to the State Senate, serving four
years with marked ability. He was an earnest advocate of the taxation of
corporate property on the same basis as other property and the taxation of
the railroad bridges across the Mississippi and Missouri rivers. He favored
the employment of women in the public service and the extension to them of
the right of suffrage. In 1874 he was appointed Librarian of the War
Department at Washington, with charge of the records of the Rebellion. In
1879 he was appointed by President Hayes Fourth Auditor of the Treasury,
which position he held until 1885. He was a member of the council called by
Plymouth Congregational church at Brooklyn, New York, which tried the charges
preferred against Rev. Henry Ward Beecher in 1876. He was a life-long and
prominent member of the Congregational church and moderator of its
fifty-second annual meeting at Sioux City in 1891. At the celebration of the
Semi-Centennial Anniversary of the admission of Iowa as a State held at
Burlington in 1896, Dr. Beardsley was one of the chief managers. His great
ardor in the work assigned to him led to overexertion bringing on nervous
prostration from which he never rallied. He died at his home December 29,
1896.