H. O. WEAVER.

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         H. O. Weaver, of Wapello, collector of the United States internal revenue of the fourth district of Iowa and prominent also as a lawyer and business man, was born on a farm in Marshall township, Louisa county, April 20, 1866. He is a son of Erastus Weaver, who was born at Providence, Rhode Island, September . . .

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. . . 30, 1815, and in 1836 went to Wisconsin where he spent ten years. He arrived in Louisa county in 1846 and began farming on one hundred and sixty acres in Elm Grove township. On December 29, 1847, he was married to Miss Mary Elizabeth Marshall. In 1861 Mr. Weaver enlisted in the cause of the Union in Company C, Sixteenth Regiment of Iowa Volunteers, and valiantly performed his duty at the front for four long years. After the close of the war he received his honorable discharge and returned to the peaceful vocation of farming in which he met with a goodly measure of success. Upon retiring from active labor he settled in Cairo, Marshall township, where he died at the age of eighty-nine years, having long been recognized as one of the most valued citizens of the county.

         Mrs. Weaver, mother of our subject, was born near Xenia, Ohio, April 30, 1829, and came west with her father, John Marshall, and family in 1838 to the great new section that had been opened up to settlement through the Black Hawk purchase some few years previously. John Marshall settled in the township which now bears his name and here his daughter Mary was reared. She bravely met the arduous struggles incident to the pioneer times, not the least of which was the taking care of a family of small children while the husband and father served his country upon the southern battlefields during the Civil war, and the mother love with which she encompassed her little flock gave them a feeling of security in the years of their youth that contributed in a great measure toward making them self-reliant men and women. She delighted to recall to mind the early incidents of pioneer life and she never forgot her early neighbors and friends. She was a charter member of the Methodist Episcopal church which was organized in 1859 at Prairie Chapel, in Marshall township, and was ever fearless in her devotion to what she believed to be just and right. She died November 16, 1898, after having been an invalid for more than five years. She was laid to rest in Fulton cemetery beside her parents and many friends who had gone before, and in her passing the community lost one of the strong ties that linked the pioneer past with the progressive present. Nine children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Weaver, namely: Mary Elizabeth, the wife of Reese Sellers; Laura and Annie, both of whom died in infancy; Emily F., the wife of Dr. W. H. Darrow, of Columbus Junction; Lucy, the wife of E. S. Briggs, of Louisa county; Clara, who resides at Morning Sun and is the wife of Dr. C. B. Allen; H. O., of this review; Henrietta, the wife of August Salmon, of Columbus Junction; and Alice, who died in infancy.

         H.O. Weaver attended the district schools during the years of his boyhood and youth and assisted his father upon the home farm during the periods of vacation, thus laying the foundation for a good constitution which has been of great advantage to him in his contact with the world. At the age of eighteen he entered the Eastern Iowa Normal School at Columbus Junction where he continued for one year. He then taught school for a short time in Muscatine county, after which he entered the State University at Iowa City. He spent five years at this institution, graduating from the literary department with the degree of A.B. in 1891, and from the law department with the degree of LL.B. . . .

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. . . in 1892. Immediately after leaving the university he began practice at Wapello and since maintained an office here. From the beginning he showed a zeal and ability that gave brilliant promise as to his future, and time has shown that he made no mistake in the selection of a calling, as he soon reached a position as a leading lawyer of the county.

         He has been an active worker in behalf of the republican party and in 1894 was elected to the state legislature and after serving for two years was again elected in 1896, also taking part in the proceedings of the extra session. For three years he filled the office of chairman of the republican state central committee. As a campaign speaker he made a tour of the state in behalf of Governor Shaw and President McKinley and gained high standing as a forceful and convincing speaker. In July, 1902, he was appointed by President Roosevelt as collector of revenue for the fourth district of Iowa with headquarters at Burlington and is still holding the office, having been reappointed by President Taft. He is well known in business circles and is a large stockholder of the Wapello State Savings Bank of Wapello.

         On the 7th of October, 1896, Mr. Weaver was married to Miss Alma Neuse, a daughter of George R. and Clara (Slattery) Neuse. Two children have been born of this union: Mary Frances, who died when six years of age; and William Otis, now aged two years. Mr. Weaver has always been actuated by principles of the highest honor and has never taken undue advantage of an opponent in his legal practice or sought to advance a cause by unworthy means. Fearless in defense of his honest convictions, he has for years been an acknowledged leader in this part of the state and has won the respect even of his bitterest political adversaries. No one more willingly accepts responsibilities to which he is called or discharges them more faithfully. Ever since he reached maturity he has been identified with the best interests of the county. He and his wife are prominent in social circles and their home is a center of warm-hearted and generous hospitality. Fraternally he is a valued member of the Knights of Pythias, the Odd Fellows and the Woodmen of America.