N. J. GESMAN, SR.

Was born in Charlois, Holland, December 17, 1835. He came to this country with
his parents, Mr. and Mrs. A. G. Gesman, with the first colonists in 1847. The
family remained in St. Louis until early in 1849, when they moved to Pella. At a
very early age he joined his father in the carpenter shop and learned that
trade. From his youth up he was a student and when his health unfitted him for
the hard labor of carpenter work, he fitted himself by home study, for the
profession of school teacher. He commenced teaching in 1861 and continued for
four years. He taught the school near Amsterdam, later the Vos school near the
Skunk river, and also in the Pella schools. In 1867 he became editor of the
Pella Gazette and continued in this work for about one year. About this time he
took up the study of law. At that time the family consisted of six members, and
Mr. Gesman had to provide for the family while studying to qualify for the bar.
It was no uncommon thing for him to work all day and then study until two A. M.
In this way he succeeded to qualify for that profession in a little more than
six months, and became a member of the law firm of Curtis & Gesman. Later, when
Mr. Gesman removed from Pella, the firm was known as Gesman & Prouty. The junior
member at that time being S. F. Prouty, now of Des Moines. Mr. Gesman was an
earnest and devout Christian from his early youth, and the ministry would have
been his choice if it had been possible for him to obtain the schooling
necessary for this calling. After having practiced law" for more than twenty
years, his desire to devote the remainder of his life to religious work became
so strong that he took an examination and was ordained as Minister in the
Reformed Church. He then accepted a call from the Reformed Congregation in
Leighton, for whom he had acted as supply for several years previous, and
continued as the Pastor of that congregation until his death, which occurred
November 3, 1894. Mr. Gesman was one of the organizers of the Second Reformed
Congregation in Pella, and for many years served as Elder and also as
Superintendent of the Sunday School. He was elected mayor of Pella in 1882, and
served as City Attorney for a number of years. Few men of his generation did
more for the moral development of the community. Many men and women still
living, will testify to his unusual ability as teacher and expounder of God's
word, during the many years that he taught a large adult class in the Sunday
School of the Second Reformed Church.

REV. JACOB CORNELIUS

Born in Coshocton, Ohio, 1838, died in Galena, Kansas, August 1, 1897. His
parents emigrated from the city of Amsterdam, Holland, settling in New York and
were known as one of the Knickerbocker families in the early days. He became a
minister in the Baptist church in 1862. He was an architect in his early life
and considered very proficient in his profession. He enlisted in the Civil war
and at the close received an honorable discharge, and from that time on, he
became a pioneer minister. His work began in Indiana and followed up in
Illinois, Iowa