LEWIS, WINFIELD S.

     The profession of the law when clothed with its true dignity and purity and strength must rank first among the callings of men, for law rules the universe. The work of the legal profession is to formulate, to harmonize, to regulate, to adjust, to administer those rules and principles that underlie an permeate all government and society and control the various relations of men. As thus viewed there attaches to the legal profession a nobleness that cannot but be reflected in the life of the true lawyer, who, rising to the responsibilities of his profession and honest in the pursuit of his purpose, embraces the richness of learning, the profoundness of wisdom, the firmness of integrity and the purity of morals, together with the graces of modesty, courtesy and the general amenities of life. Of such a type Judge Winfield Scott Lewis is a representative. For sixteen years he has practiced law in Mills county, having throughout this period been a member of the Glenwood bar.

     The Judge is numbered among the native sons of this county, his birth having here occurred on the 8th of November, 1853. His father, Daniel J. Lewis, was a native of Kentucky, and married Harriet Holston, who was born in Virginia. They were farming people and came to Iowa during its territorial days, arriving here in 1844. They settled near Burlington at a place known as Flint Hill, and in August, 1850, came to Mills county, where they were among the honored pioneers. They cast in their lot with the early settlers, and the father undertook the task of transforming a tract of the wild prairie into a finely developed farm. He vigorously and successfully prosecuted his work, becoming one of the substantial citizens of the community. Their home was about eight miles east of Glenwood, and there they resided throughout their remaining days, the father dying at the advanced age of ninety-two years, while the mother passed away at the age of eighty-one. they had eight children, five of whom are now living.

     Amid the wild scenes of frontier life in Mills county Judge Lewis was reared, and in the work of the farm he assisted, performing his share in the labors of field and meadow. He attended the district schools until seventeen years of age and then entered Tabor College, where he was a student for two years. Subsequently he matriculated in the law department of Iowa College, among his classmates being several who have later attained fame in connection with jurisprudence. He was a member of the class of 1874 and immediately after his graduation he returned to his native county and began practice in Malvern, where he remained until 1890, when he came to Glenwood, the county seat. Here he has since enjoyed a distinctively representative clientage. He throws himself easily and naturally into the argument with marked self possession and deliberation. There is no straining after effect, but a precision and clearness in his statement, and acuteness and strength in his argument which exhibit a mind trained in the severest school of investigation and to which the closest reasoning has become habitual. He has a large practice and is retained as counsel or advocate on nearly every important case tried in the courts of his district.

    About the time he began practice Judge Lewis was united in marriage to one of his schoolmates of early days, Miss Mary L. Witt, who was born in Colorado, a daughter of Enoch Witt. Four children have been born unto them: Ulysses G., who is now managing his father's farm; Roy, Laura and Walter at home. The eldest son married Tillie Green and they have a son and daughter, Edwin M. and Wilma. The children have been provided with good educational privileges and theirs is a bright and happy family, the members of the household occupying an enviable position in social circles where true worth and intelligence are received as the passports into good society.

    The Judge has long been recognized as a leader in political circles and is a prominent Republican whose views carry weight in the councils of his party. From 1879 until 1881 he represented his district in the state legislature of Iowa and served as speaker pro tem. He was a valued member of the house, giving an earnest support to many worthy measures, and among those whose passage he secured and which have had far-reaching influence of a beneficial nature is the insurance law. In May 1894 he was appointed judge of the nine counties of this district and served until January, 1895, as the successor of H. E. Deemer, who resigned to take a place upon the supreme bench of the state. The decisions of Judge Lewis were models of judicial soundness, perspicuity and force, and won the approval of the members of the bar. He is one of the charter members of the Benevolent & Protective Order of Elks, of Council Bluffs, and his wife is a member of the Baptist church. The life of the Judge has been one of unusual activity and has not been without its desirable results. By capable business management, indefatigable energy and perseverance he has won a handsome competence, and now enjoys an enviable reputation at the bar and in the field of politics.

LINVILLE, LEWIS G.

    Lewis G. Linville is one of the native sons of Mills county, his birth having occurred in Center township on the 11th of June, 1866, within half a mile of his present home. His grandfather James Linville, was a native of Tennessee and a farmer by occupation. He married Miss Sarah Burris, a native of Tennessee, who died at the old homestead about five years ago. Her father was William Burris and her people were farmers. Mrs. Linville was a most lovable old lady, possessed of those characteristics which ever win the respect and admiration of the young.

    His father, George H. Linville, was born near Sparta, Tennessee, in 1818, and was a farmer by occupation. In 1854 he removed to Mills county, Iowa, where he secured a tract of wild land which he transformed into what is now known as the Linville homestead, and continued its cultivation and improvement until his death, which occurred on the 5th of January, 1900. He was a highly respected citizen, widely known for his sterling worth of character. Before coming to Iowa he had lived at different points in Missouri. Unto the parents of our subject were born the following children: Granville P., now a resident of Winona county, Iowa; Margaret Splawn, who is living in Silverdale, Kansas; Mrs. Esther A. Estes, whose home is near Glenwood; Mrs. Mary J. Dye, deceased; Mrs. Nancy C. Wright, who is also living near Glenwood; Mrs. Sallie Bohart, a resident of Chicago; and Mrs. Martha A. Kelly, whose home is in Macedonia, Iowa. Creditable portraits of the father and grandfather adorn the home of our subject. These men were of fine old southern stock and the pictures show them to have been people of strong character and marked individuality.

     ARMr. Linville, whose name introduces this record, has spent his entire life in the county of his nativity and received excellent educational privileges, attending the graded and high schools of Glenwood. He has given his energies to agricultural pursuits and is today operating a fine farm, whose well tilled fields yield to him a good return. All modern accessories and improvements are there found and the place indicates the careful supervision of he owner, who is known as a very practical yet very progressive agriculturist.

     Mr. Linville was united in marriage to Miss Elizabeth A. Tipton, who was born on a farm in Illinois and is a daughter of S. A. and Sarah A. Tipton, who came to Iowa about 1871. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Linville have been born three interesting children, namely: Fannie Pearl, Willard St. Clair and George Lewis. It is the intention of the parents that good educational privileges shall fit them for life's practical duties. Mr. and Mrs. Linville attend the Christian church of Glenwood and their many excellent characteristics and sterling worth have won for them a large circle of warm friends in Mills county.

     In his political affiliations Mr. Linville is a Democrat and at the present time is holding the office of township trustee of Center township, to which, he was elected by a majority of twelve, although in the last presidential election the township went Republican by majority of fifty. This shows a gain of sixty-two for Mr. Linville, which is an excellent demonstration of his popularity and genuine worth as a citizen. His fellow townsmen have confidence in his ability, and to those who know him it is needless to say that no trust reposed in him has ever been betrayed.

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MARSH, OSCAR H.

     The world instinctively pays deference to the man whose success has been worthily achieved, who has acquired high reputation along the line toward which his energies have been directed, and whose social prominence is not less the result of an irreproachable life than of the recognized natural gifts. It is a pleasing indulgence to write the biography of a man of this character. The country has produced many brilliant men who in military or civil life have won prominence and honor; most of our noblest and best men are self-made, and Mr. Marsh is a representative of this class, for his life has been devoted to labors wherein wealth and influence availed little or naught, the measure of success depending upon the mentality, intellectual acquirements and broad culture of the individual. Mr. Marsh has left the imprint of his individuality on each place in which, for any length of time, he has resided, and has opened to many the portals of knowledge, wherein memory's casket may be filled with the choicest gems, the only treasurers which we may safely call our own. As an educator and writer he is now widely known, familiarity through the medium of books with the most gifted minds of every nation and of every clime has well qualified him for his incumbency as superintendent of the public school of Mills county.

     Oscar Hamdon Marsh is descended from notable ancestry on both his father's and mother's sides, the mother belonging to the well known Snyder family of Pennsylvania, while his father comes from that branch of the Marsh family which gained prominence through the invention of the machine harvester. The subject of this review was born near Williamsport, Pennsylvania, in 1864, and began his education in the district schools. His father's interest in educational matters led the son to read and study much at home. He was provided with good privileges in the line of mental training. When a youth of fifteen he became a student in the preparatory department of what is now Susquehanna University, at Selin's Grove, Pennsylvania, where he studied for four years. He was prominent in literary and historical circles and was the editor of the Philo, one of the society journals, for several years. He continued his education in Pennsylvania College, where he matriculated as a junior in 1883, and at once took high rank in literature, languages and history. While a student in that institution he also acted as president of the Phrenokosmian Literary Society, which he represented on a number of public occasions. He was also a member of the Beta Chapter of the Phi delta Theta fraternity, which he represented with great credit in several oratorical and literary contests.

      Professor Marsh's first step after leaving school was to take up the study of law. He devoted his leisure time to a perusal of the most reliable test-books on the science of jurisprudence, and in 1886 was admitted to the bar, after which he successfully engaged in practice for a year. On the expiration of that period, however, he came west to accept the position of principal in the schools of Oakland, Iowa, where he remained for four years, during which time the educational system of that city was largely improved, the schools being placed upon a splendid basis. Three years later, while acting as principal of the schools of Emerson, his success as an educator became so well known that the people of Mills county elected him county superintendent in the fall of 1897. His county is strongly Republican and Professor Marsh is an advocate of the Democracy, but his political opinions seemed to have naught to do with his election to the office, for his fellow citizens recognize his worth and ability in the line of his chosen calling and know that the schools are in efficient hands. His enthusiasm, ability and strong personality have inspired both teachers and pupils to raise the standard of education higher. His efforts have led to an increase of twenty per cent in the salaries of the teachers. Libraries have been placed in every school and the work of the teachers has been rendered much more effective. Professor Marsh is a prominent member of the Teachers' State Association, and in December, 1900, he was elected president of the county superintendents' section of that organization. He is also an active member of the Educational Council and his services are ever in demand as a teacher and lecturer in normal institutes.

     Professor Marsh has gained a reputation as the author of some excellent works on American history. He compiled and published a volume entitled Aids in United States History, which is now widely used in Iowa, and he expects soon to issue a unique work entitled Incidents and Anecdotes of American History. He has devoted much of his spare time to the subject and has one of the largest libraries of historical works in the state. His enthusiasm for history amounts to an inspiration and makes him a valuable institute instructor. He is the holder of life diplomas from the states of Pennsylvania and Iowa, and his alma mater conferred upon him the degree of master of arts.

     In 1888 Professor Marsh was united in marriage to Miss Stella G. Beebe, of Corry, Pennsylvania, a lady of superior culture and literary refinement. She has also devoted much of her life to educational work and is now one of the most accomplished and efficient primary teachers in the Glenwood schools. Neither the Professor or his wife continue their reading exclusively to the things which pertain to their life work but have given much attention to the subjects of general interest. They are broad-minded people, thoroughly in touch with the advanced thought, progress and movements of the day, and their labors in social and intellectual circles in Mills county have commanded the highest respect and regard of all with whom they have been associated.

MARTIN, JAMES F.

    Occupying a prominent position in commercial circles in Hastings is James F. Martin, the well known and popular proprietor of a dry-goods store at that place. He was born in New York, in 1845, and is a son of Fred and Naoma (Dunster) Martin. The father was a native of England and engaged in the cultivation of flowers as a life pursuit and died in Oneida county, New York, at the age of seventy-six years. His wife, who also was born in England, in which country they were married, has likewise departed this life. In their family were two daughters, Mrs. Jane Harmon and Mrs. Esther Smith, both of whom are residents of Utica, New York.

     James F. Martin, their only son, was reared and educated in the Empire state. When nineteen years of age he responded to his country's call, enlisting in June, 1864, as a member of Company I, of the One Hundred and Fifty-seventh New York Infantry, at Waterville. He was mustered in at Utica under Captain Briggs and Colonel Brown. He joined his regiment at Baltimore, from which place the troops proceeded to Fort Pulaski, there spending the winter in guarding Rebel officers. Just before Charleston was captured they were ordered to that point and were on their way there when the city fell. On the next day they were placed in transports and taken to Georgetown, and after spending a month or two there proceeded to Florence, South Carolina. In the meantime Mr. Martin participated in the battles of Sumterville, Bowington Mills, Cedar Creek and several minor engagements, and suffered innumerable hardships, even wading waist deep through tangled swamps. Humorous incidents, however, sometimes occurred to relieve the strain and to vary the monotony. When the war was ended and the country no longer needed his services he received an honorable discharge, being mustered out at Syracuse, New York, in July 1865.

      Returning to the Empire state Mr. Martin there continued to reside until 1873, when he came to Iowa and purchased land in Indian Creek Township, Mills county. Here he turned his attention to farming and during the winter months he was employed in stores in Glendale (sic) and Hastings, but with the return of spring he again assumed his agricultural labors. During this time he was employed by Mr. Heinsheimer, an extensive merchant of Glenwood. In 1876 he accepted a position in Hastings in a general store owned by E. P. Bosbyshell & Company, the store occupying the location near where our subject now carried on business. Later Mr. Bosbyshell sold the store. Mr. Martin continuing with the successor for a year, and in 1893, he began business on his own account. He is now the proprietor of the largest and best equipped dry-goods establishment in the eastern half of Mills county, carrying an extensive stock suited to the demands of both town and country. By diligence, enterprise, honorable dealing and an earnest desire to please his customers he has secured a large patronage, which is constantly increasing and which brings to him a very gratifying income. He is also the owner of his original farm, to which he has added until he now owns two hundred and forty acres of rich land well improved. It is pleasantly situated a little to the north of east of Hastings and thereon are found substantial buildings and good grades of stock.

      Mr. Martin has been twice married. In the Empire state in 1877 he was joined in wedlock to Miss Hattie W. Springer. His present wife bore the maiden name of Hattie Birdsall. Their marriage was celebrated in 1895, in Mills county, and Mrs. Martin is a representative of one of the prominent families in this locality. Our subject now has two children: Fred J. and Mabel. He and his wife hold membership in the Methodist church in Hastings and take an active interest in its work and growth. In politics he has always been a Republican and has been honored with a number of local offices. He has served on the school board for several years and has been a member of the city council, being re-elected to that position in the spring of 1900. Fraternally he is identified with the Odd Fellows society. He is a man of quiet disposition and modest demeanor who is enterprising and public spirited. At the early age of nine years he started out in life on his own account, and his history illustrates in an excellent manner what it is possible to accomplish when perseverance and determination form the keynote to a man's life. His record is one of which he may be justly proud. Success is not measured by the heights which one may chance to occupy, but by the distance between the starting point and the altitude he has reached; therefore Mr. Martin has gained a most brilliant success, a just reward of meritorious, honorable effort which commands the respect and admiration of all.

MARTIN, MILTON J.

     An old resident and prominent farmer of Mills county, Iowa, who has been established here since 1853, is Milton J. Martin, the subject of this sketch. He was born in Jackson county, Ohio, August 2, 1828, and was a son of William and Jane (McClintock) Martin, natives of Virginia. The paternal grandfather was George I. Martin, his ancestry being English-Scotch, and it was with him that our subject grew to manhood. The maternal grandparents were William and Agnes (Hanna) McClintock, natives of Virginia, who came to Wapello county, Iowa, at an early day and there founded a family which is respected throughout the state.

     Our subject was deprived of his father when he was but a small boy and in his grandfather's home he was reared and sent to school. Until 1848 he remained in Ohio, coming then to Wapello county, Iowa, and in this section of the state he lived until 1853, when he removed to Glenwood, Mills county, and entered his farm of one hundred and sixty acres of land in Platteville township in 1854.

      Our subject was married in 1854 to Miss Elizabeth Parnell, a daughter of William Parnell, a native of Pennsylvania, who lived to the advanced age of ninety-five. Mr. Martin has one sister, Mrs. Cynthia Gibbons, who is a resident of Des Moines, Iowa. He is a leading and valued member of the Methodist church, to which he has been a liberal and willing contributor, and was the founder of the neat little chapel which bears his name. This was erected in 1888 and is located near his home.

     Mr. Martin has engaged extensively in general farming and in the raising of stock, becoming one of the substantial citizens of Mills county but he will be best remembered on account of his personal character. His benevolence is known far and wide, the recipients of his charity numbering many who would have suffered had he not come to their rescue in true Christian spirit. He has been an industrious man all his life, but has never forgotten that it is more blessed to give than receive and has willingly divided his substance with those in misfortune. He has been a true Republican all his life, casting his first presidential vote, as a Whig, for William Henry Harrison.

MASON, LYNN K.

     The subject of this sketch, Lynn K. Mason, well represents the business of life insurance, in Hastings, Iowa. He was born in Madison county, New York, in 1850. He was a son of Levi and Emily (Hammon) Mason, the former of whom could trace his ancestry directly back to the founder of his family, Sampson Mason, the line being, - Levi, Ezra, Isaac, Oliver, Isaac, and Sampson, who settled in Dorchester, Massachusetts, in 1649. This seventeenth century ancestor served under the great Cromwell in the parliamentary army during the stormy days of the English Revolution. He left Dorchester and became a man of prominence and wealth in Rehoboth, Massachusetts, and his name appears in the list of founders of the town of Swansea, Massachusetts. The family has grown and is widely scattered, many of them influential in all walks of life.

     Among those may be mentioned Pelatiah Mason, a collateral ancestor, who served in the Revolutionary war. The late Judge Oliver P. Mason, of Lincoln, Nebraska, a distinguished jurist, was an uncle of our subject; and Senator William E. Mason, of Illinois, is a member of this family. One of the brothers of our subject, Arthur H., was a soldier of the Civil War. Almost all of the paternal ancestors have been engaged in professional life, and our subject's father was a man of culture and influence in his old home in Oneida county, New York, his death taking place in Hawarden, Iowa, in 1893, and the mother dying in Oneida county, New York.

      Mr. Mason of this sketch, received his education in New York state, where he attended excellent schools. He was married in Clayville, Oneida county, New York, in 1872, to Miss Ida Mason, whom he has but lately discovered to be a sixth cousin. She was the daughter of George L. Mason, who was born in Connecticut and died in California, where he had gone with the gold hunters in 1849. Mrs. Mason, the mother of Mrs. Lynn Mason, had been Miss Amanda White, who is a native of New York and now a resident of Hastings, a beloved and charming lady of eighty-four years who is an inmate of the home of our subject. The great-great grandfather of Mrs. Mason was the Pelatiah Mason mentioned in the earlier part of this sketch. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Mason are: Ruth M., George L., Ina L., Walter H. and Helen K.

     After marriage our subject brought his bride to Iowa on a wedding trip, coming immediately to Mills county. For five years he was employed as bookkeeper for E. P. Bosbyshell, one of the old merchants of Hastings, and later became interested in the grain business, at which he continued for fifteen years. Mr. Mason has done some farming and has dealt largely in land, but whatever he undertakes is well done. He has always been a man of affairs, keeping up an active interest in commercial life and has been recognized as an important factor in the business circles of Hastings. Several years ago he entered into the life insurance business and through his wide and influential acquaintance with the citizens of southwestern Iowa, he has been very successful, writing two hundred and fifty thousand dollars worth of insurance per year.

     In politics Mr. Mason takes an independent attitude. He inherited Democratic principles, but four years since voted the Republican ticket, on account of its financial features. He is a fine example of the good, wholesome American citizen, sound in mind and body. He devotes his vacations to fishing, photography and hunting, taking a great pleasure in the latter. He has hunted large game in the far west and at his pleasant home in Hastings has many trophies of his success in that direction.

      Both he and his wife are members of the Congregational church, to which he has been a conscientious contributor, of time and means.

MASS, JOHN J.

      Germany has furnished to the United States an element in its citizenship which has been potent in its tendency for progress and prosperity. German thrift has brought success in every community in which it has been planted, and Iowa is justly proud of her honest and industrious citizens of that nationality. Mills county has a fair proportion of such, and among the most prominent of the class is John J. Mass, the well known stockman of Ingraham township, the owner of four hundred and eighty acres on sections 8 and 9.

      John J. Mass was born at Swansen, Germany, December 7, 1849, a son of Caz Mass and his wife, who was Katie Quorman; and came alone to America in 1870, at the age of twenty-one years. He made his way directly to Pottawattamie county, Iowa, where he had a cousin and where he arrived July 2d. Four years later his father and mother and brothers and sisters came. The family, originally consisted of nine children, of whom John J. Mass was the first born. Mr. Mass located at Silver City and three of his sons and five of his daughters, each married and with a family are settled nearby.

     John J. Mass received a good education in his native land and has acquired a good knowledge of English since he came to America. When he arrived at Council Bluffs on his way to his cousins, he had fifteen dollars in money, which he spent for a suit of what he called American clothes, discarding the outfit he had worn from the fatherland. His father was a cooper in Germany and, though he was the owner of three acres of land, was in humble circumstances and was not able to start him out in better shape financially. He had devoted his time from his fifteenth to his twenty-first year to learning the blacksmith's trade, and during that time he had saved only thirty-seven dollars, with which small capital he had come to America, not only to better his fortunes, but to avoid conscription in the German army. He began his active career in Iowa, working by the month as a farm hand, and his first landed possession was eighty acres of wild and unbroken prairie, to which he added subsequent purchases until he owned two hundred and sixty acres in Pottawattamie county, where he farmed successfully until 1887, when he came to Silver City, Mills county, and conducted a meat market for four years. Meantime, in the fall of 1881, he bought his farm of four hundred and eighty acres, now worth sixty-five dollars an acre, in Ingraham township. He owns altogether four hundred and eighty acres of good farm land, giving personal attention to his Mills county farm and having tenants on his two farms in Pottawattamie county. He has become prominent as a stock farmer and gives special attention to the breeding of cattle, horses, mules and hogs. He breeds Herefords of pure blood and keeps from sixty to two hundred head on hands most of the time. He usually keeps from sixty to seventy-five cows and raises their calves, and from twenty-five to sixty head of horses and mules are to be found on his farm at almost any time. Of hogs he sells from one hundred to two hundred and fifty a year, raising Poland Chinas for the market. He feeds all his crops, except wheat, to his stock and buys some feed each year. His farm is well supplied with barns, stables and granaries and other outbuildings. His residence was destroyed by fire in 1899 and his present commodious brick and frame house was built immediately after.

     Politically Mr. Mass is a Democrat and he has filled the office of road supervisor in his township for four years. He and his family are members of the Lutheran church. He was married May 8, 1876, to Sophia Voss, a native of Holstein, Germany, and a daughter of Louis and Sophia (Lowe) Voss, who came to America at the age of eleven years with her parents, who are farmers in Nebraska. Mr. and Mrs. Mass have had nine children, eight of whom are living: William, aged twenty; Sarah, aged eighteen; Otto, aged sixteen; Ella, who is a woman grown at thirteen years; Lena, aged eleven; Laura, aged nine; Mary, aged six; and Bertha, who is one of the brightest two-year old children in the county. Mr. Mass is a man of public spirit, who has given the same attention to official duties as to his private business, and has demonstrated his good citizenship in many ways.