ANDERSON, GEO W., miller, section 27, P. O. Villisca; born in Hawkins County, Tennessee, October 31, 1821; when he was ten years old his parents emigrated to Bartholomew County, Indiana, where they both died. When Mr. Anderson was nineteen years old he went to Jackson County, Indiana, and resided there until 1855; then emigrated to Adams County, Iowa; remained there until 1857, then moved to Hawleyville, Page County, Iowa, where he was occupied in the boot and shoe business for three years; then went on to a farm three years. In 1865 he went to Central City, Colorado, where he worked at the carpenter trade for three years; then returned to Hawleyville, where he went to work in a flouring mill and stayed four years. From there he went to the Vanhorn mill, in Jackson township, and worked for five years, then came to the Arlington Mills where he now is. He was married to Miss Matilda Findley, December 15, 1844; and in the year 1856, Mrs. Anderson died. Mr. Anderson next married Miss Jane Findley, October 22, 1856. They have four children: William A., Florence, Mary C. and Geo. F. He owns forty acres of land, twenty-five under cultivation, and has upon said farm a nice cottage house and a small orchard of choice assorted fruits.

ARNOLD, JOHN C., farmer, section 28, P. O. Villisca; born in Union County, Indiana, October 15, 1849, and at the age of six years his parents emigrated to Wapello County, Iowa, and there resided for eighteen years, and when twenty-three years old left his father's parental care and roof and went out into the world to do for himself. Was married to Miss Sarah A. King, April 3, 1873, by a minister of the Methodist Episcopal church, of Ottumwa, Iowa. Mrs. Arnold was born December 24, 1855, in Wapello County, Iowa. In the year 1874 Mr. Arnold emigrated to Montgomery County, and located where he now lives. Have four children: George W., John H., Samuel C. and Franklin R.

BIRD, MILES R., carpenter and contractor, P. O. Sciola; born in Knox County, Ohio, November 18, 1832. At sixteen years of age went to Cincinnati, where he served four years apprenticeship at the carpenter and joiner trade. Then at the age of twenty years, went into business for himself; emigrated to Grand Rapids, Michigan, where he remained three years; then to Detroit, Michigan, and resided there two and a half years; then to Cleveland, Ohio, and remained a short time; then to Maquoketa, where he remained four years; then to Chicago, where he remained until the war broke out. He then went to Corinth, then returned to Joliett, Illinois, and enlisted in company E, 100th regiment Illinois volunteer infantry, and participated in the battles of Bargetown, Perryville, Stone River, Stevenson, then was detached from the regiment and assigned to duty in the naval department, was occupied in boat building, and assisted in creating a ship yard at Chattanooga, and took charge of the yard under Capt. Carlisle who was chief disbursing officer. Mr. Bird remained there till the close of the war and was discharged in September, 1865. Returned to Chicago, where he was employed by the C. B & Q. railroad and had charge of the construction of freight houses from Ottumwa to Oceola, Iowa. Then went to work on the Union Pacific railroad, and took charge of the construction on a portion of that line of road. Was married to Miss Mary Pickens in February, 1866, at Omaha, Nebraska. Went to Cameron, Missouri, where he and his nephew erected a mill, which they ran for five years; then went to St. Joseph, Missouri; thence to Villisca, and form there to his present location. Have two children: Charles and Cora E.

BURGUM, A. T., section 31, P. O. Villisca; born in Herefordshire, England, October 21, 1834, where he lived until 1871, following farming most of the time. In 1871 he came to this country, locating in Villisca, Iowa; remained but a short time, then moved to Arlington; there he remained until March, 1875, when he located on the farm where he now resides. Owns a well improved and well watered farm, with good buildings, good young orchard, etc. He was married May 29, 1858, to Miss Anarfer Bradley, a native of England. They are the parents of seven children, six of whom are living: William H., Joseph A., Thomas O., Annie Louisa, Edith E., and Clara J.; one dead, Annie.

COONEY, JEDEDIAH, farmer, section 29, P. O. Villisca; born in Washington County, Pennsylvania, March 16, 1828, and resided there until May, 1857, when he emigrated to Montgomery County, Iowa, and located near where he now lives. Has been in wagon manufacture and painting business. Has also followed carpentering since he has been in this county. Was married to Miss Nancy Gourley, December 27, 1856; she was a native of Washington County, Pennsylvania, where they were married. They have six children: Thomas Frank, Clinton, Joseph, Albert, John; and Addison, deceased. Mr. Cooney had his right arm dislocated when about twelve years old, and his ankle displaced when nineteen years old, from which he has never rightly recovered. He owns seven lots in the old plat known as Arlington.

DUNN, WILLIAM, SR., farmer, section 28, P. O. Villisca; born in Belmont County, Ohio, December 25, 1809, and when at the age of sixteen years he moved to Guernsey County, Ohio, where he lived about seven years; then moved to Union County, Ohio, where he resided until the fall of 1837; then moved to Hancock County, in the spring of 1838; then in 1839 emigrated to Lee County, Iowa, where he lived until the year of 1855, when he came to Montgomery County and located where he now lives; he was appointed deputy United States surveyor, and surveyed five townships in Montgomery County, three in Page and two in Taylor Counties; has filled the county surveyor's office several years, and was one of the board of supervisors for five years; was at the first election held in the county; is a member of the Masonic fraternity, and has been for thirty-five years. He has some thoroughbred cattle and some good graded stock; owns over three hundred acres of land; has his land mostly in pasture, and his farm is considered one of the finest tracts in the county.

ELLENWOOD, JOHN W., farmer and miller, section 28, P. O. Villisca; born in New Brunswick, September 12, 1846, and resided there until about twenty years old, when he emigrated to Lee County, Illinois, and remained there about one year. In 1867 he emigrated to Montgomery County, Iowa, and located where he now resides. He was married to Miss Lizzie Ely, September 13, 1874; then have tow children: Amy E., born August 12, 1877, and Lena R., born November 11, 1880. Mr. Ellenwood owns a half interest in the Arlington mill, on West Nodawa river; the mill was built by J. J. Shafer at a cost of $7,000 (saw-mill and grist-mill combined), with a capacity of grinding from twenty to twenty-four bushels of grain per hour, and the saw-mill to cut three thousand feet of lumber per day; the mill is situated on section 28, in Washington township. Mr. Ellenwood owns one hundred and sixty acres of land in Douglas township, and is feeding cattle; he has filled the office of township clerk the past two years. The mill is owned by Ellenwood & Smith; neither drought nor cold has ever hindered the running of the mill.

FARLIN, HORACE, farmer, section 32, P. O. Villisca; was born in Athens County, Ohio, March 11, 1847, and lived in that county until the year 1865, when he and his parents emigrated to Montgomery County, Iowa, and located in Jackson township. IN 1870 he located in Washington township, where he now lives. Was married to Miss Martha E. Dunn, February 2, 1871, by the Rev. J. M. Holmes. They have two children: John, born February, 1873; and Linna, born February, 1875. On January 3, 1877, Mr. Farlin was cutting cord wood where two men were sawing wood with a cross-cut saw; the log which they were at work on was lying upon the stump at one end. Mr. Farlin thinking to better the lay of the log, placed his hand on the stump beneath the log to pull out some chips, when the log fell and caught his had and mashed off the front and third finger, and he was unable to perform labor for three months. He enlisted in company G, 141st Ohio, May 2, 1864, and was discharged September 2, 1864, at Gallipolis, Ohio. Mr. Farlin has a good farm, with good running water, an orchard of select fruit, with hedge around the same; a good barn, costing $600, a granary costing $150, and a goodly number of cattle and hogs.

HUNTER, GEO., farmer, section 30; P. O. Stanton; born in Scotland, October 1, 1847; his parents were Geo. and Elizabeth Hunter. He landed in New York in June, 1865; then went to Buffalo, then to Ontario, Canada. Came to Will County, Illinois, in 1868, and to Montgomery County, Iowa, in November, 1870, locating on the farm where he now lives. Has traveled a good deal in his life. Was married to Miss Margaret Russell, November 29, 1871. She was a native of Belmont County, Ohio, and was the daughter of David and Margaret Russell. They have four children: Elizabeth, born October 6, 1872; David, born August 6, 1874; Katy, born September 14, 1876; George A., born December 31, 1878. In 1875 he lost $600 worth of hogs by cholera. When he came to this farm it was all raw prairie; he now has it well stocked with cattle, horses, and hogs, and his improvements are good.

LESTER, PARKER J., farmer, P. O. Sciola; born in Henry County, Illinois, September, 1847, and resided in that county until eighteen years old, when he enlisted in company H, 134th Illinois volunteer infantry, in which he served five and a half months. Then in February, 1864, volunteered in company H, of the Ninth Illinois volunteer infantry, in which he served about ten months on general duty; was discharged and returned to his home in Henry County, Illinois, and was employed upon the farm. In 1869 he emigrated to Montgomery County, Iowa, and located where he now resides. Was married to Miss Ann Smith, March 10, 1870, by the Rev. W. Underwood, of the M. E. Church of Henry County, Illinois. Mrs. Lester was born in Athens, Ohio, January 13, 1849, and a daughter of John and Hannah T. Smith, natives of Ohio. Have four children: Henry S., Fred. H., Clara E., and Kate. Mr. Lester owns 260 acres of land; is secretary of the grange society, also township assessor.

MAYHEW, NORMAN P., farmer, section 8, P. O. Sciola; born in Washington County, Ohio, May 5, 1852. When about one year old his parents (Morris G. and Roena A.) moved to Henry County, Illinois, where he lived until the fall of 1869, when he came to this county, and located in Washington township, section 9. In the spring of 1871 he went to Juneau County, Wis., where he remained until the fall of 1872, and then came back to this county and located where he now lives. He was married November 30, 1870, to Miss Clara A. Maxwell, a native of Henry County, Illinois. Was married near Sciola, by the Rev. J. W. Bott, of the M. E. church. They have one child, Ethel M., born January 4, 1878. Lost some stock by disease in 1875. He owns 120 acres of land, sixty-five acres under cultivation, nice young orchard and a good frame house. He handles graded cattle. Mr. and Mrs. Mayhew are members of the M. E. church.

MOATES, JACOB F., farmer, section 1; born in Washington County, Maryland, June 14, 1834. At the age of fifteen his parents emigrated to Lee County, Illinois. His mother died when he was quite small and his father died in 1878. At the age of eighteen years he went to do for himself and was in the employ of L. Andrus of the Grandeteur plow company. He was also employed by the Grandeteur mill company. In 1866 he emigrated to Franklin County, Iowa, and there resided six years, then moved to Montgomery County, Iowa, and located where he now lives. He was married to Miss Louisa Colwell, December 25, 1856, by the Rev. L. Hitchcock; of Lee County, Illinois. Mrs. Moates was a native of Niagara County, New York. They have seven children: William J., born November 13, 1857; Charles F., born April 15, 1859; Harriet E., January 21, 1861; Lula L., born December 4, 1862; Mary K., born May 15, 1865; Alice J., born May 21, 1867; and George W., born September 11, 1869. Mr. Moates and one of his boys came to this county and commenced opening up his farm in 1872. In October of the same year Mr. Moates returned to Franklin County and brought his family out to his new home. When he arrived he had only twenty-five dollars in money, ten dollars of which he had to pay for the making of hay. He sold a horse for eighty dollars to buy lumber for the little house he built. On March 1st, of the next spring, he had but ten dollars to keep the family for the summer, and many were the hardships they had to undergo. He now owns 295 acres of land under cultivation and well improved. He is a member of the Masonic Fraternity, also of the I. O. O. F., and a member of the Mayflower Lodge of the Farmers' Alliance, in Douglas township. He owns a fine herd of stock-cattle and feeds on the farm all the grain he raises. He is arranging his farm exclusively for stock. He has sixty-five acres in tame grass. He has Howe's stock-scales on the farm.

OYSTER, SAMUEL, farmer, section 32, P. O. Villisca; born October 20, 1826, in Schuylkill, Pennsylvania. Lived upon the farm until twenty years old; then was occupied in the mining business, which he superintended, and was in the employ of one man for over 23 years in that business and in machine shop. Was married to Miss Elizabeth Morelet, May 6, 1847, by the Rev. Minnick, of the Lutheran church in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania. Mrs. Oyster was born May 26, 1827. In the year 1868 emigrated to Montgomery County, Iowa, and located where he now resides. They have eight children: Charles, Riley, Samuel W., Louis A., George F., John W. G., Emma and Ella F. Mr. Oyster owns 180 acres of land, 160 under cultivation and balance timber.

PATTERSON, JONATHAN TRUMBULL, section 28, P. O. Sciola; was born near Kimbalton, Guernsey County, O., February 25, 1832. He is the youngest of a family of four children, all living, and residents of Iowa. His parents, R. M. G. and Nancy Patterson, left Ohio in the spring of 1839, to find a home in the then far west, and soon afterwards settled near the village of Keokuk, Lee County, Iowa Territory. The Indians were frequent visitors at the Patterson cabin, and peace was nevewr broken between them. The family was poor, having been passengers in the ill-fated steamer, William Glasgow, that was burned below Cape Girardeau, Missouri, in April, 1839, and lost all they had. Iowa had no school system at that time, and even a common school education was out of the question. Perhaps six months attendance at subscription schools would be a fair estimate of his schooling, but that time was well improved, and the unfortunate circumstance of his being an invalid during about two years of his minority afforded him an opportunity to read and inform himself, that he would not have otherwise had. In the spring of 1852 he visited the west part of the state with a party of surveyors, and helped to sectionize seven fractional townships along the Missouri line, and at that time visited Montgomery County, where he took a claim, which he afterward moved to and improved, and after buying it from the government, sold it to James Dunn, who still owns it and lives thereon. He was married at Keokuk, November 24, 1852, to Miss Ellen Chalfon, with whom he still lives. They moved to Montgomery County in April, 1853, and were among the few families that lived in the county at the time of its organization. They have raised a family of nine children, seven of whom are living and range from nine to twenty-seven years of age. He has followed farming mostly since he came to Montgomery County, but is at this time also a practicing attorney, having been admitted to the bar in 1876, and seems to have his full share of practice, although he never saw the inside or outside of a law school or college. He gained most of his qualifications for practice, by attending the terms of the district court, when Judges Day and McDill were on the bench of the 3d district, and by intimate association with the leading members of the bar of that time; such men as F. M. Davis, Allen Beeson, J. W. Hewitt, C. S. Richards, N. B. Moore and Colonel Hepburn, whose kindness and counsel he fully appreciates. He has served two terms on the board of supervisors of Montgomery County, once under the old law, as a member from Washington township, and once under the present law. He has never missed but one election since he has been a voter, and has voted the republican ticket ever since the organization of the party. He is the oldest citizen of the county now living in Washington township, and remembers all the first settlers, anecdotes, transactions, joys and sorrows of the early days of the county.

PETERSON, PETER G., farmer, section 31, P. O. Stanton; born in Sweden, May 22, 1833; came to America in 1871; first located in Burlington, Iowa, then moved to Riverside, Illinois; then moved to Henry County, Illinois, and remained for four years; then came to Red Oak in 1876, and finally located on the farm where he now lives on section 31, in Washington township. Was married to Miss Annie C. Johnson in 1861, in Sweden. They have three children: Charles H., born February 9, 1862; Hilma, May 25, 1864; Gusta L., 1866. Mrs. Peterson died June 6, 1876, and was buried at Stanton. He owns 250 acres of land, with running water, with good out-buildings, and good residence.

STILLINGER, WILLIAM B., farmer, section 2, P. O. Sciola; born in Loudonville, Ohio, April, 1845, and while quite young his parents moved to Knox County, Ohio, where he lived until eighteen years old. His father enlisted in company A, Sixty-fifth regiment Ohio volunteer infantry, in the year 1861, and died at Mumfordsville, Kentucky. Mr. Stillinger went to Kosciusko County, Indiana, where he resided for nine years and followed various occupations, principally carpentering; in the year 1871, emigrated to Montgomery County; located in the fall of 1872, where he now lives. Was married to Miss Nancy E. Cornell, January 14, 1869; Mrs. Stillinger was born September 18, 1843, in Ohio. They have four children: George R., born June 17, 1870; Dora E., born August 18, 1874; Frank, born January 14, 1878; Daisy, born June 24, 1880. They are members of the M. E. church, and he is a member of the Sciola Grange. Owns one hundred acres of land; orchard of one hundred trees, just beginning to bear; has a nice grove of poplar, cottonwood and maple; raised two acres of artichokes, which he uses to feed his hogs, with good success; has his farm well stocked, and well fenced with osage and willow hedge.

WELLS, DANIEL D., millwright, P. O. and residence, Sciola; born in Tyler County, West Virginia, September 28, 1814, and at the age of twenty-three years was married to Miss Catharine Varner, in June, 1838. Mrs. Wells was born in Greene County, Pennsylvania, December 22, 1822. In the year 1848 they emigrated to Point Harmer, Ohio, and the same year emigrated to Linn County, Iowa, then from there to Cedar County. Worked in Cedar Rapids at the millwright business. In 1857 moved to Jones County, Iowa, where he lived for a while, then moved to Anamosa, in Jones County, and while there ran a mill in Linn County four years. Moved to Madison County, Iowa, and then to Montgomery County in the year 1873; remained here about six months and then returned to Madison County and stayed four years. From there moved to Marion County, where he lived three years; then again moved to Montgomery County, and resided at Red Oak for a while, but finally moved to where he now resides, in Sciola. They have nine children: Eli V., born September 9, 1841, and served nine years in the U. S. army; William, born December 10, '48; Edward, born December 10, '63; Susan J., born May 3, '43; Melinda A., born August 30, '45; Mary, born January 9, '57; Deckey L., born September 6, '65; and one grandchild, Joseph, born March 10, '76.