to Indiana, William Arrasmith accompanied them, and there he attained his growth and obtained a meager education, his schooling amounting to about eighteen months, all told. In 1852 he married Miss Alvina Grove, and in August of the same year the young couple moved to Iowa and settled on the place where they now live. At that time the county was unorganized, and wolves, deer, turkey and elk were frequently seen, and land that is now worth from $30 to $55 could then be had for $1.25 per acre. Immediately after his arrival Mr. Arrasmith entered 160 acres of land, and he has since added the balance of 240 acres. One hundred and thirty acres of this are under a high state of cultivation, and well improved with a good house and out-buildings, orchard, etc. His farm, which is watered by the Skunk River, is very valuable, and he devotes his entire time and attention to its cultivation. In addition to farming, which he carries on quite extensively, he is largely interested in raising cattle, horses and hogs. He and wife have had a family of fourteen children—seven sons and seven daughters, viz.: James (a resident of Cherokee County, Iowa), Lucy (wife of John Cox, of this county), George W. (of Gage County, Neb.), Lizzie (wife of S. T. Tripp, of Gage County, Neb.), John W. (a resident of Story County, Iowa), Frank M. (living in Cherokee County, Iowa), Ida (now living in Washington County, Kas.), Emma (now the wife of Manford Hunter, of Story County), Charles E. (a resident of Nebraska), Hattie (now living in Kansas), and Aden, Jennie, Clarence D. and Edith at home. The wife is a worthy member of the Christian Church. Mr. Arrasmith takes an active interest in local politics, votes the Republican ticket, and has been honored by his party with the offices of township constable and trustee, and he has also been a member of the board of county supervisors
.Oliver G. Ashford, farmer and stock-raiser, Nevada, Iowa. The subject of this sketch needs no introduction to the people of Story County, for a long residence here, and above all, a career of usefulness and prominence, have given him a very extensive acquaintance. He was originally from Columbiana County, Ohio, where his birth occurred on the 5th of November, 1846, and was the twelfth of thirteen children, eight of whom are living, born to the marriage of George M. and Deborah (Vail) Ashford. The father was a native of Alexandria, Va., born in September, 1789, and died in Columbiana County, Ohio, in January, 1871. The mother was born in Washington County, Penn., in 1806, and now resides in Columbiana County, Ohio. The paternal grandfather, Aaron Ashford, was born in Loudoun County, Va., about 1734, and moved with his family to Ohio in 1802. His death occurred in 1835, at the age of one hundred and one years. It fell to the lot of Oliver G. Ashford to grow up with a farm experience, and from the very first he has closely and energetically applied himself to agricultural pursuits and stock raising. He was educated in the public schools, and when twenty-one years of age, he started out for himself, being for some time engaged in raising small fruit in Columbiana County, in connection with his farming interests. He came to Story County, Iowa, in 1875, settled in Nevada Township, and nine years ago he removed to his present place of residence, four miles east of Nevada, where he owns a well-improved farm. He was married on the 21st of February, 1867, to Miss Josephine Lones, a native of the Buckeye State, Columbiana County, born on the 12th of April, 1847, and the fruits of this union have been seven children: George M. (born January 2, 1868), Theodore L. (born October 8, 1869), John H. (born January 24, 1875), Albert E. (born July 28, 1878), Charles