nally he is identified with Herald Lodge, A. F. & A. M.; Social Lodge, I. O. O. F.; and James H. Ewing Post, No. 305, G. A. R. For four or more years he served as commander of the post. He acts as steward and Sunday school superintendent of the Methodist Episcopal church, which numbers himself and his wife among its valued members. Mr. Veneman has resided in this part of the state for more than six decades and stands foremost in his community as one of its leading and influential citizens.
S. B. Stevens.
The owner of a productive farm of one hundred and twenty acres on sections 33 and 34, New Albany township, S. B. Stevens may justly be regarded as one of the prosperous citizens of Story county. He was born in Van Buren county, Iowa, December 7, 1847, a son of Henry Adam and Matilda Janes (Smith) Stevens, the latter of whom was born July 3, 1817. The father was a native of Perth, Canada, and was born July 31, 1813. He was of American parentage, the family living temporarily in Canada at the time of his birth. The ancestry on the paternal side has been traced to John Adams, second president of the United States, the father being a nephew of Mr. Adams. On the maternal side the genealogical line has been traced to the Bradfords of Puritan times. Henry Smith, one of the ancestors, was a prominent man in Canada and served as governor of the province of Ontario. Our subject's Grandfather Stevens was appointed to a government position by President Adams, with whom he stood in high favor, having served as one of the original Green Mountain Boys under Ethan Allen at Ticonderoga. He spent several years in Canada while in the employ of the government. An uncle of our subject was a classmate of U. S. Grant at West Point and lost his life while crossing the Rio Grande river on his way to Mexico with the invading army in 1847.
Henry Adams Stevens, the father, received unusual advantages of education in his times and was a graduate of Harvard University, entering the ministry from that celebrated institution. He officiated at Springfield, Illinois, and at Montrose, Iowa, then locating in Van Buren county, where he spent many years. He attained a wide reputation as a speaker and eloquent advocate of the Christian life, and in 1893, at the World's Fair in Chicago, delivered an address upon "When Timothy was made an Apostle." He was married to Matilda Janes Smith in 1836 and encountered considerable difficulty in conducting his bride from Canada to the United States on account of trouble over the Oregon boundary line, which at that time created ill feeling between the two countries. He passed away near Cameron, Missouri, in 1898, his beloved companion having been called from earthly scenes in 1882.