had a small tract of land in the grove, for at that day people were afraid to get very far out on the prairie, believing it would be safer and better to live in the timber. The second winter was a very severe one and there was much suffering. The family occupied a log cabin for a number of years, and Mr. Posegate tried strenuously to make a comfortable living for his family. Des Moines was at that time the nearest market and also the closest milling place and it took a long time to make the trip to the city in order to secure supplies. Mr. Posegate has resided continuously in that portion of Story county since 1855 and was actively engaged in farming until eight years ago, when he sold his place and removed to Kelley, where he has since lived. During most of the time he owned and cultivated one hundred and sixty acres of good land and lived the life of a quiet, industrious and energetic farmer, who realized that his success must come from persistent and determined effort.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Posegate were born six children : John, who died when but sixteen months old; Mary, who is the wife of W. Parriott, of Nebraska, and has eight children; George, of Des Moines, who is married and has five children; Eli, who is living in Boone county, west of Ames, and has eight children; Ellen, who is the wife of Joseph Montgomery, of Nebraska, and has one child; and Victoria, who became the wife of C. A. Crane and died in 1907 at the age of forty years, leaving three children. Mr. and Mrs. Posegate now have twenty-five grandchildren.
In Story county this worthy and venerable couple are widely and favorably known. They are members of the Baptist church and their entire lives have been passed in harmony with its teachings. While they have never sought to figure prominently in public or social ways, they have so lived as to gain the esteem and good will of their fellowmen and all who know them entertain for them warm regard.
GENERAL JAMES RUSH LINCOLN.
General James Rush Lincoln, brigadier general of the Iowa National Guard and military commandant of the Iowa State College at Ames, was born in Frederick county, Maryland, February 3, 1845, a son of Thomas Blodget and Sophie Julia (Ash) Lincoln, both of whom were natives of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where they were reared and married. The father was one of the original directors of the Southern Pacific Railroad and also spent considerable time in Texas in the development of railroads in that state. He likewise owned a large stock ranch there. He inherited an extensive fortune, which gave him opportunity to live as and where he pleased, and in many ways his wealth was used for the advantage of the sections in which he resided. He lost his wife when their son James was