his marriage, when he started out in life on his own account. He is today the owner of two hundred and eighty acres of rich and valuable land, situated two and a half miles east of Gilbert on sections 1 and 12, Franklin township. He removed to that place immediately after his marriage and there resided until about four years ago, when he came to his present home on section 33, Franklin township, having purchased the property in 1905. This is a tract of land of one hundred and twenty acres, and in addition he also owns the former place. Both farms have been well improved by Mr. Dodds who now rents his land on sections 1 and 12. His present farm is situated about a mile north of College, and is devoted to the cultivation of the crops best adapted to soil and climate.
In 1894 Mr. Dodds was married to Miss Harriet Allen, who was born August 16, 1871, on the farm where she now lives, a daughter of O. D. Allen, mentioned elsewhere in this volume. They have three children : Bernice, Mildred and Galen.
Mr. Dodge is a republican and has held some road and school offices but cares little for political or official preferment. Fraternally he is connected with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and both he and his wife are members of the Rebekah lodge. He has a wide acquaintance in Story county where almost his entire life has been passed and where his many good qualities have gained him the warm regard of those with whom he has been associated. The able management of his business affairs constitutes the basis of his success which has classed him with the substantial agriculturists of Franklin township.
ELWOOD FURNAS.
Elwood Furnas, deceased, who for more than thirty years was prominently identified with agricultural and business interests in Story county, will be remembered as one of the ablest and most public-spirited men the county has known. His death, which occurred December 31, 1902, when he was sixty-two years of age, was regarded as one of the severest losses in the history of this region, and there is no reason for doubting that the beneficial effects of the work which he set in motion will be felt for many years to come.
He was a native of Montgomery county, Ohio, born February 22, 1840. The family is of English ancestry, the first member of whom there is any record being John Furnas, who was born at Standing Rock, Cumberlandshire, England, in 1736. He was a peer of the realm, and a large land-owner. He married Mary Wilkinson in the Friend's Meeting House at Standing Stone, in February, 1763, and they came to America, landing at Charleston, South Carolina, where they spent the remainder of their days.