Shaw was appointed postmaster of Colo, assuming the duties of that position on the 1st of November following. He has served in that capacity continuously since and is widely recognized as one of the efficient and popular public officials of Story county. A man of excellent business ability and sound judgment, his efforts have also been a factor in the successful control of the interests of the Colo Cement Block & Tiling Company, of which he is a stockholder and acts as secretary and treasurer. He is likewise the manager of the Colo Lighting Company.
On the 4th of October, 1896, Mr. Shaw was united in marriage to Miss Myrtle E. Houser, of Colo. Her father, William Houser, who was for many years a well known hotel proprietor of Colo, is now living retired in Lyons, Colorado. Mr. and Mrs. Shaw now have six children, namely: Zola M., Aaron J., Virginia C., Norma L., Kenneth E. and Keith H.
Mr. Shaw gives his political allegiance to the republican party and has served as a member of the town council for several terms. He is a member of the present school board, having been connected therewith for several years past. Fraternally he is identified with the Masons, belonging to Columbia Lodge No. 292. He is also a member of the Mystic Workers of the World and for several years has been secretary of Logan Camp No. 1591, M. W. A. Both he and his wife are consistent and devoted members of the Methodist Episcopal church, Mr. Shaw now acting as trustee and treasurer thereof and having served on the church board of trustees for several years past. Whatever he undertakes he accomplishes, for he possesses resolution, perseverance and reliability and these qualities have caused him to be enrolled among the best citizens of the county.
ABRAM S. McCord.
Abram S. McCord, one of the leading and successful residents of Collins township, is the owner of two hundred and forty acres of Story county's most valuable land and in addition to his farming interests devotes considerable attention to the feeding of stock. His birth occurred in Collins township, this county, on the 5th of March, 1857, his parents being Commodore Perry and Sarah E. (Smith) McCord, who were natives of Ohio and Illinois respectively. The father, who came west to Iowa in early manhood, took up his abode among the earliest settlers of Collins township, Story county. A review of his life is given in the sketch of Jacob W. McCord, a brother of our subject, which appears on another page of this volume.
Abram S. McCord was reared at home and acquired his education in the common schools. In 1879, when twenty-two years of age, he started out as an agriculturist on his own account, operating the home farm as a renter until his father's death in 1886, when the estate was settled. Subsequently