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John F. Reesman, one of the prominent men of Cass county, is a native of Clinton county, Pennsylvania, and was born on the 21st of January, 1821. He was reared and educated in Pennsylvania, and in 1853 he removed to Ogle county, Illinois, where he remained about two years, when he went back to Pennsylvania, and there remained about five years, when he came to Carroll county, Illinois. He then went to Stephenson county, and in 1871 he came to Cass county, and settled in Atlantic township, where he bought four hundred and thirty-five acres of good land, of John Keyes, but when surveyed lacked twenty acres, which he lost. He raises some of the finest cattle in the county. He has some full blood Shorthorn cattle, and Poland China hogs. He was married on the 13th of September, 1844, to Christina Reber, a native of Pennsylvania. They have two children living---Aaron A., and Benjamin F. Both married. They had four children who died in infancy. Mr. Reesman's father died in 1876, in Pennsylvania, and is buried in Hamburg, Clinton county. His mother died in 1844 and is buried in the same grave yard at Hamburg.

Junius Childs, was born in Bureau county, Illinois, on the 8th of November, 1844, his parents being H. A. and Elizabeth (Franks) Childs. He was reared and educated in his native county, and in the fall of 1870 he came to Iowa, and settled on section 18, Atlantic township, Cass County. He has continued a resident of this township ever since, and is one the successful and enterprising farmers of the county. He built a nice residence soon after coming, and now has an artificial grove of four acres, and a fine orchard. He has three hundred and eighty-six acres of land, all under cultivation, and has a large stock of cattle and Poland China Hogs. Mr. Childs was married in Bureau county, on the 17th of February, 1870, to Sophronia A. Studyvin, a native of Illinois. They have been blessed with three children---Harry E., Grace L., and Alice E. Mrs. Childs is a cousin to Miss Hall, who was held in captivity by the Indians at the first settlement of Bureau county. Mr. Child's father died in April 1853, and his mother is now living at Creston, Union county.

Silas Wilson, in company with S. W. Wilson, established the nursery at Grove City, in 1871, the name of the firm being Wilson and Wilson. In 1877 they dissolved partnership, Silas taking the wholesale, and S. W. Wilson the retail department. Mr. Wilson has eighty acres of nursery stock on section 11, and some lots of seven acres in Grove City. He has, altogether, one hundred and twenty acres in trees. He has a grape nursery of seventy acres, the largest one in the United States. His trade extends into every State and territory in the Union. He does exclusively a wholesale business, and employs from twenty-five to thirty men constantly. He grew and shipped, last year, (1883), eight hundred thousand grapevines. He grows a general variety of seedlings, but makes a specialty of grapevines and apple seedlings. Mr. Wilson was born in Marshall county, West Virginia, May 16, 1846, and is a son of Samuel and Charlotte (McIntyre) Wilson. He obtained his education in his native county, and in Washington county, Iowa, where he went in 1865. He went from Washington county to Madison county, and commenced the nursery business near Winterset. He removed to this county, as before stated, in 1871. He was married in September, 1875, to Edna Aylesworth, a native of Lake county, Illinois. He is a leader in the Republican party, and is at present chairman of the county central committee.

Henry Bell was born in Washington county, Pennsylvania, February 23, 1834, his parents being Richard and Sarah (Crooks) Bell. The latter is still living in Guernsey county, Ohio; the former died in Ohio in February, 1874. His parents moved to that State when he was about six years old, where Henry was brought up and educated in the common schools of the county, and the instruction thus received was supplemented by a course of study at Madison college. In 1865 he came to Guthrie county, remained nearly two years, and then came to this county, locating in Atlantic township. His present improvements are substantial, and the old, original home still stands. He was married in Guernsey county, Ohio, to Margaret Jane Shipman. The have had five children---R. R., John S., Mary Almeda, Moses A. and George Henry. His first wife died during the spring of 1869. In December of that year, he was again married to Jane Ann Tweed, a native of Henderson county, Illinois. By this marriage there were eight children, six of whom are now living---Sarah A., Rosa May, Maggie A., James William, Oscar P. and Lulu Pearl. He and his sons have nine hundred and fifty-seven acres of land well improved.

Thomas Hardenbergh was born in Ulster county, New York, on the 13th of March, 1813, his parents being Nicholas and Margaret (Cronk) Hardenbergh. His father participated in the war of 1812, and always lived in the place where Thomas was born. Thomas enlisted, in 1837, in Company D, First United States Artillery, and was wounded in the hand at Mosquito Swamp, Florida. He removed to Illinois in 1857, and was there engaged in the nursery business until 1859, when he came to Cass county, Iowa, and located at Lewis. In 1864 he removed to his present location, on section 17, Atlantic township. He was married in New York, on the 10th of March, 1842, to Fanny C. Nieur. Their union has been blessed with six children, all born in New York---Mary, married to William Raeny, now living in Atlantic; Georgia, married to Warren L. Dean, now living in Pottawattamie county; Alice, married to R. G. Phelps, of Atlantic; Theodore W., now in Peoria, Illinois; Asa, married to Sadie Moreland; Ada, married to F. D. Clues. Mr. Hardenbergh owns eighty acres of good land, and has an orchard of eight hundred bearing trees, also a small vineyard. He was a member of Columbia lodge A. F. and A. M., at Tuttletown, Ulster county.

David D. Morris was born six mile[s] from Rochester, in Monroe county, New York, January 1, 1816. His parents, Anson and Hannah (Pearson) Morris, removed in 1826, to Trumbull county, Ohio, where Anson Morris followed his trade, that of carpenter and joiner. Here David D. lived until sixteen years old. He then went to St. Joseph county, Michigan, with an uncle, and remained four years, after which he returned to Ohio, where he lived until he came to Iowa, in the fall of 1854. He spent the first winter in Dallas county, and in the spring of 1856, came to Cass county and settled about two miles east of his present location. He removed to section 11, where he now resides, in 1874. He was married in Ohio, in 1838, to Sarah McAfferty, and by this union there were twelve children. He was married to his present wife in June, 1875. She was formerly Sarah Beart, and is a native of England. She is a sister of the Rev. William Abrahams, who formerly had charge of the Grove City pastorate. Mrs. Morris has one hundred and thirty-nine acres of land in two farms, both under good cultivation. They have two orchards, one of five, and the other two acres, also a vineyard, and are engaged in stock-raising. Mrs. Morris is a member of the Episcopal church. In politics Mr. Morris is strongly Democratic, but has no political ambition. In pioneer days, Mr. Morris was a successful hunter, often killing two deer before breakfast, which was all the meat they had. They killed coons to make soap-grease. The first election after his arrival was held at Indiantown, the only precinct in the county.

Transcribed by Deb Lightcap-Wagner, April, 2014 from: "History of Cass County, Together with Sketches of Its Towns, Villages and Townships, Educational, Civil, Military and Political History: Portraits of Prominent Persons, and Biographies of Old Settlers and Representative Citizens", published in 1884, Springfield, Ill: Continental Historical Co., pp. 844-846.