History of Mitchell and Worth Counties, Iowa, 1883; page 249 (under the heading of Sheriff)
L. D. Piper
L. D. Piper was the next sheriff, being elected in 1873 and re-elected in 1875 and 1877, serving the same length of time as Mr. Ramsdell. Lorenzo D. Piper's residence in Mitchell Co., Iowa, dates since 1857.
He first settled on section 25, Wayne Township, where he farmed until 1868, when he sold out and purchased the farm in Mitchell Township, where he now resides. He was born in York Co., Maine, in 1829, and at the age of fourteen, went to Salmon Falls, N.H., where he worked three years in the cotton mills. He then entered the employ of the Boston & Maine Railway Company as station agent at Salmon Falls, N. H., which position he held seven years, after which, in 1857, he came to Iowa.
In 1873 he was elected sheriff of Mitchell County, which office he held three terms. After his term of office expired he returned to his farm and engaged in farming, which occupation he still follows. He has built one of the finest farmhouses in the county, at a cost of $3,500, and a $1,200 barn, with other necessary buildings. In 1883 he commenced raising full blood Holstein cattle, and in March and April, 1883, bought seven head at a total cost of $2,500.
Mr. Piper was married in 1850 to Mary Jane Nason, born in South Berwick, Maine, in 1829. They have two children: Ida, now the wife of John Torsleff, and Mary, the wife of Robert Waddell. Mr. Piper and family are members of the Congregational Church. He is a republican in politics.
Transcribed by Gordon Felland, July 2003