August Saaksmeier, pp. 996-997

Many native sons of the German empire, appreciating the blessing of liberty, were not slow to recognize the possibilities that opened out in splendid perspective before all who located early in the new republic of the west.  Accordingly, ever since the close of the Revolutionary war, large numbers of those hardy, thrifty citizens have crossed the great ocean and sought homes in our vast domain, and here their descendants have become among the most intelligent, patriotic, industrious and upright citizens of our great and wonderful cosmopolitan population.  August Saaksmeier, one of the progressive young farmers of Grant township, Hardin county, is deserving of special mention in this connection, being one of the myriad horde mentioned above who have taken advantage of the unlimited opportunities offered them here, and in so doing has benefited alike himself and his community.

Mr. Saaksmeier was born on June 27, 1876, in Lippe-Detmold, Germany, the son of Henry and Mollie (Stolting) Saaksmeier, and there he spent his early youth and attended school.  Coming to the United States in March, 1892, accompanied by his cousin, Herman F. Granner, he located at Hubbard, Iowa, and has since made his home in Hardin county.  He came here without and in order to get a start worked out for eleven years on various farms.  About eight years after his arrival here he bought the farm where he now lives in section 23, Grant township.  About this time he returned to Germany on a visit.  Later returning to Hardin county, Iowa, he resumed his farm work, at which he remained until 1903, then moved to his own farm.  He has one hundred and twenty acres of excellent land which he has kept well improved and well tilled and on which he has made a very comfortable living.  

Mr. Saaksmeier was married in the fall of 1907 to Lena Schnormeier, daughter of William Schnormeier and wife, a complete sketch of whom appears elsewhere in this work.  Two children have been born to our subject and wife, Bertha and Carl.

Mr. Saaksmeier is a member of Zion Evangelical church.  He and his wife are diligent, sociable and well liked by their neighbors.

Alfred J. Scales, pp. 410-411

The motto, "Merit always commands its reward," is strikingly exemplified in the career of Alfred J. Scales, the able and popular young editor of the Inter-County Journal at Ackley, Hardin county.  He early learned that knowledge, backed by well directed energy, is the key with which the ambitious youth could open the door of success and cull the choicest fruits.  The result is that he has steadily advanced, overcoming by persevering toil every obstacle in the pathway of progress, until now he occupies a conspicuous place in business circles and an influential position in the public and political affairs of Hardin county, his popularity with the people extending beyond political ties.

Mr. Scales was born in Ackley, Iowa, May 20, 1881, and he has been contented to spend his life in his home community, having had the wisdom to foresee the future possibilities of the same.  He is the son of James H. and Elizabeth (Ivy) Scales, a complete sketch of whom is to be found on another page of this work.

Mr. Scales attended the public schools at Ackley, after which he attended Coe College at Cedar Rapids and also attended the State University two years at Iowa City.  Deciding to follow in his father's in a professional way, he took up the study of law in his father's law office at Ackley after returning home from college, and he was admitted to the bar in June, 1909.  He at once began practicing his profession at Ackley and from the first he gave promise of a brilliant career at the bar, but journalism seems to have had its attractions for him and soon after returning from Iowa City, about 1903, he became owner of the Weekly Phonograph at Ackley, which he successfully edited about a year, then sold out to his sister, Mrs. O. E. Winter, who continued the paper until 1910.  While she owned the paper, about 1905, the name of the paper was changed to the Inter-County Journal.

In 1910 Mr. Scales and C. J. Carlson formed a partnership and purchased the paper mentioned above and have continued to publish it to the present time, Mr. Carlson being manager and Mr. Scales editor.  He is a clear and concise writer, and in discussing the various questions of the day, is a keen, though courteous, antagonist and his influence has brought him to the favorable notice of the leaders of the Republican party in this section of the state, he having long been active in the affairs of his party.  He has been a delegate to the state convention several times, in fact, he is probably the youngest delegate ever sent to the state convention, having been only eighteen years of age when he was first selected for that duty.  He is a member of the Methodist church, while his wife affiliates with the Congregationalists. 

Mr. Scales was married on April 4, 1910, to Alys Susmilch, a young lady of refinement and the daughter of C. H. Susmilch and wife, a well known and highly respected family of Eldora.

In a business sense the Inter-County Journal has brought liberal financial returns upon the capital invested and, as already indicated, has proved a series of successes, with an ever-increasing circulation and its columns teem with the latest and brightest news of the day.  As an advertising medium it has grown in favor and importance and has a neat and attractive mechanical appearance.  As a moulder of public opinion it exerts a potent influence and ranks with the best papers of its type in the great Hawkeye state. 

Personally, Mr. Scales is a kind and obliging gentleman who makes friends easily and has no effort in retaining them.

James H. Scales, pp. 413-415

Hardin county has been, and is, signally favored in the class of public and professional men who have controlled and directed its affairs, especially along legal lines.  No one is better known in this connection than James H. Scales, of Ackley, the oldest attorney in point of service in the county and one of the leading lights of central Iowa.  He has been identified with the county's general development from its early history and has been an important factor in shaping its course.  He achieved a brilliant record at the bar at an age when most men are merely starting on their life work, for from the beginning he was intensely methodical and unswervingly scientific in search and seizure of the true light and of the essential morality and inspiration of the legal foundations, and in sources of legal conception and thought, conscientious and intensely pure, having an exalted firmness with which he has always recognized the morality of the fixed principles of judicial systems, holding devoutly to the highly embellished record of equity, the invariable theorems of law, the sure, certain, invincible methods of practice; therefore abundant success could not help crowing his efforts and placing him on the topmost rung of the legal ladder and winning for him the well merited laudation of his fellow men.

Mr. Scales was born in Galena, Illinois, December 18, 1843, and he is the son of Joseph and Nancy (Trumbeau) Scales, the mother being of French extraction, while the Scales family is of Scotch-Irish ancestry and came to America before the Revolution, some members of the family serving in the patriot army in that war, and from the colonial days to the present members of this family have been more or less conspicuous in various walks of life wherever they have dispersed.

The boyhood of James H. Scales was spent at or near Galena, Illinois, and when he was a boy the family moved to a farm in Wisconsin, just a few miles across the border, north of Galena.  This was in in 1855 and their young Scales remained until he was eighteen years old, assisting with the general work about the place and attending the public schools during the winter months.  He then went to Chicago and attended the University of the Lake for two years and from there he went to Iowa and entered the State University, from which he was graduated in June, 1867.  Prior to the Civil war his father and uncles engaged in operating a steamboat and James H. went with them on a trip to St. Paul, Minnesota, and while on a trip up the river he enlisted in Company C, in the Minnesota militia, and was taken to Fort Snelling, where he was discharged on account of physical disability incurred during the service.  He then returned to the University of Chicago.  After finishing his college course, Mr. Scales went home to take up the study of law under Senator Simpson, of Wisconsin, and he was admitted to the bar on April 29, 1869.  In March, 1870, he came to Ackley, Hardin county, Iowa, where he began practicing his profession.  It had been his intention to locate at Hampton, but there being no railroad to that place, he selected Ackley instead.  He started in with very little means and only three or four law books, but he was successful almost from the first and his clients increased with the years until he took first rank with the leading lawyers of the locality in due course of time, and he has remained at Ackley ever since and has been active in the affairs of the town and community and won a wide reputation as a painstaking, honorable and learned lawyer who has kept fully abreast of the times.

On March 3, 1870, Mr. Scales was united in marriage with Eliza Ivy, daughter of Richard and Mary (Dennis) Ivy.  She was born and reared in Shullsburg, Wisconsin, where her people were well known in the early days and where he received a good education.

To Mr. and Mrs. Scales ten children have been born, six of whom are deceased, four dying in infancy; Minnie died in the fall of 1904 while attending Northwestern University at Chicago; Bernice died in September, 1910, while a senior at Iowa State University; they were both ambitious and talented and studied very hard; Elmo R., who has resided at Newark, New Jersey, for the past ten years, is superintendent of the power department of the General Electrical Company, the third largest corporation in the United States; he is a graduate of the Iowa State University and a young man of rare ability in his chosen line of work.  Ora E. Scales married O. E. Winter and they reside at Ackley; Alfred J. is editor of the Inter-County Journal at Ackley; Margery was graduated from the Ackley high school in 1910 and is at home with her parents.  Mr. Scales has given his children every educational advantage, sending four of them to the university, three having attended at the same time.  He has been very successful in a business way and is the owner of two farms, one in Wright county and the other in Hardin county; they are both well improved and well cultivated and are very desirable and valuable properties.

Mr. and Mrs. Scales are members of the Methodist Episcopal church.  For the past thirty-six years Mr. Scales has been the attorney at Ackley for the Illinois Central railroad and he has been the local attorney for the Iowa Central railroad for the past thirty-three years, rendering each very faithful and efficient service.  He is the oldest attorney in point of service that the Illinois Central has in Iowa.  He has tried many cases that have attracted widespread attention.  He is one of the leading citizens of Hardin county and is widely known, but is unassuming, generous and charitable, having often assisted those whom misfortune has overtaken.  He has always been popular with children and young people.  He has been prominent in many lines.  He was a deleate to the national grand lodge of Knights of Honor at Boston.  He was on the invited guests at Chicago at the unveiling of Grant's monument.  He is a very entertaining conversationalist, especially in recalling reminiscences of the early days.  When a boy he was at Grant's home at Galena, Illinois, and frequently saw him there and he recalls many interesting incidents about him.  He also saw other eminent men there, such as Lincoln, Washburn and many others of national repute.

William Schnormeier, pp. 1036-1037

Another of the worthy German citizens who, believing that in the free republic of the west was to be found not only more and greater pleasures of living but vaster opportunities for making money to the man of thrift and integrity, was William Schnormeier, one of the successful farmers of Grant township, Hardin county, and, having the courage to back up this conviction, he bade adieu to kith and kin, boarded one of the great floating palaces of the atlantic and in due course of time he has had no desire to forsake his adopted country and return to the fatherland to eke out an unsatisfacotry existence.

Mr. Schnormeier was born in Lippe-Detmold, Germany, April 5, 1852, and he is the son of Fred and Louisa (Finke) Schnormeier.  He grew to maturity and attended school in his native land, and in 1883 came to American, locating at Hubbard, Hardin county, Iowa.   In order to get a start he worked out one year, then rented land for five years, after whish he bought the farm where he now lives, consisting of one hundred and twenty acres.  This has proven to be a wise investment in view of the fact that it is very productive and yields abundant crops from year to year under the skillful management of the subject, who has become very well established here, now having a comfortable home and one of the choice places in the eastern part of Grant township, owning in all four hundred acres, having added to his original purchase from time to time as prosperity attended his efforts.  In connection with general farming, he has always kept a good grade of live stock which he seems to know how to properly prepare for market so as to get the prices desired.

Mr. Schnormeier was married in 1883 to Wilhelmina Blomberg, daughter of Fred and Wilhelmina Blomberg.  She was born in Lippe-Detmold, Germany, where she was reared and educated, and she emigrated to America at the same time as Mr. Schnormeier.  Nine children have been born to them, named as follows:  WIllie married Mary Stahl and lives at Nowlan, South Dakota, where he has a homestead; they have a son named Walter; Lena married August Saaksmeier and lives near the home farm; their sketch appears in this work; they have two children, Bertha and Carl; Henry, Mary, Minnie, Louise, Anna, Ida and Freddie are all at home.  The subject and family belong to the Lutheran church at Hubbard.

Fred Schwinger, pp. 777-779

Possessing a genius for execution and management, Fred Schwinger, of Radcliffe, Sherman township, has proven himself to be one of the ablest agriculturists of Hardin county, having that quality of personality which, accompanied by unflagging determination, one is bound to rise no matter what the environment or circumstances.  That he is a man of sterling characteristics is shown by the fact that he came to a strange country, of strange customs, language and institutions and, starting with no capital and without the influence of friends, climbed to a commanding eminence among his fellows, winning not only material success, but also the esteem of all who have known him.

Mr. Schwinger was born on March 13, 1845, in Kreutzburg, Germany, the son of Christoph and Christina (Hellermann) Schwinger, both natives of the same locality in which their son, the subject, was born, the father's birth occurring on July 5, 1813, and that of the mother on September 25, 1819.  There they grew up, were educated and married, and emigrated to America in 1853, first locating in the state of New York and later came to Mason county, Illinois, where he got wild, timbered land, which he cleared and improved and later in life they made their home with the subject until their deaths.  They were members of the Evangelical church, and their family consisted of five children, namely: Fred, of this review; John, born September 12, 1847, came to Butler county, Iowa, in early life, later to Sherman township, Hardin county, still later lived in Buckeye township.  After a successful life on the farm he died in June, 1911.  He married Lizzie Buchholtz, and they have two children, Minnie and Howell.  Conrad, born May 30, 1850. is now deceased.  Christoph died in the state of New York.  Mary E., born May 8, 1859, is deceased.  Three children died in early life.

Fred Schwinger was educated in Germany and he taught himself English, not having a change to attend school in Illinois.  He lived at home until he was twenty-four years of age, then farmed two years for himself.  Later he went to Butler county, Iowa, where he remained three and one-half years, then came to Sherman township, Hardin county, first buying one hundred and sixty acres, in section 29.  It was all wild land and he began as a pioneer, erecting a rude house, sixteen by twenty-four feet, twelve feet high, and thus having formed the nucleus of a home he went to work and developed a good farm.  He was married on April 26, 1869, to Augusta Krell, of Hessen-Darmstadt, Germany, the daughter of John and Mary (Katz) Krell, who came to America in 1852 and settled in Mason county, Illinois, where they got wild land, which they improved and on which they spent the balance of their lives.  Mr. Krell was twice married, the subject's wife being the only child by the first marriage.  Mary Katz was his second wife, and by her five children were born, namely: John, of Mason county, Illinois; Hartman is deceased; Lizzie lives at Pontiac, Illinois; Conrad also lives in Illinois; Mary lives in Oswego, Kansas.

The following children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Schwinger: John, a farmer, who was born on March 21, 1870, married Mary Folke, and they have six children, Fay, Leland, Earl, Russell, Fern and May; they live in South Dakota.  William, a farmer, was born on August 9, 1871, married Mattie Craig, and they have two children, Vera and Dayton; this family lives at Elmore, Minnesota.  Christoph, born January 16, 1874, has remained single and is farming in Sherman township, this county.  Fred, Jr., born September 16, 1876, is a drayman at Ackley, Iowa; he married Luella Helt and they have six children, Cora, Lowell, Anna May, Grace, Helen and Caroline.  Conrad, born February 20, 1878, who lives at Parker, South Dakota, married Annie Craig and they have two children, Vadna and Ila.  Henry, born March 2, 1880, is farming in Sherman township.  He married Lillie Grobe, and they have one son, Wallace.  Marie, born August 24, 1882, married, on December 3, 1908, Peter Rasmenson, and they farm the old home place for the subject; they have two children, Lloyd and Dale.

Fred Schwinger is the owner of one hundred and sixty acres in South Dakota.  He has lived on his present place since he came to Hardin county.  He set out the trees and improved the place in every way, making it attractive and productive.  He has raised mixed stock, specializing on draft horses, Poland-China and Chester White hogs.  He is a Republican, but has held no office.  He belongs to the Evangelical Association.  He takes a great deal of interest in church work.  He has always borne an envied reputation and is one of the well known and highly respected pioneers of this part of the county.

Edward Eugene Seeley, pp. 982-984

Holding prestige for several decades among the progressive farmers of Hardin county where he has spent the major part of his very busy, useful and honorable life, Edward Eugene Seeley, now living in retirement in his pleasant home in Iowa Falls, is entitled to more than passing notice in the biographical history of this section of the great commonwealth of Iowa, whose interests he has ever at heart and sought to foster as occasion demanded.  His long continued residence here makes him a familiar figure to a large number of friends and acquaintances and esteem is often expressed and worthily bestowed.

Mr. Seeley hails from DeKalb county, Illinois, where his birth occurred on February 11, 1860, but the major part of his life has been spent in the locality of which this volume treats.  He is the son of W. R. and Sarah A. (Robinson) Seeley, both parents having come from Victor village, Cayuga county, New York.  Mr. Seeley's father was a builder of churches and erected many of them in Illinois.  The family came to Iowa Falls in 1869.  The father built the first frame church in Iowa Falls, having built one here in 1868 before he moved his family to this place, then another house of worship was later erected by him.  He built the first church in Hampton and also the first one in Grundy Center.  From 1869 to 1880 the family divided their time between Iowa Falls and a farm in Lee township, Franklin county.  In the spring of 1880 they moved to Buckeye township, Hardin county, and bought a farm there for thirteen dollars per acre, a farm which Mr. Seeley sold in 1910 for one hundred and ten dollars per acre.  Mr. Seeley's parents moved to Webster City in 1893, where they spent the remainder of their days, both dying suddenly of heart failure in 1900.  It is a remarkable fact that a number of Mr. Seeley's family and relatives have died suddenly when apparently in good health, his parents and a brother all dying in such a manner within nine months, and his mother's mother and his father's mother, also three uncles, all died in the same manner.

Edward E. Seeley, of this work, lived on the home farm in Buckeye township for several years after reaching manhood.  He spent his early years in assisting with the general work about the farm and attended the common schools in the winter months.  In September, 1885, he was united in marriage with Clara Mitterer, daughter of Augustus Mitterer and wife and a sister of A. W. Mitterer, whose sketch appears in another part of this work.  This was one of the well known and influential pioneer families here.  Mrs. Seeley well remembers when a child in the early days how the Indians, who were then very numerous, held war dances near their home, and she also recalls many other interesting phases of pioneer life here.  Even when Mr. Seeley's folks moved to Hardin county there were many Indians in this country, but most of them were nomadic, merely stopping here awhile in passing through the country.  Iowa Falls was then only a small village.  The subject and wife have lived to see and take part in the wonderful development of this section since that time.  The Illinois Central railroad had builded west of Iowa Falls only a year previous to the arrival of the Seeley family.

The subject and wife remained on the Seeley farm for two or three years after their marriage, then bought a farm adjoining his father's, which is now owned by A. W. Mitterer.  He lived there until 1901, making a pronounced success of general farming and stock raising, then sold out and bought the old home farm which he tilled in a manner that not only brought abundant harvests, but built up the soil to its original standard of fertility, remaining there until 1909.  Then he retired from active life and moved to Iowa Falls, where he now resides, having sold his farm and bought a substantial and cozy home here.

Mr. Seeley's family consists of four children, namely:  Mabel married Charles Staley and lives on a farm near Buckeye, the place on which her father lived after he was married; she has two sons, Dale and Glen.  Eleanor Seeley married Arthur Harkness and lives on a farm near Buffalo Center, Iowa; William is now engaged in farm work, but makes Iowa Falls his home; Cleve is attending school in Iowa Falls.

Fraternally, Mr. Seeley is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Rebekahs, the encampment and the canton; also the Modern Woodmen and the Maccabees.  He and his wife belong to the Methodist Episcopal church.  Mr. Seeley is fond of home and family, is known to all as a man of exceptionally good habits, his life having been above reproach and lived in a manner so as to give offense to no one and he is held in high favor with all classes, he and his wife being well liked by all of their neighbors, wherever they have lived.

George W. Sheldon, pp. 589-590

A man who possessed the respect and good will of all who knew him and was classed with the representative men of Hardin county, was the late George W. Sheldon, a man whom to know was to admire, for he led a most exemplary life and sought to do his full duty in all relations with his fellow men, being a man of honor, public spirit, charitable impulses and unswerving integrity and enterprise, consequently he is deserving of conspicuous mention in a history of his county along with other well known and worthy pioneers who did so much for the general upbuilding of the same.

Mr. Sheldon was born in Holmes county, Ohio, June 16, 1834, and he was the son of Thomas Sheldon and wife, a complete sketch of whom is to be found under the caption of T. J. Sheldon, appearing on another page of this work.

The subject attended the public schools in Ohio and he assisted with the general work about the home place until he was married, on November 4, 1854, to Aleva Sevilla Lohr, who was born in Holmes county, Ohio, June 20, 1834, the daughter of Henry and Eliza (Porter) Lohr, of the county mentioned above. Mr. Lohr was a tinner by trade and he spent his life in Ohio. He was twice married, his last wife being Rebecca Richardson, also of Holmes county, Ohio.

The following children constitute the family of the subject, two of whom are of the first union: Melissa A. married Walter Race, of Eldora township, this county; William H., who is farming in South Dakota, married Ada Biglow; Loretta J. married Jerry Hayden, of Jackson township, this county; Aleva Catherine died young; George D. is a merchant at Ratcliffe, Iowa; Leonard Lee is farming near Trenton, Nebraska; Ida May married Ralph Glidden, and they live near Ratcliffe, Iowa; John L. is farming in Hardin county, Iowa; Thomas L. is also farming in this county; Bertha Belle is at home.

It was about 1856 that Mr. Sheldon and his wife came to Hardin county, Iowa. They settled at Point Pleasant, Tipton township, when the country was new and undeveloped, and although they underwent many hardships and inconveniences, they persevered and succeeded. Later they bought a farm in Pleasant township and there they made their home until 1900, when they retired and moved to Hubbard, and there Mr. Sheldon lived until his death, on May 19, 1906. He had bought a neat and comfortable home there and had a small farm. His widow and daughter are living at Hubbard. He was very successful as a farmer and stock man and left a valuable estate to his family.

Politically, Mr. Sheldon was a Democrat, but he was not a politician. He was a member of the Methodist church, as is also his widow. No family in the county is held in higher esteem than the Sheldons, they having been prominent here from the days of the first settlers.

Thomas Jefferson Sheldon, pp. 635-638

The subject of this review, a prominent and well-known early settler of Hardin county, now living in Eldora, was born in Licking county, Ohio, near Zanesville, August 31, 1828. His ancestors were pioneers in that country. His parents were Thomas J. and Huldah (Thorpe) Sheldon, both natives of New Jersey, where they were married. They settled in Ohio before the war of 1812, and the father entered the service from that state. They cleared up a timber farm in the wilderness. About 1831 they moved to Holmes county and opened up another timber farm and lived on it about eighteen years. In 1849 Thomas J., of this sketch, came to Iowa, traveling the entire distance across the states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois on foot, and arrived at the home of a married sister in Louisa county, Iowa. In the spring of 1850 five men started from his sister's home for California, by the "overland route," with an ox team and one cow. The entire summer was spent in crossing the plains, and the caravan arrived at Placerville, California, in the fall. Of course it is understood that the subject of this article was one of the five men in the party. He had but fifty cents in money, a meal cost a dollar, and there was no "trust"! But a sequel to this dilemma resulted from one of the party picking up an old broken-down horse abandoned to die and trading him for a set of mining tools. He and Sheldon went to the then new "diggin's" on Weaver creek, and in time relieved their pressing needs. After working two weeks, and demonstrating that there was gold in sight, they hired out for five dollars a day, boarded themselves and slept in an old wagon box. Finally they built a cabin, but an extremely dry winter was upon them and they were unable to get water for their "washings," hence they were unable to accomplish much in the way of separating the gold from the refuse material with which it was mixed. Meeting an old schoolmate from Ohio, Mr. Sheldon was urged to join him for a trip to the Feather river country. At Sacramento they purchased two mules and loaded them with supplies and provisions, and spent a year mining on Feather river. They were well-equipped and lived well, having a tent for their home. They found an abandoned "diggin's" from which they took out one hundred and twenty-five dollars in a day, and many other days were nearly as profitable. But they tired of the rough life and isolation from friends, and at the end of a year returned to Ohio. Mr. Sheldon took about four thousand dollars home with him. But the spirit of adventure, combined with the "gold fever," was upon him, and after spending a few months at home, he again (in 1852) fitted out at St. Louis for another trip across the plains. There were four "Buckeyes" in this party. They went direct to the American river country, where the party took our five hundred dollars in a single day. They remained there a year, when they returned to Ohio, via the Nicarauga route, but returned again to the mining regions by way of the Panama route. The final return to the East was made in 1854, and the beautiful prairie country of Iowa was explored on the return. Mr. Sheldon came to hardin county in November, 1854, his sister having remained here during all the family exploits in the mining country of the far West. He settled on the South Fork of the Iowa river, in Tipton township, but soon thereafter located at Point Pleasant, where he built a log house and put up a log store building, and opened the first store in the place. From the first Mr. Sheldon took an active part in the public affairs of the new county, and was one of the most aggressive workers in the county-seat contest of the late fifties. The question was decided in favor of his town, Point Pleasant, and he at once took active part in the building of a court house, and otherwise providing for the "guest" whose prospective coming had cost him so much time and effort. But when it was sought to remove the records and other county property from Eldora to Point Pleasant, an injunction was filed which brought the matter into the courts, and Eldora still held the prize! Mr. Sheldon succeeded in selling out his stock of merchandise to advantage, and he engaged in farming his lands near the village of Point Pleasant, where he had entered eight hundred acres. This he divided into three farms, and considered himself "land poor" for many years. Finally he was able to make a few trades which brought him some ready cash, and this he used in stocking the balance of his land. He was one of the early stock farmers in that locality. In thisbusines he was prosperous, and as a stock raiser, buyer and shipper, a business which he followed for more than thirty years, he became wealthy. His principal business during these years consisted of rearing, fattening and shipping cattle and hogs, the grain for this purpose being raised on his own farms. But he also carried on an extensive business as a buyer and shipper of live stock. He retired from farm life in 1890, and took up his home in Eldora, where he still lives, and owns a good farm nearby. Up to the time of locating in Iowa Mr. Sheldon was unmarried, his sister being his housekeeper for a time after locating in the Hawkeye state. He wrote a letter to his "girl" in Knox county, Ohio, and asked her if she "would like to come to Iowa and keep his house and live with him"! The reply soon came, in which she stated that she would have to see him again before deciding such a momentous question! (Sensible girl!) He adjusted his affairs and left for the old home place country, where he married Henrietta Majors, thus closing a "contract" which neither party has ever had occasion to regret having made! Nine children, who are now living, were born to this union, all being married and happily engaged in life's struggles on their own account. These are Isabella, who is the wife of John Lynn, of Thompson, Winnebago county, Iowa; Huldah R., who became the wife of Daniel Blair, of Hubbard, Iowa; Malinda A., wife of Frank I. Stowe, of Winnebago county; Evans Hayden Sheldon, a retired farmer living in Eldora; Thomas C., engaged in operating the parental farm in Eldora township; William C., a farmer at Iowa Falls; Viola, wife of Lem. Harris, cashier of the Citizens Bank, Eldora; Frank, a farmer in Jackson township, near Eldora, and John P., who owns the old home farm near Point Pleasant.

Mr. Sheldon has been an active Democrat in political affiliations and now stands with the "progressives" on questions of internal politics. Throughout his extensive business and political career he has come in contact with the people in every sphere of human effort. He is a reader of men, as well as of current literature, and is thoroughly well informed. He has served as a member of the county board of supervisors, as justice of the peace, etc., and is the present Democratic candidate for the office of county treasurer. In point of religious affiliations, Mr. Sheldon has been a member of the Baptist church for thirty-five years. The "would-be" court house at Point Pleasant was merged into a house of worship, and in this building, erected for an entirely different purpose, several early church organizations held their services.

Among the enterprising citizens of Ellis township, Hardin county, who owe their success and advancement in life to their own industry and well directed efforts, is Levi J. Shephard, Jr.  He hails from the Sucker state, but has spent the major part of his active and successful life in Iowa, where, by his individual and unaided efforts, he has made a success of his chosen calling and has won the respect of all who have had occasion to deal with him in a business or social way.

Mr. Shephard was born in Montgomery county, Illinois, on December 27, 1853, and he is the son of Levi J. Shephard, who was born near Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, January 3, 1818, being of Scotch and English descent.  He received a good education in the common schools and taught when a young man. In early life he also followed sailing and fishing for three and one-half years. In 1836 he went to Ohio and later to Greene county, secured eighty acres of land which he sold in 1864 and the following year he came to Hardin county, Iowa. On April 7, 1844, he was united in marriage with Allie Elenor Cain, a native of Kentucky, of Welsh and Irish descent. During the Civil war, the father of the subject bought mules and horses for the government, also bought and shipped large numbers of cattle. In 1865 he settled in section 27, Ellis township, Hardin county, where he got one hundred and ninety acres of good land, later adding forty acres more. It had on it a small house and stable and a few acres had been "broke." He set to work improving it and soon had an excellent farm and a good home and here he lived until 1902, achieving a large measure of success as a general farmer and stock raiser. Since the last date mentioned he has lived among his children. His wife was called to her rest on March 3, 1902.

Levi J. Shephard was formerly active in politics and he was sheriff of Montgomery county, Illinois, several times, and justice of the peace in Hardin county, also held other minor offices here, always with satisfaction to the people. He was formerly a Whig and later a Republican. He was flag bearer when William Henry Harrison was elected President. Fraternally, he is a Mason, and is a member of the United Brethren church; his wife was a Baptist. He is now ninety-three years of age. It is interesting to hear him recall reminiscences of the early days, of the political and physical conditions of the country. He has lived to see wondrous changes take place and has played well his part as a citizen. He is one of the grand old men of Hardin county, highly respected by all. His family consisted of six children, namely: John W. enlisted in the Union army from Montgomerv county, Illinois, and died in a hospital in the South; Julia A. married B. C. Baker; they lived in Wright county, Iowa, but are both now deceased; Mary A. first married James Hardinger in 1854 by whom she had two children, Charles L. and Clarence. Mr. Hardinger died September 14, 1901, and she now is the wife of A. Valentine, of Alden, Iowa; Mary Caroline married L. M., Norton, of Oakdale, Nebraska; Levi J., Jr., of this review; Charles W. was killed on the old homestead when fifteen years of age.

The subject of this review was educated mostly in the common schools of Hardin county, Iowa. He lived at home, assisting with the general work on the fan until his marriage, on October 5, 1876, to Doretta Boody, who was born in Pleasant township, this county, the daughter of Fred and Magdalena Ecker, the father a native of Hanover, Germany, and the mother of Iowa. He married a second time, his last wife being Sarah Fager, of Iowa. His death occurred in 1906; his second wife is still living, making her home in Eldora. Mr. Boody came to America in 1840 and first settled in Indiana. He arrived in the new world a poor boy, carrying all his earthly possessions in small goods-box. From Indiana he went to Missouri and about 1853 he came to Hardin county, Iowa, and located in Pleasant township, where he purchased land. He devoted his life to farming and achieved successs. The following children were by his first wife: Dr. George is living at Monticello, Minnesota; Joseph died in Eldora, Iowa, in 1904; Doretta, wife of Mr. Shephard of this review. The following children were by Mr. Boody's second wife: Mary married W. M. Sachel, of Eldora, Iowa; C. M. lives at Iowa Falls; Dr. Frank Doody, of Eldora. An infant daughter, the youngest, died in infancy.

Five children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Shephard: Guy W., born October 15, 1877, is a farmer and stock raiser in Jackson township, this county; he married Emma A. Bowman and they have two children, Helen I. and Raymond; Charles B. Shephard was born March 25, 1880, and died in 1896; Rosie May, born April 21, 1884, is the wife of H. A. Munson, a farmer of Ellis township; Frank and Mary, twins, died in infancy.

After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Shephard rented land in Ellis township until 1881, when they bought their present fine farm, now owning one hundred and thirty acres, all in an excellent state of cultivation and improvement. All of this he has made himself, including his substantial and pleasant dwelling, which he erected in 1881 and his splendid barn in 1900. His place is known as the "Crescent Center" farm. It is ten miles south of Iowa Falls, four miles east of Buckeye, seven miles north of Hubbard and fourteen miles west of Eldora. Mr. Shephard has an excellent dairy and raises short-horn cattle, Norman horses, Duroc-Jersey Red and Chester White hogs, also Barred Plymouth Rock chickens.

Mr. Shephard is a Republican and he has been constable and trustee of Ellis township. He belongs to the Masonic blue lodge No. 192 at Iowa Falls. The subject's father and his son, Guy W., are also Masons, members of the lodge at Alden, Iowa.  Levi J. Shepard is said to be the oldest Mason in Iowa and Illinois. Mr. Shepard and wife are members of the United Presbyterian church.  The latter is a woman of esthetic tastes and a lover of birds and flowers of all kinds, and her home and lawn is beautifully kept, many varieties of plants being seen here.