-492- D. S. SIMMONS, proprietor of Simmons's livery and veterinary barn, Quimby, Iowa, has the distinction of being the first actual settler in silver Township, Cherokee County. He was born in Sullivan County, Pennsylvania, December 16, 1843, and is a son of Jacob and Jane (Sones) Simmons, natives of New York and Pennsylvania respectively. Being reared to the occupation of a farmer he followed that pursuit until the breaking out of the late Civil War, when he enlisted in August, 1862, in the One Hundred and Forty-first Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, Company K. He was in the battles of Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville; in the latter he was wounded by a minie- ball, left on the field for dead, was taken prisoner, and paroled. He was confined for some time to the hospital at Sulphur Srpings, Virginia, and afterward went home on a furlough. Having rejoined his regiment he -493- participated in the battles of Manassas Junction, Catlett's Station, the Wilderness, Spottsylvania, in the last of which he was wounded once in the left foot, and in the calf of the left leg; he was confined for some weeks to the hospitals in Philadelphia and Pittsburg. He again rejoined his regiment in front of Petersburgh, and was in the battle of Hatch's Run in which he was wounded twice, by a ball in the right foot, and a piece of shell in the right thigh. He was again confined to the hospital for several weeks, and afterward rejoined his regiment before Richmond; he was present at the time of Lee's surrender, and participated in the Grand Review at Washington, District of Columbia. Mr. Simmons returned to Sullivan County, Pennsylvania, having served his country valiantly and faithfully. He was married December 28, 1865, to Miss Mary S. Sperry, a daughter of Samuel and Mary (Pennington) Sperry. In 1868 our subject came to Silver Township, and resided there from that time until 1887; he improved his farm until it stands second to none in the township; his buildings are substantial and convenient structures, and a fine grove adds very much to the beauty of the place. In the autumn of 1887 Mr. Simmons settled in Quimby and embarked in the hotel business; he is doing a profitable business and richly deserves the liberal patronage which he is receiving. Mr. Simmons built the first liver barn in Quimby; it is well arranged, and generously supplied with good teams, buggies and carriages. He makes a specialty of veterinary work. His residence is one of the best in the town, and was erected at a cost of $1,500. Seven children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Simmons; Harry Paxton, Millie Luverne, wife of W. H. Scott; Donzella R., wife of Philip Risling; C. Mercur, Cora Dell, Nellie F. and Mary Belle. Politically Mr. Simmons is a Republican; he has served his township as trustee, assessor, and is the present justice of the peace. He is a member of General Custer Post, No. 25, G.A.R., and of Cherokee Lodge, No. 188, I.O.O.F. He is a man of a frank and jovial disposition, ever ready to serve his fellow-men, and has the confidence and respect of the entire community. E. E. BAILEY, farmer and stock-raiser, is on e of the men who have seen Cherokee County grown almost from its infancy, having been a resident there since June 2, 1869. He was born September 19, 1843, at East Hampton, Middlesex County, Connecticut, and is the son of E. B. and Lydia Ann (Wells) Bailey. The father is living at the present time in Cherokee County, but the mother died when Mr. Bailey was six days old. He was left to the care of a foster-mother, his father afterward marrying his mother's sister, Miss Mary Jane Wells. Mr. Bailey lived in Connecticut until he was sixteen years of age, attending the public schools of East Hampton, where his father resided, working at the carpenter's trade. May 1, 1859, he arrived with his father in Clayton County, Iowa, where the family settled near McGregor, on a farm of forty acres. With the thrift and economy characteristic of New England people the elder Mr. Bailey went to work, and in a few years had added to his tract of land until he had 200 acres of good land. The son, E.E., labored until he was twenty-one years of age; after he became of age he rented his father's land, paying one-third of the crop for rent. He afterward bought eighty acres, borrowing the purchase money of his father. -494- much hard work and many discouragements he sold his farm in Clayton County, and with $500 in money and two yoke of oxen started to fund a home in Northwestern Iowa, then a wild, uncultivated country. He took a homestead of 160 acres in Willow Township, Cherokee County, and entered forty acres at the same time. HIs homestead papers are dated at Sioux City, June 4, 1869. He afterward bought 160 acres in Tilden Township which he traded for 160 acres in Rock Township. This he has recently sold. At the present time he has 332 acres of as fine land as can be found in the borders of Cherokee County. Mr. Bailey was married June 7, 1866, to Miss Harriet Ann Stinar, a daughter of Joseph Lewis and Esther Hetty (Wagner) Stinar. Mrs. Bailey was born in Ohio. Her Grandfather Wagner was the first settler in Wagner Township, Clayton County, the township being named for him. Her father was born in Columbus, Ohio, of French and English origin. Her mother was born in Pennsylvania, of German descent. Mr. and Mrs. Bailey are the parents of four children: Lewis Bowen, Arthur Clifton, Ross Winfield and Ernest Earl; besides these children the parents have adopted one child—Hetty Janet Stinar Bailey. Lewis Bowen Bailey was married February 25, 1887, to Miss Susan Catherine Jenkins, a native of Illinois. One child, Robert Ingersoll Bailey, has been born of this union. At the time of Mr. Bailey's settlement in Willow Township not a house was to be seen in the neighborhood. He relates that at the time of his first coming to his homestead he had some difficulty in finding its location. He traveled in what he supposed was the right direction until nightfall when he went into camp, resolving to continue the search in the morning. He afterward discovered that he had camped on his own land, and his camping ground that night became the site of his first home. He has brought his land to a high state of cultivation, and has built a commodious and comfortable house, barns, sheds and granaries. The farm is well watered by a stream of living water. Here Mr. Bailey has made his home since coming to the county, except the years from 1876 to 1883, when he resided in Silver Township, on account of better school facilities. In the early days of his residence in the county Willow Township comprised Grand Meadow, Willow, Silver and Diamond townships. His memory goes back to the days when there were but ten settlers in Silver Township, and tow in Grand Meadow. Mr. Bailey has held the office of school director and assessor of the township. Politically he affiliates with the Democratic party. HOLMES F. HOFFMAN, farmer and stock-raiser, section 25, Willow Township, has been a resident of Cherokee County since 1881. He was born in Tompkins County, New York, October 31, 1848, and is the son of Benjamin F. and Susan M. (Snow) Hoffman. HIs father is of English and Dutch descent, but his ancestors for many generations have lived in America. He is the only child in his father's family, and grew to manhood on the farm his father owned in Tompkins County. He received his education in the common schools and Ithaca Academy. It was not until January, 1878, that he determined to try his fortunes in the great West; at that time he came to Iowa and settled in Hale Township, Jones County. He lived there but a short time when he removed to Cedar County and rented a farm near Clarence. There he remained until the fall of 1879, when he went to Ida County and settled near the present town of Galva. In -495- the spring of 1881 he came to Cherokee County, and purchased eighty acres of land in Willow Township, on which he now resides. Mr. Hoffman has been successful in his agricultural ventures, and from time to time has added to his land until he now owns 120 acres which have been brought to an admirable state of cultivation. He has built a neat and comfortable home, and barns and sheds for the care and protection of live-stock and grain. Everything about the Hoffman farm betokens the careful husbandry and thrift of the owner. Mr. Hoffman was united in marriage September 29, 1870, to Miss Ella P. Lyman, of Berkshire, Tioga County, New York, a daughter of David B. and Caroline (Douglas) Lyman. Her father was born in Berkshire, New York. Three children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Hoffman: Edna C. (who died in 1879, in her sixth year), Carrie L. and Sue M. Mr. Hoffman is a charter member of Alpine Lodge, No. 471, A.F. & A.M., Holstein, Iowa. Politically he affiliates with the Democratic Party. J. CLARENCE LITTELL was born near New Providence, New Jersey, March 4, 1858, and is the son of John and Deborah H. Littell, natives of New Jersey and New York respectively, and of English ancestry. He passed his boyhood and youth in the place where he was born, and in 1877 he went to Muskegon, Michigan, and spent nearly two years upon a farm, and was afterward in the employ of his uncle, S. C. Hall, as foreman of lumber-yard and time-keeper. S. C. Hall, Esq., was the proprietor of a large saw-mill in Muskegon. During the summers of 1885-'86-'87 Mr. Littell was at Manistique, Michigan, looking after logs for his uncle. In the year 1888, until December, he was in the employ of the Hall-Ducey Lumber Company, Minneapolis, devoting a part of his time to work in the retail office, and spending the remainder of his time in attending to the duties of shipper and time-keeper. He made a trip to Muskegon, Michigan, in December, 1888, and afterward looked up a location for the lumber business, in which he had determined to embark. He decided to settle in Quimby, Iowa, and in February, 1889, he bought out the firm of J. P. Dickey & Co., who owned the first lumber-yard in the town. The firm now consists of S. H. and J. C. Littell, and they are doing a good, profitable business, dealing in lath, shingles, moldings, brick, posts, doors, windows, lime, cement, stucco, hair, lumber and coal. During the first six months of their establishment in business in Quimby, Littell Brothers had shipped eighteen car-loads of lumber, three of posts, one of brick and one of lime. They buy their lumber principally in Minneapolis and Dubuque. They have an excellent location near the station on the Dakota & Cherokee Railroad at Quimby, a neat office and excellent dry sheds for the storing of their supplies. Mr. J. C. Littell received his education in the common schools of New Jersey, and in the Muskegon HIgh School. He is a member of the Westminster Church (Presbyterian), Minneapolis. The firm of Littell Brothers is composed of men of the right spirit to build up a new town, and Quimby may well congratulate herself upon the acquisition of these gentlemen. J. C. Littell is a Republican, and at one time was deputy collector of customs at Port Sherman, Muskegon, Michigan. Stafford H. Littell, brother of J. C. Littell, whose history is give above, was born near New Providence, New Jersey, July 24, 1854, and there grew to manhood, being reared to the life of a farmer. In the -496- spring of 1877 he removed with his parents to Michigan, and settled on a farm twelve miles from Muskegon. There, in company with his father, he had the management of 1,700 acres of land belonging to his uncle, S. C. Hall. He remained there until the fall of 1888, when he went to Muskegon, and in the spring of 1889 he came to Quimby, and entered into partnership with his brother, J. C. Littell, in the lumber business, under the firm name of Littell Brothers, as given above. Mr. Littell was for a time assistant postmaster at Ellendor, New Jersey, and at different times held the office of supervisor, justice of the peace, clerk and treasurer of the township of Eggleston, Michigan. Mr. Littell affiliates with the Republican party. Since coming to Quimby Littell Brothers have erected a fine residence, situated on very attractive grounds. Their grandfather was for many years surveyor of Union County, New Jersey, and was also the publisher of Littell's Genealogies of the Early Settlers of Passaic Valley. The old house in which they were born was built by their grandfather, and was also the birthplace of their father. This dwelling was burned in 1869. The mother of these two brothers died March 20, 1888. their father is still living at Muskegon, Michigan. Stafford H. Littell was married September 5, 1889, to Miss Jessie M. Hilbourn, of Muskegon, Michigan. DANIEL W. McNEAL, dealer in lumber and coal, Washta, Iowa, was born February 15, 1855, near Ottawa, Illinois, and is the son of William and Lucinda (Furrow) McNeal. His father was born in Vermont, and came at an early day to the State of Illinois. His grandfather, John McNeal, lived and died in Vermont. His mother was born in Ohio, of German ancestry. Mr. McNeal grew to manhood in his native State, and then came to Cherokee County. He studied law with his half-brother, James O'Donnell, and was the first lawyer admitted to the bar of Cherokee County. This event occurred February 13, 1877, Judge C. H. Lewis, now of sioux City, presiding. The bar of Cherokee at that time consisted of E. C. Herrick, H. C. Kellogg, J.D.F. Smith, Eugene Cowles, M. Wakefield, P. D. McAndrew, Charles Goldsbury, E. K. Walbridge and James O'Donnell. The committee that examined Mr. McNeal was made up of the entire bar. He practiced law for three years in Cherokee, and at the expiration of that period he removed to his farm in Willow Township and engaged in agricultural pursuits, which he followed a number of years. He was postmaster of Wendell from 1881 to 1886, he and Charles Foster selecting the name of that office. In 1880 he was census enumerator for the townships of Rock, Tilden, Grand Meadow and Willow; at that time there were only eighty people in Grand Meadow Township. Mr. McNeal with his father owned 760 acres of land, which they improved and brought to a high state of cultivation; it is one of the best farms in that section of country, and is well watered by never-failing springs and the picturesque stream of the Little Sioux, offering fine facilities for stock-raising. At one time Mr. McNeal was editor and manager of the Cherokee Times. In 1887 he went to Washta and built his residence, and engaged in the business he is now pursuing. Mr. McNeal was united in marriage September 3, 1878, to Miss Jennie Willard, a daughter of Lovell and J. D. (Hobart) Willard. He is a member of Speculative Lodge No. 307, A.F. & A.M., having been made a Mason in August, 1879. He is also a member of the -499- Governor's staff, with the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel, receiving this appointment from Governor Larrabee in the winter of 1888. In 1876-'77 he was deputy clerk of the courts of Cherokee County under Oscar Chase, Esq. The confidence of his neighbors is shown by his being selected to fill many local offices in Willow Township, and also in the town of Cherokee. He is the present township clerk. Mr. McNeal received his education at Lombard College, Galesburg, Illinois. The mental discipline he received there together with his legal studies have well fitted him for the extensive business which he has carried on since his residence in the county. Besides his many acquired talents Mr. McNeal is a genial, whole-souled gentleman, who has the respect and confidence of the entire community in which he lives. His father died May 29, 1883, and his mother is yet living. Mr. and Mrs. McNeal are the parents of three children: Clara W., Florence L. and William L. JAMES HENDERSON, one of the early settlers of Cherokee County, has been a hard-working, enterprising citizen, who has made life a success, and has a place in the memory and hearts of his fellow-citizens in the same degree as his brother, Hon. D. B. Henderson, Congressman from Iowa, who is highly esteemed by every loyal and liberty-loving citizen of the State which he so ably represents in the House of Representatives at Washington. James Henderson, who is frequently styled in political parlance "Honest Jimmy Henderson," on account of his strength of character and integrity, both in public and private dealing, is a native of Scotland, born in Old Deer, Aberdeenshire, September 18, 1819. He is a son of Thomas and Barbara (Legg) Henderson, who emigrated to the United States and located on a farm in Fayette County, Iowa, where they spent the remainder of their days. The husband died at the age of seventy-five years, and the wife at eighty-five years. Of their nine children James is the oldest; there were seven sons and two daughters, and the sons still survive. The Hon. D. B. Henderson, of Dubuque, Iowa, Member of Congress, is the youngest son. James passed his youthful days at a parish school in Scotland, beginning his studies when eight years old, and quitting the school-room at the age of sixteen years, when he commenced to learn the harness-maker's trade; he served an apprenticeship of five years under John Craig with whom he formed a partnership which continued another five years. During that period Mr. Henderson was betrothed to Miss Joan Whtye, to whom he was afterward married. Mrs. Henderson was born in Peterhead, Scotland, and is the daughter of a shipmaster. After his marriage, our esteemed subject continued at his trade until 1848, when he conceived of a bright future for himself and wife in free America, to which land his parents had emigrated five years previous. They sailed from Liverpool and were on the great ocean six long weeks. On their arrival at New York they took what was then an improved mode of travel, the Erie Canal, and came via the Great Lakes to Chicago, where Mr. Henderson's brother George met them and helped load their effects on a wagon and hauled them 100 miles into the country. They located at Janesville, Wisconsin, where Mr. Henderson worked at his trade five years; he then removed to Clayton County, Iowa, where he entered eighty acres of land and purchased eighty acres more adjoining, on time at ten per cent, interest, which he bought from a man named Colonel Sanford, of Dubuque, Iowa, taking a bond for a deed. -500- In 1870 Mr. Henderson decided that Western Iowa offered better inducements to a farmer than the eastern part of the State, so he went to Cherokee County, having made a trip there the year before and selected a homestead of eighty acres five miles north of the present flourishing city of Cherokee. Upon this land he erected a house, under which was the first walled cellar in the county. He hauled his lumber from Denison, sixty-five miles away, and some of the material from Sioux City, sixty miles distant. He employed the slow but sure ox-team mode of transportation. the streams being unbridged it frequently took from four to six yoke of oxen to pull him through the sloughs. He kept pushing his farm improvements along and adding to his land until he now possesses 400 acres in an excellent state of cultivation. In the fall of 1871 Mr. Henderson was appointed to fill the office of county treasurer, succeeding D. T. Gearheart, the then incumbent of the office having become a defaulter. He was then nominated and elected to the office, served his term of two years, and was re-elected for another term, which he filled. He was elected on the Republican ticket, and there was never a better and truer county official than James Henderson. After quitting the treasurer's office he remained a resident of the city, having rented his farm. Mr. and Mrs. Henderson are the parents of seven children: James A., a resident of Cherokee; Thomas G., a rising attorney of Sioux City; Howard C., druggist and postmaster of Newcastle, Colorado; Isabella, wife of William M. Snell, postmaster of Cherokee; Ida, wife of Frank H. Thomas, a lumber dealer of Dakota, and Ella L., wife of A. Baumgardner, a grocer of Cherokee; Rosilla Ann died in infancy. Mr. Henderson has been a member of the Republican party ever since its organization in 1856, and has been active in political matters through all these long and eventful years. However, in the fall of 1888 he voted the Prohibition ticket as a matter of conviction and principle. Besides filling the office of county treasurer he has served several years as justice of the peace, a member of the School Board, township trustee, and in other minor offices. He is an honored member of the I.O.O.F., at Cherokee, and belongs to the Baptist Church. When he was a resident of Scotland he was identified with the Baptist Church. This truly estimable gentleman, now seventy years of age, man's allotted time, is in the full possession of all his faculties. He began life's journey with no means, but possessed the willing spirit found in so many of his countrymen; he has surmounted one obstacle after another, and is to-day enjoying the fruits of his labors. While he has seen much of hardship at various times in his life, he has ever lived a true Christian, and hence in his declining years is surrounded by a family who loves him, and a great community to revere his life work. Truly he hath builded well, builded worthily! ARTHUR W. BOWERS is a native of the Hawkeye State, born January 23, 1860, in Jones County. His parents are William and Susan (Davis) Bowers, the father a native of Ohio, of German ancestry, and the mother a native of Pennsylvania. they have six children living: Minda, wife of william Bittinger; Arthur W., the subject of this notice; Fannie, a teacher in Cherokee County; May, Elmer and Maud, the last three living in Jones County. William Bowers came to Jones County in 1854, -501- and is ne of the early settlers there; he bought a farm, and there Arthur was reared to agricultural pursuits. He remained at home with his parents until 1882, when he went to Palo Alto County; after a short residence there he removed to Carroll County, and engaged in farming. Not being fully satisfied with his location he went to Valley County, Nebraska, and pre-empted eighty acres of land belonging to the Government; it lies northwest of Grand Island, near the branch of the Union Pacific Railroad. He broke twenty-five acres, proved up his claim, and then returned to Iowa and spent some time in Cherokee, Carroll and Jones counties. In August, 1888, he came to Washta and opened a first-class livery stable, and has since been doing a profitable business. He owns fourteen head of horses, among them two stallions, one seven-eighths Norman, the other a high-grade Clydesdale. The barn in well stocked with vehicles of various kinds, and the public are sure of fair and courteous treatment at the hands of the gentlemanly proprietor. Mr. Bowers was married January 1, 1882, to Miss Emma Horn, of Jones county, Iowa. Three children have been born of this union: Harvey, Jessie and Blanche. Politically Mr. Bowers Affiliates with the Republican party. CALEB E. P. HOBART, the senior member of the well-known firm of Hobart & Snyder, dealers in grain and coal, Cherokee, Iowa, has been closely identified with the people and general business interests of Cherokee County since 1870. He came to Cherokee when it was hardly worthy the name of hamlet, and put in a stock of lumber and building material, following that business for two years, when he dropped the lumber interest. In 1871 he formed a co-partnership with Cyrus Snyder, who had hitherto been engaged in the coal trade. This firm built a large grain elevator that season, and also an office suitable for both branches of their business. At that day Cherokee was the central trading point of a territory having a radius of seventy-five miles, and the business interests were indeed immense. The counties of Woodbury, O'Brien, Ida, Buena Vista and Osceola all did the most of their trading at Cherokee. To be fully equipped for business the above firm built a second grain elevator in 1872. Its size is 30 x 50 feet, 40 feet high, and the combined storage capacity of the two grain houses is 35,000 bushels. Steam-power is employed to propel the elevating machinery. The market outlets at an earlier day were Chicago and Milwaukee. Mr. Hobart is a native of Vermont, born in the town of Randolph, Orange County, March 24, 1819. His father was Caleb Hobart, an extensive manufacturer of woolen goods in the "Green Mountain" State. His mother was Lydia (Packard) Hobart, a native of Massachusetts. she and her husband were of Puritan ancestry, the families coming to New England in 1634. Caleb E. P. is the oldest son and second child of a family of six who grew to maturity, five of whom are still living. His youthful days days were passed at Randolph, Vermont, where he attended school, including the Randolph Academy, in which institution he was a student three years. After leaving school he drifted west to Wisconsin, and engaged in the real estate business, in which he continued until 1870, at which date he removed to Cherokee, Iowa, establishing the business before mentioned. In 1854 Mr. Hobart was married to Miss Eliza Ann Tibbetts, a native of the State of Maine, and a daughter of Alva Tibbetts, Esq. By -502- this union seven children have been born, four sons and three daughters: Lillie, the wife of N. C. Buswell, a merchant at Meriden, Cherokee County; Alva C., a practicing attorney at Cherokee; Sarah, the wife of ____ ____, for seven years a teacher; Adda, also a teacher; Edwin A., associated in business with his father; Mark C., a student of the Iowa Agricultural College, Ames, Iowa; and Victor. Politically Mr. Hobart is a stanch Republican. He has been very active in local politics, and has often held offices of trust and responsibility. He has been a member of the School Board of the independent district of New Cherokee several years. He has been president of the Temperance Alliance, president of the Bible Society, and warden of the Episcopal Church, of which he was one of the charter members. He is a firm believer in and supporter of the prohibitory liquor laws enacted in Iowa during the past decade. To have been an honored citizen, a successful business man, and the father of a large and universally respected family in so goodly a county as Cherokee, is indeed worthy of notice is such a work as this. GEORGE A. JOHNSON, dealer in general merchandise, Cherokee, Iowa, has been a resident of the county since 1871. He succeeded H. A. Fife, and continued the business at the original stand on West Main street. He was born in Canada, at the town of Colborne, May 2, 1842, and is the third of a family of eight children, three sons and five daughters. His father, John A. Johnson, was born in St. Lawrence County, New York. He was a manufacturer for many years, and finally sold his business interests and removed to Cherokee County. The mother of George A. Johnson, Eliza (Eddy) Johnson, was a native of Canada, and died in that country in 1871. George A. passed his youthful days in the county in which he was born; he attended school at Norwood, Peterboro County, and began his mercantile career in the county of Gray, where he served as a clerk three years. He again accepted a clerkship in Vassar, Michigan, remaining there three years, and upon leaving that place he went back to Canada and lived there three years. In the spring of 1871 he came to Cherokee, Iowa, and commenced business, as before stated. He remained in the old building until his business had so greatly increased that he was compelled to provide larger and more spacious quarters; so in the year 1884 he began the erection of his present place of business, to which he moved in the autumn of the same year. The building is of brick, 28x96 feet, two stories high. The first floor, a portion of the second and the basement are used for the stock of goods, which consists of dry-goods, groceries, boots, shoe, hats and caps, crockery, shelf hardware, etc. Three competent clerks are employed to attend to this stock and serve customers. Mr. Johnson was married January 2, 1871, to Miss Eliza Head, of Colborne, Ontario. She is the daughter of Henry Head, Esq. Both the Johnson and the Head families are of English descent. Mr. and Mrs. James Johnson are the parents of eight children: William R., Ellen M., Maude E., Hattie E., Beulah, Lottie C., Hazel and Henry H. In his political belief Mr. Johnson is a Republican, and has frequently been honored with public offices. He served six years as a member of the Cherokee School Board, and was township trustee for an equal number of years. At present he holds the responsible position of county supervisor, having been elected in the fall of 1888 for a term of three years. He belongs to the Masonic order, being a member of Speculative Lodge, No. 307, A.F. & A.M., and Burning Bush Chapter, No. 90, R.A.M., and also of Crusade Commandery, No. 39, K. T. WILLIAM JONES has been long identified with the commercial interests of Cherokee, where he has established a merchant tailoring and gents' furnishing business second to none in the western part of the State. When a man comes into a new unsettled country and commences at the bottom of the ladder, but year by year presses his way onward and upward until his honest efforts are finally crowned with success, it is indeed fitting that mention should be made of such a life, not only as a matter of interest to his family, but as a beacon light to a younger generation, who need the experience of those who have passed along life's pathway to guide their steps aright. So we will ask the kind reader to let his thoughts bear him away across the deep blue sea to North Wales, and to the quaint little village in which Mr. Jones was born, August 3, 1844. His parents were John and Elizabeth (Davis) Jones. The father died when our subject was four years old, leaving a wife and eight small children; they soon removed from the little farm to the neighboring village, where William served an apprenticeship of five years at the tailor's trade. Afterward he went to Liverpool, England, where he worked at his trade for five years; thence he went to Manchester, England, and there placed himself under fine workmen, of whom he learned still more of the details of his chosen calling; this last training has served him to a good purpose many a time through life. In reading and talking and thinking of America, Mr. Jones concluded that the "land of the free and the home of the brave" must be a better place to live than any section he had seen in the Old World, so in 1871 he sailed for the United States. He came directly to Cherokee after landing, which was a village of a few inhabitants, but full of bustle and high hopes for the future. Mr. Jones had no competitor within a radius of sixty miles, but his customers were few and far between! However, he made up his mind to remain, hold the field, and perhaps conquer in the end as the broad trackless prairie settled up. Accordingly, he opened a little shop, taking the bench himself; under many discouraging features he toiled on, working early and late when work chanced to come to him. Many are the nights he has toiled till after midnight, and occasionally all the night! the second year he purchased a small stock of ready-made clothing, running that business in connection with his custom work; he was able to make a living, and also to save a small amount to invest in his business. He removed to his present spacious and elegant storeroom in the Vandercook Block in October, 1884; the size of his salesroom is 24x90 feet, and his shop is on the second floor. He carries a complete stock of ready-made clothing, gents' fine furnishing goods, hats, caps, trunks and valises. He employs from four to six men, and his custom business extends all over his own county and some of the adjoining counties, where his work is duly appreciated. Mr. Jones was united in marriage in the city of Liverpool, England, in 1870, to Miss Mary Roberts, a native of Wales, born near the old home of our subject. The are the parents of four children: Jennie, Mamie, Annie and William E. Mr. and Mrs. Jones are consistent members of the Presbyterian Church. He belongs to the order of Knights of Pythias, Xenophon Lodge, -504- No.__, Cherokee, Iowa. Every true and intelligent American citizen has his choice of political parties, and Mr. Jones adheres to the Republicans, taking an active part in all local issues. From first to last he has proven himself worthy the name of a good citizen. Not like many another man of foreign birth, having become a citizen of this country, he believes it his duty to pay a strict obedience to her laws, which he does more perfectly than many native-born subjects. In all public enterprises he does his share cheerfully. He owns a fine residence in what is known as the "Addition." The expression self-made man has never been more appropriately applied than in the case of Mr. William Jones, who has not only worked his way up, but has contributed to the support of his widowed mother across the sea. His greatest desire seems to be that his children may never be called upon to undergo the hardships of his early life. A. J. FOOTE stands classed among the successful business men of Cherokee, and therefore his biographical sketch readily finds place in this record of representative men. He is a native of Ohio, born in Huron County, near Norwalk, February, 1851. He is the youngest of a family of six children, four of whom still survive. His father, Moses R. Foote, is a native of New York, born in Wayne County, in 1812. He was an industrious, prosperous farmer in his active days, and is now living in Michigan. His wife was Mary Lockwood, a native of New York, and a daughter of Moses Lockwood. she died at Cherokee, Iowa, in 1875. In 1855 Mr. Foote removed with his parents to Clayton County, Iowa, where they resided for several years, and then went to Marion, Linn County, Iowa. At the latter place Mr. Foote's school days were spent in preparation for the business life before him. He remained at home with his parents until he was twenty-five years of age, and then started out as traveling salesman, handling among other things agricultural implements. In 1874 he came to Cherokee, which was then a mere hamlet, and established his home. From this point he has traveled for various branches of business. He is a ready reader of human nature, of good address, an excellent conversationalist, and a person of fine bearing. In 1883 he married Miss Imogene K. Bird, who was born at Cedar Falls, Iowa, a daughter of James Bird, Esq. Her parents moved form New Jersey to Iowa at an early day, and to Cherokee in 1871. Mr. Foote has been a successful financier, and has accumulated a handsome competency. He owns valuable property in Council Bluffs, Iowa, as well as in his own town. In 1887 he erected his handsome residence, situated on East Main street; it is one of the finest in the place, being built after the most approved style of modern architecture; it is elegantly and tastefully furnished throughout. Not quite content with his surroundings, Mr. Foote has purchased the lots to the west of his place, upon which for long years has stood the home of pioneer George W. Lebourveau. When the house is removed the grounds will be further improved, and the location will be one of the finest in the city. Mr. Foote is a member of Xenophon Lodge, No. 158, Knights of Pythias; also Armory, Ingersoll Division, No. 20, U.R.K. of P. and of the A.O.U.W., Lodge No. 197. Mrs. Foote is a member of the Episcopal Church. She grew to womanhood in Cherokee County, and was identified with the educational interests of the same for a number of years, having taught several terms. Politically Mr. Foote is a firm believer in the principles of the Republican party. Impelled by a robust constitution and guided by a sound judgment, he has steadily pressed his way to the front ranks of the leading men of the county. -505- ROBERT GICK, a prominent hardware dealer at Cherokee, Iowa, succeeded Millard Brothers in the business in 1880. Of Mr. Gick's earlier life, and that part of it lived away from this county, it may be said in introduction, that he was born on the Isle of Man, October 17, 1845. HIs parents were Robert and Elizabeth (Cain) Gick, both of whom were reared in the land in which their son was born. the father was a shoemaker by trade; he died in 1887, but the mother is still living, a resident of the Isle of Man. Robert is the second son and fourth child. His early boyhood and school days were spent in the land of his nativity. At the age of sixteen years he was placed as an apprentice at the blacksmith's trade, serving four years; after this he remained in the shop where he had mastered his trade for six months. He then worked for other parties until he was twenty-three years of age, when he sailed for America, and at once found his way to Warren County, Iowa, and in 1872, to Cherokee, where he has since resided. The first six months he worked for some one else, and then started a shop of his own; he then followed blacksmithing for eight years, when he sold the shop and bought the hardware business of Millard Brothers. Being well acquainted with hundreds of the citizens of this county, he easily won them for his patrons, and has built up a substantial and profitable business. On March 2, 1887, his store was burned, involving him in a heavy loss. Considering the matter sufficiently, he finally concluded to rebuild, and erected a fine brick structure, 28x100 feet; the ground floor is used for his extensive stock, and the second floor for a tinshop and storing room. In 1872 Mr. Gick was married to Miss Lucy E. Lemons, a native of the State of New York, but reared in Buchanan County. By this union five children have been born: Lizzie, Rose, Earl, Royal and Hyel. Mr. Gick is a member of the Methodist Church, and for ten years has been superintendent of the Methodist Episcopal Sabbath-school. He has been a faithful and consistent member of the church since he was twenty-two years of age.

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