J. M., Mary, William and Warren. Lost four. Himself and wife an members of the Baptist Church, in which he holds the offices of deacon a superintendent of sabbath-school. He was one of the first trustees of township and has held that office almost unceasingly since, and has a held other offices in the township. He being among the first, he endo many hardships in those early days. LAM, AM, A. 'T-Farmer and stock-raiser, Sec. 13, P. O. Pella. Was be in October, 1856, in Marion county, Iowa, where he was raised 1 manhood and educated. He is an energetic young man and possesses g moral principles. His father, Cornelius 't Lain, was one of the early s oneers here, and came with the Holland colony in 1847. He took a claim and remained a citizen of this county until 1870 when he died. left a wife and six children: John, Cornelius, Annie, Peter, Sally and F erick (now deceased). The mother again married, and now resides in E 688. O' LIVERE, W. J.-Farmer and stock-raiser, Coalport, P. O. Knox This gentleman is a native of Virginia, and was born December 1813, where he was raised and educated. At the age of nineteen he c menced to work in the Canahawa salt works, where he remained fr years. He then took up agricultural pursuits and followed that basis until 1870. In 1879 he came to this county and settled at Coalport. E married Miss Lucy J. Everett in 1838. She is a native of New York : was born in 1810. By this union they have five children: Sarah E, P nett F., John W., Thomas D. and Jane A. Lost three. Although bata short time in the county, Mr. Olivere has by his courteous and affalie 2 meanor won hosts of friends. REY EYNOLDS, M. S.-Farmer aud stock-raiser, Sec. 16, P. O. Roussent Was born December fourth, 1822, in Mason county, Virginia E spent his boyhood days on a farm with his father and attended the com schools of that vicinity. In the fall of 1845 he came to Iowa and se in Scott county and lived there until the spring of 1846, when he came a this county and settled on Whitebreast Prairie, and he has made a county his home since. At that time there was but one house in Pella 1851 he purchased a claim near Coalport, consisting of ninety-six acres and resided there about two years. The high water in 1851 forced him to cate his dwelling for some time, He was obliged to take his family tre the house in a frail canoe and run great risk of their lives in getting ashore. He next moved on to a farm near Pella. In 1854 he went :: the saw-mill business and followed it seven years, part of the time in pa nership with his father-in law, W. Nossaman. They owned the second mill in the county. It was first located in Lake Prairie township. It w afterward moved to Whitebreast. In 1860 he took a trip to Colorad. vi spent seven months among the mines. He returned to this county ar:: 1864 moved on the farm on which he now resides, which consists of å acres. He also owns fifteen acres of timber land. He has held various f fices in the township, and has always discharged his duties faithfully. 1851 he married Miss Nancy Nossaman. She is a native of Kentucky and was born February 15, 1832. By this union they have eight children: Afred C., Vernon M., Samantha, Allen W., Ida M., Mortimer, Levi Charlie. Lost one, J. L. RIJSDAM, G.-Farmer and stock-raiser, Sec. 1, P. O. Pella. Was b May 4, 1844, in South Holland. Came to America in 1854, w. is parents, who settled in Marion county and engaged in farming. The 1bject of this sketch was here raised and educated. He married Miss Jane 'an Nien Whoort on the eighteenth of March, 1871. She is a native of outh Holland, born March 17, 1851. By this union they have five chilren: Ellen, Arie, Gerty, Frank and Henrietta. He is an industrious, honst, energetic citizen. S TEVENSON, ANDREW-Farmer and stock-raiser, Sec. 4, P. O. Otley. Prominent among the early pioneers in this county is the subect of our sketch. He is a native of Columbia county, Pennsylvania, and 7as born February 4, 1818. He was raised a farmer and educated in the comnon schools of that county. At the age of seventeen he emigrated with his arents to Michigan, and from there to Van Buren county, Iowa. After iving there a short time he took a trip to Ohio, where he lived three years, nd then came to this county in May, 1843, and settled in what is now Lake Prairie township and took one of the first claims in that vicinity. He esided there one year, then moved to this township and purchased a claim. He owns 400 acres of land about 200 of which are under cultivation. He helped organize the township and was one of the first trustees and holds hat office at the present time. He married Miss Maria Karr in 1849. She s a native of Indiana, and was born in 1828. By this union they have seven children: Mary J., John, Harry, Thomas, Elizabeth, William and Minnie. Lost three: James, Gertrude and Pierce. Himself and wife are members of the United Brethren Church. TE ETER, AMOS-Farmer and stock-raiser, Sec. 17, P. O. Knoxville. Was born September 5, 1826, in Ross county, Ohio, and was raised and educated in the common schools of that county, and spent his boyhood days with his father on the farm. He came to this county in 1846, and took up a claim in Union township, and commenced pioneer life in earnest, and has made this county his home since that time. In 1873 himself and family made a tour to Puget Sound, returning in 1874. He moved to Eagle Rock farm, on which he now resides, in March, 1861. It contains 110 acres under good cultivation. He married Miss Sarah A. Crozier, in 1849. She is a native of Ohio, and was born in 1832. By this union they have seven children: Allison, Geo. M., Martha V., Delna, Alice D. and Sarah A. (twins), and Emma. They lost two. Mr. Teter commenced life a poor boy, and is entirely a self-made man. During his long sojourn has frequently held township offices. VAN AN LINT, NICHOLAS-Farmer and stock-raiser, Sec. 13, P. O. Pella. Was born March 14, 1846, in South Holland, and brought by his parents to the United States in 1847, and belonged to the original Holland colony that settled in Lake Prairie township. Nicholas spent his boyhood days on the farm with his father, and attended the common schools. He married Miss Susan Veenstra in 1871. She is a native of the Netherlands, and was born in 1853. By this union they have four children: Cornelius, Barbara, John and James A. They lost one. He owns 98 acres of WYNG fine land; about 65 acres of which are under good cultivation. YNGARDEN, J. VAN-Deceased. Was born April 28, 1804, in South Holland. He came to this country in 1855, and settled in this township. He owned a fine farm of 600 acres, which is now divided among his heirs. His wife is still living, and is now in her seventieth year. G. H. van Wyngarden, the youngest son, inherited the old homestead on Sec. 12. He was born on the 23d of February, 1854, in South Holland. Came to Marion county with his parents, and received the benefits of the com mon schools. He learned the carpenter trade, and judging from some samples of his work it is safe to state that he understands his business. Et has a fine farm of 90 acres, well improved and well adapted to the raising of all kinds of grain. Has a fine house and good, comfortable building for his stock, and everything about the premises is arranged in good shape WYNGARDEN, JOHN VAN-Farmer and stock-dealer, Sec. 12, P.0 Pella. Was born October 4, 1846, in Zuit Holland. He was there raise! until nine years of age, and attended the schools of that country. In 18 he came to this county with his parents. They settled in this townshi and John attended school some, and by devoting his spare moments study he attained a fair English education. He is engaged in agricultural pursuits at present, and owns 320 acres of fine land, about forty aers under cultivation, the remainder in pasture and timber lands. He ale owns some town property in Pella. He is an industrious, entergetic citize: CHAPTER X. FRANKLIN TOWNSHIP. Geography-Organization and Early Settlers-Post-offices-Biographical. TECHNICALLY, Franklin is in township 75, range 21, and is bounded on the north by Pleasant Grove, on the east by Knoxville, on the south by Dallas, and on the west by Warren county. Much the larger portion of the township is prairie, the timber narrowly margining Whitebreast, that runs through the southeast quarter, and i small creek called Coon Creek, that runs through the northwest quarter Coal is abundant along Whitebreast, and several veins have been opened and worked, measuring four feet in thickness. The prairies are less broken than in some portions of the county; and, the soil being excellent, no beter farming land can be found than exists in Franklin. ORGANIZATION AND EARLY SETTLERS. On the 3d of October, 1848, by order of the county commissioners, this township was defined as a part of Dallas, and so remained till about 1852. when it became a part of Pleasant Grove, and so remained till the 28th of February, 1855, when, by order of the county judge, it became a distinct township, to be known as Franklin township. The petition asking that Dallas township be divided, and a new township to be known as Franklin be organized, was presented to the county court in February, 1855. The petition was signed by John Miller and twenty-three others. The petition was granted and an order made accordingly on the twenty-eighth of February. The second of April, 1855, was the time appointed for holding the first election. John Miller was appointed organizing officer, and the house of John Clark was designated as the place for holding the election. On the second day of April, the election in and for said township was held at the house of John Clark, at which John McNeil and John Miller were chosen justices; Samuel Ream and William Sweezey, constables; John Clark, aasessor; J. W. Higtree, clerk; Warren T McNeil, Isaac Copelin and Samuel B. Wilson, trustees. There is no record of the number of votes cast. The following are the names of most of those persons who settled in the township at the earliest dates: Nathan Nichols and Amanda Hewland, in '46; Peter Row, William Frazer and James Frakes, in '48; John Clark in '49; Daniel F. Smith, in '50, and J. W. Higtree, in '52. John Clark was born in Tennessee, February 14, 1815, came to this country in 1849, arriving at Knoxville on the twenty-sixth of June. Having traded William Frazer a land warrant for a timber claim on Whitebreast Creek, he also made a prairie claim, built a cabin on the bottom, and moved to it on the twenty-sixth of July. In raising this cabin near help was so scarce that he had to resort to friends in Knoxville, and even then it required three days to put the building up. Now The first milling Mr. Clark did was at Brobst's and Haymakers on Cedar. In 1855 he went to what is known as Beach's mill, now a place called Summerset, in the Three Rivers country in Warren county. At that time there was, on the route to this mill, a wide stretch of uninhabited prairie, on which there was neither a tree, trail nor mound to guide the traveler who wished to cross it, and some one had set stakes at wide intervals as the only way-marks. Mr. Clark, with a wagon and two yoke of cattle, and accompanied by a man named Nathaniel Brown, had crossed this desert to Beach's, and remained there two days waiting for their grinding. being in some haste to get home, they set out in time to reach Hammondsburg before night. Here they concluded to tarry no longer than was required to feed their teams and themselves, hoping to reach home long before midnight. So, without further delay, they drove on, but when darkness came they found it impossible to keep the way themselves and therefore trusted to the instincts of their oxen to find the way. The oxen became as much bewildered as the driver, and early next morning Mr. Clark found himself at the south-west corner of the county. The first school in the township was taught by Nathan Nichols in a vacant house previously occupied as a dwelling by a Mr. Frank. Mr. Nichols and a widow, who was a relative of his afterward, were living together in the same house and the former was compelled to move his quarters elsewhere by a son of the latter who created a disturbance. Some time after looking up his abode elsewhere he returned to the widow's house for a pitcher of buttermilk. He drank heartily of the milk before leaving, and was found dead the next day at his own house, with all the evidences to prove that he had died in extreme agony. He was lying upon his bed with his head hung over the railing, and his face black, whilst over him and upon the floor were strewed large quantities of feathers from the bed-tick that he had evidently torn open in his struggles. At one time some suspicions of foul treatment were entertained, but no conclusion was better to arrive at than that the poor man died from a violent attack of bilious colic, induced by the excessive draughts of buttermilk he had taken into his stonach. The widow afterward returned to Ohio. Peter Rane went to California in 1852, and returning after an absence of two years, found that his wife had gone to Missouri, and followed her. He never returned. Frakes went to Wapello county. Jackson McClain and John Clark planted the first orchards in 1852. moss organized the first society of United Brethren in 1851. The meeting was held in subdistrict number one, and the class was composed of per sons belonging to various denominations. Revs. Messrs. Bonebreak and Sleeper also preached and organized a church of United Brethren at Csloma. The first house erected for school purposes was in district number one, in 1850. Soon after its completion Chas. Smith, now living in Pleasant Grove, came and asked the privilege of dedicating it to educational pur poses by delivering a lecture on slavery. The request was granted, and this was the first lecture of any kind delivered in the township. W. M Stone made the first political speech ever made in the township in this house in 1856, in favor of John C. Fremont for president. POST-OFFICES. Daniel F. Smith kept the first post-office in 1857, called Caloma; the name it still retains. Mr. Smith's successors, as postmaster at Caloma, were first Anderson McNeil, then W. A. Rodgers, and then the present postmaster, F. A. Harding, who was appointed in June, 1871. Besides a post-office there is, at Caloma, a store of general merchandise. kept by Mr. Harding, a blacksmith shop and hotel. Star post-office is located near the center of the township; Mr. E. L Wines is the present postmaster. There is no church building in the township. The Baptists and Lutherans have occasional services at school-houses. The Franklin township burying ground is located on section 29. Clerk-C. E. Smith. Assessor-G. L. Gustin. Trustees-Thos. Deer, A. Glenn, J. F. Lohse. Justice of the Peace-Wm. Bucklew, J. C. Sniff. Constables--R. M. Anthony and W. L. Williams. The population of the township in 1875 was 879; in 1880, 937. BIOGRAPHICAL. LARK, JOHN-Farmer and stock-raiser, Sec. 23, P. O. Star. Was born February 14, 1815, in Warren county, Tennessee, and was raised on a farm. He came to Marion county, Iowa, July 26, 1847. He has held the office of school director for a number of years. Married Miss Eliza Carronn, daughter of James Carronn, Esq., February 8, 1838. She was born in Blount county, Alabama, January 25, 1822. Being one among the early settlers, they endured many hardships and struggles. Their family consists of twelve children: James T., George and Frances (twins), Jo seph B., Deborah, Abner C., Susan E., Daniel, Mary C., William I., Benjamin and Hiram. CLEVELAND, LAFAYETTE-Farmer and stock-raiser, Sec. 13, P. 0. Knoxville. Was born October 21, 1825, in the State of New York. He moved to Pennsylvania with his parents when quite young, and was raised on a farm. He came to Marion county, Iowa, May 15, 1864, and owns a farm of 320 acres. He has held the office of school director, in which he took |