Franklin W. Miller, an able practitioner at the bar of Council Bluffs, has been a resident of Iowa since 1881, in which year he settled in Mills county, coming thence to this city in 1896. He was born in Fulton county, Illinois, his parent's being Daniel Y. and Jane (Randolph) Miller, who settled in the Prairie state in 1848 and are still living there.

Mr. Miller's life has been one of intense and well directed activity. His literary education being completed, he engaged in teaching school for five years and during that time devoted his leisure, aside from the duties of the schoolroom, to the mastery of the principles of law. After careful and thorough preparation he was admitted to the bar at Springfield, Illinois, in 1880, by the supreme court of that state. The following year he removed to Iowa and settled in Mills county, where he continued in the practice of his profession until his removal to Council Bluffs in 1896. He has for twenty-seven years been a member of the bar, during which time he has given proof of his wide and comprehensive knowledge of law principles and his ability in correctly applying them to the points in litigation. He is engaged in general practice in all the courts, both state and federal, and he was in 1906 honored by the democratic nomination for the office of district judge. The district, however, has a republican majority of eight thousand and although he did not succeed in overcoming this he ran far ahead of his ticket, polling a strong vote. Aside from what he has accomplished in his profession, Mr. Miller is deserving of mention for what he has done in establishing an independent

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telephone system here. He was the organizer of the Independent Telephone Company at Council Bluffs, having been the one who formed the company by selecting the persons composing it and who circulated a petition for its franchise, which was carried by a vote of two to one at a special city election held therefor and was also the first signer for stock. The movement was started on !he 15th of July, 1904, and the company was organized in the spring of 1905. It now has over three hundred thousand dollars invested, a local exchange of over three thousand and connection with one hundred and seventy thousand phones in Iowa and Nebraska. Mr. Miller deserves great credit for this work. He has never asked nor held office in connection with the company, simply laboring for the good of the community in this direction.

Mrs. Miller bore the maiden name of Belle B. Whitmore and was a resident of Fulton county, Illinois, her parents being H. J. and Ann Whitmore, the former a farmer by occupation. They have three sons: Earl W., now a student in the state college at Ames, Iowa, where he is pursuing an electrical engineering course; Carl D., a student at the John A. Creighton Medical College in Omaha, Nebraska; and Clarence, who is attending the high school at Council Bluffs. Mrs. Miller is, a member of the Women's Club and has always taken a very active part in associate charity work. Both Mr. and Mrs. Miller are prominent socially and one of the leading features of their attractive home is its warm hearted hospitality. They attend the Congregational church and Mr. Miller is a member of the Elks lodge, the Commercial Club and the Ancient Order of United Workmen. In community affairs he is deeply and helpfully interested, his name being a synonym for true American patriotism, which seeks the good of the community and not personal aggrandizement.

Robert W. Jones, chief of the fire department of Council Bluffs, was porn in Greene county, Iowa, in 1873, a son of Augustus Jones, who was born in New York in 1826 and died in 1903 at Council Bluffs. The father lived in those days when a man's life was filled with various industries and various interests and was not given to a specialty as it is today. As a young man he taught school, that being considered a most dignified position for young men, but it proved to be too tame for him and he took up life as a steward on a merchant ship on the lakes, where he had various interesting experiences. His father had early apprenticed him to a carpenter and he felt that at any time he could return to the trade which he had acquired when a boy. He was also proficient as an agriculturist, having been reared upon a farm. In 1849 he was seized with the gold fever and took a trip overland to California.

Robert W. Jones came to Council Bluffs with his parents at the age of seven, and here he received his education in the public schools. He was a proficient student but, like all boys, was eager to get out in the world and earn his own living. He had from the time he was a child been interested in fire

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engines and had followed them with enthusiasm on their missions through the streets. At the age of seventeen he left school and entered the fire department, first as pipeman, then as captain of No.4, and in April, 1906, was made chief. Unlike his father, who was interested in many lines, Mr. Jones early selected the business that he cared for most and has stuck to it with the persistent determination to win the highest position that it offered.

In 1901, Mr. Jones was married, in Council Bluffs, to Mary A. Wilson, a daughter of E. Wilson. He has been a life-long republican and though he has never sought the offices or honors of his party he has always been active in assisting those who have done so. On occasions of duty or emergency he has al. ways asserted himself with energy and promptness. He is a devoted husband, an honorable and enterprising citizen, a genial and generous companion, vigilant yet kind and humane in all the offices of life. There are hosts of families in this city who feel deeply grateful to Mr. Jones for his efficient work as chief of the fire department. Fraternally he is connected with the Maccabees, the Knights of Pythias, the Eagles and the Woodmen of the World.

Paul McDonald, living in Neola township, his farming interests covering portions of sections 2, 3, 10 and 11, is numbered among the prosperous and progressive agriculturists and stock-raisers of this locality. His place embraces three hundred and thirty acres and is well improved with good buildings and modern and valuable equipments, such as facilitate the work which now claims his attention. His place is pleasantly located within four miles of Neola, so that the conveniences of town life are easily accessible.

Mr. McDonald is a native of Illinois, having been born in La Salle county, October 27, 1857. His father, James McDonald, was born in Ireland and on coming to the new world in 1844 settled first in St. Louis, Missouri, whence he afterward removed to La Salle county, Illinois. He was a pioneer of that locality and opened up and developed a farm there, upon which he reared his family and spent his remaining days. His family numbered three sons and a daughter, of whom Paul McDonald is the eldest. The sister is Bridget, the wife of Dennis Owens, a farmer of Bureau county, Illinois. The brothers are: John J., a substantial agriculturist of Neola township; and William J. McDonald, who follows farming in Bureau county, Illinois.

Paul McDonald was reared upon the old farm homestead in the county of his nativity and acquired his education in the public schools there. He was a young man of twenty-three years when he came westward to Iowa, settling in Pottawattamie county in 1880. He soon returned to Illinois, however, but in 1882 located permanently here. On his previous visit he had in connection with his father purchased two hundred and forty acres of land, which is now owned by Paul McDonald and his brother, John J. In 1880 he began to break the sod and till the fields. Later he built a good dwelling and also substantial barns for the shelter of hay, grain and stock. He likewise planted

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shade and fruit trees, which add much to the value and attractive appearance of the place. His farm, now one of the fine properties of Neola township, has been developed entirely from the raw prairie. He at first owned but one hundred and twenty acres, to which, however, he has added from time to time as his financial resources have permitted until he now has three hundred and twenty acres all in one body. It is a good tract of land, responding readily to the care and labor which is bestowed upon it and in connection with the cultivation of crops best adapted to soil and climate Mr. McDonald raises high grade Hereford cattle, having a herd of one hundred head with two pure blooded registered males at the head of the herd. He makes a business of raising, feeding and fattening stock and keeps from fifty to sixty head annually. In the management of his business affairs he displays good judgment which, coupled with his unfaltering industry, has secured his success.

In Neola, in 1885, Mr. McDonald was married to Miss Rachel Ballard, who was born at Salt Lake City, Utah, a daughter of Mrs. Peter Drury, of Boomer township, where Mrs. McDonald was reared and educated. By her marriage she has become the mother of three daughters: Lizzie, who was educated in Neola and at Island Park, Des Moines, and is now a teacher in this county; Nellie, the wife of Garrett Schnitker, a farmer of Neola township; and Mary, at home.

Politically Mr. McDonald is independent, casting his ballot for candidates, regardless of party affiliations, considering only their capability and fitness for office. He has never desired political preferment himself, as he has always wished to give undivided attention to his business affairs. He and his wife are Catholics in religious faith, holding membership with the church in Neola.

C. H. Berkshire, living on section 31, Valley township, owns and cultivates one hundred and twenty acres of land, which is rich and productive.

He was born in Johnson county, Indiana, on the 17th of March, 1837, and has therefore reached the Psalmist's allotted span of three score years and ten. His parents were Felix and Herlina (Hencely) Berkshire, natives of Kentucky, whence they removed to Indiana in 1836, there residing for three years. In 1836 they became residents of Lawrence county, Illinois, where the family home was maintained until 1856. The mother died in 1851, and five years later the father took his family to Kentucky, where he remained until 1865. He then became a resident of Illinois and later removed to Indiana, where his death occurred. In his family were eight children.

C. H. Berkshire, the only surviving member of the family, was reared to farm life and started out for himself at the early age of fourteen years, working by the month as a farm hand until 1861. He then put aside all business and personal considerations and offered his services to the government, enlisting in the Sixty-second Illinois Infantry. He participated in several hotly

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contested engagements in that sanguinary conflict and served until 1864, when he was honorably discharged in Virginia. With a most creditable military record he returned to his home in Illinois, where he learned the carpenter's trade, which he followed until 1871. In that year he came to Iowa, settling in Valley township, Pottawattamie county, where he purchased eighty acres of land upon which he is now living. Later he bought forty acres more, making a total of one hundred and twenty acres on section 31, Valley township.

In 1867 Mr. Berkshire was united in marriage to Miss Lavinia Jarett, who was born in Henderson county, Illinois, in 1848. They have become the parents of three children: Mary, at home; Frederick F. and C. C., both in Council Bluffs. The parents are members of the Methodist Episcopal church in Oakland and Mr. Berkshire belongs to the Masonic lodge, No. 335, at Oakland. Politically he is a democrat and though he has never held political office he has served for sixteen years as school director, the cause of education finding in him a warm friend, who is always loyal to the welfare of the public schools. His life has been one of untiring industry, crowned with success. Starting out empty-handed when a young boy, he has worked his way upward and is demonstrating the power of efficiency, energy and perseverance as factors in an active business life. Today, at the age of seventy years, he is in possession of a. fine farm and goodly competence, so that he is now enabled to enjoy the comforts and some of the luxuries of life.

John T. Hazen, who for many years figured prominently in connection with the official life in Avoca and Pottawattamie county, but is now practically living retired, although to some extent he engages in auctioneering, has by reason of this line of business and by his public service become one of the best known men in this section of the state. He was born in Dearborn county, Indiana, on the 27th of July, 1846, his parents being Isaac and Rebecca (Stewart) Hazen. Although the family was established in the middle west in early pioneer times the father was a native of Pennsylvania, born about 1821, and in the Keystone state was reared. Soon after his twentieth year he was married and immediately started with his bride for the frontier, his destination being Dearborn county, Indiana. He was one of the first to engage in farming in that locality and in the midst of the forest he built a log cabin and cleared and developed his farm, which he continued to cultivate until his removal to Iowa in 1854. He again took up the hardships and burdens of pioneer life as he located in Washington county, this state, entering a quarter section of land from the government near Ainsworth, where he resided up to the time of his death, about 1893.

When his son, John T. Hazen, was but a boy the father took him in a covered wagon forty-one miles, to Davenport, to see the first railroad engine that was brought to the state. It was taken across the river on the ice and

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pulled up the bank by a capstan and cable, having been brought to the state in order to haul the timbers and rails for the roadbed which was being built to the capital at Iowa City. The family was closely associated with pioneer conditions and events, bearing their full share in the work of progress and improvement.

The father was a life-long democrat but a man of retiring disposition and never sought or desired office. Having lost his first wife about 1860, he afterward wedded Mrs. Charlotte Allen. By the first marriage there were eight children, of whom four are yet living: Melinda, ,the widow of George W. Davis, of Plano, Iowa; Minerva, the wife of Ozias Stotts, of Riverside, Iowa; Rosetta, the wife of Edwin F. Keys, of Ainsworth, Iowa; and John T. By the second marriage there were three children, of whom two are living: Emma A., whose home is in Ainsworth; and Charlotte, who is married and also resides in Ainsworth.

John T. Hazen was but a young lad of eight years when brought by his parents to Iowa and thus upon the frontier he was reared amid its wild scenes and environments, early becoming familiar with the hardships and difficulties which beset the path of the pioneer. His education was acquired in the graded schools of Ainsworth and in the academy at Washington, Iowa. He received ample training in farm labor as he assisted his father in the development of the fields and later he began cultivating his father's land as a renter. In 1871 he came to Pottawattamie county, buying a farm of eighty acres six miles southeast of Avoca in Layton township, where he settled down to farming. The land was then unbroken prairie and it required much arduous labor to transform if into cultivated fields. His first wife had died and he was a widower. As there was no house upon the place, he lived for a time in a tent until he had opportunity to build a little cabin, in which he kept bachelor's hall for about eighteen months, when he was again married. Hi, second wife's health proved poorly and he left the farm, removing to Avoca, where he has since resided. After locating here he worked for some year, as a day laborer, carrying the hod in the building of the second brick structure erected in the town. He was thus employed during the summer of 1877 and later he worked on a section at a dollar and fifteen cents per day. In this position, however, he was singled out by the roadmaster as a man of ability and placed in the freight-house, checking freight. Later he was made baggage master, which position he filled until he resigned in order to give his attention to auctioneering. He was able to speak both low and high German and after he took up auctioneering he soon found that his time was fully occupied in this way.

In less than twelve years after coming to Avoca Mr. Hazen was elected sheriff of the county, which position paid him more than six thousand dollars per year. In 1896 he again bought a farm on the corporate limits of the town, where he lived for five years, when he sold that place and invested in three quarter sections in Boyd county, Nebraska, which he still owns. Again taking up his abode in Avoca, he has since made it his place of residence and is yet engaged in auctioneering. He is the leading representative of the business in Pottawattamie and other counties of this portion of the state and has

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become very popular in that regard. As a crier of sales he is apt and ready and at the same time he displays the keen business judgment which enables him to drive a good bargain.

In 1867 Mr. Hazen was married to Miss Addie Jones, who died a year and a half later, ,and in September, 1872, he married Mrs. Julia R. Harris, of Avoca, who is a native of Indiana but was reared in Illinois, her father removing to Nauvoo just as the Mormons vacated that town. Mr. and Mrs. Hazen have become the parents of six children, of whom five are yet living: Clara M., the wife of Rev. Alexander F. Irvine, a prominent Congregational divine of New York city and a well known magazine writer; Paul T.; Mabel C., the wife of H. A. McComb, a farmer of the Rosebud agency and a graduate of the State University of Nebraska at Lincoln, while Mrs. McComb Was formerly matron of the Sante Indian agency; Roy R.; and Edith E., at home. Ray, a twin brother of Roy, died in infancy. Paul is a graduate of the law department of Yale University and is now practicing at Naper, Boyd county, Nebraska. He was a member of the Yale football team and was a contestant in the oratorical contest in the south half of the state, winning a gold medal. Roy is a graduate of the law department of the Nebraska State University and a member of a Greek letter fraternity. He is now practicing his profession in Fairfax, South Dakota. He won the second honors in the oratorical contest in the south half of the state two years after his brother Paul had taken the medal, and Paul gained the silver medal or second honors in the state contest, losing by only three-eighths of a point. Both sons are prominent young attorneys.

In his political views Mr. Hazen is a stalwart democrat and was the only man elected on the democratic- ticket in 1890, being chosen to the office of sheriff. Two years later he was again elected and for twenty-three years he served in various local position, but has now retired from active connection with political work. He is a member of Avoca camp, W. O. W.; Avoca lodge, No. 220, I. O. O. F., and of the encampment, while his wife and daughters are members of the Rebekah lodge. Mr. Hazen is a self-made man whose advancement and prosperity in life have come to him through his own labors, and his record may well serve as a source of inspiration and encouragement to others, showing what may be accomplished when one is energetic and determined and possesses laudable ambition.

On a good farm on section 35, York township, lives Eaton Barnes, who is known in Pottawattamie county as a prosperous and enterprising farmer and stock-raiser. His landed possessions comprise four hundred and fifty acres and the soil is rich and productive, so that good results are obtained from his farm work. He is, moreover, entitled to representation in this volume as one of the early settlers of the county, having lived here for thirty-five years. He has made his home in the state since 1852, at which time he settled

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in Monroe county. The story of its development and progress is therefore largely familiar to him. He has witnessed the many changes which have brought it to its present condition of prosperity and in the localities where he has resided has contributed to its general growth.

Mr. Barnes is a native of Indiana, having been born near Morgantown, February 16, 1849. His father, Jesse Barnes, was a native of Kentucky, where he was reared, removing thence to Indiana. He was a wheelwright and gunsmith by trade and followed that business in the Hoosier state up to the time when he sought a home in Iowa, settling in Monroe county. Here he turned his attention to general agricultural pursuits, owning and occupying a farm in that county up to the time of his death. His wife survives him now at the age of more than IOUI' score years and is living with a daughter.

Eaton Barnes was but three years of age at the time of the removal of his parents from Indiana to Iowa and was therefore reared upon the frontier in Monroe county, sharing with the family in the hardships and trials of pioneer life at a time when most of the homes of the locality were log cabins, when much of the land was uncultivated, and when the district was destitute of many of the improvements, advantages and conveniences known to the older east. His privileges were therefore comparatively few but his training at farm labor was not meager and he remained upon the old homestead with his father until he had attained his majority. However, in the meantime, when about fourteen years of age, he worked by the month as a farm hand and continued in the employ of one man for nearly ten years, a fact which is indisputable proof of his fidelity as well as his industry.

On the 12th of September, 1872, in Monroe county, was celebrated the marriage of Eaton Barnes and Miss Mary C. Roll, a native of Indiana, who was reared, however, in Monroe county, Iowa, where her father, W. L. Roll, settled at a very early date. He was a native of Kentucky and was descended from French parentage, the family having been established in Kentucky during the pioneer epoch of its development. After his marriage Mr. Barnes rented land in Mills county, Iowa, and engaged in farming for several years. In 1872 he arrived in Pottawattamie county and purchased a tract of raw land of one hundred and sixty acres. This he placed under the plow, continuing the work of further development and improvement as the years passed, while from time to time he has added to his original holdings until he now has four hundred and fifty acres all in one body, although a part of it lies just across the road in Washington township. The improvements upon the farm include a commodious and pleasant residence, a basement barn, large corn cribs and all of the latest machinery to facilitate the work of the fields. From seed that he planted he has raised fine maple, elm and other forest trees, and has put out four orchards, which are all in bearing. He has much fruit of all kinds, including apples, peaches, cherries and berries and has been very successful as a horticulturist. All these years he has also been raising, feeding and fattening stock for the market, shipping annually about two carloads of hogs and from three to five carloads of cattle. Every branch of his business is proving profitable owing to his unfaltering energy and his perseverance that never flags. He has made a study of the best methods to pursue in raising grain,

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fruit and stock, and his knowledge, gained from research and practical experience, largely makes him an authority upon questions connected with agricultural life.

Unto Mr. and Mrs. Barnes have been born ten children, of whom eight are yet living: Fremont, a resident farmer of Norwalk township; Eddy, who follows farming in York township; Albert L., who is in business for himself: Charles Fred, at home; Nettie, the wife of D. P. Donnivan, of Harrison county, Iowa; Mary L., the wife of Irving Andres, of Canada; Nealie and Nina, both at home. They lost two children--Fannie, who became the wife of Michael O'Leary and died about a year later, and Vernon, who died at the age of fourteen years.

Mr. Barnes votes with the democratic party but while he has been loyal to its interests he has never sought nor desired office as a reward for party fealty, preferring to give his undivided time and attention to his farming and business interests. He has been a resident of the state from very early childhood, has witnessed almost the entire development of Pottawattamie county and has assisted in many ways in the promotion of those interests which have contributed to its growth and prosperity. Mr. Barnes is well known as a man of strict integrity and sterling worth as well as of business capacity and enterprise, and he and his estimable wife and their family are much esteemed in the county, while their hospitable home is a favorite resort with many friend.