John D. Denison was born at Clarion, Iowa, September 29, 1872, the son of John D. Denison and Triphena Gorton. John was raised on a farm. He graduated from Clarion High School in 1889, and Upper Iowa University, Fayette, Iowa, in 1893. John was…
Johnson Brigham was born on March 11, 1846 in Cherry Valley, New York, the son of Phineas Brigham and Eliza Johnson. In 1875 he married Antoinette Gano and they had one daughter, Anna. He began work as a newspaper editor and publisher in New York…
Sallania “Lana” H. Hixson was born on April 21, 1849 in Greene County, Ohio, one of eight children born to Dr. Oliver F. Hixson and Elizabeth Dawson. The family moved to Marshall County, Iowa by 1856 where her father was a doctor. Sallania …
Laura C. Hudson was born August 1, 1850 in Hazelwood, Missouri, the daughter of Alexander McFarland Hudson and Sarah J. Young. Her father was a lawyer who helped the Union causes in Missouri and was assassinated during the Civil War in 1863. Laura…
Mary H. MacGinnitie was born in Clarion County, Pennsylvania on July 24, 1842, the daughter of John P. and Marilla B. MacGinnitie. She came with her parents to Eddyville, Iowa in 1862 and taught in the public schools in Eddyville and Ottumwa. In…
Sara “Sadie” B. Bushong was born in Columbian County, Ohio, February 12, 1837, the daughter of Jacob and Hannah Bushong. She attended the academies at Bryan and West Unity, Ohio, then taught from 1853 to 1858. Sara married William Maxwell in…
Ada E. Miles was born in New York in 1841, the daughter of Rev. Milo N. and Mary Miles. In 1865 she married Major George J. North, Governor Stone’s Military Secretary. In 1870 George died, leaving his widow with two small children, Howard and…
John C. Merrill was born around 1850 in Pennsylvania. His father, Samuel Merrill, became Governor of Iowa in 1868 and John C. was appointed State Librarian the same year. He proved to be an energetic and efficient Librarian, introducing the…
Lewis I. Coulter was born in Ohio in 1836, the son of John P. Coulter and Elizabeth. He married Kate K. Thurston in Des Moines, Iowa on April 26, 1860 and had two children, a son, Edward and daughter, Jessie F. in Des Moines. Lewis Coulter was a…
John P. Coulter was born about 1803 in Pennsylvania. He became a physician, moved to Wooster, Ohio and married Elizabeth. John and Elizabeth had four children in Ohio: Lewis, Edward, Elnora, and Flora. The family moved to Cedar Rapids, Linn County,…