Representative from Adams county, was born April 4, 1853, near Salem, in Columbiana county, Ohio, and came to Iowa with his parents in December of the same year and settled in Johnson county. In the fall of 1860 the family moved to Oskaloosa, Iowa, for better school advantages. Afterward in March, 1864, they again moved westward, this time settling in Warren county, where the subject of this sketch grew to young manhood, attending the common schools and assisting with the work on the farm. In the spring of 1872 he went with an older brother to Adams county where he engaged in teaching school, following this occupation for twelve years in Adams and adjoining counties. He was elected clerk of the district court in 1898 and re-elected in 1900. He was elected as a member of the 37th General Assembly at the fall election in 1916 as a republican.