One of the early settlers of Liberty Township, was born in Harrison, now Barbour County, West Virginia, October 29, 1822. Jacob Proudfoot was reared in his native county. His father was a farmer, miller and blacksmith, and in his youth he became familiar with all three vocations. On September 14, 1843, he was married to Miss Cyrene Van Scoy, a native of Randolph County, West Virginia. In 1855 Mr. Proudfoot came to Iowa, and spent the first winter in Warren County, and in April 1856, located in Liberty Township, Clarke County, and opened a blacksmith shop. He soon bought some land, and combined farming with blacksmithing. He owned eighty acres on section 6, Liberty township, and twenty-three acres of timber land in Squaw Township, Warren County. In politics Mr. Proudfoot was reared in the Democratic faith, but his devotion to the Union caused him to uphold the administration of Abraham Lincoln, and he was affiliated with the Republican party, and was prominent in its councils in Clarke County. In 1875 he was elected a member of the Sixteenth General Assembly. He served eleven years as magistrate of Liberty, and several years as a member of the County Board of Supervisors. He was postmaster at Liberty about fourteen years. He was interested in the public affairs of his country and State, as well as the local affairs of his county and village, and has never failed to cast his ballot since 1856. He and his wife have been active members of the Methodist Episcopal Church.