Born in Waybridge, Vermont, July 8, 1842. In 1853 he went to Whiteside, Illinois with his father's family. In 1857 went to Wisconsin, and in 1859 came to Iowa, locating in Clayton county. He began to read law in May, 1861, with Hunt & Murdock, of Elkader, Iowa. In July, 1863, he enlisted in Company I, Eighth Iowa cavalry, and served until the close of the war, being honorably discharged in the spring of 1865. Mr. Stow was admitted to the bar July 7, 1866, by Judge Fairfield. In March of 1870 he came to Hamburg. In 1873, he formed a partnership with J. M. Hammond. He was married July 5, 1868, to Miss Eliza M. Tyler, a native of Ohio. The political history of Mr. Stow has been one of unusual moment. In 1868, the Democracy of the twelfth district nominated him as district attorney, but he was defeated. In 1872 he was a member of the fourteenth general assembly of the state of Iowa, serving in both its regular and extra sessions. In the years 1875 and 1878 he was elected mayor of the city of Hamburg. In 1876 he was a delegate to the democratic convention at St. Louis, and in 1880 an elector on the national democratic presidential ticket. He has always been interested in education. He is a member of the Hamburg school board and in 1877 was appointed by Governor Kirkwood, one of the trustees of the state normal school.