Plymouth County’s Democratic Senator, the Hon. William Hamilton Dent, has made himself a popular man in Des Moines during the sessions he has been in attendance as a member of the legislature. He came up first as a member of the House in 1886, returned again in 1890, and was then advanced to the Senate. Mr. Dent was born at Magnolia, Illinois, November 1, 1843. He attended public and private schools at Hennepin and Chicago, not stopping until he had completed a business and law course. He served nearly two years in the quartermaster's and transportation departments of the Army of the Cumberland and also at Nashville, having the rank of first lieutenant. His business career has been an active one. He tried various lines until 1871, when he went into the business of manufacturing agricultural implements at Ottawa, Illinois, under the firm name of Meierloper, Dent & Co. After four years at this he removed to Le Mars, Iowa, and opened a private bank. This has since developed into the Le Mars National bank, of which he has held the presidency ever since its organization. Mr. Dent has been before the public frequently. In the town of Le Mars he has been a member of the school board for years. His first taste of legislative life was in the Twenty-first General Assembly. He missed the Twenty-second, but has been on hand ever since. Being a public-spirited citizen he was selected by Governor Boies to represent the eleventh Congressional district on the board of World's Fair commissioners. Mr. Dent was the choice of his district to go to the national Democratic convention in 1893. Mr. Dent was married in Ottawa, Illinois, in 1871, to Miss Cheever, eldest daughter of the late Silas W. Cheever. They have two daughters. His wife and daughters have been absent in Europe for several years past, but will be with him at Des Moines this session. As he has made a large circle of friends for himself among brother Knight Templars and Episcopalian church people, his family will be pleasantly received in Des Moines.
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