Representative William Jasper Veneman View All Years

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William Jasper Veneman

Story County

Born in Kosciusko County, Indiana, on the 5th of June, 1844, his parents being Lemuel and Matilda (Cory) Veneman, both of whom were natives of Ohio. He was reared under the parental roof, receiving such educational advantages as the log schoolhouses of those early days afforded. On the 11th of August, 1862, he enlisted for service in the Civil war as a member of Company B, Thirty-ninth Iowa Volunteer Infantry, remaining with that command until the cessation of hostilities. He was honorably discharged on the 5th of June, 1865 and mustered out at Clinton, Iowa, about the 1st of July. After returning home he attended school for a year and a half longer, recognizing the value of a good education in the battle of life. On the 3Oth of August, 1867, he wedded Miss Margaret Kirby, of Des Moines, a daughter of Jacob and Harriet (Ferguson) Kirby. The following winter he became identified with educational interests as teacher of the Hall school, a log schoolhouse in Indian Creek Township, Story County. In the spring Mr. Veneman took up general agricultural pursuits, renting his father's farm in Polk County and operating it for four or five years. During that time he had come into possession of a little more than one hundred acres thereof and continued to reside on that tract until 1873, when he disposed of the property and purchased one hundred acres on section 14, Indian Creek Township. There he successfully carried on his farming interests until 1902, when he put aside the active work of the fields, having lived in honorable retirement for the past nine years. Mr. Veneman is a republican in politics and has long been an influential worker in the local ranks of his party. For more than thirty years he has remained continuously in public office, serving as township trustee or in one of the other township positions. He represented his district in the twenty-seventh and twenty-eighth general assemblies of the state legislature and has repeatedly served as delegate to the state conventions, being one of Story County's most widely known and highly esteemed citizens. Fraternally he is identified with Herald Lodge, A. F. & A. M., Social Lodge, I. O. O. F., and James H. Ewing Post, No. 305, G. A. R. For four or more years he served as commander of the post. He acts as steward and Sunday school superintendent of the Methodist Episcopal Church, which numbers himself and his wife among its valued members. Mr. Veneman has resided in this part of the state for more than six decades and stands foremost in his community as one of its leading and influential citizens.

House District 52