Their family living in Poweshiek township, being now advanced in years. consisted of twelve children, ten of whom are living at this writing. Four children were born to Mr. and Mrs. McIntire, namely: Ruth, a student in the West high school at Des Moines; Violet, Florence and Maud. FREMONT LINCOLN TIFFANY. Upon the roll of representative citizens and energetic agriculturists of Clear Creek township, Jasper county, appears the name of Fremont Lincoln Tiffany, who has been a resident of this community since his advent into "the struggle which men call life," having never cared to risk the caprices of fate and fortune in other countries, well knowing that right here at home existed as good if not better opportunities than could be met with elsewhere. He has, practically unaided, worked his own way to a position of precedence in local affairs, while his conduct has ever been such as to inspire the confidence of those who have been thrown into contact with him. Mr. Tiffany was born in the township where he still resides on August 18, 1860, and here he grew up on the home farm and was educated in the local schools. He is the son of Sylvester and Esther (Campbell) Tiffany, the father born in Erie county, New York, March 11, 1825, and he came to Dubuque, Iowa, in 1842, and for a number of years worked in the lead mines of that place. In 1849 he came to Jasper county, but continued this journey, went to California, a member of that famous band of gold hunters, being one of thousands. He returned to Jasper county, Iowa, in 1853, and here continued to make this his home until his death, which occurred in Clear Creek township, August 30, 1910, having reached an advanced age. He had outlived his wife over twenty years. She was born on November 21, 1831, came to Jasper county in 1855, and her death occurred at Colfax, this county, on April 3, 1889. Their family consisted of four children, two sons and two daughters, namely: Mrs. Martha R. Tripp, born May 27, 1858, lives at Colfax; Fremont L., of this review; Franz Sigel, born July 4, 1864, lives in Clear Creek township; Mrs. Mary Eliza Leonard lives in Boulder, Colorado. These children. were all born at the homestead now occupied by the subject, who owns one hundred and twenty acres of the home farm and two hundred and thirteen acres near the hamlet of Clyde, known as the R. R. Hampton place. He has kept them both under a high state of improvement and cultivation and for a long time successfully carried on general farming and stock raising on a large scale. He has a pleasant home in the midst of attractive surroundings. On February 18, 1880, Mr. Tiffany was united in marriage with Mary Ellen Stock, who was born in Clear Creek township, this county, December 13, 1863, and here she was reared and educated, her mother and grandmother being among the earliest settlers of this vicinity, having come here in 1851. Her father, Joseph Stock, was born in Ohio, August 30, 1842, and his death occurred in Colfax, August 7, 1908. His wife was known in her maidenhood as Rachel DeWitt, and was born in Bradford county, Indiana, February 9, 1847, and she is still living at Colfax. There were three children in this family, of which Mrs. Tiffany is the eldest; Joseph Riley Stock died in this township, October 23, 1888; Mrs. Leecy Ann Smith lives at Carpenter, Wyoming. Five children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Tiffany, named as follows: Clara V., born March 23, 1882, was graduated from the high school at Colfax in the class of 1900, and she was graduated from Drake University in 1904; she is still with her parents on the farm; Carl Tiffany was born May 9, 1884 and lives on his farm in Clear Creek township; Emma Alta, born May 21, 1886, who attended the Colfax high school, was taking a training course when she died at the Methodist hospital at Des Moines, while acting as nurse; Ray was born July 31, 1888, and is living in Collins township: Joseph Sylvester, born January 25, 1897, is at home, assisting his father with the farm work. Miss Clara Tiffany is in possession of the plat of Palmyra, an embryo city to be located on the E. H. Keyes farm, south of Clyde. This instrument is signed by Elias H. Keyes, William Suthern and Emeritta Southern, and Joseph Dodd, Jr., justice of the peace. It was signed September 8, 1855. They also possess an "Arnold's Vocabulary," published in 1784. Politically, Mr. Tiffany is a Republican, and he has been a member of the school board in his district. Fraternally, he belongs to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows at Mingo. GEORGE CASTNER. The subject of this sketch holds prestige among the enterprising and respected agriculturists of Jasper county and those who have had occasion to look over his well tilled and modernly improved farm in Richmond township are of the opinion that he is entitled to rank among our leading twentiethcentury tillers of the soil. He is a man who has been trained to do well whatever is worth doing at all and consequently his efforts have been justly crowned with success. Mr. Castner was born in Bureau county, Illinois, December 31, 1857, the son of S. M. and Mary (Hildebrandt) Castner. His maternal grandparents, Joseph and Elizabeth Hildebrandt, were natives of New Jersey, but their parents were born in Germany, from which country they emigrated to America in the early days, locating in New Jersey. Joseph Hildebrandt died in that state, but his wife came west and spent many years in Jasper county, Iowa, then went to Illinois where she spent the last three years of her life at the home of her youngest son, Manuel Hildebrandt, dying near Princeton, at the ripe old age of ninety-nine years. The paternal grandparents of the subject came to Illinois from the East and died in Stark county, that state. But little is known of their early life. S. M. Castner, father of the subject, was born, reared and educated in New Jersey and there he was married. He planned to devote his life to the legal profession, and studied law in his native state, but never practiced. About 1847 or 1848 he and his wife came to Illinois and located in Bureau county, when the country was mostly a wilderness and Chicago was but a village. They developed a farm from the wild, on which they lived until 1866, in which year they moved to Jasper county, Iowa, and located in Rock Creek township, remaining there until 1877 when they moved to Mahaska county and there Mr. Castner still lives, having reached the advanced age of ninetythree years. His first wife died on November 20, 1874, and he subsequently married Mrs. Elizabeth Carlyle, who is still living. There were twelve children by the first union, seven of whom are supposed to be living at this writing. George Castner attended school in Rock Creek township, this county, and in Grinnell township, Poweshiek county, also went to high school at Stewart, Guthrie county. He returned to Jasper county and has made farming his life work, with the exception of seven years spent in Grinnell engaged in the manufacture of brick; however, most of this period has been lived in Poweshiek county. In March, 1911, he bought an interest in a farm of two hundred acres in Richland township and here he is engaged in general farming and stock raising, being a breeder of Poland-China hogs and graded cattle. Politically, Mr. Castner was a Republican up to ten years ago, since which time he has been an advocate of socialism; but, conditions having changed since then, he has now returned to the standard of the “grand old party." He has belonged to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows since 1882, having joined the same in Wataga, Illinois. In 1883 he joined Tecumseh Lodge at Kellogg, Iowa, later associating with the Grinnell lodge, with which he is still affiliated. He also belongs to the Modern Woodmen of America, which he joined in 1900. Mrs. Castner is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. On August 23, 1883, Mr. Castner was united in marriage with Kate Marshall, a native of Illinois, and the daughter of John and Martha Marshall, who came to that state from Pennsylvania. Eight children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Castner, namely: Lucien Henry, who married Lois Turnman, lives at New Sharon; Lulu May was next in order of birth; the third child died in infancy; George A. is at home; the younger ones are, Elma, Leora, Edith Mercedes, Evan Marshall and Ruth Evelyn. In 1877 Mr. Castner returned to Knox county, Illinois, and worked by the month for two years and then came back to Jasper county and bought eighty acres, which he later rented and returned to Knox county and worked for two years, being in the employ of two well known men there, the Niles brothers. Then in 1883 he came back to Iowa and has been here ever since. It was during his second trip to Illinois that he met his wife. WILLIAM F. RIPPEY. The best history of a community or state is the one that deals most with the lives and activities of its people, especially those who, by their own endeavor and indomitable energy, have forged to the front and placed themselves where they well deserve the title of progressive men. In the following paragraph will be found the record of one who has outstripped the less active plodders on the highway of life and achieved a career surpassed by few of his contemporaries, a career of marked success in agricultural affairs and a name which all who know him delight to honor owing to his upright life and habits of thrift and industry. William F. Rippey, one of Jasper county's leading pioneer citizens, living on his beautiful farmstead near the viallage of Ira, was born in Kosciusko county, Indiana, April 9, 1838, and there he grew up and received what education he could in the schools of the early days. He is the son of Joseph and Elizabeth (Jeffries) Rippey. The father, born in Henry county, Indiana, died in Kosciusko county, that state, at the early age of thirty-four years. The mother, who was born in Rush county, that state, came to Iowa late in life and her death occurred in Independence township, Jasper county, at the age of seventy-six years. Their family consisted of five sons, four of whom fought for the preservation of the Union during the Civil war, William F., of this review, being the eldest; Matthew J. was killed at the battle of Champion's Hill; James Allen received wounds at the battle of Jonesboro from |