Lewis Darling was reared at home and acquired his early education in the public schools, later attending the Monticello high school, from which he was graduated in the class of 1870. Until 1873, he remained at home, associated with his father in his industries, and then in that year began farming for himself. For one season he operated the home place as a tenant and then, in 1874, purchased it and has made his home thereon for the past thirty-five years. It originally embraced one hundred and sixty acres on the northwest quarter of section 6, Scotch Grove township, but Mr. Darling added eighty acres of timber land on section 5 to it and then sold eighty acres which his father had procured, so that he now owns one hundred and sixty acres. The agricultural pursuits which he has carried on there have brought him such returns that he is well numbered among the substantial men of his locality.

In 1880 Mr. Darling wedded Miss Louisa Bobletter, of Scotch Grove township. To this union four children have been born: Ruth, who is a graduate of the Monticello high school and is now teaching in the Marion high school; Charles J., of Stanley county, South Dakota; and David E. and Arthur, who are at home.

Mr. Darling has given unqualified support to the republican party and is active in the local affairs of his township for he is now serving the second term as a member of the board of trustees and is secretary of the school board, to which body he has belonged for a considerable period. Fraternally he is connected with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, with the Court of Honor and the Mystic Workers of America. In the first mentioned he is especially prominent, belonging to the encampment and to the commandery. The record of his life, which is one of successful endeavor, and the part he has played in local affairs, which is marked by devotion to high ideals of honor and integrity, well entitles him to the respect he enjoys among the men who have come in contact with him in business or socially.

From History of Jones County, Iowa, Past and Present, R. M. Corbitt, S. J. Clarke Publishing Co., Chicago, 1910, p. 247.

Such a man was it who had the distinction of having polled a majority in his home town when he was the reform candidate to represent the riding in the Canadian parliament. It was only through constant urging that he accepted the nomination, for he was a man of modest and retiring disposition, but he had many friends and few if any enemies, as the result of the election demonstrated. Four sons and one daughter were born to him and his wife: John, of Ashburn, Ontario; James I. and Mrs. Miller, who live with their father; George, of Monticello, Iowa; and Andrew. who is the subject of this sketch. The father's death occurred February 15, 1902, when he was in the eighty-fourth year of his age. His life was noble and the remembrance of it makes for better citizenship and will always exercise an inspiring influence both in the immediate fields in which he was active and beyond in the world of men and affairs.

Andrew Davidson, who has proved himself a worthy successor of his father and has engaged in similar lines of work, was reared at home, while he received his education in the common schools. Even after he reached man's estate he remained with his father until he was past the age of thirty. In 1877 he and his brother George came to the United States, locating in Castle Grove township, this county, where they purchased the White farm of three hundred and twenty acres. In the following years they added to it until it embraced five hundred and thirteen acres, which was for many years the scene of their joint labors. In partnership they engaged in the breeding and importing of registered horses and of shorthorn cattle, becoming widely known throughout the country as having some of the finest stock in the middle West. In 1902 the brothers severed their connection and Andrew Davidson removed to his present handsome home, with a plot of forty acres in the suburbs of Monticello. Here he has in a small way continued the breeding of shorthorn cattle, but has practically given up his interests in horse breeding. His name is still potent among those engaged in like pursuits and his judgment of animals is regarded as valuable, being frequently sought by others.

On the 25th of December, 1874, Mr. Davidson wedded Miss Janet Burns, of South Ontario. Three daughters have been born to them: Margaret B., who is now the wife of Samuel P. Eberhart, of Laredo, Missouri; Mary, who is at home; and Jessie G., who is the wife of Lawrence T. Gaylord, a civil engineer in the employ of the government at Port Arthur, Texas. All three daughters graduated from the Monticello high school, and the two younger ones received degrees from the State Agricultural College at Ames. The family are members of the Congregational church, in which Mr. Davidson is a deacon.

When he was made a citizen of this republic Mr. Davidson espoused the principles of the republican party, but he has never been an aspirant for public office. He holds active membership, however, in various societies connected with his particular field of activity, including the Shorthorn Breeders Association and the Clydesdale Breeders Association. Looking back over his life's record, open and patent as it has been to all, it may well be said not only that he is one of the leaders of his line of work, but that he richly deserves the high esteem in which those who have known him intimately, socially and in a business way hold him.

From History of Jones County, Iowa, Past and Present, R. M. Corbitt, S. J. Clarke Publishing Co., Chicago, 1910, p. 96.

From History of Jones County, Iowa, Western Historical Company, Chicago, 1879, page 640.