Town: Des Moines Township

Biography of R. H. Breakfield of Des Moines township, Iowa

Past and Present of Dallas County Title Page

R. H. Breakfield, living on a farm on section 11, Des Moines township, is one of the thrifty and enterprising agriculturists of Dallas county. Almost his entire life has been passed in this township, which was the place of his birth–his natal day being June 25, 1859. His father is John Breakfield, a substantial farmer of Des Moines township, mentioned elsewhere in this work, and the family numbered four sons and a daughter. In a manner not unlike most farm boys of the period R. H. Breakfield spent the days of his boyhood and youth attending the common schools and … Read more

Biography of Ira Cook

Ira Cook

A very prominent man in Des Moines in the early days was Ira Cook. He came to Davenport in 1836, with his father, a small boy, worked fourteen and fifteen hours a day helping his father start a farm, and plant by hand what he declared was the first field of corn in Scott County. He came to Des Moines in September, 1852, on foot, with ten men, his supplies and camp equipage drawn by two horses, en route to sub-divide, as United States Surveyor, a district of ten townships in what are now the counties of Carroll and Sac. … Read more