William H. Needham

William Harrison Needham had an unusual military record. As a volunteer in Company D, Twenty,second Iowa Infantry, he rendered service in Mississippi, at Port Gibson, at Raymond, Champion's Hill, Jackson, Black River Bridge, and Vicksburg. Later he was sent to Louisiana and then to Texas. He was one of six members of his regiment to receive the commendation of General Ulysses S. Grant for bravery in service at Vicksburg. Needham was born in Ohio in 1841. He came to Iowa as a lad, and worked as a printer for his brother, later Lieutenant Governor John R. Needham, on the Oskaloosa Herald. When war clouds hovered, young Needham went to Albia to work on a newspaper. A little later he was at Iowa City where he enlisted in the Twentysecond Iowa Infantry under the command of Colonel William M. Stone. At the close of the war he bought an interest in the Oskaloosa Herald, but in 1878 he moved to Sigourney, where he published The News, and at various times served as postmaster, a member of the school board, and a member of the city council. He was a member of Grand Army Post No. 167, at Sigourney. At the Annual Encampment at Marshalltown in June, 1924, he was elected Department Commander. On October 15th of that year, when his term of office was less than half finished, death came, and none could say that he had not lived well.

Daniel Baldwin Cowles

Daniel Baldwin Cowles was born in McHenry County, Illinois, on June 19, 1845. At an early age he moved with his parents to Wisconsin. Later he moved to McGregor, Iowa, and again to Le Roy, Minnesota. There, on Christmas Day, 1863, he enlisted as a private in Company B, Brockett's Battalion, Minnesota Cavalry. He took part in the strenuous campaigns of General Alfred Sully, serving with credit to himself and honor to his regiment until his final discharge in May, 1866. At the close of his military service Comrade Cowles entered the hardware business with his father in Missouri. Later he entered the employment of the Chicago, Burling, ton and Quincy Railroad at Ottumwa, where he served for fifty years, until his retirement in 1922. For many years Comrade Cowles was a faithful member of Post No. 69, at Ottumwa, serving at one time as Post Commander. In June, 1924, he was named Senior Vice Commander of the Iowa Department. In October of that year, upon the death of Commander W. H. Needham, Mr. Cowles became Department Commander. On May 14th of the following year he, too, was "called home", again leaving a second vacancy in the office of Department Commander.

Orlando S. Hartman

Orlando S. Hartman was born on November 21, 1848, in Richmond County, Ohio. As a youth he came to Iowa, locating in Johnson County, and in January, 1864, enlisted in Company H, Twenty-fourth Iowa Infantry. After the war Mr. Hartman resided for a time in Des Moines, but because of impaired health, in September, 1878, he took up residence at the Soldiers' Home at Marshalltown. While there, he was a member and for a time Commander of Phil Sheridan Post of the Grand Army of the Republic. At the Fiftieth Annual State Encampment held at Davenport in June, 1924, W. H. Needham was elected Department Commander; D. B. Cowles, Senior Vice Commander; and 0. S. Hartman, Junior Vice Commander. Upon the death of Mr. Needham and the subsequent death of Mr. Cowles, Mr. Hartman, in May, 1925, succeeded to the office of Department Commander. He was the only junior Vice Commander in the history of the Iowa Department who succeeded to the office of Department Commander through the death of two of his comrades. His term of office was of brief duration, as the annual meeting and the election of officers occurred within a month after he took office. Brief as his term of office was, however, his work was effectively done. Mr. Hartman died at the Iowa Soldiers' Home, in Marshalltown, on May 28, 1927.

Frank Dagle

Frank Dagle was a native of New York, having been born in Clinton County, on March 26, 1847. At the age of ten he moved with his parents to the State of Wis, consin, locating near the city of Oshkosh. At the outbreak of the Civil War Dagle enlisted in Company E, Second Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry. As a member of the "Iron Brigade" in the Army of the Potomac he rendered valiant service until June 27, 1864, when he was wounded at the battle of Cold Harbor, Virginia, and later was discharged because of wounds. Following the war, Comrade Dagle returned to Wiscconsin. Later he settled at Winnebago, Minnesota, where he worked as a builder and contractor for many years, and where he was an active member of the Grand Army of the Republic. Later he moved to Des Moines where for thirty years he was a member of Crocker Post No. 12. In 1925, while he was serving as Commander of Crocker Post, he was elected Commander of the Iowa Department. As National President of the "Iron Brigade", and Commander of the Iowa Department of the Grand Army of the Republic, Mr. Dagle was for many years interested in veterans' organizations. Indeed, until the end of his career on October 31, 1928, at the age of eighty-one, he never ceased to work for the welfare of his comrades.

Eliphalet J. Stonebraker

Ellphalet J. Stonebraker, for more than sixty years a resident of Hampton, Iowa, came to the end of his long career on July 15, 1935. Mr. Stonebraker was born at Mt. Morris, Illinois, on August 7, 1847. He attended the public schools of Ogle County, Illinois, and later attended Mt. Morris College. In 1864, at the age of seventeen he enlisted in the Forty, sixth Illinois Infantry where he served under Captain F. H. March, engaging in three major battles - the capture of Fort Blakely, the battle of Mobile, and the Spanish Fort. In 1870 he came to Hampton, where he engaged in the painting and decorating business through the active years of his life. He was for many years a faithful worker in the interest of the Grand Army of the Republic. He was a charter member of J. W. McKenzie Post No. 81, at Hampton, and was five times elected Commander of that Post. In 1926 he was elected Department Commander, serving his comrades in a most efficient and commendable manner. He was one of the later survivors of the Grand Army, and one who was always loyal to the best interests of the organization.

Oley Nelson

Oley Nelson, a veteran and son of a veteran, was born in Rock County, Wisconsin, on August 10, 1844. On June 17, 1864, he enlisted in Company D, Fortieth Wisconsin Infantry (known as the University Regiment), which was assigned to General Sturgis's Brigade, Fifteenth Army Corps, with headquarters at Memphis, Tennessee. He was discharged on September 16, 1864, because of sickness and returned to his widowed mother in Primrose County, Wisconsin, his father having died in service prior to Oley's enlistment. In 1867 Comrade Nelson moved .in a covered wagon to Story County, Iowa. He was an active member of Ellsworth Post No. 30, at Ames, Iowa, for forty years, and has been a member of Grenville M. Dodge Camp No. 75, Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War for twenty-five years. He was a member of the Twenty-first and Twenty,second General Assemblies of Iowa, and for twelve years has served as Sergeant at Arms of the Iowa House of Representatives. He was one of the foremost and most persistent advocates, of a State Soldiers' Home and during his legislative career voted for the Home. He served as Department Patriotic Instructor, and in 1927 was elected Department Commander. He served as National Chief of Staff in 1931, -was elected Senior Vice Commander-in,Chief in September, 1931, and on September 12, 1935, was elected Commander,in-Chief, the third comrade from Iowa to be chosen to this high office.