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Joseph P. Boulden was born in 1819 in Piqua, Ohio. In 1849 he worked as a miller in Illinois and then moved to Council Bluffs in 1853. He operated one of the first saw mills in the city until he purchased 200 acres of land in Hazel Dell Township.

What didn't D. C. Bloomer do?

Amelia Jenks was born in Homer, NY in 1818 and moved to Seneca Falls, NY when she was six. In 1840 she married D.C. Bloomer. She soon became involved in the temperance movement and began writing articles for the press. Amelia would go on to become a prolific writer.

Washington Lee Biggs was a tavern keeper in West Liberty, West Virginia. He lived there with his wife Mary and his six children. In 1851 two of his young daughters passed away. In 1854 he put the tavern up for sale and moved to Council Bluffs, Iowa.

John T. Baldwin was born in Washington County, Pennsylvania on October 12, 1820, four years before his younger brother Caleb Baldwin. Like his brother, John was a large man, standing 6 foot four and weighing 300 pounds.

This month I'm going to rely on others to tell the story of John Bennett.  Because they tell it much better than I can.

Caleb Baldwin was born April 3rd, 1824 in Washington County, Pennsylvania. He graduated law school in 1842 and by 1846 had moved to Fairfield, Iowa. There he married Jane Barr in 1848. They had 11 children, of which, only 6 lived to adulthood.

Lydia B. Allen Atkins was born July 10, 1843 in Pennsylvania to Henry and Susan Allen (read about Henry Allen here - insert link to Henry Allen Post).

John B. Atkins was born near Detroit, Michigan in 1835. He passed through Council Bluffs on his way west and in 1859 married Lydia B. Allen in Arapahoe County, Colorado. Their daughter Mollie was born in 1861. Their son Henry Charles was born a year after that in New Mexico.

For as long as I've worked at the library this picture has always been labeled Mrs. R. D. Amy, the wife of last month's subject, R. D. Amy. Taking a longer look at the picture I had suspicions. These photographs were taken sometime in the mid to late 1880s, years after Mr.

Jeremiah Folsom was born in New Hampshire in 1817. As a young man he moved to Michigan and in 1840 married Marcia A Hopkins. While in Michigan they had two children, Marcia and Edward. Jeremiah was listed as a glass manufacturer in the 1850 federal census.

So I figured I would do a nice column for our newsletter on the Early Citizens of Council Bluffs. Pull a picture and research our local archives and databases and see what I could find. I started with Henry Allen.