Page:History of Iowa From the Earliest Times to the Beginning of the Twentieth Century Volume 4.djvu/151

 and shipped as a seaman. After several years he entered the service in the United States Navy and was first rifleman on the cruiser Lancaster. He enlisted in the Spanish-American War and to his disappointment was assigned to a coal boat, but by this means was enabled to be with Lieutenant Hobson in one of the most thrilling episodes of our naval history—the sinking of the Merrimac in the channel of Santiago Harbor. Through the efforts of the Iowa delegation in Congress Deignan was offered a course of study in the Naval Academy at Annapolis, which he declined. He has since served in the navy as boatswain and has visited many parts of the world in the various cruises. JESSE W. DENISON, founder of the county-seat of Crawford County, was born in Albany County, New York, April 9, 1818. His early life was passed on his father's farm and his education begun at the Academy of Schoharie Court House. He entered Union College, graduating in 1844. Later he studied theology in New York City and Covington, Kentucky, graduating in 1846. Mr. Denison came to Crawford County, Iowa, in 1856, as agent for the Providence Western Land Company which, through him, acquired 21,000 acres of land in Crawford, 3,000 in Harrison and 1,000 acres each in Shelby and Pottawattamie counties. He laid out the town of Denison and for many years worked for its interests in securing the county-seat and railroad connections. He organized the Baptist church during the first year and was its pastor until 1863. He was active in the promotion of education and the establishment of schools and for twenty years was untiring in all good work to develop the new country where he had settled. In politics he was a Republican and in 1859 was elected Representative for the district composed of the counties of Crawford, Monona, Carroll and Greene, serving in the regular session of the Eighth General Assembly and the war session of May, 1861. MICHAEL L. DEVIN was born in Morgan County, Ohio, January 23, 1823. He received a common school education and while a young man removed to Macon County, Illinois, and from there to Des Moines, Iowa, in the spring of 1855, where he engaged in selling goods until 1860, when he entered eight hundred acres of Government land seven miles south of the city where he opened a farm, planting a large orchard and engaged extensively in breeding fine stock. He was an intelligent farmer and a citizen of wide influence. He was active among the “Grange” reformers and from the beginning took a deep interest in the barb wire contest. He was elected president of the Farmers' Protective Association and served several years during the time of the continued litigation with the Washburn Syndicate. At one time when the attorney of the Association failed to appear on the day set for an important trial before Judge McCrary, United States Circuit Judge, the attorney of Washburn moved for judgment against the