DAVID DEEN

DAVID DEEN, a farmer of Monroe Township, has been identified with the interests of Shelby County since 1875. He was born in McLean County, Illinois, August 14, 1836, and is the son of Benjamin and Sophrona (Fordice) Deen, natives of the State of Ohio. He was brought up in McLean County, being trained to the occupation of a farmer, and attending the common schools. When he was sixteen years old the family removed to Johnson County, Iowa. There he grew to manhood, and February 26, 1857, he was married to Miss Hannah M. Pitt, a native of Burlington, Iowa, and a daughter of Samuel and Hannah M. (Kensell) Pitt, natives of Pennsylvania. In the late Rebellion Mr. Deen enlisted in the Twenty-second Iowa Volunteer Infantry, but was soon discharged on account of disability. On coming to Shelby County in 1875 he located on 160 acres of wild land, which he has placed under good cultivation. He has erected good buildings on the place, and has planted a grove and an orchard of three acres. Mr. and Mrs. Deen are the parents of six children -- William, residing in Jackson Township; Ben F., at home; Samuel P., living on section 12, Monroe Township; Emary S., Fred C. and Verna E. at home. Mr. Deen is a Republican and a member of the United Workmen. He is strictly honorable in business, and is highly esteemed by all who know him.

Source: 1889 Biographical History of Shelby County, Iowa, pp. 626. Transcribed by Marthann Kohl-Fuhs.