ROBERT M. WHITE is one of the prominent pioneers of Valley Township. His grandfather, Nathaniel WHITE, was a farmer in Washington County, Pennsylvania, and of English descent. He lived to the great age of eighty years. He was married to Mary LITTLE, and they had nine children, viz.: Nicholas, David, John, Nathaniel, Samuel, James, Mary A., Jane and Eliza, all born in Washington County. The father moved to Lawrence County, where he owned a farm of 200 acres and where he died. He was a member of the United Presbyterian Church and was a man of industrious habits and integrity in character. Samuel WHITE, his son, and the father of our subject, was born on the farm in Washington County, in 1806, and was reared to the life of a farmer. He married Mary LESLIE, in Lawrence County, where he had gone with his father when a boy. They were the parents of seven children, namely: Nathaniel, Nancy A., Margaret, Robert, Samuel, Maria and Eliza, all born in Lawrence County. The father owned a farm in that county, where he died at the age of seventy-three years. Both he and his wife were members of the United Presbyterian Church, and the father was a comfortable farmer, an honorable man and enjoyed the respect of his fellow citizens. His son, Samuel, was a soldier in our great Civil War, belonging to the First Pennsylvania Volunteer Artillery, was in several battles, and had the drum of one ear destroyed by the discharge of the artillery.

Robert M., the subject of this sketch, was also born in Lawrence County, December 7, 1833, and like his father before him was reared to farm life. At the age of nineteen, he left home, and began work for himself. At the age of twenty-one, in 1854, he went to Mercer County, Illinois, where he remained five and a half years. In 1860 he went to Brown County, Kansas, but returned to Iowa the same year and settled in Valley Township, Pottawattamie County, on his present farm. Iowa was then a new country, and Valley Township had but few settlers. His land was wild, but by dint of energy and perseverance he has converted it into a fine fertile farm, to which he has added until he now has 480 acres. He is a prominent citizen of this county and a pioneer and, as such, his name will go down to posterity in the annals of the state of Iowa. He has given each of his three sons 160 acres of land.

He was married in Mercer County, Illinois, to Martha Clark, daughter of Charles and Sarah CLARK. The father was a native of Lawrence County, Pennsylvania, and settled in Mercer County, Illinois, in 1850. He came to Pottawattamie County, Iowa, in 1860 and died in 1886 at the advanced age of eighty-one years. He was a member of the Presbyterian Church, as was also his wife, but in Iowa they joined the Baptist Church. He was an industrious man, and well known to the early settlers. Mr. And Mrs. CLARK were the parents of six children, viz.: Uriah, William, Samuel, Margaret, Martha and Catherine. Mr. And Mrs. WHITE have had six children: Charles, Warren, Uriah, Leslie, Edmond, and one who died when young. Warren was a graduate of the State University and was a lawyer by profession, but while at his home and while assisting in the harvest field, he was instantly killed by lightning. He was unmarried but was a young man of great promise. His death was a severe blow to his parents and friends. Socially, Mr. WHITE is an Odd Fellow and politically a Republican. He was Township Trustee seven years and Clerk sixteen years. He stands high in his county as a man of integrity and good judgment and his honor is unimpeached.