History of Iowa From the Earliest Times to the Beginning of the Twentieth Century/4/Joseph A. O. Yeoman

JOSEPH A. O. YEOMAN was born at Washington Court House, Ohio, in 1842. He received a good education and studied law. When the War of the Rebellion began he enlisted as a private in the First Ohio Cavalry. He was a most daring soldier and was soon promoted to the rank of captain. His war record was a brilliant one. He was a dashing officer, shrewd in plans and prompt in action; a typical cavalryman in a war where that branch of the service wag a most important factor. He was selected to command a picked body of cavalry in the pursuit of the Confederate President and by skill and promptness was largely instrumental in his capture. He received a reward of $3,000 from the Government for his brilliant leadership in that affair and was highly complimented by his superior officer. At the close of the war he graduated from the Albany, New York, Law School, was admitted to the bar in 1867 and became a resident of Fort Dodge where he began the practice of his profession. He soon attained high rank as a lawyer and became one of the most eminent advocates in northwestern Iowa. In war times and during the early years of reconstruction, Captain Yeoman was an active Republican. He was one of the best campaign speakers in the State. But in 1874, he left the party as he could not agree with its protective tariff policy. He united with the Democrats and in 1879 was their candidate for Lieutenant-Governor. In 1888 he was nominated for Congress in the Tenth District and carried on a joint discussion with his opponent Hon. J. P. Dolliver, which was one of the most brilliant debates in the political history of Iowa. He died on the 17th of November, 1900, while on a visit to his old home in Ohio.