Progressive Men of Iowa
1899

VanEATON, G. L. Of the men who have made a success in mercantile pursuits without the advantages bestowed by a college education, none are more conspicuous than G. L. VanEaton, of Little Rock. His father was a Hollander and his mother a Quaker, and from that strong combination he inherited the qualities which have won for him such signal success in the avenues of trade. Born in Boone county, Ind., he attended the inferior schools of those pioneer days, and enlisted in the civil war before he was 18 years of age, so that his educational advantages were very limited indeed.

During his early life he never suffered himself to remain idle, although for a considerable time he was obliged to work for the mere pittance of $6 per month. When the war for the preservation of the union was necessary, he was among the first to offer his services in defense of the stars and stripes, and was accepted September 1, 1861, at Berlin, Wis. He participated in the battles of Shiloh, Corinth, Iuka, the second fight at Corinth, and was on the march with Grant to Vicksburg. The term of his first enlistment having expired, he re-enlisted at Vicksburg in the fall of 1863, and immediately thereafter secured a furlough for thirty days. Following a brief visit at his home, he went to Cairo, and thence up the Ohio and Tennessee rivers to Clifton, where he joined the forces of General Blair and marched to Big Shanty. He was then transferred to the Seventeenth corps, in which he served until mustered out of the service July 12, 1865.

In 1872 Mr.  VanEaton came to Iowa and took up a homestead in Osceola county, and the land has never passed out of his ownership.  Aside from the time spent in military service, his whole life, up to 1885, was spent upon the farm. During that year he purchased a one-half interest in the lumber, wood, coal and grain business of Mr. L.  Shell, at Little Rock, and the partnership then formed continues to the present time with profit and satisfaction to both parties. 

In politics Mr. VanEaton is a republican, and although he has held positions off and on for many years, they have, in every case, been without remuneration. In township, county and state conventions, he has been a familiar figure in the past, and is considered a "wheel horse" for his party.  He is a member of the G. A. R., is junior past commander of L. B. Ireland Post, of Sibley, Iowa. He is a past grand officer in the Odd Fellows, also, and was a representative to the grand lodge at its meetings in Burlington and Marshalltown. October 10, 1865, he was united in marriage to Miss Lizzy Fridd. They have two children, Jennie and Mertie VanEaton. In religion he is liberal in his views, and is not a member of any church.

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