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Biographical History of Cherokee County, Iowa
W. S. Dunbar & Co., Chigago - 1889

[page 480-481]

    D. LAYTON, one of the early settlers of Cherokee County, was born
    in St. Joseph County, Michigan, July 12, 1835, and is a son of
    JOHN and ELIZABETH (BARKS) LAYTON, natives of Delaware and Ohio
    respectively.  JOHN LAYTON was a shoemaker by trade, and was an
    early settler of Marion, Ohio, building the first house in the
    town.  At an early age our subject started out in the world for
    himself.  He first went to the Rocky Mountains, and spent some
    time where Denver now is; afterward he went to freighting on the
    plains; later he went to the Pacific Coast, and there drove freight
    teams for some time.  During the late Civil War he enlisted in the
    Third California Infantry, Company D, and served until the close
    of the war.  He saw much active service on the plains against hos-
    tile Indians.  The regiment was on duty on the coast, in Nevada,
    and in Wyoming, with headquarters at Salt Lake City for two years.
    He was honorably discharged at Denver, Colorado, in 1865. For some
    time Mr. LAYTON was on the police force of Denver, and later he was
    in the Government employ.  In 1868 he worked on the Union Pacific
    Railroad, and in 1869 he came with a railroad outfit to Cherokee
    County, and plowed the first furrow for the railroad in this county.
    He was the first one to engage in draying in the town of Cherokee,
    and he followed this business for many years, in connection with
    dealing in coal and ice.  In 1886 Mr. LAYTON sold his interests to
    JACKSON & FUNK and purchased the JOHN CHAPIN farm, which is one of
    the best in the township.  It contains 160 acres, a substantial
    residence, built in modern style, stands upon an attractive site,
    and twelve acres of fine grove add not a little to the beauty and
    value of the farm.  There are extensive barns and sheds for stock,
    and large feed-lots watered by a system of pipes. Mr. LAYTON was
    the first man married in Cherokee, and the bride was Miss MELISSA
    LANE, a native of Ohio.  They were married in the fall of 1870, in
    a tent, and the first winter lived in a dug-out.  Three children
    have been born to them: JUSTIN A., JOHN ED and MAY MELISSA.  Mr.
    LAYTON affiliates with the Republican party.  He has served as
    marshal for five years, and as a member of the council. He is a
    member of the Iowa Legion of Honor, and is one of the charter
    members of Custer Post, No. 25, G.A.R.  He is a man of his word,
    and is highly respected wherever he is known.

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