Thomas N. Christian is one of the pioneer settlers of Waveland Township, having developed his farm from raw prairie to a highly cultivated tract of land presenting an excellent appearance, with its waving field of corn and grain giving promise of abundant harvests. A native son of the middle-west, he was born in Putnam County, Indiana, February 2, 1836, a son of Lewis and Levina (Frazier) Christian. There were two younger children in the family: Melinda, now the wife of Amos Spencer of Blair, Nebraska; and Joseph S. of White Cloud, Kansas. The father was born in Knox County, Tennessee in 1811 and when a young man went to Indiana setting in Putnam County, where he purchased land and engaged in faming until 1849, when he sold his property there and removed to Gentry County, Missouri. In that locality he also owned and developed a farm and there spent his remaining days, being called to final rest in March 1897, when eighty-six years of age.

Thomas N. Christian was reared on the old homestead and acquired a public school education. He was thirteen years of age when the family removed to Missouri, and the same fall he joined a hunting party that traveled through southern Iowa. It was said that the houses at that time were fifty miles apart. Possibly this was exaggerated, but yet the homes were widely scattered and the frontier condition of the country is indicated by the fact that it was no unusual thing to see ten or twelve elk at one time, while deer were numerous. In 1854 Mr. Christian drove a team to Kanesville, now Council Bluffs, Iowa, to bring his maternal grandmother and her family to Pottawattamie County. Kanesville was then a settlement of Mormons who lived in dugouts and on going up the hill beyond the asylum it seemed to be a hill of human heads for popping out of the ground everywhere were seen the faces of the inhabitants of those primitive dwellings.

Mr. Christian was married in Gentry County, Missouri, in 1861. The following year he enlisted for service in the Civil War, joining Company F of the Thirty-fifth Missouri Infantry on the 13th of August 1862. In 1863 he was honorably discharged, after which he returned to his home in Gentry County, where he remained until 1866. He next removed to Iowa for a year lived at Lewis, Cass County. In June 1867 he came to Pottawattamie County and while looking about for a desirable location he operated a rented farm for two years. In 1869 he bought the north half of the northwest corner of Section 3, adjoining. It was raw prairie, which he broke, and when the sod was turned and the fields harrowed he planted his crops, in due time gathering rich harvests. In 1871 he built a good residence upon his farm and removed to his new home. He has added to the original purchase the south half of the northeast quarter of Section 4, the northeast quarter of the southeast quarter of Section 4, and the east half of the northwest quarter of Section 3, Waveland Township, making his present holdings something more than one half section of land. The first purchase was made for five dollars per acre and his first payment was three hundred dollars. When he took up his abode here the earlier settlers who were located near the timber along the river tried to dissuade him and told him he was too far from civilization and that his children would grow up wild Indians that there would never be any schools in his locality, and other discouraging things. But Mr. Christians foresight was better, for he believed that in time this would become a populous and rich district. There was, however, little settlement here until 1876, and the first school was held in the summer of that year, Mr. Christian allowing a room to be used as a schoolroom, the teacher being Miss Ada Teff. From that time on the settlement has been rapid and the labors of man have made this part of the county to bloom and blossom as the rose. Mr. Christian has borne his full share in the work of agricultural development here and now owns a valuable and productive farming property.

The lady who now bears the name of Mrs. Christian was in her maidenhood Miss Rebecca E. Cranor, a daughter of Joshua Cranor, who moved from Indiana to Missouri. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Christian have been born thirteen children, of whom seven are yet living: Ida the wife of William Dean of Waveland Township; Alner B. who cultivates the home farm; Lewis J. who resides in Seattle, Washington; Manlove Benton of Waveland Township; Cena the wife of Ed Davis of Cass County; Isabelle the wife of Donald McKenzie of Waveland Township; and Ethel the wife of David Blaine ofWright Township, this county.

Mr. Christian is a republican in politics but has never been an aspirant for public office. He has, however, filled all of the township offices, to which he has been called by the vote of his fellow townsmen, who recognize his ability and appreciate his effective labor in behalf of community interests. He is now serving as township trustee and as a member of the school board. He belongs to the Christian church and in early years was affiliated with the Masonic Lodge but took a demit and has not since been affiliated with any local organization. The history of western Iowa and its development is largely familiar to him for he has been a witness of its growth through many years, having seen its wild prairies reclaimed for the purpose of civilization, while its natural resources have been used in the development of fine farms and good homes, where live a contented, prosperous and happy people.