One of the best known and prominent stock breeders of Pottawattamie County is George H. Osborn, the proprietor of the Pleasant Hill Stock Farm situated on section 29, Hazel Dell Township. Here he is engaged in the breeding of high grade shorthorn cattle, having at the head of his herd the noted bull, King Gloster, No. 267768. It was upon this farm that Mr. Osborn was born December 2, 1874. He is yet a comparatively young man but has already attained a measure of success which many of the older residents of the community might well envy. His father, James W. Osborn was born in Virginia, February 2, 1827, and was a son of George and Millanda (Goodwin) Osborn, who were likewise natives of the Old Dominion. The father, whose birth occurred April 13, 1780, died at his old home near Winchester, Virginia, while the battle was being fought in that vicinity during the period of the Civil War. He had long survived his wife, who was born December 3, 1789, and passed away on the 11th of October, 1845.

James W. Osborn acquired his education in the subscription schools of Virginia but though his educational privileges were limited he became a man well posted on all questions of general interest and the affairs of the day. As a business man he was occupied with farming interests and kept in touch with the general progress which has been manifest in agricultural lines. He became a farmer, following that pursuit in the south during the years of his early manhood, while later he removed to Missouri, settling near St. Joe.

In 1865 he took up his abode in Pottawattamie County, Iowa. Here he purchased a tract of land on section 29, the old home, Hazel Dell Township. It was improved to only a very limited degree but with characteristic energy he began its further development and cultivation, transforming the wild prairie into richly productive fields that annually returned to him golden harvests. The first morning that he saw the farm was on the 15th of April, 1865, the day after the assassination of President Lincoln. As the years passed he accumulated a large estate, making judicious investments in property and winning for himself a place among the substantial residents of the county.

In early manhood James W. Osborn was married to Miss Margaret Ester, a native of Baltimore, Maryland, born February 23, 1834. Her parents were John and Susan Byard (Perkins) Ester, the former a native of Ireland, who was born in 1802 and died in 1864. The mother's birth occurred in 1802 and she was called to her final rest in 1853. This worthy couple were active and devoted members of the Methodist Episcopal Church in Hazel Dell and their lives were in harmony with their professions, for they attempted to do good to all men, to live in peace with their friends and neighbors and to extend the influence and work of the church as opportunity offered. The death of the father occurred in June, 1901, and the mother passed away in April, 1900. Unto this worthy couple were born nine children, as follows: O. E., an agriculturist of Hazel Dell; J. H., who resides at Indianola, Iowa; Charles E., deceased; Albert W., of Watertown, Nebraska; Susan M., who is the widow of Robert Prentice and resides at Hazel Dell; Lillian, the wife of Frank Roosa, of Boulder, Colorado; George H., of this review; Margaret, the wife of Charles Hough, of Hazel Dell Township; and Hunter, residing in Council Bluffs.

George H. Osborn has always made his home upon the old farm which was his playground in early boyhood and his training school in youth. He came into possession of two hundred acres at the time of his father's death and after the division of the property he continued to reside upon the old homestead, which is improved with excellent buildings which were put there by his father. In tilling the soil he has displayed keen business discernment and annually gathers rich crops as the reward of his labor.

On Christmas Day of 1901 Mr. Osborn was united in marriage to Miss Lillian Driver, who was born in Boomer Township, and they have one child, Howard D. The young couple are much esteemed in the community where they live, having the warm regard of all with whom social or business relations have brought them in contact. They are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, loyal to its interests, and Mr. Osborn is connected with the Modern Woodmen Camp at Crescent. He belongs to one of the old and prominent families of this part of the state, where the name of Osborn has figured in connection with the business development and with the intellectual and moral progress for more than four decades.